Spirits of Bartow-Pell Mansion

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Introduction

Though it is a New York City showplace, the imposing Greek Revival mansion on Shore Road known as the Bartow-Pell Mansion almost blends into the inky blackness of each night.  During winter months, the gnarled hulks of leafless trees seem to grab at the mansion and even lean with the wind as if attempting to pluck all who come within reach from the very ground beneath their feet. 

The mansion stands isolated and distant from any other structure within the darkness of Pelham Bay Park. Many nights the shrieks of owls echo throughout its grounds. Occasionally, the bawling howls of mangy coyotes that roam the park chill the heart.  

Today the mansion serves as the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.  The mansion, its carriage house, and grounds have quite a storied history. The estate once was part of the Manor of Pelham and, later, the Town of Pelham before the area was annexed by New York City in 1895.  Scholars believe that John Pell, a nephew and the principal legatee of Manor of Pelham founder, Thomas Pell, built a home near today's mansion in the early 1670s. Four generations of Pell family members resided in the home until, according to a variety of sources, it was destroyed during the American Revolution when Pelham stood in the midst of the so-called Neutral Ground between the principal warring armies. 

The property passed from the Pells to Herman and Hannah Leroy in 1813. Robert Bartow, a New York city merchant, bought the property in 1836. Shortly afterward, he built the Greek Revival mansion of native stone and moved with his family into the home by 1842. The Bartow family remained in the home for more than four decades. They attempted to develop an area around the nearby City Island Station on the New Haven Branch Line into a settlement that came to be known as Bartow and "Bartow-on-the-Sound." (The station likewise came to be known as "Bartow Station.") 

In 1888, while assembling parcels to create today's Pelham Bay Park, New York City acquired the Bartow estate. (It likewise acquired the lands that formed the tiny little settlement of Bartow nearby.) For nearly the next three decades, mansions in the region acquired by the City of New York -- including the Bartow mansion -- languished scandalously. They were subject to vandalism, squatters, and municipal corruption involving "rentals" of some of the structures to well-placed City employees for virtually nothing. 

In 1914, the International Garden Club was formed "to promote horticultural knowledge and to save the Bartow-Pell Mansion." The organization raised funds and restored the mansion. Today, the mansion and grounds including the Bartow carriage house built in the 1840s are owned by the City of New York, overseen by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation, and operated by the Bartow-Pell Conservancy.  The Mansion-Museum is a member of the Historic House Trust and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The grounds on which the mansion stands have a recorded history that goes back nearly 350 years.  The mansion is more than 175 years old.  Of course, it should come as no surprise that such an ancient location with such a grand old structure as the mansion is replete with ghosts in addition to "The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds" (Historic Pelham, Oct. 26, 2016). Indeed, as the following suggests, the Bartow-Pell Mansion and its grounds are among Pelham's most haunted spots.  

Whose Spirit Sits on the Lannuier Bed?

One of the most magnificent items in the collections of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum is the magnificent mahogany French bedstead crafted in New York between about 1812 and 1819 by French émigré furniture craftsman Charles Honoré Lannuier (b. 1779; d. 1819).  Lannuier and his contemporary, Duncan Phyfe, were the leaders of the New York furniture makers of their day.  Their work was considered by affluent Americans at the time to represent the pinnacle of sophistication and the height of American cabinetry and furniture craft.

Bartow-Pell's Lannuier Bed includes a rare original crown encircled with classical faces of gilded brass that surround a gilded brass lion's head in the center of the front of the crown.  From the crown hang opulent bed curtains.  Bartow-Pell Historian, Education Director, and Curator Margaret Highland has written of the bed, in part, as follows:

"[The bed] features a superb and rare original crown encircled by classical faces made of gilded brass with a lion's head in the center.  Massive vert antique lion's paw feet, gilded acanthus leaves, and columns terminating in gilded foliate scrolls provide additional classical ornamentation typical of Lannuier's oeuvre from the period beginning in 1812 until his death in 1819.  The bed is made of fine figured mahogany veneer with secondary woods of mahogany, yellow poplar, and white pine.  Casters allowed it to be moved easily for changing the bed linens or for cleaning.  Although tradition dates the bedstead to around . . . 1810, Lannuier scholar Peter Kenny assigns a date range of 1812-19.  This is partly because of the bed's stylistic characteristics, which place it in Lannuier's mature antique style, with its rich classical ornamentation and appearance of monumentality.  In addition, the Bartow-Pell bedstead bears the bilingual engraved label that Lannuier used during this period.  The label features a cheval glass with the eagle from the great seal of the United States in the pediment.  Patriotic symbols were especially popular around the time of the War of 1812."

Source:  Highland, Margaret, "Crowning Glory:  Bartow-Pell's Lannuier Bedstead" in Mansion Musings [a WordPress Blog], Jun. 27, 2016 (visited Sep. 14, 2019).

The Lannuier Bed at Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.

Click on Image to Enlarge.

The Lannuier Bed, it seems, is haunted.  For years those who work in, and visit, the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum have repeatedly observed that after no one has been in the room for a time, an indentation forms on the bed as though someone is seated there.  The area is roped off from the public.  The indentation often appears overnight when no one is present.  Bartow-Pell staff and docents repeatedly smooth the indentation, only to have it recur.  

