[2] The centerpiece of Locust Lawn is the Jeffersonian mansion of Colonel Josiah Hasbrouck which remains without modern heating, plumbing and electrical systems.

In 1805, Josiah Hasbrouck returned from his first stint in U.S.Congress during the administration of Thomas Jefferson eager to create for his family a home worthy of their position in the small but growing community, which was founded by Huguenots in 1678.

At the time, the site was a small farm and mill and featured a modest stone house built 67 years earlier.

The home was lived in by Josiah and Sarah's descendants until 1885, when the family locked all of their belongings in one half of the house and rented the remainder to tenants who farmed the surrounding land.

The homestead Josiah Hasbrouck bought in 1805 was originally settled by Evert Terwilliger, a Dutch man, in 1738 after he married Sara Freer.