Elisha and Catherine Hurlbut, where was your Glenmont mansion? UPDATED - FOUND!

Elisha Powell Hurlbut and Catherine Cuyler Van Vechten, just exactly where was your Glenmont home?

First, pop over here more Hurlbut info:
https://bethlehemnyhistory.blogspot.com/2020/02/thinking-about-name-glenmont-and-elisha.html

Ok, now I usually start with maps when searching for a house, but this time I started with the knowledge that John Eddy (aka Conrad Niver) bought Hurlbut's Glenmont estate, probably around 1906 when he and his wife Nellie moved back to the area. Here's a bit from Eddy's obituary (Ravena News Herald, July 5, 1935):

And, as it just so happens, we have copies of an advertising pamphlet from when John Eddy tried to sell the estate, sometime before it burned down in October 1915, maybe when he and Nellie had decided to move to Madison Avenue in Albany. 

Here are the before and after pictures. The house sure was something! 

The blaze was so intense, and the house so prominent on the hill, that passengers on the late night boat on the Hudson River saw the flames.  While neighbors formed a bucket brigade, the loss was total in part because there was no fire company in Glenmont at that time.

Albany Evening Journal, October 8, 1915

Anyway, the booklet also has pictures of other buildings on the property, including a tenant house, lodge cottage, barn and garage, and farm buildings. Two of which I am sure are still standing, but before we get to that, let's look at the maps. The 1891 Beers is quite clear about the location of the Hurlbut estate.  Note the green patch. That is the location of Beth Emeth cemetery, which is still there on Retreat House Road.  So then it was off on a field trip to Retreat House Road and Halter Road to see what I could see.

On this modern map from Google, find the green patch of Beth Emeth cemetery just below the words "First Student"

The first thing to see is the tenant house, which I am pretty sure is this house. 

This house has a Retreat House Road address. 
If you squint really hard you can see the tombstones to the right of the house.

Now for the Lodge Cottage.  Here she is. This super cool house is really only visible when there are no leaves on the trees. In the old picture, notice the curved detail under the eaves, then compare to the now pictures.  Also the pump house.

Fun right?  So this house has a River Road address, but it is on the corner with Halter Road.  I am thinking that Halter Road was basically the entrance drive to the estate with the house that burned being at the top of the lane. 

The photos below are also from the real estate booklet.  There is an old house at the end of Halter Road which might, might, might, be the barn and garage converted to a single family home.  Notice those three mights - just speculating here.  I was not able to get a picture on my recent trip to Halter Road, plus it has been modified so much it is hard to tell. 

Now of course, I could verify all of this through research at the Albany County Hall of Records.  But with the current Covid situation, I am really not game for that. Hopefully all things Covid will calm down in the next few months and I will feel better about spending time inside doing research. 

From what little I can see with the deeds online at Albany County, Halter Road was subdivided as early as the 1930s - there is a map dated to 1938 entitled "Map of lots on property of Mary Krouse Halter" associated with the lodge cottage property. Intriguingly, the property at the top of Halter Road, #64, has one of those wonderful old descriptions with links and chains and cedar posts on the west bank of the Hudson River. It mentions the VanVrankens and the Van Rensselaers,  excludes out a whole bunch of other deeds (like 40 of them) and mentions the tract of Robert Halter.  It is a confusing mess that doesn't actually mention Hurlbut at all!  

So I am going to let that go for now, secure in the knowledge that I at least know where the old lodge cottage is!

Now about that name Retreat House Road... food for another blog post...

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UPDATE - June 3, 2021 - FOUND and CONFIRMED

Last week I had the opportunity to visit the property at 64 Halter Road, the owners were wonderful and cordial and showed me about the place.  See the picture below, that is their home, converted by the previous owners from the barn and garage pictured above. While much changed, you can still match it up.

They showed me the spot where the mansion had been, its is obvious when you walk the ground.  There is plenty of concrete remaining from the mansion's basement floor.  Standing there looking down Halter Road,  you can imagine the sweeping view out to the river. Clearly you are standing on the Mount. The land rises up behind you, then folds back into the ravines and plateaus that define Bethlehem's landscape.  The Glen if you will.  No wonder the Hurlbuts were inspired to call the place Glenmont.

We were able to figure out where the farm buildings pictured above were.  But of course were still left with some mysteries.  The estate was a large one, around 100 acres,  with all sorts of outbuildings and structures that have left their mark on the property.   

Many thanks to the Alexander and Rowlands families for solving a history mystery!