A Hudson River Ship Captain’s 1840s Homestead with Beautiful Gardens

Peary Homestead, a nearly 200-year-old Gothic Revival estate in Germantown, New York, has been listed with The Lillie K. Team of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty for $4,500,000.

The 6-bedroom manor sits on 3.3 acres overlooking the Hudson River.

Built in the 1840s by Hudson River ship captain Robert Peary — not to be confused with the later Arctic explorer of the same name — the homestead reflects the region’s 19th-century river culture.

For nearly a century, Peary Homestead was more than a residence — it was a working pear orchard, with fruit harvested here and shipped along the Hudson. A few trees remain as a reminder of its agricultural beginnings, but today the property is best known for some of the Hudson Valley’s most beautiful gardens.

Peary’s family held the property for close to 100 years. Later owners were equally committed stewards: at one point it came under the care of the Lead Horticulturist of the New York Botanical Gardens, who devised a master plan for the grounds. The current owners built on that foundation, expanding the gardens and commissioning a full interior renovation with architect Chip Bohl and designer L. B. Copeland Interiors.

The result is an estate where every element — from a greenhouse path to a kitchen finish — feels tied back to history, but with a sense of coherence the house hadn’t had in decades.

Inside, the house spans 5,600 square feet across 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths. The new north wing contains a Plain English kitchen with Arabescato marble counters, a deep green Lacanche range, a built-in breakfast nook, and even its own fireplace — a modern addition that feels right at home in a 19th-century frame. A butler’s pantry and bar lead into a dining room finished in a vivid green limewash, perfectly placed to overlook the allee gardens.

Elsewhere, the tone shifts: a library lined in indigo wallpaper, a family room in a bright garden-facing sunroom, a formal living room anchored by a tall fireplace. Even the utility spaces carry personality — an ochre-painted flower and laundry room, a mudroom with tiled floors and storage built for daily rhythm. Upstairs, the primary suite includes dual dressing rooms and a bath with a Waterworks vanity and soaking tub positioned beneath original arched windows. A hidden playroom tucked off the back staircase nods to the estate’s more whimsical side.

If the interiors carry the weight of history, the gardens are where the romance unfolds. The grounds hold an in-ground pool edged with lotus gardens, a custom greenhouse with cutting beds, a raspberry trellis, wildflower meadows, and a dining pergola draped in trumpet vine. Stone fountains punctuate the landscape, and allées lined with perennials lead the way between outdoor “rooms.” The pear trees remain — a quiet thread back to the farm that defined this land for so long.

The carriage house adds a vaulted guest flat above a two-car garage and workshop — light-filled spaces easily adapted for an artist or gardener. Beyond the gates, Germantown’s main street is just minutes away, with Hudson and its Amtrak station ten minutes further. Rhinebeck, Red Hook, and Tivoli are all within reach, and New York City is less than two hours by train.

All photos courtesy of The Lillie K. Team of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty.