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 A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. It is located in the southwestern portion of

Van Cortlandt Park Van Cortlandt Park is a park located in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. Owned by the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, it is managed with assistance from the Van Cortlandt Park Alliance. The park, the city's third-lar ...

, accessed via

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

( U.S. Route 9).

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 (1727–1781). Following his death, it was inherited by his younger brother, Augustus Van Cortlandt, the City Clerk of New York. It is a -story, L-shaped house with a double hipped roof. It was built of dressed

fieldstone Fieldstone is a naturally occurring type of stone, which lies at or near the surface of the Earth. Fieldstone is a nuisance for farmers seeking to expand their land under cultivation, but at some point it began to be used as a construction mate ...

and is one of the nation's finest examples of the high Georgian style in stone. The Van Cortlandts, a mercantile family prominent in New York affairs, established a grain plantation and

grist mill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and middlings. The term can refer to either the grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that has been separat ...

on the property. The house was used during the Revolutionary War by the

Comte de Rochambeau Marshal Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, 1 July 1725 – 10 May 1807, was a French nobleman and general whose army played the decisive role in helping the United States defeat the British army at Yorktown in 1781 during the ...

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revolutio ...

, and

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

Ownership

Upon its initial construction, the house passed through successive family ownership from 1748 to 1888 by: *1748–1749: Frederick Van Cortlandt *1749–1781: James Van Cortlandt *1781–1823: Augustus Van Cortlandt *1823–1839: Augustus White Van Cortlandt *1839–1839: Henry White Van Cortlandt *1839–1884: Augustus Bibby Van Cortlandt

Historic house museum

In 1889, the family sold the property to the

City of New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

as part of

's creation. The house has been operated as a

historic house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...

since 1897, the first in the city and fourth in the country. It was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1967 and became a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

in 1976.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

National Historic Landmark Survey, New York
retrieved June 3, 2007.

Gallery

;Historic American Buildings Survey, 1937 Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, August 19, 1936, GENERAL VIEW FROM SOUTHWEST. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-1.tif, General view from Southwest Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, VIEW FROM SOUTHWEST. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-2.tif, View from Southwest File:Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, VIEW FROM THE WEST. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street, HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-3.tif, View from the West Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, ENTRANCE DETAIL. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street, HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-4.tif, Entrance detail Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, DINING ROOM FIRE PLACE. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-7.tif, Dining room fireplace Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, FIREPLACE. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street, Bronx, HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-6.tif, Fireplace Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, KITCHEN. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street, Bronx, HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-8.tif, Kitchen Historic American Buildings Survey, Arnold Moses, Photographer, March 29, 1937, PARLOR FIREPLACE. - Frederick Van Cortlandt Mansion, Broadway and Two-hundred-forty-second Street, HABS NY,3-BRONX,5-5.tif, Parlor fireplace ;Present day File:Cupboard Inside Van Cortlandt House Museum.jpg, Dining room fireplace and built-in cupboard File:Kitchen table inside the Van Cortlandt House Museum.jpg, Dining room File:Inside Van Cortlandt House Museum.jpg, Delft tile surrounding fireplace File:Piano inside the Van Cortlandt House Museum.jpg, Piano in the museum

References

External links

* *
Van Cortlandt Park, New York City Department of Parks & Recreation

{{Authority control Biographical museums in New York City Georgian architecture in New York (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in New York City Historic house museums in New York City Houses completed in 1748 Houses in the Bronx Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in the Bronx Museums in the Bronx National Historic Landmarks in New York City National Society of the Colonial Dames of America New York City Designated Landmarks in the Bronx New York City interior landmarks Riverdale, Bronx U.S. Route 9 Van Cortlandt family