Non-believers claim that the down settles within the feather mattress, creating the indentations.  Believers, however, know that the bed is haunted.  In fact, a few years ago Bartow-Pell arranged for Dan Sturges of Sturges Paranormal (a prominent paranormal investigation agency) to investigate paranormal activity at the mansion.  Sturges and his colleagues use equipment including environmental gauges and audio recorders to identify and assess paranormal activity, particularly in historic homes.  While in the bedroom, Sturges directly confronted the spirit, asking it to identify itself.  According to Margaret Highland, he "picked up a voice that sounded like 'Nathan Walker.'  We don't know who he was, but we do have a piece of [19th century] embroidery made by an Abigail Walker."

Source:  "Haunted by Houses" in The Villager, Oct. 22, 2015 (visited Sep. 14, 2019).

Does the Ghost of George Bartow Haunt His Bed Chamber?

George Lorillard Bartow (b. 1828; d. 1875) was the eldest son of Robert Bartow and Maria Lorillard Bartow, who were married in 1827.  George lived a life of leisure and never married.  Not only was he the only son of the family who did not graduate from Columbia College (of today's Columbia University), but he also is believed to have devoted much of his time to horse racing as an avid fan.  

George Bartow lived in Bartow-Pell Mansion most of his life, even as an adult.  He died at the age of 47 in St. Augustine, Florida and is buried in the cemetery of St. Peter's Episcopal Church at Westchester Square in today's Borough of the Bronx.  

The reasons that George Bartow never married have not been known -- until now, perhaps.  

Recently when a group of paranormal investigators including Dan Sturges (see above) visited Bartow-Pell, they spent a great deal of time in the bed chamber of George Bartow.  One of the psychics working with the group was able to contact the Bartow's spirit and learned that, in life, he had experienced a grave "disappointment in love" and that he once had a fiancé who broke off their engagement.  More significantly, the group also carried recording equipment while in the bed chamber.  Later, upon review of the recording, it was determined that equipment picked up a voice of forgiveness -- likely that of George -- admitting "it wasn't the girl's fault."

The Child Ghost of the Third Floor

Perhaps the most perplexing apparition that routinely appears in the mansion is that of a lonely child.  The apparition always appears on the third floor of the mansion and has been seen repeatedly for years.

Though the child whose ghost wanders the third floor has yet to be identified, the most disconcerting aspect of the sightings is the fact that unconnected sightings over many years by people with no connections always result in descriptions of the child ghost that are shockingly similar.

The Haunted Attic

As if all this were not enough, the attic of the Bartow-Pell Mansion is said to be haunted as well.  Numerous people have heard footsteps walking above in the attic when the attic was known to be empty.  Indeed, the sound of such steps moving back and forth across the dark attic above has been particularly unsettling for those who work in the facility at night.

The Long Skirted Apparition of the Mansion

One of the mansion's tour guides has seen a figure in a long skirt disappearing quickly.  Was it the ghost of Maria Lorillard Bartow slipping away quietly?  Could it have been the spirit of Clarina Bartow, one of the Bartows' girls, slipping back to her bed chamber after trying on one of the period dresses that the museum periodically puts on display -- often in Clarina's bed chamber?  Was it the apparition of one of the many, many elegant 19th century women who visited the Bartow family and toured the mansion enviously?

The Ghostly Music of Bartow-Pell

The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum periodically hosts beautiful concerts.  It has hosted classical guitarists, brass quintet holiday concerts, First Friday music concerts, classical music concerts, woodwind quintets, and much more.  Indeed, music remains an important and powerful part of programming at Bartow-Pell just as music once was an important entertainment in the mansion during the tenure of Robert and Maria Bartow and their family.

Perhaps the importance of such music to the Bartow family is best illustrated by the ghostly strains of music that float throughout the mansion at times when no musical instruments are present.  Reports suggest the music is lilting, lovely, and almost hypnotic.  It never is harsh or frightening and evokes a sweetness and happiness that suggest the blossom of youth -- perhaps performances by the ghosts of young Bartow family members for the entertainment of their elders.

An Angelic Presence in the North Parlor

Perhaps the most intriguing and heart-warming tale of the supernatural in Bartow-Pell Mansion is the oft-told tale that there has been evidence of an angelic presence in the North Parlor of the mansion.  

Some report to have felt the presence.  Others claim to have perceived it in some fashion.  All seem to agree that the presence leaves those in the room with a supreme sense of peacefulness and contentedness.  

Perhaps this angelic presence watches over the many spirits of the Bartow-Pell Mansion!

Bartow-Pell Mansion in an Undated Photograph.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia Used Bartow-Pell Mansion as a Summer City Hall

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The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Carriage House is yet another Pelham landmark listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  Located in today's Pelham Bay Park a few hundred yards from the Pelham Manor border, the Bartow-Pell estate is one of the most stunning reminders of what life was like in the grand estates that once lined the shores of Eastchester Bay and Pelham Bay overlooking Long Island Sound.

The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Part of Bartow-Pell's illustrious history includes its use as a Summer City Hall by New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia during the 1930s.  Today's Historic Pelham article provides a little more on the history of Bartow-Pell and its use by La Guardia.

According to tradition, Thomas Pell gathered with a great multitude of Englishmen and Native Americans beneath a giant oak on the land that later became the Bartow-Pell estate and signed the deed by which the Native Americans transferred about 50,000 acres of land to Pell.  This land became known as the Manor of Pelham.  

John Bartow, who married Ann Pell, bought a large estate that included the lands that form the grounds today in 1790.  He sold the property to a wealthy New York City Merchant, Herman LeRoy, in 1813.  More than two decades later, Bartow's grandson, Robert Bartow, purchased the property, thereby returning ownership of the property to the Bartow family.  Bartow built the mansion and carriage house by 1842.  Members of the Bartow family owned and managed the estate for nearly the next fifty years until Bartow heirs sold the estate and grounds to New York City in 1888 as the City was assembling the parcels necessary to form today's Pelham Bay Park.

