Lefferts Farm Cottage: Richmond Hill Historical Society

On September 29, 1868 Charles Paulson, a wealthy Englishman, purchased from Eldert Bergen, a farmer, a triangular plot of land for $500. It was located at the western end of Bergen's farm and was bounded on the west by lands of John Leffert, on the north by the Myrtle Avenue Plank Road (Myrtle Ave.) and on the south by the Brooklyn and Jamaica Turnpike. It came to an apex where Jamaica and Myrtle Avenue met. It measured 162.5 feet on Jamaica Avenue, 177.5 feet on Myrtle Avenue and 85 feet on the western boundary. Take note of the electric trolley in lower left corner and the LIRR train on Myrtle Ave.
Select here for early photos of the Hofbrau which is still located at same location today.

Illustraion of Office & Residence of Dr. W. C. Fiske (Lefferts Farm Cottage)
from Long Island Railroad's Poster- "Points of Interest" in Richmond Hill circa 1890's

Although the original exterior has been modified over the years, this house was the original "Lefferts Farm Cottage" which belonged to the Lefferts Family who owned the Lefferts Farm which was part of the land that Albon Man would purchase from to develop Richmond Hill. This was perhaps one of the rarest structures to have been already built before Richmond Hill was developed. Maybe due to sentimental or practical reasons, Albon Man rather than knocking down the structure instead relocated the "cottage" from its original location which was Plank Road and Oak Street (Jamaica Avenue and 115th Street) to 115th Street between Jamaica and 86th Avenues where it still exists today. The original location on Plank Road would give way to a major thoroughfare connecting Long Island and Manhattan. The barn was in the back on 114th Street but what was later removed to make way for PS 56.
It also served as a good place for Oliver Fowler, Albon Man's partner, to live and work from due to the fact that there was not many other options for other places. By the late 1890's early 1900's, the "Lefferts Farm House" which it later became known as, was sold by Oliver Fowler to a Doctor W.C. Fiske who married Clara Riis, the daughter of Jacob Riis, in 1900. Their wedding ceremony at the Church of the Resurrection was attended by Theodore Roosevelt.

In the illustration you'll notice a semi-circle arch of bushes that leads to the entrance up to the stairs. This little unique entrance is still there today. The original date is unknown when the Lefferts Farm House was built, but its dated back to at least the 1860's if not earlier.