THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



a personal friend of Washington, having fought with him in the 

 French and Indian War. This estate was ample in extent and 

 had extensive gardens. Morris occupied the mansion until 1775, 

 when he was obliged to vacate it on account of his status as Loyal- 

 ist. After the Revolution the house passed thi"ough various hands, 

 and in 18 10 was purchased by Stephen Jumel, a prosperous French 

 merchant doing business in New York, the property then includ- 

 ing 36 acres of land. Jumel restored the house to its original con- 

 dition, including the Colonial gates and gatehouses. He died in 

 1832 and in 1833 his widow married Aaron Burr. This is the only 

 Colonial mansion of consequence on Manhattan Island that still 

 exists. It is of superior architectural design and is now owned by 

 the City of New York and maintained as a park and museum. It 

 is a pity, however, that no competent attention has been given to 

 restoring the grounds to a semblance of their original landscape 

 characteristics. 



The early half of the 19th Century witnessed the development of 

 many new country seats along the East and North rivers. As 

 the city grew, the countryside became more remote and the north- 

 ern end of Manhattan became more popular for country residence. 

 Along the old Bloomingdale Road on the west side of New York, 

 were very many substantial and beautiful country estates, among 

 which the most prominent were the Stryker Estate, "Rosedale," 

 near the foot of West 53rd Street, the McVicker Estate at West 

 84th Street, the Nicholas Jones Estate, "Woodlawn," at West 

 io6th Street, and the Meier Estate, "Willow-Bank," at West ii8th 

 Street, in all cases the dwellings being near the shore of the Hud- 

 son. 



The McVicker Estate was said to be in its day one of the finest 

 country places in America, covering an area of sixty acres and 

 being approached by a winding drive over one half mile in length. 

 In 1832, "Woodlawn" was described by a European visitor as be- 

 ing "perhaps the loveliest of them all, where within a space of six- 

 teen acres, every variety of garden scenery may be found." "Wil- 

 low-Bank" was described as having been laid out in a formal style, 

 according to the taste of the times and abounding in fruit trees and 

 gardens. The other estates of the period along the North River 

 were as follows: the Ward Estate at 59th Street and loth Avenue, 



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