Katonah, NY
The marker shows the location of the Main House.
John Jay Homestead State Historic Site
P.O. Box 832
Katonah, NY 10536
(914) 232-5651
It seems that some people are just plain indispensable. John Jay’s many public roles included delegate to the First Continental Congress, President of the Continental Congress from 1778 to 1779, principal negotiator of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War, Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the United States, first Chief Justice of the New York Supreme Court, first Chief Justice of the United States and second Governor of New York State.
John Jay Homestead State Historic Site is one of only a few historic farms in the country once owned by a Founding Father and open to the public. After his retirement from public life in 1801, Jay moved to a comfortable, 24-room farmhouse built for that purpose on property he had acquired from a family estate. John Jay lived on the homestead as a gentleman farmer until his death in 1829. The house and farm were the residence and enterprise of the following generations, up to and including Colonel William Jay (1841-1915). The Colonels’ daughter, Eleanor Jay Iselin (1882-1953) was the last of the family to use the property as a full time residence.
Jay’s descendants continued to live in the Main House until the 1950s, when the house and a portion of the original acreage were purchased by Westchester County and later transferred to New York State. The historic house’s interiors have been restored to an 1820s appearance, and guided tours are given through twelve beautifully furnished period rooms. You can learn about farm life in the 19th century by visiting the Main Barn, which contains and explains farming implements from that period. A series of interpretive signs guides you through the homestead’s 62-acre grounds, which include historic outbuildings, four formal gardens, open fields, a pond and wooded trails.
Wow, all the years I lived in Westchester and never saw this home. Wish I had as I have a thing for old houses, especially those with historical reference. Great shots!
Great pictures! I’d love to do a tour of some of the Founding Father’s homes. Of course, I’d love to visit Mount Vernon, Monticello, and even Peacefield, the home of John Adams. Great places in American history. Have you visited those also?
Beautiful property, would love to tour it. It looks so peaceful there. I didn’t think of Forest; until I read above comments but would agree it does have the same look and feel. Sorry they wouldn’t permit pictures of the inside. I’ve toured many historic homes in many locations and have never run into that restriction. Bummer.
Congrats too on your award.
Always enjoyable reading your posts.
Sandy
Has anyone else been reminded of Forrest Gump?
I had the same “Forrest Gump” flash that Kaori did with that photo of the long dirt lane. What a lovely property. Families really strived to keep it all self-contained back then…
I remembered John Jay’s Supreme Court significance but hadn’t realized he was also a NY governor. Great post. Thanks!
This is a really great blog whoa.. Please come to Chicago! You’ll love Oak Park if you’re into architecture and stuff x
The farm road kind of reminds me of the scene where Forest Gump gets chased by bullies and Jenny goes, “run Forest run!!!”
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Interesting as usual. The formal gardens are gorgeous.