NYC - Hamilton Grange National Monument

The Hamilton Grange National Memorial, located at 287 Convent Avenue, preserves the home of founding father Alexander Hamilton. Born and raised in the West Indies, Hamilton came to New York in 1772 at age 17 to study finance at King's College (now Columbia University).

Hamilton became a supporter of the cause of the American patriots during the political turmoil of the 1770s. Commissioned as a Captain of Artillery at the beginning of the American Revolution, he soon became an aide-de-camp to George Washington. After the war, as a member of Congress, Hamilton was instrumental in creating the new Constitution. As co-author of the Federalist Papers he was indispensable in the effort to get the Constitution adopted. As the first Secretary of the Treasury, from 1789-1795, he devised plans for funding the national debt, securing federal credit, encouraging expansion of manufacturing and organizing the federal bank.

Hamilton commissioned architect John McComb Jr. to design a 2-story Federal-style country frame house on a sprawling 32 acre estate in upper Manhattan. This house was completed in 1802 and named "The Grange" after the Hamilton family's ancestral home in Scotland. It was the only home Hamilton ever owned, but served as his residence for only two years. On July 11, 1804, Hamilton was fatally wounded in a duel with his political rival Aaron Burr. Hamilton's mother, Rachel Faucett Lavien, also lived here for a time and is buried at an estate named Grange on the island of St. Croix.

The house was moved from 237 West 141st Street, about four blocks east of its current location, in 1889. At that time, the original entrance, porches and other features were also removed. Thought was given to moving it again, in 1962, when Congress authorized it a national memorial. The thinking was that surrounded by adjacent buildings, it no longer gave the appearance of a free standing country house. Local opposition overwhelmingly rejected the idea. Starting in May
2006, the Grange was closed to the public to allow for extensive architectural and structural investigations. These are part of a long term plan to move the house to nearby St. Nicholas Park, which fits within the boundary of the land owned by Hamilton. The new location will allow for features lost in the 1889 move to be reconstructed.

National Register #66000097 (1966)