6. Wilbur House, Prospect Lefferts Gardens

George Bradford Brainerd photograph collection, Brooklyn Museum/Brooklyn Public Library, Center for Brooklyn History

In The Social History of Flatbush and Manners and Customs of the Dutch Settlers in Kings County by Gertrude Lefferts Vanderbilt, the author described the Wilbur mansion, completed in 1878, as “highly ornamental.” It stood on what was once the Martense farm, one of the largest Dutch farms in the area. Judge Martense built the ornate frame home for his granddaughter, the wife of Lionel Wilbur.

The home at 684 Flatbush Avenue stood next to a stately mansion that Judge Martense built for himself. The house was demolished in the early 1920s as the area became more developed. The Judge’s neighboring house, which can be seen in the photograph above, was also demolished.