Although the mansion, carriage house, and estate were used by various charitable organizations for a number of years, it was leased to The International Garden Club in 1914 for use as its headquarters.  For the next four years the mansion and carriage house were restored and formal gardens were designed by Delano & Aldrich.  

Because of the foresight and efforts of The International Garden Club, soon the mansion was the only one along Pelham Road (Shore Road) that still stood by the mid-20th century.  All the other grand estates that once stood in that area were demolished.

During the summer of 1936, the Bartow-Pell Mansion had a particularly notable resident.  Beginning on Wednesday, July 1, 1936, New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia moved into the mansion and used it for more than a month as New York City's "Summer City Hall."

Countless news articles were written about La Guardia's time in Bartow Mansion.  Many were intensely critical of his choice of the mansion as a Summer City Hall because it was located more than a mile away from the end of the Pelham Bay subway line and, thus, was considered inaccessible to the many supplicants who visited the Mayor's office daily.  Indeed, the Mayor was the target of so much criticism, before the end of his time in the Bartow Mansion he announced that the following summer he would find a location "somewhere" in the borough of Queens to serve as his Summer City Hall.  

On July 2, 1936, The Pelham Sun reported:

"Mayor LaGuardia Now A Neighbor
-----

Another Mayor came to Pelham this week, but this time it's Pelham Bay.  Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, chief executive of New York City, has moved his office to the old Bartow mansion on the Shore road, near Split Rock road, and now the business of the biggest city in the United States is transacted right on Pelham Manor's doorstep.  La Guardia, who makes his summer home at Westport [CT], will commute between that place and the Bartow Mansion during the summer.  In the winter the Bartow Mansion, one of the old historical relics is used as the headquarters of the International Garden Club."

Source:  Mayor LaGuardia Now A Neighbor, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 2, 1936, Vol. 27, No. 13, p. 1, col. 3.  

Today's Historic Pelham Article presents newspaper articles regarding Fiorello H. La Guardia's use of the Bartow-Pell Mansion as a Summer City Hall during July and August, 1936.  

"Mayor La Guardia Speaks Over WNYC on Grade A Milk

from Budget Room" on March 23, 1940.  Source:  Library

of Congress Prints and Photographs Division No. LC-

USZ62-132498 (visited May 6, 2017).  NOTE:  Click on

Image to Enlarge.

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I have written extensively about the Bartow-Pell Estate and the Bartow family on numerous occasions.  For a few of many more examples, see, e.g.: 

Mon., May 01, 2017:  Tragic Accident Marred Pell Treaty Oak Ceremony at Bartow-Pell in 1915.  

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Thu., Aug. 25, 2016:  Pelham's Thriving and Living Memorial to the Pell Treaty Oak That Once Stood on the Grounds of the Bartow-Pell Mansion.

Wed., Aug. 24, 2016:  Washington Post Report of the Final Destruction of the Pell Treaty Oak in Pelham Bay Park in 1909.

Wed., Jan. 06, 2016:  A Brief History of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Published in 1931.

Tue., Jul. 28, 2015:  John Bartow Who Lived in the Manor Home Built by John Pell in About 1672.

Thu., May 21, 2015:  Pelham Manor Romance: A Tale of Aaron Burr and His Love, Theodosia Bartow Prevost of the Manor of Pelham.

Mon., Nov. 03, 2014:  More on the 17th Century Location of the Manor Home of John Pell of the Manor of Pelham.

Thu., Nov. 29, 2007:  John Bartow Offers His Pelham Farm for Sale in Advertisement Published in 1807.

Mon., Jul. 2, 2007:  Notice of Auction Sale of Lots at Bartow-on-the-Sound in Pelham in 1874.

Mon., Jun. 4, 2007:  Abstract of 1797 Will of John Bartow, Sr. Who Owned Land in Pelham and Whose Family Became Early Pelham Residents.

Wed., Feb. 28, 2007:  Lord Cornbury Installs John Bartow as Rector of the Parish of Westchester, Eastchester, Yonkers and the Manor of Pelham in 1702.

Tue., Sep. 12, 2006:  Evidence Sheds Light on Location of An Early Home of John Pell, 2d Lord of the Manor of Pelham. 

Fri., Dec. 30, 2005:  Subdivision Development Map Created in 1873 for Bartow Village in the Town of Pelham.

Mon., Dec. 12, 2005:  19th Century Subdivision Map of Planned Bartow Village.

Thu., Jul. 21, 2005:  Today's Remnants of the Bartow Station on the Branch Line Near City Island.

Tue., June 14, 2005:  Ceremony in 1915 to Open Bartow-Pell Mansion as Headquarters of International Garden Club Marred by Tragedy.

Thu., Mar. 24, 2005:  The Bartow Area of Pelham in the 19th Century: Where Was It?

Bell, Blake A., The Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Carriage House, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 31, Aug. 6, 2004, p. 9, col. 1.

Bell, Blake A., The Manor House of John Pell, Second Lord of the Manor of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 51, Dec. 24, 2004.


Bell, Blake A., Bartow-on-the-Sound, Once a Hamlet in the Town of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XV, Issue 5, Feb. 3, 2006, p. 13, col. 1.

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"Mayor to Be a Long Way Off
-----
Select an Almost Inaccessible Spot for His Summer City Hall.
-----

In choosing a site for the Summer City Hall Mayor LaGuardia selected a spot almost as far from City Hall Park as is Tottenville, Staten Island.  As a matter of fact the Bartow mansion, in Pelham Bay Park, is harder to reach than Tottenville unless one has a car.  

