Stop 8: The House in the Woods

Directions to Stop 8 from Greeley’s Grove: Continue along the path through the pine and hemlock trees and toward the mixed woods. This was the road to Greeley’s House in the Woods. Continue walking until you see the leveled clearing on the left.

Horace Greeley’s “House in the Woods,” built 1854. It was considered Greeley’s favorite house, and he continued spending time here after buying the house on King Street. The “House in the Woods” burned in 1876.

The Greeley Family lived their summers here from when it was built in 1854 until 1864. Why did they move? Mrs. Greeley found the house isolated, dark, dank, and possibly dangerous. The New York City Draft Riots of 1863, during which the Tribune office was invaded and nearly burned, may have impressed upon the Greeleys that the House in the Woods was isolated and vulnerable. In any event, the following year, they moved to the house on the main street of the village. Greeley himself, however, always preferred this house, and kept it as his library and study. It burned in 1876 and was never rebuilt.

Click here for Stop 9: Lovers Leap and Glen