Hendrick I. Lott House

Location: 1940 East 36th Street
Phone: (718) 375-2681
Description: In 1719, family patriarch Johannes Lott purchased a farm in the rural town of Flatlands and the family quickly became leaders in their community. When Hendrick I. Lott married Mary Brownjohn in 1792, he built a larger, grander house, combining Dutch and English details into a distinctly American building. At its peak in the 19th-century, the Lotts' farm included more than 200 acres. Like most of the large farmers in southern Brooklyn, the Lotts relied on the labor of slaves, indentured servants, and hired hands to grow the crops that they sold in the markets of Brooklyn and Manhattan. However, the Lotts freed their slaves by 1805, years before the abolition of slavery in New York State in 1827. The family continued to farm at the site until 1925. The last Lott family member lived there until her death in 1989. The house and grounds are currently closed for restoration.