A tourist desiring to do business with the Mayor after next Wednesday will take the Lexington avenue I. R. T. subway at the City Hall station, and ride to 125th street.  There he will change to the Pelham Park line and ride to the end of it, which is the Pelham Bay Park station.  If he is lucky he will find a bus waiting at the foot of the stairs leading from the Pelham Bay Park station, which is elevated at that point.  Five minute ride will take him to Prospect avenue where a short walk will deposit him at the temporary home of the municipal government.  The Mayor plans to remain there until the end of August.

If the tourist is fortunate enough to own a car he can follow the Boston Post Road to the junction of Pelham Bay Parkway and follow the parkway to the summer City Hall.  Thousands who frequented the Hunters Island Inn during prohibition days will have no difficulty in finding the Mayor.  The summer City Hall can be seen from the road leading to Hunters Island Inn.

Seeks to Discourage Visitors.

It is known that the Mayor chose the Bartow mansion for the summer City Hall because of its inaccessibility.  He seeks to discourage visitors.  But it is a safe bet that bright and early next Wednesday morning there will be a line of taxicabs under the Pelham Bay Park station of the I. R. T. ready to whisk traveler to the summer City Hall in five minutes or less.

The Mayor can sleep in the summer City Hall if the mosquitoes, which are particularly ferocious in the swamps of Pelham Bay, when the tide is out, will allow him to sleep.  If he finds the mosquitoes beyond endurance he can jump into a car and motor up to his summer home at Westport, Conn., where his wife and children will be located for the summer.

The grounds around the Summer City Hall are full of poison ivy.  Whether the Mayor was aware of this when he picked the place is not known, but it is known that he would be overjoyed if a few of the pests who surround the downtown City Hall, and will get to the Summer City Hall if they have to walk or swim, would mistake the poison ivy for a harmless vine and eat some of it.

Mansion is 100 Years Old.

The Bartow mansion was built about 100 years ago and was the home of the Pell family [sic].  It stands on the spot where John [sic] Pell signed a treaty with the Indians in 1654 and purchased Pelham Manor and all the surrounding territory for $17.50 [sic].  Since 1915 it has been the home of the International Garden  Club.  About a dozen [sic] of the original Pells are buried in a family cemetery on the grounds of the Summer City Hall.

John Robertson, who is steward of the International Garden Club, has lived in the Bartow mansion with hi wife for the last thirteen years.  They will keep house for the Mayor.

The house is built of granite with walls at least two feet thick.  Mr. Robertson says it is always at least 15 degrees cooler within the mansion than outside.  The main floor has a dining room, a parlor, a conservatory, a smoking room, a music room, a library, a ladies' dressing room, a men's room and a kitchen.  On the second floor are four large bedrooms."

Source:  Mayor to Be a Long Way Off -- Select an Almost Inaccessible Spot for His Summer City Hall, The New York Sun, Jun. 26, 1936, p. 40, cols. 2-3.  

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Tragic Accident Marred Pell Treaty Oak Ceremony at Bartow-Pell in 1915

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On Saturday, May 1, 1915, New York Governor Charles Seymour Whitman was on hand for a special ceremony at the Bartow Mansion on Shore Road.  There was a ceremony that day to celebrate the transfer, by lease, of the mansion and its lovely grounds to the International Garden Club and to plant an oak tree to replace the Pell Treaty Oak that had died in 1906 after lightning struck the tree blowing off its top, followed by a fire set by youngsters that damaged the trunk, and a windstorm that finally toppled what was left of the legendary tree.

Photograph of the Pell Treaty Oak from The Office of The Historian of

the Town of Pelham and Painting of the Pell Treaty Oak by John M. Shinn,

Both Showing the Tree As It Looked Shortly Before its Destruction

in 1906.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

A Pelham legend, since determined to be apocryphal, said that local Native Americans signed a deed granting Thomas Pell the lands that became the Manor of Pelham under the branches of this mighty oak on June 27, 1654.  By the earliest years of the 20th century, little remained of the mighty oak as it neared its end and, finally, its destruction in 1906.

Thus, on May 1, 1915, Governor Whitman arrived at the mansion to plant a replacement oak.  The crowd that day was large -- much larger than anticipated.  Indeed, the planners of the event had expected up to 1,000 visitors.  Instead, more than 5,000 visitors showed up, along with more than eight hundred automobiles.  

As the Governor arrived, members of the New York State National Guard were on the scene to fire a nineteen-gun artillery salute to the Governor.  When the first round was fired, a troop horse harnessed to a caisson was spooked and reared straight up with his front hoofs flying.  As the horse came down, his hoofs struck a young private in Battery D named Charles Vail on the head.  Once Vail collapsed to the ground, the frightened horse trampled him, crushing his skull.  

Reports differed over Vail's injuries.  He was rushed to Fordham Hospital.  At least two newspapers reported that his injuries likely were fatal.  Another speculated he would recover.  Reports also differed over whether Governor Whitman was aware of the accident.  In any event, the ceremony continued after Vail was removed to the hospital.

With spectators and International Garden Club officers and members gathered around him, Governor Whitman used a silver trowel with blue, orange and white ribbons signifying the colors of New York City to toss dirt ceremonially on the newly-planted oak tree.  The tree was planted only a few feet from where the original Pell Treaty Oak had stood.

