Historic Wakeman House faces the end

MILLERTON — In 1851, Millard Fillmore was president of the United States. Isaac Singer patented a sewing machine under his own name. Des Moines, Iowa, was washed away in the Great Flood of 1851 that went on to hold rainfall records for a century and a half.

And Millerton didn’t yet have a name.

The New York and Harlem Railroad, which launched in 1832, was just reaching northern locales as far as Chatham, New York — and that included Millerton.

According to notes from North East’s long time historian, the late Chet Eisenhuth, a meeting was held in 1851 at the home of Walter Wakeman, a local farmer, shortly after the railroad came to town. The decision to name the new settlement Millerton is believed to have been made at Wakeman’s house.

The name Millerton was a nod to Sidney Miller, one of the contractors and builders of the railroad expansion to the town.

An 1858 map of North East carries a notation “W. Wakeman” in a shaded area known as Millerton.

Wakeman is listed in the 1850 census as a 61-year old farmer.

According to historical family notes written by Walter’s son Orrin, Walter Wakeman came to North East in 1810 “on foot” and worked for the Winchells. He married Almira Winchell, died 50 years later in 1868 and is buried in Irondale Cemetery, according to cemetery records.

What has become known as the Wakeman House is located at 5953 N. Elm Ave., opposite the Four Brothers Pizza Inn on Route 22.

The faded yellow structure has been obscured by an overgrowth of trees and vines, but recently was exposed by clearing work and last week was boarded up.

As if its 19th century signficiance isn’t enough — ranking as one of the oldest houses in town — the house holds another special rank. Since 1964, it has been owned by Amy Olatunji, wife of Michael Babatunde Olatunji, the famous Nigerian-born drummer whose 1960 “Drums of Passion” album is credited with popularizing African music in the West.

The album sold more than five million copies. Olatunji and his wife spent time in Millerton up to the 1970s, and he died in 2003.

What’s next for this historic house? According to Ken McLaughlin, building inspector and code enforcement officer, the process has begun to take the house down. The Village has been working with the owner, but no date is set for that work.

Dutchess County Parcel Access puts a market value on this village home at $159,800. It sits on a 1.7 acre lot and is considered a two-family residence.

Irondale Cemetery lists 10 Wakemans in its records. The razing of the house will mark a milestone closure in Millerton’s history. The very homestead — dilapidated as it is — where the community got its name, no longer will bear witness to day to day life along Route 22.