Morris–Jumel Mansion, the Oldest House in Manhattan
The Morris–Jumel Mansion stands in Roger Morris Park, at 65 Jumel Terrace in Washington Heights, in Upper Manhattan. Built in 1765, it is the oldest extant house in Manhattan, and it links the Revolutionary War with the colorful life of Eliza Jumel. It is a quiet hidden gem far from the Midtown crowds, with a historic lane right behind it.
Built in 1765 on a hill that was open country, this is the oldest surviving house in Manhattan. George Washington ran his army from it, and years later Aaron Burr married its owner in the front parlor.
The history of the Morris–Jumel Mansion, from Mount Morris to museum
The hill belonged to the town of Harlem in the 17th century, and in 1765 the retired British officer Roger Morris bought the land. He built the house for himself and his wife, Mary Philipse Morris, as a summer retreat for a gentleman fond of rural life, and called it Mount Morris. It was finished by 1770, on one of the highest natural points in Manhattan, with views over the rivers and the countryside. The Morrises were Loyalists, and the family left the house by mid-1776 as war began.
In September 1776 General George Washington made the mansion his headquarters for about a month, planning the Battle of Harlem Heights while some 8,000 troops camped nearby. He is said to have watched the Great Fire of 1776 from the second-floor balcony. After the Continental Army retreated, British and Hessian officers occupied the house until 1783. The Morrises’ estate was confiscated, and in the 1780s the house served for about two years as a tavern called Calumet Hall, the first tavern travelers met on the Albany Post Road.
In 1810 the French wine merchant Stephen Jumel bought the house. He and his wife, Eliza Bowen Jumel, who had risen from poor beginnings and longed to join New York society, remodeled it with a Federal-style entrance and Empire-style interiors. After Stephen died in 1832, Eliza married the former vice president Aaron Burr in the parlor in July 1833. The marriage was short, and she filed for divorce the next year. Eliza lived on in the house, became eccentric in her later years, and died there in 1865. Lawsuits over her estate went on until 1881, and the Chase family stayed in the house until 1887.
After two more sales, the Earle family owned it from 1894 to 1903 and renamed it Earle Cliff. The city bought the mansion in 1903, opened Roger Morris Park that December, and the Washington Headquarters Association, formed by the Daughters of the American Revolution, ran the museum, which opened on May 29, 1907. Restorations followed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1990s. The house became a National Historic Landmark in 1961, and the exterior and the first and second-floor interiors are New York City landmarks. In 2013 an intern found a draft of the 1775 Olive Branch Petition in the attic. A large renovation of the house began in 2026.
Little-known facts about the Morris–Jumel Mansion
- Besides being the oldest extant house in Manhattan, it is Manhattan’s oldest building still technically in residential use, because a caretaker’s apartment is in the basement.
- Aaron Burr married Eliza Jumel in the front parlor on July 3, 1833. She filed for divorce in 1834, and it was granted in 1836, shortly before his death.
- One window has a scratch made when one of Eliza Jumel’s grandchildren drew a diamond across the glass to test whether the stone was real.
- Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote parts of the musical “Hamilton” at the mansion in 2015, and the house became more popular after the show opened.
- The octagonal rear annex, which Washington is said to have used for his office, may be the first of its kind in the United States.
- The mansion has long been rumored to be haunted, with up to five ghosts including Burr and Eliza Jumel. It has been investigated on television programs, and the museum itself offers ghost tours, which should be read as legend.
The Morris–Jumel Mansion on screen
The mansion has appeared in television, according to Wikipedia.
- Broad City (2019) – The television show filmed a scene at the mansion in 2019.
Tours near Morris–Jumel Mansion
Experiences in the area that you can book online with Viator:
Visiting the Morris–Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights
- The house is owned by the city’s Parks Department and run as a museum by a nonprofit. A major renovation began in 2026 and has forced events elsewhere, so check whether the house is open, which rooms can be visited and any access rules before you go.
- Museum rooms show period furnishings and reproduction wallpapers. Highlights include the restored dining room, Washington’s office in the octagonal annex and Eliza Jumel’s bedchamber with a bed said to have belonged to Napoleon.
- Roger Morris Park, around the house, is the only remnant of Morris’s 130-acre estate and has a sunken octagonal garden from the 1930s.
- Sylvan Terrace, west of the mansion, was originally its carriage driveway and still has some of Manhattan’s last wood-frame row houses on the surrounding blocks.
- The 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue subway station is near the mansion. Check current transit options and the entrance before you go.
Opening hours, access and conditions can change. Check before you go.
Map: where Morris–Jumel Mansion is
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Where to stay near Morris–Jumel Mansion
Hotels close by, with ratings and current availability.
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Questions
What is the Morris–Jumel Mansion?
It is an 18th-century house museum in Washington Heights, Upper Manhattan. Built in 1765 by Roger Morris, it is the oldest extant house in Manhattan.
Did George Washington stay at the Morris–Jumel Mansion?
Yes. He used it as his headquarters for about a month in September and October 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, while planning the Battle of Harlem Heights.
Who was Eliza Jumel?
She was a socialite who lived in the house with her husband, Stephen Jumel, from 1810. After his death she married Aaron Burr there in 1833 and lived in the house until her death in 1865.
Can you visit the Morris–Jumel Mansion today?
It operates as a museum, but a major renovation began in 2026. Check whether the house is open and which areas can be visited before you go.
Where is the Morris–Jumel Mansion?
It is at 65 Jumel Terrace in Roger Morris Park, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan. The 163rd Street–Amsterdam Avenue subway station is nearby.
Is the Morris–Jumel Mansion haunted?
Stories say so, and the mansion is rumored to have up to five ghosts. This is legend, not fact, though the museum offers ghost tours.
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