As noted in the book entitled "Thomas Pell and the Legend of the Pell Treaty Oak" published in 2004, the location of the oak planted by Governor Whitman is now lost to us.  Eventually the iron fence used to protect the original Pell Treaty Oak was placed around the tree planted by Governor Whitman that day.  During World War II, however, the historic and protective fence was taken down to prevent its theft by those hoping to sell scrap iron to salvagers.  After the war, the fence was put back up around the wrong tree.  The fence and the tree it protects may still be found on the grounds of today's Bartow-Pell Mansion.

Bartow-Pell Mansion in an Undated Post Card View.

NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

Following the tree planting that day, a tea was held in the Bartow Mansion.  During the evening, the President of the International Garden Club, Mrs. Charles Frederick Hoffman, and her husband hosted a dinner for the Governor at their home located at 620 Fifth Avenue in New York City.  

No account yet has been located that reveals the fate of poor Private Charles Vail who was so terribly injured in the ceremonies held at the Bartow Mansion that day more than a century. ago.

New York Governor Charles Seymour Whitman in 1915 as He

Looked at the Time of the Ceremonies at Bartow Mansion on

May 1, 1915.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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I have written before of the tragedy that occurred at the Bartow Mansion on May 1, 1915.  See Tue., Jun. 14, 2005:  Ceremony in 1915 to Open Bartow-Pell Mansion as Headquarters of International Garden Club Marred by Tragedy.  Below is the text of a number of articles that addressed the events of that day.  Each is followed by a citation and link to its source.

"GOVERNOR PLANTS A NEW TREATY OAK
-----
Bartow Mansion in Pelham Bay Park Turned Over to the International Garden Club
-----
MANY NOTABLES TAKE PART
-----
Private Charles Vail of Battery D Is Crushed by Horse Frightened by a Salute.
-----

When the first gun of a nineteen-gun salute for Gov. Whitman was fired at the International Garden Club at the Bartow Mansion, Pelham Bay Park, yesterday afternoon, a troop horse reared and fell back, crushing Charles Vail, a private in Battery Day. The guardsman, with a fractured skull and probably mortal injuries, was rushed to the Fordham Hospital. Vail was standing at the head of a horse attached to a caisson wagon. As the first fun boomed out, the animal reared straight up, and, descending, struck him on the head with its hoofs and trampled on his body as he lay helpless on the ground.

Gov. Whitman came down from Albany to be present at the opening and to take part in the replacing of the Treaty Oak in the grounds of the clubhouse, and the officers of the International Garden Club sent out many invitations to view the ceremony, meet the Governor, and have tea in the historic Bartow mansion. The city turned over the house to the club with seventeen acres of wooded ground surrounding it, without rental. In return the club has put the house, which was sadly in need of it, in good repair, furnished it, and laid out the grounds, which are to be transformed by gardens. Mrs. Charles Frederick Hoffman is President of the club, Dr. George Norton Miller, Vice President; Mrs. H. de Berkeley Parsons, Secretary, and William A. Jay is the Treasurer.

Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, Honorary President of the club, made the speech of the day, and greeted the Governor, who arrived at 4 o'clock, accompanied by two aids [sic] ablaze with gold. After the ceremonies attending the planting of the oak, the Governor visited the clubhouse and had tea. He left a little before 5 o'clock.  

In the evening the Governor attended a dinner, given for him and Mrs. Whitman by Mr. and Mrs. Charles F. Hoffman, at their residence, 620 Fifth Avenue. The rest of the day, however, he spent on the thirty-day bills, and received no callers except Bainbridge Colby, an old college friend. On May 26 the Governor will start for California, and his Military Secretary, Major J. Stanley Moore, is now working out his iternerary [sic].  

A walk marked by many little red flags showed the way from the clubhouse to the roped-in inclosure, in which the speeches and the planting took place, and ropes marked with red flags indicated the parking space for the many motors. Tea and other refreshments were were served in the Colonial dining room and on the veranda and terrace outside.

The oak planted yesterday took the place of the famous treaty oak recently destroyed by lightning [sic], which was planted in 1643 [sic] when the Pell family obtained from the Indians the property on which Bartow Manor stands for $17 [sic].

Dr. Butler outlined the history of the tree, and said the city had now turned the ground over to the International Garden Club to be made into a breathing spot for the people. The club, whose headquarters will be in the Manor house, has already spent $25,000 in improvements.

The Governor used a silver trowel in planting the tree, and said that the new treaty between the city and the public was more important than the orginal one. The exercises also marked the turning over of the property to the club's use.

Bartow Mansion is a substantial and roomy stone house, and the front lawn is one of several acres. In the rear the ground slopes away to the Sound, and a series of descending terraces has been arranged. In the center of the middle terrace is a large fountain.  

On either side are tall old trees, and a wide veranda taken in the entire back of the house. On this and the upper terrace many pale-green tables, with lattice chairs to match, are placed. At the right of the house is a large conservatory, done entirely in white and pale, dull green. As yet few flowers are seen, but some rare orchids were on view yesterday, and outside the trracs [sic] showed some old-time gardens in pansies and primorses [sic].  

The walls throughout are done in palest dull blue and the woodwork in dull finished white. Each room is in a different color. One upstairs room is done in the most vivid colors in old-time chintz, with flowers of many kinds. Another is done in black and white stripes, with an occasional flower, and pink roses abound in another. A reception room on the first floor is done in brownish orange, with old-time black wooden plaques, and another room is in deep blue.  

Mrs. Hoffman, the President; Mrs. Parsons, the Secretary, and others received, and the official receiving committee included the President of the Board of Aldermen.

