The Federal-style country house was a masterpiece by architect John McComb Jr., who also designed New York City Hall. Lying on Hamilton’s 32-acre estate, the Grange was named after Hamilton’s grandfather’s estate in Scotland. However, this beautiful home has faced countless ordeals since Hamilton was killed only two years after it was complete.
“His dining room faced New Jersey and the East River. It was a beautiful piece of land,” said Edward Mucci, a park ranger with the National Park Service (NPS). “Unfortunately in New York City we are always developing, we are always changing. … In 1889, they were putting the grid system [of streets] in, and this building didn’t quite fit that grid. So they were going to get rid of it."
“The man who owned the property wanted to make the maximum amount of money and run all the streets he could—only the house was in his way. So he was going to sell it for scrap. Instead of selling it for scrap, the church, which booked property at the end of the road but had no building said, ‘If you want to move the building to our property, you can do that.’”
The Grange was saved but it moved 350 feet southeast and was squeezed into a lot at 287 Convent Avenue of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church’s property. The house’s basement and two porches had to be removed; front and back entrances were shifted to the two sides of the house; and the staircase was removed and retrofitted to suit the new entrance.
A few families then purchased and lived in the house from time to time, including Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton, Hamilton’s wife, before it was designated a national historic landmark in 1960.
The house faced its second relocation in June 2008 to a block-and-half away on the north side of St. Nicholas Park on W. 141 Street, because the new location—remaining within the boundary of Hamilton’s original estate—is said to enable a full view of the house. NPS set aside $11 million to restore the features lost in the 1889 move, including rebuilding the original porches, main entrance, and staircase.
The only difference from the original house, aside from the change of location would be its orientation. The house has been rotated 180 degrees to allow the front door to face the street rather than the rest of the park.
The house is expected to open to the public by the end of 2010.
Mucci said that it is a pity that Hamilton’s house is getting polished 205 years after his death and not any time sooner.
“It’s a shame that he doesn’t really get any real recognition, because he was killed so young; and he never went on to become a president which he could of, even though he was an immigrant,” he said.
“Because one clause that they probably specifically put in there for Hamilton was that if you were in this country when the Constitution was signed, when the states became ratified, or when we declare independence, you are automatically grandfathered in as a United States citizen and could run for president.”
Hamilton was born and raised in British West Indies before arriving in New York at age 17 to study finance at King’s College—now Columbia University.
He became the founder of New York Post, Bank of New York, General George Washington’s chief of staff and trusted advisor, and later the first U.S. secretary of treasury. However, Federalist Hamilton was killed in a duel with his political rival Aaron Burr—U.S. vice-president at the time. Hamilton's likeness is currently printed on U.S. $10 notes.
“Hamilton could have been president had he not been killed by Aaron Burr; and he was only 45 or 47 years old depending on when we believe he was born,” said Mucci.
Hamilton Grange is among America’s 58 national parks and 333 national monuments. National Park Conservation Association, PBS, and the City of New York Parks and Recreation Department will present a week-long series of public music and film events featuring these national sites.
For more information on National Parks Week NYC, visit www.feelfree.org.