The Parks and Cemeteries 315 



Brosses Hunter (1 800-1 865) succeeded to the property and 

 erected the great mansion of brick and stone which is located 

 about the middle of the island and at its highest point. The 

 mansion was erected about 1850, and as the park authorities 

 have no money to care for it properly it has been allowed to 

 fall into a sad state of disrepair. « The rooms are of grand 

 size and proportions and the magnificent and costly fire-places 

 and mantels of beautifully carved, rare woods are particularly 

 noticeable. One can readily believe that Joseph Bonaparte 

 offered a large sum for this little island before making his home 

 at Bordentown, New Jersey. The house has been occupied 

 during the summer months by the children in care of the 

 " Little Mothers" Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church. 

 In 1888, when Pelham Bay Park was formed, the Hunter's 

 Island property belonged to Columbus Iselin. Opposite 

 the gateway, on the west side of the Shore Road, are the 

 property and mansion belonging formerly to Elizabeth De 

 Lancey, a daughter of Elias Hunter. The mansion is now 

 used as a road-house, and is known as the "Hunter's Island 

 Inn." 



We cross a bridge to a small island where there is an entrance 

 lodge, and then over a causeway to Hunter's Island itself. 

 Here a choice of roads presents itself. The middle road takes 

 us up to the Hunter mansion and the southern one leads along 

 the shore to the causeways connecting the two small islands 

 called the "Twins" with Hunter's Island. Upon the outer 

 Twin Island, there is a handsome house, which was built and 

 occupied by James D. Fish before his crooked dealings with 

 the firm of Grant & Ward brought him to ruin and the 

 penitentiary. It is now rented by the Park Department to 

 the Jacob Riis Settlement during the warm months. In the 



1 This is because all rents must be paid into the Sinking Fund. 



