trip to bartow mansion

The story of Bartow-Pell began in 1654, when Thomas Pell, a physician from Connecticut, bought about 50,000 acres from the Lenape people, who had inhabited the land for centuries. By the end of the Revolutionary War, the Pell estate comprised 220 acres, which were purchased in 1836 by a Pell relative, Robert Bartow, who built the present Greek Revival mansion. He moved into the house with his family in 1842 and they remained there until 1888, when the city of New York purchased the property along with many other acres that now make up Pelham Bay Park. In 1914, the city leased the site to the International Garden Club (ICG). The club hired the architectural firm Delano & Aldrich to restore the mansion and design the formal garden. The building opened as a museum in 1946, and in 2008 the ICG was renamed Bartow-Pell Conservancy.