The house of America's first Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, finished in 1802, was named after his family ancestral home in Scotland: the Grange. As fortune would have it, he lived in his dream country house for only two years since then-vice president Aaron Burr ended up challenging him to a duel in 1804 and fatally shot him. It was definitely a different time when our government officials went about challenging one another with fire arms.
Much has changed since then, especially in 2008 when the entire house was lifted and moved from its location on Convent Avenue to St. Nicholas Park. Why? Because the neighborhood had grown rapidly, the Grange ended up wedged between a church and another building. State officials decided it needed to be in a more open, sylvan setting as seen in the original print above. This Federal style clapboard house finally opened to the public in Fall 2012 and now houses a small museum inside. Take the B, C trains to 135th street to get to St. Nicholas Park and walk to 141st street. Archival photo courtesy NYPL
Thanks for this informative and timely post and a reminder Harlem was once home to a founding father.
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