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the sara tracy house

July 30, 2020

Behind the cream brick exterior of an 1825 home in the village of Lansingburgh, New York, an absolutely gorgeous renovation is underway at The Sara Tracy House. The outside doesn’t look like much yet, and when you arrive you might be thrown off by the work permit hanging in the window where owner, Charles Daubner, is still renovating. But once you step inside the completed section of the home, you’ll find yourself in a curious time capsule of art and history.

Sara Tracy was well-known for her philanthropy and generosity, especially within the Catholic Church of West Virginia. According to The Lansingburgh Historical Society, she donated almost $1 million to charitable church institutions upon her death on November 6, 1904. The Times Union reported in a 2013 article that she left $6 million to charity. To put that in perspective, $1 million in 1904 would be equal to about $28 million in today’s dollars.

Her father and brother owned the largest brewery in the area, with her brother, Edward, becoming a multimillionaire through the malting business. As a result, Sara inherited much of her money from Edward’s passing. A chance meeting between Bishop Patrick J Donahue of West Virginia and Sara Tracy on a ship to Rome in 1899 forged a friendship between the two, further connecting Sara to the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston where she became one of their greatest benefactors.

The Tracy family lived in their Lansingburgh home in the years leading up to the Civil War. It’s taken Charles three years to renovate a large section of the home, with three guest rooms now available for rent on Airbnb. We stayed here on our way to a cordwood building workshop in West Chazy, north of Plattsburgh, New York. This thoughtfully-restored B&B is a must-see when visiting the region, and we can’t wait to return someday soon.

Photographs and text by Elaine Skylar Neal / Travels and Curiosities

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