Originally inhabited by the Lenape since circa 1000 A.D., this site was acquired in 1654 by Connecticut physician Thomas Pell through a treaty with five Lenape chiefs: Shawan Orockquot, Poquorum, Anooke, Wawhamkus, and Mehumow. The property passed briefly to the LeRoy family before Robert Bartow, a Pell relative, and his wife, Maria Lorillard, purchased a portion in 1836 and completed the Greek Revival mansion and carriage house in 1842. The family lived on the estate until 1888, when New York City purchased the property. In 1914, the city leased the site to the International Garden Club, which hired the architectural firm Delano and Aldrich to restore the mansion and design the walled garden. The site opened as a museum in 1946, and today Bartow-Pell maintains nine of the original 9,000 acres acquired by Thomas Pell. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974 and the New York State Register of Historic Places in 1980, and named a New York City Landmark in 1966, with the interior designated in 1975.
