THE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY OF NEW YORK 



and below this in the Rhinebeck Precinct (now Dutchess County) 

 the Beekmans maintained large holdings. 



The next estate to the south of importance was the Van Cort- 

 landt Estate in upper Westchester County, the old Manor house 

 still existing in the town of Croton. Philipse Manor in southern 

 Westchester County was another large grant though it passed 

 from the Philipse family at an early date, on account of the Tory 

 tendencies of members of the family at the time of the Revolution. 

 These were the largest and most prominent manorial estates of 

 old New York, and their manor houses and the mode of living of 

 their owners was relatively imposing. There is left little trace of 

 them at the present day. There is an old Van Rensselaer Manor 

 House (of late years called "Forbes Manor" and now occupied 

 by a Catholic school) opposite the City of Albany. Several of 

 the Livingston homes are still in existence and quite well kept up. 

 Rhinebeck became the favored spot for many private country 

 places, and Philipse Manor House has been preserved by the City 

 of Yonkers as a Town Hall. There are still many fine old es- 

 tates along the Hudson River and they possess a character all of 

 their own, and seem to differ greatly from those of the present 

 day. 



There are at least two purposes, besides that of casual interest 

 or furnishing scattered glimpses of our "Little Old New York," 

 and these are, first, to call to attention the fact that the taste and 

 sense of our forefather's are worth studying and that "nouveau art" 

 may not always be of the best or most enduring character ; and 

 second, to call to attention also the fact that our old places are 

 passing very rapidly and that there has been little effort to pre- 

 serve them. Only a scattering few remain in Manhattan, where a 

 generation ago there were at least dozens. Then there are 

 others whose preservation is but imperfectly accomplished such as 

 the Jumel mansion and the Van Cortlandt Mansion at Kings- 

 bridge. 



The preservation of old traditions, of old customs, of old man- 

 sions and their surroundings is closely connected with the preser- 

 vation of true patriotism, which every country needs. 



The lecturer illustrated his remarks by stereopticon slides. 



48s 



