Local
Architecture and Historic Preservation
The Hart-Cluett House - The
Documentation
 In
1983, a collection of wooden trunks bearing Betsey Hart's name
on the outsides, were discovered at the Troy Savings Bank. These
trunks held virtually all of Mrs. Hart's bills and financial records
for the majority of her years at the House. This unusual, infinitely
detailed record provides a thorough understanding of how the Hart
family lived in and took care of the house. Coupled with the few
personal papers of the family that are known, and a set of photographs
of the house's interior, RCHS has been able to recreate a relatively
complete picture of life in the Hart house for the second half
of the 19th century.
The Cluett record is not as thorough, although family
papers, photographs and reminiscences do exist and the public
record of the business activities of the company is extant in
the RCHS archives. Many personal items remain in the possession
of the family. Recently, a survey, including oral histories, was
conducted of the Cluett family by RCHS staff, and this research
has been critical to the understanding of how the Cluett families
lived in and used the house.
Additional documentation comes from study of the
building itself. Careful examination of paint layers, architectural
details and changes to the structure due to additions and different
uses of spaces, when added to the information from documentary
and photographic sources, provides a rare view of the occupation
of the house over 125 years by private residents and almost 50
years of museum use. The ability to say with such certainty what
was going on in the building at a given time is extremely unusual
for most historic house museums and makes the preservation of
the Hart-Cluett House even more important. The house, the documents
and the collections, when taken as a whole, are of great significance
to the study of American life.
Return to The Hart-Cluett
House - The Architectural Significance
Return to The Hart-Cluett
House - The Occupants
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