Local Architecture and Historic Preservation

The Hart-Cluett House - The Occupants

From the completion of the house in 1827 until today, the house has had only four owners: the Harts, the George B. Cluetts, the Albert E. Cluetts and the Rensselaer County Historical Society. All have shown great respect for the house, and there has always been the realization that this marble-faced building was no ordinary structure.

Richard P. Hart was a successful businessman and entrepreneur, a mayor of Troy and a president of the Troy Savings Bank, and one of the founders of West Troy (now Watervliet). He invested in the Erie Canal and the early railroad system and actively supported the educational institutions in the City, including Emma Willard's Troy Female Seminary and the Rensselaer Institute (later Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute).

After her husband's death in 1843, Betsey Hart reared their 14 children and was involved in a number of philanthropic activities during her long tenure at the "marble house" on Second Street. She was a founder of the Troy YWA and the Troy Day Home, a charity for the city's indigent children. She continued her husband's interest in the educational institutions of the City. Mrs. Hart skillfully managed her finances and accumulated one of the great private fortunes in Troy.

The house's second and third owners, George B. Cluett, and his nephew Albert E. Cluett, were both involved in the collar and shirt manufacturing business that bore the family name, Cluett, Peabody & Co. At its height, this company employed 3000 workers in its factories and as pieceworkers in homes throughout Troy. Like the Harts before them, the Cluetts participated in many cultural and philanthropic ventures in Troy. Albert and Caroline Cluett in particular understood the historic importance of the house, and they challenged the newly formed Rensselaer County Historical Society to raise an endowment for the house which the Cluetts then agreed to give to the Historical Society to ensure its continued preservation.

The house was also home to other people: in addition to the prosperous Harts and Cluetts, a variety of servants saw to the daily chores that made the household run smoothly. As visitors tour the furnished rooms of the house, a distinct sense of how both sets of residents worked together and apart becomes evident. The sparkling glassware and china in the dining room tell only half the story; the other half can be found in the basement kitchen where the cook produced copious amounts of food for the families upstairs without benefit of refrigeration or hot water from the tap.

Due to the careful preservation of the building by both families, the evidence of their lives is noticeable throughout. "Modernization" was achieved through careful adaptation of rooms, and fixtures and additions were made to the house to accommodate changing family life. It is not surprising to find two kitchens here -- the early basement kitchen of the Hart family, and a first floor Cluett kitchen, added circa 1895, that features the modern improvements of a gas stove and icebox.

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