This Dutch sandstone building was constructed well before the Revolutionary War in 1728. Built by Van Antwept, it was used as a tavern during the War for Independence. If the intermittent shouts of soldiers seeking brief respite from the war do not still echo through the house on a dark winter night, certainly other marks of their presence still remain. Note the jabbed marks in the beams where they stuck their bayonets instead of standing them in a corner. Note, also, the ale niche on the sides of the fireplace where the Dutch liked to keep their bottles of ale pleasantly warm for a frigid winter’s evening.

Early in the 19th century, the building was bought from Van Antwept by Adney Packard, a cabinet maker who worked at the Erie Railroad yards and shops in Piermont. About 1898, it was then purchased from Packard’s family by Abraham Blauvelt, who built a large wooden addition (now known as our Sorrel Bar) on the North side of the building from which he operated a grocery store known as A. Blauvelt & Son.

Blauvelt’s family remained in the house until sometime before World War II, at which time it was abandoned. It was later acquired by Upper Nyack developer Irving Maidman, who in 1958 lent it to the then newly-formed Tappan Zee Historical Society for their first permanent headquarters and museum. After more than a decade of abandonment and vandalism, the house was nearly destroyed, but volunteer efforts by society members and the Pearl River High School History Club restored it. It officially re-opened in June of 1958, as Rockland County’s contribution to the Hudson-Champlain 300th anniversary being celebrated statewide that year.

Rockland County deployed over one million troops during WWII. A battle flag of the famous carrier USS Enterprise was flown by the Society on October 17th, 1959 when the flagpole on the outdoor terrace was dedicated as the first Rockland County monument to those who had served in our Armed Forces during WWII. The Society, now known as The Historical Society of Rockland County, remained in the house until August 15th, 1974 when it officially closed. Shortly thereafter, Maidman sold it to a firm which again re-opened it as a restaurant and bar called The Olde Stonehouse Inn. The Stonehouse saw different ownership until it was taken over in March of 2000 and transformed into il Fresco Italian Trattoria, which is its current incarnation. My family and I welcome you into what we consider our home.

BUON APPETITO