Commissioners of Parks for the Bronx and Manhattan and Richmond, the President of the Botanical Garden, the President of the New York Horticultural Society, the President of the Florists's [sic] Club of New York. On the committee also were Mrs. C. B. Alexander, Mrs. A. B. Boardman, Mrs. Amory S. Carhart, Mrs. Alfred Ely, Miss Sarah Cooper Hewitt, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver J. Jennings, Mr. and Mrs. F. K. Pendleton, Mr. and Mrs. W. B. Parsons, Mrs. Moses Taylor Pyne, Mrs. James Speyer, Mrs. Charles H. Senff, Miss Amy Townsend, Mrs. H. McK Twombly, Mrs. John Hobart Warren, Mrs. J. J. Wysong, Mrs. Newbold LeRoy Edgar, Mrs. J. Archibald Murray, Mr. and Mrs. John Callender Livingston and William Adams Delano.  

Among others who were present to receive or as guests were Mr. and Mrs. Stuyvesant Fish, Bishop David H. Greer, Mr. and Mrs. Seth Low, Mrs. Herbert C. PYell [sic], Mrs. Herbert L. Satterlee, Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Taft, Mrs. Whitney Warren, Mr. and Mrs. James B. Clews, Mr. and Mrs. F. Ashton de Peyster, Mrs. Lewis Cruger Hassell, Mrs. George B. de Forest, Mrs. Burke Roche, Mrs. Lauterbach, Mrs. Nicholas Murray Butler, the Misses Catherine and Margaret Leverich, Mrs. Gouverneur Kortwright, Mrs. E. Reeve Merritt, Lady Herbert, Mrs. E. H. Harriman, Mrs. H. O. Havemeyer, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert C. Pell, Mrs. Oakleigh Thorne, George I. Rives, John D. Crimmins, Frederick C. Bourne, Miss Eleanor Hewitt, Mrs. James O. Green, A. M. Bagby, and Mrs. Henry S. Redmond."

Source:  Governor Plants A New Treaty Oak, N.Y. Times, May 2, 1915, p. 14, col. 1 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link; free version available here).

"Governor Whitman Plants Treaty Oak for Garden Club
-----
Hundreds of Persons of Prominence Attend Ceremonies When Historic Tree, Destroyed by Lightning, Is Replaced in Pelham Manor Lawn.
-----

The celebration which included the planting of a new 'Treaty Oak' by Governor Whitman and reception in the Bartow Mansion yesterday afternoon marked the turning over to the International Garden Club b y the city of the twenty-five acres in Pelham Bay Park which surround the historic manor house.  Hundreds of persons prominent in society who are interested in the Garden Club attended the ceremonies.

For more than a year the society has been hard at work.  Its purpose in taking the grounds around the Bartow Mansion is to establish experimental gardens, such as those of the Royal Horticultural Society near London.  The other objects of the society are to hold monthly exhibits, to form a library, to give monthly lectures, to establish a department to give certificates to gardeners and to assist other horticultural societies and clubs.  

The appearance of the ground yesterday, the throng which attended the opening and the presence of the Governor told of the interest aroused by the undertaking.  The officers of the society were congratulated repeatedly.  They are Mrs. Charles F. Hoffman, president; Dr. George Norton Miller, vice president, and Judge William A. Day, treasurer.  Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler is honorary president.  

Eight Hundred Automobiles.

The arrangements for the opening exercises were in the hands of a committee which included persons of prominence.  Park Commissioner Thomas Whittle, of the Bronx, had prepared to accommodate nearly one thousand guests, and it was estimated that fully eight hundred automobiles were parked on the grounds.  Mr. Whittle has taken an active interest in the society, and recently $25,000 was expended to restore the Bartow Mansion.

Soon after the arrival of the Governor's party, which included Mrs. Whitman and Major J. Stanley Moore, the Pell 'Treaty Oak' was planted.  The new oak is to replace [the] old 'Treaty Oak,' which was destroyed by lightning in 1906.  According to legend, it was under the old tree that Thomas Ball [sic], in 1654, signed a treaty with the Siwanoy Indians for the purchase of the land which later was known as Pelham Manor.

When Governor Whitman arrived and the first gun of salute was being fired by Battery D, of the Second Field Artillery, one of the battery horses became frightened.  The animal reared, and in coming down struck Private Charles Vail.  His head was crushed by the horse's hoofs.  He was taken to Fordham Hospital, probably fatally injured.  Most of the guests were unaware of the accident, and Governor Whitman did not hear of it.

The new 'Treaty Oak' was planted only a few feet from where the former tree stood on the lawn in front of the mansion.  Governor Whitman, Mrs. Hoffman and George L. Rives led the procession of guests to where the young oak stood.  Dr. Butler introduced the Governor.

Governor Whitman threw dirt on the tree with a trowel, tied with the orange, blue and white of New York city."

Source:  Governor Whitman Plants Treaty Oak for Garden Club -- Hundreds of Persons of Prominence Attend Ceremonies When Historic Tree, Destroyed by Lightning, Is Replaced in Pelham Manor Lawn, N.Y. Herald, May 2, 1915, First Section, Part I, p. 5, cols. 2-3.  
-----

"WHITMAN SETS TREE IN HISTORIC SOIL
-----
Artilleryman Is Hurt by Horse Frightened at Firing of Salute.
-----
BARTON [SIC] TRACT GIFT TO THE PUBLIC
-----
International Garden Club to Make Breathing Spot Near Famous Treaty Oak.

