George Washington Slept Here
It's true! Washington made his headquarters here at the Mansion during the
fall of 1776. It was during this period that the General's troops forced a
British retreat at the Battle of Harlem Heights.
The house was built eleven years before the Revolution, in 1765, by British
Colonel Roger Morris and his American wife, Mary Philipse. The breezy hilltop
location proved an ideal location for the family's summer home. Known as Mount
Morris, this northern Manhattan estate stretched from the Harlem to the Hudson
Rivers and covered more than 130 acres. Loyal to the crown, the Morrises were
eventually forced to return to England as a result of the American victory.
During the war, the hilltop location of the Mansion was valued for more than
its cool summer breezes. With views of the Harlem River, the Bronx, and Long
Island Sound to the east, New York City and the harbor to the south, and the
Hudson River and Jersey Palisades to the west, Mount Morris proved to be a
strategic military headquarters.
President Washington returned to the Mansion on July 10, 1790, and dined
with members of his cabinet. Guests at the table included three future Presidents
of the United States: John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, and John Quincy Adams.
Alexander Hamilton and Henry Knox were in attendance as well.
A New Century
The departure of the British at the close of the revolution did not end the
upheaval in the life of the Mansion. Serving as an inn for New York City-bound
travelers, ownership of the house passed through many hands. Finally, in 1810,
the Mansion was restored to its original purpose as a country house by the
French emigrant Stephen Jumel and his wife Eliza.
Stephen and Eliza added new doorways and stained glass to the facade of the
Mansion. As regular visitors to France, they furnished much of the house in
the French Empire style. Many of those objects, including a bed said to have
belonged to the Emperor Napoleon, remain in the Mansion today.
Stephen Jumel died in 1832, and Eliza, then one of the wealthiest women in
New York, later married the former U.S. Vice President, Aaron Burr. Their
marriage lasted just two years. Eliza retained ownership of the Mansion until
her death in 1865. After a twenty-year court battle, which was finally settled
by the U.S Supreme Court, the property was divided and sold.
The Mansion itself survived the subdivision along with a small plot of land.
In 1894 it was purchased by General Ferdinand P. and Lillie Earle. In tune
with the deep patriotic sentiment of the late 19th century, the Earle's revered
Washington and the Mansion's history as his headquarters. They persuaded the
City of New York to purchase the house and remaining property in 1903 and
to preserve it as a monument to the nation's past.
In 1904 the Washington's Headquarters Association, formed by four chapters
of the Daughters of the American Revolution, took on the task of operating
the museum. Today, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, Inc., an independent not-for-profit
corporation assumes that responsibility.
Architecture
The Mansion is built in the Palladian style, with a second story balcony
and a two-story front portico supported by classical columns. The two-story
octagon at the rear of the house is believed to be the first of its kind anywhere
in the colonies.
The first floor of the 8,500 square foot house features rooms for family
and social gatherings, and includes the parlor in which Madame Eliza Jumel
married Aaron Burr in 1833. Across the hall stands the dining room where Washington
likely entertained his guests in 1790. At the far end of the hall, the octagonal
drawing room, or withdrawing room as it is properly known, provided a grand
setting for social gatherings. Bedrooms on the second floor include those
of George Washington, Eliza Jumel, and Aaron Burr. The basement houses the
colonial-era kitchen and tells the story of domestic servitude at the Mansion.
The room features the original hearth and a bee-hive oven as well as a collection
of early American cooking utensils.
Through architecture and a diverse collection of decorative arts objects,
each room of the Morris-Jumel Mansion reveals a specific aspect of its colorful
history from the 18th through the 19th centuries.
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