Chronology of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters
1732
John Tompkins came from Eastchester, the first English colony in New York State, to Greenburgh to create his own farm. He leased 200 acres of land from Frederick Philippse and built a two room Dutch timber frame cottage on the land. He wrote that the house was surrounded by “friendly” Native Americans.
1760
By 1760, Tompkins’ farm was so successful that he leased a larger piece of land and built a bigger house nearby. He transferred the original 200 acre lease to Gilbert and Sarah Bates and sold them the house. The Bates added a second identical two-room section to the northern end of the house.
1781
Sarah Bates, now known as “the widow Bates”, offered the four room house to Le Comte de Rochambeau to serve as his headquarters during the French American Encampment. The French General met General George Washington there many times as they planned the final battles of the Revolutionary War, culminating in victory at Yorktown on October 19, 1781.
1785
Revolutionary War hero Col. John Odell bought the Bates farmland for 740 pounds from the Commissioners of Forfeiture and the house from Sarah Bates. She lent Odell 600 pounds, holding two mortgages co-signed by Odell’s father and father-in-law. John and his wife, Hannah McChain Odell, raised the roof to build a second floor and an attic. It was now six rooms.
1855
Dyckman Odell, grandson of Col. John Odell, added a stone section onto the house, making it 10 rooms. Dyckman and his wife, Lauretta, raised seven children there, five daughters and two sons. None married. Only one, Edna, had children—Simone and Roland—who were both adopted in France where Edna worked during WWI as a nurse for The American Red Cross.
1965
Elizabeth Odell, the last remaining child of Dyckman, sold the house to the NY Chapter of Sons of the American Revolution for $1 with the covenant that the organization maintain the house as an historic site.
1973
The Odell House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Roland Odell, the adopted son of Edna, Elizabeth’s sister, lived in the house as its caretaker.
1990
Roland Odell died at the age of 75. He was the last of the Odell family—a family who lived in the house on Ridge Road continuously for 205 years.
2019
After 1990, the house was vacant and unprotected. Over the next 25 years, it was vandalized and began to severely deteriorate. It was not accessible to the public. Various residents of the Town and the wider historic community became increasingly concerned that it would be lost completely. In July 2019, the Town of Greenburgh signed a contract with the NY Chapter of SAR to take title to the property.
2020
The Friends of Odell House Rochambeau Headquarters was formed as a charitable non-profit corporation to aid the Town of Greenburgh in restoring the property and creating a museum. On March 4, 2020, the Town assumed ownership of the Odell house and the .71 remaining acres surrounding it.
2021 to the present
The Town of Greenburgh completed shoring and full protection of the house. A contract was issued to architect Steve Tilly to draw plans to restore the house and create a museum. An archeological study was commissioned, and restoration work is ongoing.
The Friends of OHRH hope to open the house as a museum by 2026, in time for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.