While Governor Whitman was receiving a salute of nineteen guns on his arrival to open the International Garden Club, at Barton [sic] Manor, The Bronx, yesterday afternoon, a troop horse attached to a caisson wagon, frightened at the booming of the guns, reared and trampled Charles Vail, a private in Battery D, 2d Field Artillery, N. G. N. Y.  Vail had his skull fractured, and received other injuries.  He was taken to the Fordham Hospital, where it is said he will recover.

Governor Whitman, after witnessing the accident and inquiring about Vail's condition, proceeded with the exercises of turning over to the International Garden Club the seventeen acres surrounding the historic Barton [sic] Manor House, Pelham Bay Park.  Before 5,000 persons the Governor planted a small oak tree to replace the famous Treaty Oak, recently destroyed by lightning.

The Treaty Oak was planted in 1634 [sic], when the Pell family obtained the property from the Indians for $17.

Dr. Nicholas Murray Butler, honorary president of the club, who presided at the exercises, said that the city had turned the ground over to the International Garden Club that it might be made a breathing spot for the people.  Improvements at a cost of $25,000 have been made recently, and it was announced that the club will have its headquarters in the mansion.  

Governor Whitman, before turning the soil with his silver spade, said that treaties had been signed under the old oak, but there were none of them as important as the treaty of yesterday between the city and the people, giving for public use such a large piece of property.

The exercises at Barton [sic] Manor saw the only public appearance of the Governor during his stay in New York.  In the morning he devoted himself to the consideration of several bills which he must pass upon within the thirty-day period.  In the early afternoon he had a long conference with several members of the Legislature.

Last night Governor and Mrs. Whitman were guests at a private dinner at the home of Charles F. Hoffman, 620 Fifth Avenue.

It was announced yesterday that the Governor has decided to set out on his trip to California on May 25.  The itinerary and make-up of the official party has not yet been determined, that matter being left largely in the hands of Major J. Stanley Moore, military secretary.

The Governor and his party will return to Albany to-day."

Source:  WHITMAN SETS TREE IN HISTORIC SOIL -- Artilleryman Is Hurt by Horse Frightened at Firing of Salute -- BARTON [SIC] TRACT GIFT TO THE PUBLIC -- International Garden Club to Make Breathing Spot Near Famous Treaty Oak, New-York Tribune, May 2, 1915, Vol. LXXV, No. 25,004, p. 6, cols. 6-7.  

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The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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The black-hearted crime was dastardly and brutal.  Worse yet, it was murder.  

The details are unknown.  No reliable account of the murder has yet been located.  Likely a hapless colonial traveler returning from Pelham Neck toward New Rochelle along the ancient colonial road we know today as Shore Road was accosted by a cruel and remorseless highwayman while resting along the roadway beneath the spreading branches of a giant oak -- a very special giant oak.  

The name of the brutally-murdered traveler is unknown.  His dastardly murderer fled the scene after fiendishly robbing and killing the poor traveler beneath the spreading branches of the Pell Treaty Oak.  That giant oak once stood along today's Shore Road on the grounds of today's Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum.  

Since that black day in the mid-eighteenth century, the ghost of the murdered traveler is said to wander the region in the darkness.  He often can be seen near the place the grand oak once stood.  The specter is an angry ghost, said to be searching vengefully for the murderer who sentenced it to an eternity of wandering and searching.

The grounds of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum are among the most ancient historic spots in all of the Manor of Pelham.  A Native American village once stood near the gated driveway entrance to the grounds.  Native American remains and artifacts have been excavated near the water's edge on the Sound side of the mansion grounds.  Oyster midden left long ago by Native Americans still can be seen at the water's edge near the mansion.  

On the grounds of the mansion is a circular iron fence that once protected the Pell Treaty Oak that stood near the mansion.  Beneath that oak, according to legend, Thomas Pell and other Englishmen met with Native Americans on June 27, 1654 to sign the deed by which Pell acquired the lands that became the Manor of Pelham.  In the early 1670s, Pell's nephew and principal legatee, John Pell, built a manor house not far from the Pell Treaty Oak and lived there until his death in or shortly after 1702.  The home is believed to have stood until it burned either during the American Revolutionary War or shortly thereafter.

The Pell Treaty Oak once stood near today's Shore Road which passes the Bartow-Pell Mansion.  Shore Road runs along an ancient Native American footpath that traversed the region parallel to, and only a few yards away from, Long Island Sound.  It likewise has an ancient pedigree as a roadway.  It is one of the few roads in the area that existed during colonial times.  By the mid-eighteenth century, the well-traveled road had widened from a simple footpath to a comparatively busy roadway used by many as they traveled along the coastline back and forth between Pelham Neck, New Rochelle and other settlements along Long Island Sound.  

No record of the dastardly crime that forms the basis for the legend of the Ghost of the Murdered Traveler has been located.  Nor does there seem to be any extant description of what the wandering ghost looks like (or sounds like).  There are, however, countless recorded accounts of highway robbers who preyed on travelers along the lonely, unlit roadway known variously as Pelham Road, the Road to New Rochelle, the Westchester Turnpike, and Shore Road.  Many such accounts describe violent confrontations and brutal robberies by highwaymen who attacked local residents and others merely passing through the region even as late as the last years of the 19th century.

When you next find yourself on the grounds of the Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum (or driving past it on Shore Road) particularly as dusk settles over Pelham Bay Park, pay close attention to the wooded areas near the roadway.  Look and listen carefully.  You may see or hear the Ghost of the Murdered Traveler who wanders the region searching for, and seeking vengeance against, its murderer.  Make certain to pass quickly, though.  You would not want to be mistaken as the one for whom the ghost is searching. . . . 

