The Riker–Lent–Smith Homestead and Cemetery are a historic house and cemetery in the
Steinway
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...
and
East Elmhurst
East Elmhurst is a residential neighborhood in the northwest section of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded to the south by Jackson Heights and Corona, to the north and east by Bowery Bay, and to the west by Woodside and Ditmar ...
neighborhoods of
Queens
Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
The earliest part of the house was built by Abraham Riker in 1656. He was an early settler of New Amsterdam, and a member of the Riker family, for whom
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail.
Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...
nearby is named; the house was owned by the Riker and Lent families for much of its history. In 1729, the house was expanded and additions were built by then-owner Abraham Lent, a descendant of Abraham Riker. The small graveyard contains not only the graves of family members, but also that of Irish revolutionary and physician
William James MacNeven who died in 1841 and who had stayed with the Riker family.
Around 1800 the house was again expanded to its current size. It remains an intact house in the Dutch Colonial style. Current owner Marion Duckworth Smith and her late husband Michael Smith began restoration work in 1980,
and the house was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1984.
The house is the oldest known existing residential structure in Queens.
See also
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List of New York City Designated Landmarks in Queens
The New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), formed in 1965, is the New York City governmental commission that administers the city's Landmarks Preservation Law. Since its founding, it has designated over a thousand landmarks, clas ...
*
List of the oldest buildings in New York
This article attempts to list the oldest buildings in the state of New York (state), New York, including the oldest houses and any other surviving structures. Some dates are approximate and based on architectural studies and historical records; o ...
*
List of the oldest buildings in the United States
This article lists the oldest buildings in the United States and its territories. The list includes sites in current U.S. state, states and Territories of the United States, territories which were not part of the original Thirteen Colonies when th ...
*
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Cemeteries on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Queens, New York
Houses completed in 1729
Cemeteries in Queens, New York
1729 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies
East Elmhurst, Queens