Amsterdam City Hall at 61 Church Street used to be the Sanford mansion, the house on the hill and across the street from the mills operated by the city’s first family of carpet making.

Following extensive research, city historian Robert von Hasseln now believes the building used by the Sanfords to make their mansion previously was home to Amsterdam businessman Joseph Cornell.

Before Amsterdam’s founding in 1804, the land on which City Hall rests was owned by S. and A. Waters, who owned an iron works. Von Hasseln said it appears likely the main house on the property was built by Cornell in the early 1850s. About that time, Cornell deeded large portions of his land to establish the adjacent Green Hill Cemetery.

Stephen Sanford, von Hasseln believes, purchased and renovated the existing Cornell house in 1869, rather than building a new structure. Today’s City Hall even may incorporate a foundation for an earlier home built by Waters.

Stephen Sanford renovated Cornell’s house in the French-inspired Second Empire style, with a mansard roof and belvedere tower.

Von Hasseln said, “Inside, the Sanfords spared no expense in appointing the house: elaborate rococo fireplaces, railings and door and window treatments of walnut, mahogany and marble were imported from Europe.”

Stephen Sanford, who lost his sight in his later years, died in 1913. Thousands of Amsterdam residents paid their last respects to the industrialist in the library of the mansion, now the City Clerk’s office.

Von Hasseln said that Stephen’s son John then embarked on a massive renovation, “While maintaining the basic construction of the original building and many of its decorative finishes inside and out, the overall appearance was changed to that of a Classic Revival, neo-Georgian manor house. Principle changes included the addition of the colonnaded portico to the Church Street side, the elimination of the mansard roof and tower for a true third story, and the expansion of the rear of the building.”

John Sanford’s renovations, which cost about $1 million, were completed over four years and were designed by architect Albert W. Fuller, known for his redesign of the Fort Orange Club in Albany.

Von Hasseln said, “The housewarming of the rebuilt mansion in 1917 was the largest and most lavish party in Amsterdam history.”

The remodeled building contains 69 rooms, 103 windows, eight fireplaces, five skylights, three stairways and two walk-in safes. The Sanfords employed from four to six permanent household staff and as many as eight seasonal servants.

By the 1930s, the Sanfords were spending more and more time at homes in the south. In 1929, Sanford and Sons had merged with the Bigelow Carpet Company from New England to form Bigelow-Sanford. The Sanfords’ control of the carpet business diminished. John’s son Stephen—known as Laddie—was more interested in polo and other pursuits involving horses than in being a captain of industry.

In 1932, John Sanford conveyed the family home to the city for a dollar for use as the City Hall. Before 1932, Amsterdam city functions had been scattered among a serious of rented sites downtown. An additional $6,500 was spent to convert spaces in the Sanford mansion to public use.

The Common Council chamber of the second floor was John Sanford’s bedroom and its bath once contained a mahogany bathtub imported from England and supposedly the first shower in Amsterdam.

The Bigelow-Sanford carpet factories left Amsterdam in 1955.

City Hall today is on both national and state Registers of Historic Places.

Von Hasseln, who has regular office hours Friday at City Hall, is looking for more stories and pictures about the history of the building and grounds. His number is 841-4366.