Homes of American Statesmen; With Anecdotical, Personal, and Descriptive SketchesVarious
History
Homes of American Statesmen; With Anecdotical, Personal, and Descriptive Sketches
Various
Historic buildings -- United States; Statesmen -- United States; United States -- Biography
The spot which Hamilton selected for his "Home," and to which he gave
the name of "Grange," from that of the residence of his grandfather in
Ayrshire, Scotland, was chosen with taste and judgment, both on account
of its natural beauty, and the interesting and inspiring recollections
which its vicinity suggested. It was, at that time, completely in the
country, without an object to remind one of the neighborhood of the
town; and even now the population of the city, so prodigiously expanded,
has not much encroached upon its original limits. It is situated upon
the old King's Bridge road, about eight miles from the heart of the
city, and something less than a mile above the ancient village of
Manhattan, and is about midway between the Hudson River on the one side
and the Harlem on the other. The west side, which lies on the King's
Bridge road, is adorned by a fine growth of large shade trees. From
these it extends with gentle undulations to a declivity, at the base of
which lie the Harlem commons. The grounds are simply but tastefully laid
out, chiefly with a view to take advantage of and display the natural
features of the place. The house is situated nearly in the centre of the
grounds, and is reached by a gently-winding carriage-way. The stable is
placed in the rear of the house and at a distance from it, and is
concealed by a thick growth of trees. A gravelled walk winds among the
shade trees along the road, and thence across the grounds and along the
other side. The space in front and on the left of the house is laid out
in a fine lawn, in which the uneven surface of the ground is preserved,
dotted here and there with fine trees, the natural growth of the spot.
Near the house and on the left are thirteen flourishing gum trees, said
to have been left by Hamilton himself when clearing the spot, as an
emblem of the thirteen original States.
[Illustration: Residence of Alexander Hamilton, near
Manhattanville, N.Y.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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