Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead, Jackson Heights - attractions, tourist attractions, city attractions, area attractions, main attractions, major attractions, landmarks, sights, poin

Jackson Heights, NY

On August 9, 1654, Governor Peter Stuyvesant gave a patent certifying ownership of this land to Abraham Riker. The Lent-Riker-Smith Homestead was built in about 1656, according to the Historic American Buildings Survey. Major additions to the original Dutch farmhouse were made by Abraham Lent, a Riker descendant, about 1729. The house remained in possession of the Riker-Lent family until the 20th century, when it passed to William Gooth, who had been the personal secretary to the last Riker who owned the house. Gooth rented the house out to various tenants during the mid-1900's, with the stipulation that nothing about the property could be changed.
Michael Smith has lived in the house since the 1960's. In 1975, he bought the property, the house and its contents from William Gooth. Beginning in 1980, he and his wife, Marion Duckworth Smith, began the present restoration.