"Clarina Bartow and children, Bartow Mansion,

Pelham Bay Park, circa 1870, Bartow-Pell

Mansion Museum."  Source:  New York City Department

of Parks and Recreation, Before They Were Parks

Bartow–Pell Mansion and Pelham Bay Park, Bronx

(visited Aug. 27, 2016).  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

*          *          *          *          *

A newspaper article published in 1906 regarding the fire that finally killed the Pell Treaty Oak makes reference to the legend of the Ghost of the Murdered Traveler.  The text of the brief article appears immediately below, followed by a citation and link to its source.

"FIRE IN THE PELL OAK.
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The Historic Tree Incurs a New Peril -- Once Struck by Lightning.

The old Pell oak, which stands at the intersection of the New Rochelle road and the Split Rock road in Westchester, took fire Saturday night from burning grass.  Policeman Booth of the City Island substation, who was patrolling the New Rochelle road about 8 o'clock Saturday night, saw sparks leaping from the trunk of the venerable tree.  He turned in a still alarm, which brought Engine Company 70 from City Island.  Meanwhile a dozen or more people living along the New Rochelle road hurried with buckets of water to the burning tree.  The firemen and volunteers worked for hours before they managed to make the water reach the part of the inner trunk where the fire was.

For the last ten years the old oak has been little more than a noble trunk ten feet high and four feet in diameter.  It was struck by lightning during a heavy storm and all but about ten feet of the trunk broke off.  New branches appeared at the top of the stump and formed an umbrella shaped growth, which increased and throve.  The fire Saturday night destroyed most of the new growth and charred the hollow trunk, but the old residents who take much pride in the historic tree, believe that it can be saved if proper care is given it.  It is believed to be nearly 350 years old.  

There are many stories told in Westchester about the Pell oak.  It is said that Sir John Pell, second lord of the manor, who came over in 1670 and was the first Judge of the Court of Common Pleas from 1683 until 1702, signed a treaty with the Indians under the oak [sic; it was his uncle, Thomas Pell], which was then in its prime.  There is another legend of Westchester that the son of Sir John, Thomas Pell, who married a daughter of an Indian chief, wooed her under the oak.  There is a ghost story, too, about the old tree.  Somewhere near the middle of the eighteenth century a traveller [sic] was murdered and robbed under its branches.  The body was found, but the murderer was never caught.  The private cemetery of the Westchester Pells, where Sir John and his son are buried, is about 400 feet from the tree.  The old Bartow mansion is within a short distance of it.

Yesterday afternoon people from all the region visited the old oak, and the older residents commented somewhat mournfully on its reduced state."

Source:  FIRE IN THE PELL OAK -- The Historic Tree Incurs a New Peril -- Once Struck by Lightning, The Sun [NY, NY], Ar. 9, 1906, p. 4, col. 2.  

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I have collected ghost stories and legends relating to the Town of Pelham for more than fifteen years.  To read more examples that now total in the several dozens, see: 

Bell, Blake A., Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends, The Pelham Weekly, Oct. 25, 2002, p. 1, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., More Ghosts, Goblins of Pelham, The Pelham Weekly, Vol. XIII, No. 43, Oct. 29, 2004, p. 12, col. 1. 

Bell, Blake A., Archive of HistoricPelham.com Web Site:  Pelham's Ghosts, Goblins and Legends (Oct. 2002). 

Bell, Blake A., Bibliography of Pelham's Ghost Stories and Legends (Oct. 2002).

Wed., Oct. 26, 2016:  The Ghost of the Murdered Traveler Who Wanders the Bartow-Pell Grounds.

Tue., Oct. 25, 2016:  The Suicidal Specter of Manger Circle.

Mon., Oct. 24, 2016:  The Fiery-Eyed Phantom of Pelham Heights.

Mon., Sep. 19, 2016:  The Dark Spirit of the Devil and His Stepping Stones: A Pelham Legend.

Fri., Oct. 30, 2015:  The Shrieking Ghosts of Execution Rocks: Yet Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 29, 2015:  The Apparition of Wolfs Lane:  Another Pelham Ghost Story.

Wed., Oct. 28, 2015:  The Shadowy Specter of James Street:  A Pelham Manor Ghost Story.

Tue., Oct. 27, 2015:  The Ghostly Gardener of Bolton Priory:  A Pelham Apparition.

Mon., Oct. 26, 2015:  The Ghostly Matron of the Manor Club:  Even a Ghost Whisperer's Nightmare!

Fri., Oct. 31, 2014:  Ghosts in Pelham! Yet Another of Many Accounts of the Haunted Cedar Knoll.

Mon., Sep. 08, 2014:  In 1888, The "Ghost of City Island" Upset the Town of Pelham.

Fri., Jan. 17, 2014: The Phantom Bell Ringer of Christ Church in Pelham Manor.

Fri., Jan. 30, 2009:  Article Published in 1901 Detailed Ghost Stories and Legends of Pelham.

Mon., Feb. 19, 2007:  Another Manor of Pelham Ghost Story: The Whispering Bell.

Fri., Aug. 18, 2006:  The Ghost Gunship of Pelham: A Revolutionary War Ghost Story.

Wed., May 03, 2006:  Another Pelham, New York Ghost Story.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2005:  Two More Pelham Ghost Stories.  

Wed., Oct. 14, 2009:  1879 News Account Provides Additional Basis for Some Facts Underlying Ghost Story of Old Stone House in Pelhamville.

Archive of the Historic Pelham Web Site.

Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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