Van Cortlandt House by George W. Harvey (American, 1855-1930)
History of the Van Cortlandts
The Van Cortlandt House Museum, also known as Frederick Van Cortlandt House or Van Cortlandt House, is the oldest surviving building in New York City's borough of The Bronx. The Georgian style house, begun in 1748, was built of fieldstone by Frederick Van Cortlandt (1699 – 1749) on the plantation that had been owned and farmed by his family since 1691. Frederick intended the house to be a home for him and his wife Francis Jay and daughters Anna Maria, 14 and Eve, 13. His sons James, 22, Augustus 21, and Frederick, 19 were not intended to be permanent residents of the house. Sadly, Frederick died before his new house was completed. In his will written in 1759, Frederick left the house to his son, James Van Cortlandt (1727 – 1781) and a life-time tenancy to his widow, Frances Jay Van Cortlandt (1701-1780).
The Van Cortlandts were a mercantile family prominent in New York affairs. Frederick's father Jacobus established a thriving wheat growing and processing business on the plantation including a grist mill for processing the wheat into flour and a fleet of shallow draft boats to carry the flour from the south end of his lake down Tibbet's Brook and out to the Harlem and Hudson Rivers to market. During the Revolutionary War, the house was used by Rochambeau, Lafayette, and Washington.
The Van Cortlandts were a mercantile family prominent in New York affairs. Frederick's father Jacobus established a thriving wheat growing and processing business on the plantation including a grist mill for processing the wheat into flour and a fleet of shallow draft boats to carry the flour from the south end of his lake down Tibbet's Brook and out to the Harlem and Hudson Rivers to market. During the Revolutionary War, the house was used by Rochambeau, Lafayette, and Washington.
Mrs. Frances Jay Van Cortlandt (1701-1780) mother of James, Frederick and Augustus Van Cortlandt after John Wesley Jarvis (1781-1839)
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Augustus Van Cortlandt (1728-1823)
by John Wesley Jarvis (1781 - 1839)
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Van Cortlandt House as a Museum
In 1887, after 140 years of occupancy by the Van Cortlandt family and the community of plantation workers, the property was sold to the City of New York and made a public parkland. Before the house became a museum, it saw a variety of uses including as a temporary police precinct house and as a dormitory for ranch hands responsible for taking care of a herd of buffalo.
By 1895, The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York expressed their interest in restoring the house as a museum open to the public. There was only one obstacle keeping the Colonial Dames from this important project; there was no provision in the New York State law allowing the stewardship of a publicly owned building by a private organization. Undaunted, the first Society President, Mrs. Townsend, took the Society's cause to Albany where, on May 22, 1896 in the 199th session of the New York State Legislature, Chapter 837 was approved by the governor and passed by a 3/5's majority to become law.
By 1895, The National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York expressed their interest in restoring the house as a museum open to the public. There was only one obstacle keeping the Colonial Dames from this important project; there was no provision in the New York State law allowing the stewardship of a publicly owned building by a private organization. Undaunted, the first Society President, Mrs. Townsend, took the Society's cause to Albany where, on May 22, 1896 in the 199th session of the New York State Legislature, Chapter 837 was approved by the governor and passed by a 3/5's majority to become law.
Chapter 837
AN ACT authorizing the board of park commissioners of the city of New York to transfer the custody of the Van Cortlandt mansion in Van Cortlandt Park to the Society of Colonial Dames of the State of New York for the establishment of a museum for historical relics accepted by the city became a law May 22 1896.
The law enacted as follows:
Section 1. The board of park commissioners of the city of New Transfer of custody of York are hereby authorized and empowered in its discretion to transfer the custody of the old Van Cortlandt mansion in Van Cortlandt park to the Society of Colonial Dames of the State of New York for such period of years and on such terms and conditions as the said board may deem advisable for the establishment in said mansion of a public museum for the collection preservation and exhibition of historical relics.
Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
After nearly a year of repairs and restoration, Van Cortlandt House Museum was opened to great fanfare on May 25th of 1897. The original license agreement granted custody of the house to the National Society of Colonial Dames in the State of New York for a period of 25 years at a "peppercorn rent" of $1.00 per year. Although the Society no longer pays the city rent, they remain, to this day as dedicated to Van Cortlandt House as they were in 1896.
In 1967, Van Cortlandt House was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The House was declared a New York City Landmark on March 15, 1966, recognizing the historic and architectural importance of both the exterior and interior.
In 1967, Van Cortlandt House was added to the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The House was declared a New York City Landmark on March 15, 1966, recognizing the historic and architectural importance of both the exterior and interior.