Wyndcliffe, Norman mansion in Rhinecliff, US.
Wyndcliffe is a three-story Gothic-style residence with nine bedrooms, five bathrooms, and four fireplaces spreading across approximately 7,690 square feet with views of the Hudson River. The mansion was built on an expansive property that originally covered over 80 acres of land.
Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones commissioned architect George Veitch to design and build this residence beginning in 1853. The property became a symbol of the family's social standing and economic power in the Hudson Valley region.
The mansion became the subject of social competition among wealthy neighbors who built grand estates to match the Jones family's ambitions. This rivalry shaped how the valley's elite residents chose to display their wealth through architecture.
The property is enclosed by security fencing along Mill Road and can be viewed from the exterior but offers no public access to the interior. Stabilization work has been approved to preserve the structure, though the building is not currently open for visits.
Author Edith Wharton visited the house as a child and later featured it in her 1929 novel 'Hudson River Bracketed' under its original name. She embedded the building into a literary portrait of the valley that influenced how readers imagined the region.
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