Philipse Manor

Philipse Manor, colonial estate of Frederick Philipse, confirmed by a royal charter (1693), extending from the present North Tarrytown, N.Y., to the present Bronx, with the Hudson River on the west and the Bronx River on the east. Its area was 90,000 acres (36,400 hectares). At Yonkers, Philipse built a mill and a manor hall (c.1682), the permanent family seat. The estate passed into British and then American hands in the Revolution, and its administration as a single unit was never restored. Soon after the Revolution a New York merchant bought the Yonkers manor house, and in 1868 the city of Yonkers purchased it for use as the city hall. The state now owns the surrounding ground and the manor house, where historical collections are displayed. Frederick Philipse also built (c.1683) a mill and a manor hall, Philipsburg Manor, the northern family seat, at Upper Mills, North Tarrytown, on the Pocantico River. After the Revolution it went through several hands and numerous changes. It was partially restored in 1943, and the manor hall was reopened as a museum of Dutch colonial life. A second restoration was begun in 1958 by Sleepy Hollow Restorations, Inc., with extensive archaeological exploration. The original manor house was restored, and a reconstructed mill, barn, slave quarters, and dam were opened to the public in 1969.

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