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History of Spirit House Timothy Brown born in 1815 moved from Orange County, Vermont to Georgetown, NY in 1847 with his family. He lived about a ½ mile south of the village along what is the present Rte 26. In 1864 (11/21) he purchased ¾’s of an acre in town from Samuel and Ellania Clark on which he built Spirit House. Historical records assume that the house was completed by 1868 because there was a dance held there Thanksgiving weekend (November 21, 1868.) Brown told everyone that he was building the house to be gathering place for Spiritualists. Every effort was made to make it an inviting place for Spirits. Closets were to be the exclusive domain of Spirits. There was a windowless room where the present kitchen was where Spirits were called. Brown testified that he was guided by Spirits throughout the building process. Before he could hammer in a misplaced nail or chisel wrong he would be told of his error. The Georgetown Historical Society’s report on Spirit House notes how surprised town residents where that Mr. Brown was even able to construct a house, let alone one of such intricate design; “The entire community knew that Tim Brown was no carpenter, but in about 10 years time, after declaring his intent to build—the house was completed. The timbers came from local forests and he worked along with uncanny accuracy. With dogged determination he struggled on until he at last completed the frame. He engaged the assistance of a master carpenter for the raising of the frame. The carpenter surprised those who had been skeptical about Brown’s workmanship when he told them that it was the best frame he had ever seen.” In 1872 Brown purchased an additional 12 acres from Elnosthro Ellis on which he built his out buildings. Things were going well: “With the completion of the house, members of the spiritualist sect from far and near came to “Brown’s Hall” in Georgetown. More space was needed for meetings, so in 1874 Brown bought a vacant Presbyterian church…” (ibid pages 2-3). The rear portion of the house was removed and the Presbyterian building was added on. Brown was also very generous to local residents as a variety of events were held at Spirit House. As the placard on the front of Spirit House put up by the Georgetown Historical Society notes; "From 1870 to 1880 there were more Spiritualist conversions in New York than any other state and Spirit House was its center." Unfortunately one of the mediums that came to Spirit House was not above board. A notebook was found with information from the town graves which it was believed used by the medium to perpetrate their hoax of talking to the Spirits of deceased relatives. This irked town residents and Spirit House as a gathering place for Spiritualists came to an end. There is no record date of exactly when this happened. In 1885 Timothy Brown passed away and the title of the house was transferred to his wife Sarah. In 1895 Mrs. Brown gave ownership to her great-nephew, Floyd Currier and wife, who then sold it to Chauncey Stevens. Mrs. Brown entered the Old Ladies' Home in Oneida, August 3, 1899 and died there July 6, I908. Alice Stevens only a few years old at the time would be the last resident to live in the house. In 1906 the Church addition was torn down and the present addition built; porches were added, and second floor divided into bedrooms. In 1932 Mr. Stevens died and the ownership was transferred to his daughter Alice, Mrs. Leemon R. Cossitt. One assumes that Alice had been living there for some time before her father died. Between 1938to 40 the second floor ceilings were lowered and a new asphalt roof was installed over old metal one. In 1946 a bathroom, sun parlor, and sun porch on south side added and the upstairs "den" was enlarged. Alice Cossitt lived in Spirit House for decades until she passed away in 1989. Her friends said that she loved the house and felt that she was preserving something special. The home has not been lived in since, nor adequately maintained. The next owner, Helen Kartorie (although the name Mrs. Wilson is the name some local residents call the owner) refused to sell the house fearing that it would bring about her death. In 2005 the house was registered as a National Historic site. It was Alice Cossitt’s good friend Estelle Evans that had filed the paperwork years before. In 2009 Helen Kartorie dies. Because of water damage the house is totally gutted. A new roof is put on. In late 2009 the house is put up for sale. References Historic American Buildingo Survey, National Parks Service “The Spirit House, Georgetown, New York,” (Also referred to as Brown’s Free Hall), compiled by: Georgetown Historical Society, 1991 Spirit House Report of Student in Otselic The Condition of the Spirit House Property See the broker listing The house needs major work. A few years back a leak in the roof created a lot of water damage. Two years ago just before the house was put up for sale a partial new roof addition of asphalt shingles was placed on the metal roof. The house was gutted and all of the dry wall was removed. It appears that the finished flooring was removed. The old octopus furnace was removed, so there is no heating in the home. The real estate broker could not attest to the plumbing. We assume that the septic is still good. The garage is still standing but needs to be painted and is in at best okay condition. The barn is lovely and provides an additional space for activities. It has two floors, but the second floor is in serious need of structural support. It also needs a fresh coat of paint. A Divine Space Spirit House like many other locations in upstate NY was a place of epiphany and enlightenment. It was Timothy Brown who felt called to build Spirit House as a place of pilgrimage for the then growing Spiritualism movement. Historical documents indicate Brown testified that he was led by spirit in constructing the house; the fact that he constructed a gem of a house while being an acknowledged inept at carpentry is a testament that something else was a foot. Spirit House is the top location of approximately 50 sites listed on Mother Earth Prayers. The review can be found at: Spirit House We believe that Spirit House has a long history of being a place of spirituality and healing. The aspects and the sense of the place indicate that before Brown constructed Spirit House various Native American cultures had been going there for spiritual healing for a very long time. |