The Van Cortlandt House Museum

Frederick van Cortlandt had this stone house built in 1748-49, when the land was still part of Yonkers in Westchester County, and today it sits at the heart of the 1,000-acre Van Cortlandt Park that grew from his family's estate. The museum is direct about whose labor built that wealth: three generations of Van Cortlandts held enslaved Africans here from 1698 until 1823, and their work survives in park trails and in the mill pond on Tibbetts Brook. George Washington stayed in the house in 1776 and 1783, and it opened as a museum in 1897.

Self-guided visits run Wednesday through Sunday; arrive at least half an hour before closing. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for seniors and students as of October 2026, children 12 and under are free, and general admission is always free for Bronx residents. Guided tours with a museum educator run on select Saturdays and are worth registering for, as space is limited. The museum closes for Thanksgiving and from Christmas Eve through New Year's Day. Take the 1 train to 242nd Street and follow the path in from Broadway.