Diane Goetz

In the 1940s my parents bought a grist mill in Scarsdale that had been partially turned into a home. They were attracted by the beautiful stream that ran through the property, powering the undershot waterwheel that in turn powered the mill. They spent many weekends traveling from the Bronx to work on finishing the conversion, expanding the house and finding old tools, a bible and a Sunday School Advocate from 1860 in the walls. When they were finished, they sold it and built next door the house that I grew up in.  Although that house was a showpiece that had everything one could want, I always secretly coveted the mill house.

My love of old houses continued when my husband and I bought a brownstone in Park Slope, Brooklyn, that had been converted to a rooming house. We spent all our free time undoing the “improvements” made to the house over the years. We stripped layers of red lacquer paint from the burled walnut woodwork, encouraged by an untouched set of pocket doors that had been nailed shut and covered with sheetrock.

When we decided it would be nice to have a weekend house where our children could experience a life very different from the one they knew in Brooklyn, we found yet another old house. The house in Milan where I now live full time was built in the 1750’s, making it actually older than Elmendorph. I know this because it was researched by Emily Majer, a historic preservationist and former Historic Red Hook trustee. We recently pulled up the 1940s linoleum to find the original pine floor boards below. I knew they were original because they look just like the ones in the Tap Room at The Elmendorph.

I enjoy doing volunteer work in the community. I am a Master Gardener, a program that trains gardeners to help other gardeners. I’m also on the Town of Milan Planning Board.

Since I have joined the board of Historic Red Hook I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about The Elmendorph as, at various times, an inn, a family residence, a kindergarten and a general store. I am fascinated about its history as well as how what we believe to be true about its history changes as we uncover new information. In that sense it is a microcosm of what we think of as settled history changes over the years with new discoveries and new attitudes.