Tin Top

Called “Tin Top” because of its tin plate clad central dome, this distinctive building was once located north of the present entrance to Glimmerglass State Park where the original stone foundation can still be seen. Built in 1821, Tin Top served as a gatehouse that monitored traffic entering and leaving the Hyde Hall estate. It was also home to a gatekeeper, his wife, and children, who cultivated a kitchen garden there with vegetables for the estate as well as for their own use.

Through this portal passed many generations of visitors ranging from tenant farmers to distinguished guests such as Samuel F.B. Morse, who in 1829 painted a portrait of George Clarke; Tyrone Power, actor and comedian, who was the Irish great-grandfather of the 20th-century film actor of the same name; Juliette Gordon Low, founder of the Girl Scouts; President Theodore Roosevelt, a frequent visitor to his sister Corinne, who summered in Jordanville; and in August, 1930, then-governor and Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt.

State workers moved Tin Top to its present location north of the mansion in 1974. In 2012 it underwent repurposing to become Hyde Hall’s welcome center and ticket office.