Farm History

Hoosac Patent/ St. Croix Settlement

The land that Teak and Thyme Farm sits on today was part of the first settlement in this area called St. Croix that was founded in 1724 and part of the Hoosac Patent that was awarded to Hendrick Van Ness in 1688. His son, Garret Cornelise Van Ness inherited the farm including land that extends along the north and east bank of the river. In the same year, 1724 he married Sarah Van Valkenburgh of Albany and he built a small grist mill near the junction of Little Creek and the Walloomsac River. According to stories handed down through families, the Van Ness home was burned down twice by the French and then the  British. At that point the house was moved to the east side of what is now New York 22 as a one room structure with a sleeping loft. The footprint of this part of the house shows a room where the family would cook, including a beehive oven, and one room above for sleeping. The farm and acreage was in the Van Ness family until 1818 when it was purchased by John and William Lamport, who then sold the farm to David Chase Gooding.

Gooding Farm

From 1819 through 1929 the farm was owned and operated by one family beginning with David Chase Gooding. The farm passed down to Isaac Gooding Hathaway and then to Nicholas David Gooding. Nicholas’ last will and testament left the estate to his daughter Grace M. Willis. In 1929 the Troy Times listed the farm as being sold to Dennis Mitchell. Dennis Mitchell then sold the house to the Mironowicz family and there was a large auction of all farm equipment in 1975. The farm was owned by Lisa Rivette who spent nearly 30 years restoring the house to its former glory, selling the home in 2020.

Currently

Brett and Crystal Walters purchased the farm in 2020 and began extensive renovations of the barns, brick, house exterior and property. The next project planned is to renovate the large dairy/hay barn on the property to use as a gathering space.