Hamilton Grange National Memorial

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Hamilton Grange National Memorial This was the country home of US Founding Father Alexander Hamilton.
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in 1780, British Army Officer Major John Andre was executed for espionage. Andre was Benedict Arnold’s contact in his ...
10/02/2026

in 1780, British Army Officer Major John Andre was executed for espionage. Andre was Benedict Arnold’s contact in his treason during the American Revolution. Andre negotiated Arnold’s attempted surrender of West Point, but was later caught behind American lines. Andre had requested to be shot, which he considered a more dignified death than hanging. Alexander Hamilton asked George Washington to consider this request, but Washington refused. Andre’s death would be by hanging.

Alexander Hamilton became friendly with Andre during his brief imprisonment. According to Hamilton, Andre possessed “a peculiar elegance of mind and manners, and the advantage of a pleasing person." After the ex*****on, Hamilton wrote to John Laurens that he believed Andre’s ex*****on to be hypocritical, explaining that “The authorized maxims and practices of war are the satire of human nature. They countenance almost every species of seduction as well as violence; and the General that can make the most traitors in the army of his adversary is frequently most applauded.”

Image: A portrait of John Andre by George Engleheart, Yale Center for British Art

09/26/2026

PARK CLOSURE — SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26**

Due to sustained high winds forecasted from the approaching Nor’easter, Hamilton Grange National Memorial will be closed on Saturday, September 26.**

We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause during your visit. The safety of our visitors and staff remains our highest priority.

Please check back for updates regarding reopening and future operating hours.

Happy Birthday to Alexander Hamilton’s daughter, Angelica Hamilton, born in 1784. Named for her maternal aunt Angelica...
09/25/2026

Happy Birthday to Alexander Hamilton’s daughter, Angelica Hamilton, born in 1784. Named for her maternal aunt Angelica Schuyler Church, Angelica Hamilton was described as “clever and talented”. She was a gifted musician; her pianoforte, a gift from her aunt Angelica, was her most prized possession. Her father enjoyed singing, and, according to grandson Allan McLane Hamilton, "Angelica often accompanied him upon the piano or harp, and appears to have been given all the advantages of a musical education." Their close relationship is apparent in this affectionate letter from her father, written in 1793:

"I was very glad to learn, my dear daughter, that you were going to begin the study of the French language. We hope you will in every respect behave in such a manner as will secure to you the good-will and regard of all those with whom you are. If you happen to displease any of them, be always ready to make a frank apology. But the best way is to act with so much politeness, good manners, and circumspection, as never to have occasion to make any apology. Your mother joins in best love to you. Adieu, my very dear daughter."

Angelica began struggling with her mental health when her brother Philip was killed in a duel in 1801, although some evidence suggests it may have been part of a lifelong condition. She lived with her mother Eliza Hamilton for many years after her father’s death and was later institutionalized. Angelica’s pianoforte remained with her until her death in 1857. It was a source of contentment in her final years:

"Her music, that her father used to oversee and encourage, stayed by her all these years. To the end she played the same old-fashioned songs and minuets upon the venerable piano that had been bought for her, many years before, in London, by Angelica Church, during her girlhood.”- Allan McLane Hamilton

In her will, Eliza Hamilton asked her children to be “kind, affectionate, and attentive to my unfortunate daughter Angelica.” Today, you can see Angelica Hamilton’s beloved pianoforte on display in the Grange’s parlor.

(NPS) Image: A photograph of Angelica Hamilton’s pianoforte, on display in the parlor at the Hamilton Grange.

Circumstances were dire that September. The Continentals were hanging on by a thread after losing the Battle of Brooklyn...
09/16/2026

Circumstances were dire that September. The Continentals were hanging on by a thread after losing the Battle of Brooklyn and fleeing across the East River to Manhattan. On September 15th, the British routed the Continentals at Kips Bay. George Washington, unable to rally his fleeing troops, reportedly threw down his hat and shouted, “Are these the men with which I am to defend America?” The Continentals retreated to a line of fortifications stretched out along Northen Manhattan.

The following morning, September 16th, fighting erupted between the Continental and British lines. The British retreated and then returned with reinforcements. After several hours of exchanging fire, the British retreated a second time. It was a small engagement, but the victory at Harlem Heights boosted morale for the Continental Army. The location of the battle today is near the General Grant National Memorial.

Holding the line that day was the artillery company captained by Alexander Hamilton. Hamilton’s son John Church Hamilton later described what followed. Washington “entered into conversation with (Hamilton), invited him to his tent, and received an impression of his military talent.” A short time later, Washington promoted Hamilton to lieutenant colonel and made him an aide-de-camp. This was the start of a lifelong friendship and working relationship. Hamilton went on to become Washington’s most trusted advisor. Years later he served as Washington's Secretary of the Treasury.

(Image credit: National Heritage Museum) Image: A painting of George Washington and Alexander Hamilton’s first meeting at Harlem Heights.

