It was home of Alice Austen, a photographer, for most of her lifetime, and is now a museum and a member of the Historic House Trust. The house is administered by the "Friends of Alice Austen", a volunteer group. Today, the Alice Austen House hosts many school programs, including photography summer camps and day trips for classes of all age groups.HistoryIt was originally built in the 1690s/early 1700s as a one-room Dutch Colonial House on the shore of New York harbor, near the Narrows with brothers Jacob Johnson and Lambert Johnson being the likely first occupants. The brothers Johnson purchased 120 acres of land from George Brown in 1698. Jacob Johnson's mother-in-law was Winifred King Benham, who was tried for witchcraft in Wallingford, Connecticut and may have been a resident of the house after her acquittal and virtual banishment.The house was remodeled and expanded several times in the 1800s, most notably after John Haggerty Austen, Alice's grandfather, purchased, renamed, and remodeled it in 1844.It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, became a New York City Landmark in 1971. It was purchased by New York City in 1975 and opened to the public. In 1993 it became a National Historic Landmark, and in 2002, it became a Historic Artist Home and Studio.
