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The Glebe House was built in 1767 as the rectory to house the Rev. John Beardsley and his family. Beardsley, loyal to the King of England, the head of his Church, lived here and ministered to the congregants of Christ church, Poughkeepsie and Trinity Church in Fishkill until December of 1777 when he and his family and slaves were forced to flee to the protection of the British in New York City. The Glebe was the land given to a minister to provide additional supplement to his small income. In Beardsley’s case, the Glebe was approximately 250 acres.
Since 1777 the house and land has passed through many owners including Udney Hay, the DeReimer family, the Worrall family, Michael Hoblich who operated a public beer garden here and finally, florist Conrad Gindra lived here and ran his business. In 1929, the house was purchased by the members of the Dutchess County Historical Society and the Junior League when they feared that one of the last structures of the pre- Revolutionary War period would be demolished. The Glebe House and what was left of the original glebe land was given to the City of Poughkeepsie with the proviso that it be jointly operated by the Society and the Junior League for historic and museum purposes.
The house is of red brick with a rubble stone foundation and sits at the edge of Main Street, formerly the Filkintown Road and just one mile due east of the County Court House. An addition was added to the original structure by Peter De Reimer in the early 19th century. The land surrounding the house is now less than an acre. Tours of the house are offered for organizational groups and school children and open house days are offered during the year.
