The Van Cortlandt Mansion is an 18th century Georgian style manor built by Orloff Van Cortlandt.  In  1889 the family stopped farming on the land and donated the grounds to the City to be used as a public facility.  Today, it serves as a museum and is considered to be not only a New York City Landmark but also as a National Historical Landmark.  The mansion stands at the very top of the Park as you enter from 242nd Street. 

There is some very rich history regarding not only the park but also this very mansion.  As history would tell it,  George Washington stayed at the mansion a few times as a general during the Revolutionary War.  It has been said that he may have even used it as a temporary headquarters on his last visit. 

The mansion also served for a short period of time as a police station but then was turned over to the organization that currently maintains and operate it as a Museum, the National Society of Colonial Dames.  The house has ten restored rooms that still contains furniture from as far back as the Revolutionary War and the times when George Washington may have slept there.