Sweet gum trees and a walnut tree outside of Hamilton Grange.
Peter Stuyvesant’s Pear Tree
Stuyvesant’s pear tree was still blossoming in the mid-19th century. Note the horse-drawn streetcar on 3rd Avenue. From When Old New York was Young by Charles Hemstreet.
On one of Peter Stuyvesant’s journeys back from Holland during his tenure as Dutch West India Company Director-General, he brought along a pear tree from abroad. Disembarking with it, he had it planted in the garden of his bouwerij (farm). Located far from busy New Amsterdam, the farm was a respite for the busy Stuyvesant, who resided in the White Hall mansion at the tip of Manhattan (the namesake of Whitehall Street) when he was conducting official business. Following the bloodless takeover by the British in 1664, Stuyvesant retired to the farm, where he lived until his death in 1672.
The stalwart pear tree, looking east along 13th Street. From History of the City of New York by Martha J. Lamb.
The pear tree thrived, and was cared for by successive generations as the old farm was divided and parceled out. When the street grid was laid out, the tree turned out to be in a good location, and it was preserved on the corner of 3rd Avenue and 13th Street. As it neared approximately 200 years of age, it became quite the curiosity. Diarist Philip Hone, upon receiving some blossoms from the tree in 1848, referred to them as “a floral reminiscence of the Stuyvesant dynasty.” Historian Benjamin Lossing noted that when he saw the tree in the 1850s it was “white with blossoms… crowned with hoary honors and clustered with wonderful associations.”
The wooden awning of the shop on the corner was angled to account for the tree. It was common to see these types of awnings, along with canvas awnings, to provide shade and protection from the elements. From Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, May 1862, No 144, Vol 24.
In order to protect the tree, it was surrounded with a circular fence, first made of wood and then replaced by iron. However, over the years storms had greatly weakened it. In 1867 the venerable tree was felled when a vehicle collided with it. People rushed to collect souvenirs from the trunk, and a slice of it was later gifted to the New-York Historical Society.
A photograph of the tree in the early 1860s. As the tree got older some of its branches fell off. From Reminiscences of an Octogenarian of the City of New York by Charles Haynes Haswell.
The Buttonwood Agreement
The stockbrokers signing the Buttonwood Agreement. From The Morning Union, May 7, 1967.
A financial panic gripped the United States in early 1792, and many merchants and businessmen were alarmed at the lack of safeguards against manipulating the auction system. As a result, in May of that year a group of 24 stockbrokers who habitually gathered under a buttonwood (sycamore) tree outside of 68 Wall Street signed an agreement that established conditions for buying and selling stocks and bonds. It also included a line that they would “give preference to each other in our Negotiations.”
An advertisement put out by the members of the New York Stock Exchange showing an artist’s rendition of the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement. From The New York Daily News, January 24, 1951.
In the next year, these same stockbrokers rented out an upstairs room in the Tontine Coffee House. The name of the building reflected the scheme used to construct it, as 203 shareholders contributed to the investment, pooling their resources together and with all the shares reverting back to the shareholders. Coffee houses were of course popular gathering places, and the Tontine Coffee House quickly became the city’s premier spot to conduct business and trading.
The Tontine Coffee House, 1797. People would often be seen gathered on the balcony, exchanging information with those passing by on the street. From A century of banking in New York, 1822-1922 by Henry Wysham Lanier.
In 1817, the group was reorganized as the New York Stock and Exchange Board, and ten years later they moved to the Merchant’s Exchange. In 1863 the group was renamed the New York Stock Exchange, and two years later they moved into a dedicated building at Broad Street and Wall Street. In 1865 the old buttonwood tree was uprooted in a storm. Over the years people have reenacted the signing of the Buttonwood Agreement with great fanfare, and today a buttonwood tree still stands outside the New York Stock Exchange as a symbol of its history.
Alexander Hamilton’s 13 Trees
Hamilton Grange and the copse of 13 trees as they looked before the house was moved in 1889. From The Annual Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to the Legislature of the State of New York, 1925.
