1838 Jay Mansion

This building is the centerpiece of the Jay Estate, built in grand Greek Revival Style (the architecture of democracy). Completed in 1838, it resulted from a contract between Peter Augustus Jay and Stamford-based builder Edmund Bishop. The Bishop family was well-known for their canal building. It has four sturdy fluted columns with Attic composite capitals, a recessed doorway, symmetrical facade, visible Greek motifs, rosettes, palmettes, volutes, and Greek key patterned grilles covering the third floor windows of the house (where the servants lived). Sometime before 1858, Dr. John Clarkson Jay renamed the entire estate "Alansten". Today, you can participate in house tours (when the mansion is open), explore the first floor rooms, which house exhibits about American history, and see events -- concerts included -- on the veranda.

In the 1980s, this mansion was set to be demolished and the entire property developed. But in August 1990, the New York State Board of Education stepped in, chartering the Jay Heritage Center (JHC) to interpret, preserve, and protect the mansion and its grounds. In 1992, 21.5 acres of the Jay Estate were sold to Westchester Country, with two buildings and 1.5 acres given to JHC. The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993, and New York State purchased a 90% interest in the remaining 21.5 acres to become co-tenants with Westchester County.

Today, the work of our non-profit, the Jay Heritage Center is guided by a public-private partnership with New York State and Westchester County Parks forged in 2013.

However, this wasn't the first building to stand here: it was built on the site of The Locusts, John Jay's childhood home. Click here to learn more!