Odell House

Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters
Location425 Ridge Road, Greenburgh, New York, United States
Coordinates41°1′10″N 73°49′4″W / 41.01944°N 73.81778°W / 41.01944; -73.81778
Area1 acre (0.40 hectares)
Built1732
Websitehttps://www.odellrochambeau.org/
NRHP reference No.73001286[1][2]
Added to NRHPMarch 28, 1973 (1973-03-28)

The Odell House is a historic house museum located at 425 Ridge Road in Hartsdale, Westchester County, New York. The house and surrounding farmland (at the time known as the Bates farm[3]) served as the headquarters of Count de Rochambeau and campsite for the French expeditionary forces, Expédition Particulière, under his command during the American Revolutionary War, from July 6 to August 18, 1781.

While Rochambeau and his forces were camped at the Bates farm, General George Washington and the Continental Army camped nearby at the Appleby Farm. The combined campsite became known as the Philipsburg Encampment as it was situated on the land of the massive colonial landholding, Philipsburg Manor. The encampment stretched for miles from North Castle/Mount Kisco (east) to the Hudson River, and from the Croton River (north) toward White Plains and Dobbs Ferry. It was here that the French forces under Rochambeau and the American forces under Washington united for the first time during the war before launching the victorious Yorktown campaign.[4][5]

The Odell House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1][2] In 2026, it became a public museum, Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters, preserving the legacy of the Franco-American alliance in the Revolutionary War.[6][7]

Description and history

The house consists of a 1+1⁄2-story central section erected in 1732, with flanking wings. The east wing was built in 1765 as a 1+1⁄2-story structure and raised to a full two stories in 1785. The central section and east wing are of wood-frame construction, covered with cedar shingles, and rest on a fieldstone foundation. The two-story stone west wing was built between 1853 and 1855. The house features three divided Dutch doors.

The earliest part of the house, consisting of two rooms, was built by John Tompkins, one of the tenant farmers of Frederick Philipse III, the last lord of Philipsburg Manor. By 1760, he sold the house to another tenant farmer family, Gilbert and Sarah Bates, who added two more rooms. Gilbert became a soldier early in the Revolutionary War, was imprisoned by the British, and died in captivity. When the French troops marched into the area, the widow Bates offered her four-room house to Rochambeau to serve as his headquarters.[8][9]

One of the first residents of Westchester to volunteer for the Westchester County Militia in 1776, John Odell[10][11] served as a scout for Washington during the Philipsburg encampment. He was later commissioned a Colonel in the New York State Militia by Governor John Jay. After the war, Colonel Odell purchased the house from the widow Bates.

In 2020, the house was deeded to the town of Greenburgh. The nonprofit group, Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters, worked with the town to restore the property and create a museum.[6] Construction began in March 2021 and was completed in 2026. For her leadership in saving and restoring the house, Susan Seal, president of the Friends of Odell House, was named a Knight (Chevalier) in France's Ordre national du Mérite (National Order of Merit),[12] which is the second-highest award given to civilians by the French government.

References

  1. ^ a b Rennenkampf, Lenore M. (February 1973). National Register of Historic Places Registration: New York SP Odell House. National Archives and Records Administration. Retrieved December 5, 2025. (Downloading may be slow.)
  2. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  3. ^ "Greenburgh's Odell House Set To Be Restored!". Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route Association. Retrieved February 10, 2026.
  4. ^ "Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route". Washington-Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. National Park Service. Retrieved November 14, 2021.
  5. ^ Friends of OHRH (October 20, 2022). Westchester's Philipsburg Encampment of 1781 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ a b "Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters".
  7. ^ Video presentation by Friends of OHRH (June 22, 2020). The Amazing Story of Odell House in the Revolutionary War – via YouTube.
  8. ^ "Chronology of OHRH". Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters.
  9. ^ Williams, Gray (2003). Picturing Our Past: National Register Sites in Westchester County. Westchester County Historical Society. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-915585-14-4.
  10. ^ Weiselberg, Erik (May 15, 2020). "Revolutionary Westchester: John Odell, General Washington's Westchester Guide, Part I". The Hudson Independent.
  11. ^ Weiselberg, Erik (July 28, 2020). "Revolutionary Westchester: John Odell, General Washington's Westchester Guide, Part 2 of 2". The Hudson Independent.
  12. ^ "Susan Seal to be knighted by French government for saving Odell House- which will become a Museum". Town of Greenburgh, NY. Archived from the original on February 13, 2026.

See also

WCHS McDonald Interviews, topic: Odell, John at Westchester County Archives Digital Collections

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