Alexander Hamilton started buying land in upper Manhattan in 1798, amassing a 32 acre estate outside of the city, not far away from where he had fought during the Battle of Harlem Heights in September 1776. For his house, he hired architect John McComb, Jr., who had designed Gracie Mansion, and would later design New York City Hall. McComb created a lovely two story residence in the Federal style, which Hamilton named The Grange after his grandfather’s ancestral estate in Scotland.
A sketch of the Hamilton Trees (Hamiltrees?), 1892. The house had been moved at this point. From Manhattan Historic and Artistic, A Six Day Tour of New York City by Corolyn Faville Ober and Cynthia May Westover.
Hamilton Grange after it was moved next to St. Luke’s Church, showing the trees on the original farm land. The larger tree was a walnut tree. From King’s Handbook of New York, 1892.
As part of the landscaping, which included cuttings and flowers from David Hosack’s marvelous Elgin Botanic Garden, Hamilton is thought to have planted 13 sweet gum trees to represent the 13 states. The seedlings have sometimes been attributed as a gift from George Washington. The trees were near Hamilton’s study so he could gaze out upon them and the beautiful views beyond. Tragically, he was only able to enjoy the house for two years before perishing in the infamous duel with Aaron Burr in July 1804.
The remains of the trees, 1903. All of the buildings on 143rd Street remain today. The block with the trees was replaced by larger apartment houses. From New Harlem Past and Present by Carl Horton Pierce.
The Grange was sold several times, and in 1889 it was in peril, as it stood on a plot of land that developers eagerly wanted to build upon. Fortunately, the house was purchased and moved to a location right next to St. Luke’s Church on Convent Avenue. The house was turned to fit on the plot of land and altered, and it was used as a chapel for many years. The gum trees were left in their original location but fared badly, and by 1912 they were all cut down to make way for apartment houses. In 2008, The Grange was moved a second time to nearby St. Nicholas Park and lovingly restored, reopening in 2011 with 13 new sweet gum trees planted outside.
The Grange as it sat next to St Luke’s in the 1920s. In order to fit, one of the porches was removed. The tower of CCNY’s Shepard Hall can be seen to the right. From Washington Heights Manhattan, Its Eventful Past by Reginald Pelham Bolton.
The Great Tulip Tree in Inwood Hill Park
A hand-drawn map showing the Glen of Shorakapok, along with the location of some of the natural rock caves. From Inwood Hill Park on the Island of Manhattan by Reginald Pelham Bolton.
This secluded area, protected by a steep hill to the west and the meandering Spuyten Duyvil Creek to the north and east, was the site of a seasonal Lenape village called Shorakapok, the “sitting place.” Well situated, the village was located near a fresh water spring, which still runs today, and the creek provided ample food, as shown by the large shell middens found nearby. Naturally formed caves in the hill may have been used for shelter or storage as well, and evidence of ashes, pottery shards, and tools have been found within them.
The Tulip Tree and Spuyten Duyvil Creek. From The Annual Report of the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to the Legislature of the State of New York, 1925.
The tulip tree was supposedly the site of Peter Minuit’s infamous “purchase” of Manhattan in 1626, although this myth has largely been discredited and no deed for the sale exists. For the Lenape who resided in Shorakapok and in nearby areas such as Nipnichsen and Mosholu, and indeed for the bands who utilized the area’s great natural resources, land was a resource to be shared communally. The Europeans who began settling in New Netherland did not care to understand this and went through with land purchases anyway. Some natives still resided in the area through the 1670s, but they were gradually pushed out of their ancestral homes and moved to parts north and west.
The Giant Tulip Tree, 1930. A fence had been built to keep the tree safe, although this was no match for the storm that felled it. From Inwood Hill Park on the Island of Manhattan by Reginald Pelham Bolton.
Although the village was gone, the tulip tree continued to grow, eventually towering an impressive 165 feet. In 1912, the Parks Department held a celebration of the great tulip tree, which was touted as the oldest living thing left on Manhattan Island. Great care was taken to try and preserve it for future generations, including cutting off the dead parts of the tree, filling the cavities with cement, and surrounding it with a fence. Although this prolonged the tree’s lifespan for several years, the old tree, which was estimated to be between 220 and 280 years old, was largely destroyed by storms in 1938, and for the safety of those visiting Inwood Hill Park the remains were torn down. In 1954, a boulder was placed on the site in commemoration of the City’s 300th Anniversary.