One of the greatest perils of city life during Alexander Hamilton’s time was disease. In the late summer of 1793, during...
09/05/2026

One of the greatest perils of city life during Alexander Hamilton’s time was disease. In the late summer of 1793, during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury, Philadelphia, then capital of the United States, was struck by an epidemic of yellow fever.

Victims were afflicted with a strong fever and chills, intense cramps, and black vomit from internal bleeding. Liver damage caused victims’ skin to turn yellow, giving the disease its name. The disease’s spread was a mystery. Both person-to-person transmission and bad air were suspected as possible causes. The real means of transmission, mosquitoes, was only discovered 1900. Physician Benjamin Rush attempted to combat the epidemic as best he could. Unfortunately, Rush's preferred treatments—bleeding, purging, and mercury—were terribly ineffective. They also made patients worse.

Then the illness came for Alexander Hamilton.

On September 5, Hamilton contracted yellow fever, followed by his wife Eliza several days later. The children were taken to their grandparents’ house in Albany to keep them safe from the illness. Hamilton was attended by his childhood friend, Dr. Edward Stephens. Stephens favored gentler treatment, including doses of quinine, cold baths, and spirits. Alexander and Eliza recovered within a week. A grateful Hamilton wrote an open letter praising Dr. Stephen’s methods. Rush, a friend and supporter of Thomas Jefferson, suspected a political motivation behind Hamilton’s letter. A division arose over the proper treatment methods for yellow fever. Federalists favored Edward’s approach, and Republicans supported Rush’s.

As this controversy played out, people fled the city in droves to avoid the disease. George Washington, his cabinet, and Congress all relocated temporarily to Trenton, NJ. By the time the epidemic was over in November, nearly 5000 people had died.

(Image: emergingrevolutionarywar.org)

Beginning next Wednesday, September 9, Hamilton Grange National Memorial will be moving to fall hours. Our visitor cente...
09/02/2026

Beginning next Wednesday, September 9, Hamilton Grange National Memorial will be moving to fall hours. Our visitor center will be open Wednesday through Sunday, from 10-4. Tours of the historic floor of the house will be at 11:30, 1:30, and 3:30 Wednesday-Friday, and 10:30, 11:30, 1:30, 2:30, and 3:30 Saturdays and Sunday.

Join Hamilton Grange in wishing the “best of wives and best of women”, Eliza Hamilton, a Happy Birthday! The wife of Ale...
08/09/2026

Join Hamilton Grange in wishing the “best of wives and best of women”, Eliza Hamilton, a Happy Birthday! The wife of Alexander Hamilton was born into the wealthy and powerful New York Schuyler family on August 9, 1757, in Albany, New York. Her father, Philip Schuyler served as a general in the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

In the winter of 1779-1780 the Continental Army set up a winter camp at Morristown, NJ. Alexander and Eliza met at the nearby house of her aunt and uncle, John and Gertrude Cochrane. They were engaged within a month and married at the Schuyler family home in Albany on December 14, 1780. The couple had eight children together during their 24 years of marriage. She helped Hamilton write some of his most important works, including George Washington’s Farewell Address.

After her husband’s death, Eliza worked to cement her husband’s legacy and also carved a significant one of her own. One of her proudest accomplishments was helping establish the Orphan Asylum Society. She served in a variety of roles in the society until 1848 and oversaw the care of over 700 children. The organization still exists today and is now known as Graham Windham.

Eliza outlived her husband by 49 years, longer than his entire life. She passed in 1854 at the age of 97.

Image: Beseler Lantern Slide Co Inc, Undated NPS Photo

"It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct an...
07/26/2026

"It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force”-Alexander Hamilton Federalist Paper Number 1

After the delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in September 1787, they still had a great deal of work ahead. They needed to get nine states to vote in state conventions to ratify the Constitution. New York became the eleventh state to ratify the Constitution , July 26, 1788. New York’s ratification of the Constitution was not a guarantee, however, and Hamilton played a critical role in convincing delegates.

New York had many Anti-Federalists, including the Governor George Clinton, who opposed the Constitution and wanted delegates to vote against its ratification. To combat this, Hamilton joined forces with fellow New Yorker John Jay and Virginian James Madison for “a series of essays anonymously published defending the document to the public.” The project became known as the Federalist Papers. Virginia and New York both began their ratifying conventions in June 1788, and Madison and Hamilton kept each other closely informed. On July 26, the New York delegates voted to ratify the Constitution by a vote of 30-27 with the stipulation that a Bill of Rights be added.

(Image: Library of Congress)

Address

414 W 141st Street
New York, NY
10031

Opening Hours

Wednesday 10am - 4pm
Thursday 10am - 4pm
Friday 10am - 4pm
Saturday 10am - 4pm
Sunday 10am - 4pm

Telephone

+16465482310

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