The Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Sylvan Terrace and the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights, Manhattan.

Click on any image to get the full sized view.

One of the most interesting spots anywhere in Manhattan is in Washington Heights: The little historic district around the Morris-Jumel Mansion at about 160th street, west of Saint Nicholas Ave. On our Saturday walk, we took a quick detour through this neighborhood to visit the Jumel Mansion.

To get to the mansion, we first climbed the stairs to Sylvan Terrance, a one block long cobblestone street lined with wooden row-houses built in the 1880s. Today, the row-houses have been restored to their original appearance, and the street looks more like it should be in New Orleans, instead of in the middle of New York City!

A view down Sylvan Terrace.
The Jumel Mansion is visible at the
end of the street. A picture of the row houses lining
the south side of Sylvan Terrace.

The mansion itself lies atop the hill at the end of Sylvan Terrace. The streets of Jumel Terrace surround the house, and are lined with graceful old brownstone houses. It feels more like one of the quiet streets in Brooklyn Heights than Upper Manhattan.

The Brownstones surrounding the Jumel Mansion.

The Jumel Mansion itself is a white wooden house built before the American Revolution. It is the second-oldest extant building on Manhattan Island. The "Guide to New York City" says:

The JUMEL MANSION -- in Roger Morris Park -- one of the most interesting Georgian Colonial houses in New York City, was built by Roger Morris, a Royalist sympathizer, about 1765, and occupied by him until 1775, when he left for England. His wife's name, before her marriage was linked romantically with that of Washington. The estate stretched from river to river with "Fishing, Oystering and Claming at either end." The house was used as headquarters successively by General Washington (September 14 -- October 18, 1776) and Colonel Magaw, and after the defeat of the American forces, by the British command. After 1783 the house passed through various hands, becoming a tavern in 1796. Stephen Jumel, a wealthy French merchant, purchased the property in 1810 and restored it. In 1832 Stephen Jumel died and in the following year Aaron Burr, then almost eighty, came to live in the mansion as the husband of Madame Jumel. The marriage lasted but a year; Burr died in 1836, Madame Jumel in 1865. The city acquired the property in 1903, and in 1907 the house was opened as a museum under the auspices of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Washington Headquarters Association.

The Jumel Mansion seen from the southeast.
If you look carefully, the houses on
Sylvan Terrace are visible in the
lower left of the photo. The Jumel Mansion seen from the southwest.

The Mansion remains a museum today. I don't know what the museum hours are; I have never managed to get there at opening time. On this Saturday, we arrived just at closing time: 4pm. However, the curator was very nice, and was happy to keep the house open for another fifteen minutes while we took a quick look around. The rooms are furnished in period furniture.

A room in the Jumel Mansion
furnished in the period style. Another period room
in the Jumel Mansion.

Return to the welcome page.

Please send your questions, comments, or reactions about this web page to Stuart Brorson.

The Northern Manhattan/ The Heights webring!


A view down Sylvan Terrace. The Jumel Mansion is visible at the end of the street.	A picture of the row houses lining the south side of Sylvan Terrace.


The Jumel Mansion seen from the southeast. If you look carefully, the houses on Sylvan Terrace are visible in the lower left of the photo.	The Jumel Mansion seen from the southwest.


A room in the Jumel Mansion furnished in the period style.	Another period room in the Jumel Mansion.