Van Cortlandt House Museum

The Van Cortlandt House Museum, also known as the Frederick Van Cortlandt House or simply the Van Cortlandt House, is the oldest building in the borough of the Bronx in New York City.

Not to be confused with Van Cortlandt Manor or Van Cortlandt Upper Manor House.
Van Cortlandt House
NYC Landmark No. 0890
The mansion in 2008
LocationVan Cortlandt Park, Bronx, New York City
Coordinates40°53′24″N 73°53′47″W
Area192 acres (78 ha)
Built1748 (1748)
Architectural styleGeorgian
NRHP reference No.67000010
NYCL No.0890
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 24, 1967[1]
Designated NHLDecember 24, 1976[2]
Designated NYCLJuly 22, 1975 (interior)

History

The house was built in 1748 in the Georgian style by Africans enslaved by Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699–1749) for his family. Van Cortlandt died before its completion and the property was inherited by his son, James Van Cortlandt (1727–1787). It is a ​2 1⁄2-story, L-shaped house with a double hipped roof. It was built of dressed fieldstone and is one of the nation's finest examples of the high Georgian style in stone.[3]

The Van Cortlandts, a mercantile family prominent in New York affairs, established a grain plantation and grist mill on the property. The house was used during the Revolutionary War by the Comte de Rochambeau, Marquis de Lafayette, and George Washington. In 1889, the family sold the property to the City of New York as part of Van Cortlandt Park's creation. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1967 and became a National Historic Landmark in 1976.[2][4] The house has been operated as a historic house museum since 1897, the first in the city and fourth in the country.[5] It is located in the southwestern portion of Van Cortlandt Park, accessed via Broadway (United States Route 9).

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "Van Cortlandt House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. 2007-09-22. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06.
  3. Patricia Heintzelman (May 1975). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Frederick Van Cortlandt House". New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
  4. National Park Service, National Historic Landmark Survey, New York, retrieved June 3, 2007.
  5. "The Van Cortlandt House Museum". City of New York Parks Department. Retrieved 2009-01-19.

Media related to Frederick Van Cortlandt House Museum at Wikimedia Commons

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