Historic Goldens Bridge estate’s future on the auction block

An exterior view of the home known as the Simeon Brady mansion in Goldens Bridge. JIM BERGSTRASER PHOTOS

The wine cellar in the mansion’s basement.

By ROBERT BRUM

The centuries-old yellow Greek Revival mansion in Goldens Bridge known as the Simeon Brady Estate has a storied past and an uncertain future.

Built around 1825 by Simeon Brady II and surrounded by iron gates and fencing said to have come from Tammany Hall, the estate once commanded a sprawling farm and a saw mill churning out apple cider.

Years of neglect were wiped away when Ed and Judy Cusati acquired the 5.42-acre property in 1975, lovingly restoring fireplaces, ceiling beams, chestnut flooring with handmade nails, and relics from the farm.

The estate at 175 Waccabuc Road was subsequently lost through foreclosure and is up for sale. The latest in a series of weekly online auctions ended Feb. 25 with a high bid of $991,500 — below the minimum set by the seller and the listing price of $1,025,000.

The asking price offers clues about the estate’s condition; it was on the market in 2011 for $4.5 million, according to an article in Westchester Magazine.

Listing agent Jim Bergstraser of RE/MAX Classic Realty described the mansion as “dated and in need of interior and exterior improvements” after lying vacant for a period of time. He did not know when the Cusati family moved out.   

The listing has generated interest among private buyers from the area who pass the prominent property. 

“It’s a great opportunity to restore a historic home,” said Bergstraser. “To a lot of investors, the renovation is daunting for a fix and flip.”

Overlooking Waccabuc Road near where it passes Increase Miller Road, the landmark is hard to miss.

“Back in the ‘70s and early ‘80s, we passed that house hundreds of times,” said Bergstraser, who grew up in the area.

The nearly 8,000-square-foot stone and wood mansion’s three levels hold 15 rooms, including six bedrooms, two bathrooms, multiple fireplaces, plus a finished attic and basement with a wine cellar. The listing describes the estate retaining many of the period features such as granite and stone work and a root cellar. 

The property holds the stone ruins of outbuildings, a pond and a mill that produced apple cider. The family’s applejack (hard cider) was well known as far away as New York City, writes Lewisboro Town Historian Maureen Koehl. 

According to Koehl, the Brady family owned most of the farmland in Golden’s Bridge, their dairy and cattle business stretching across the highway from the homes. It comprised thousands of acres and was one of the largest farms in Westchester County.

The estate dates back to pre-Revolutionary times, when Simeon’s father established an earlier home there. During the war, Simeon Brady I left his wife, Mary, to care for their 11 children while he fought in the Continental Army, according to the town of Lewisboro website’s history page. Both Patriots and British Tories stopped at the property, the latter driving off the family’s cattle and ransacking Simeon’s store. 

A pair of manmade caves, as well as a secret cavity in one of the home’s walls, are said to have possibly hidden runaway slaves as part of the Underground Railroad.

The Bradys eventually sold off their holdings, and over the years the mansion was left in disrepair until the Cusatis bought it and began their decades-long renovation. Ed Cusati hosted car shows on the sprawling front lawn; Judy Cusati died in 2019.

When the couple bought the home, it had been inhabited basically by squatters, Koehl said. 

“The Cusatis raised that house from the dead when they bought it and turned it into an incredible showplace and historic gem,” said Koehl. There was a movie theater on the third floor, she said.

Ed Cusati was supportive of the town library, opening the home for tours and hosting a wine and cheese fundraiser in the cellar.

“He loved that house,” Koehl said. “He and his wife went to great pains to furnish it with a feeling of history. You walked into it, it was like a museum.”

She held out hope that the home’s next owner would respect its past.

“It’s such an iconic part of the history of the town,” Koehl said. “I want to see it maintained. Everybody in the western part of town knows the Brady Mansion and the history of the Brady Mansion, so we need to keep that history alive.”