Imagine an elegant summerhouse built just 11 miles from the city and on a hill from which New Jersey, Connecticut, and all of the New York harbor are visible. This house, the Morris-Jumel Mansion, is the oldest remaining home in all of Manhattan. And while it is no longer 11 miles from the city and no longer has unobstructed views of New Jersey, Connecticut, or the New York Harbor, since the city has grown considerably from 1765 (the year the house was built), it is not hard to imagine that you are stepping into the 18th and 19th centuries when you walk into the Morris-Jumel Mansion.

The mansion has a very interesting history and offers great potential as a resource for a research paper. Built originally by the British Colonel Roger Morris for himself and his wife, Mary Philipse, it was abandoned when the Revolutionary War broke out (the Morrises were staunch loyalists). Having noticed the mansion’s elevated position and grand view of the surrounding area, Washington used it as headquarters for the Continental Army from September 14 to October 21, 1776. From there, he planned the successful battle of Harlem Heights.

Although Washington never returned to the mansion during the war, after the British defeat he hosted a celebratory dinner there that was attended by a Revolutionary War Who’s Who: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Aaron Burr. After the war, it was briefly a tavern before it returned to serving as a residence.

In 1810 Stephen Jumel purchased the mansion, and he and his wife, Eliza Bowen, lived in it until their deaths. After Stephen died, Eliza was briefly married to Aaron Burr. She divorced him, however, and returned to using Jumel’s name. (She only used Burr’s name during her travels in Europe because it increased her social status.)

Today most of the house is restored to the way it was when Eliza lived there. However, a few of the rooms and furnishings, including the dining room downstairs, reflect the period in which the Morrises lived there. In addition, the bedroom Washington used is restored to how it would have looked as his headquarters, and one of the rooms upstairs is set up as Aaron Burr’s office. The basement is restored to its original condition as kitchen and workroom and contains several originals tools and replications.

This place is particularly strong in the early history of New York, daily life in early America, the Revolutionary War period, and the lives of George Washington, Aaron Burr, and the other inhabitants of the mansion. The archives include a volume of letters written by Washington while he was at the house and several letters by Burr. There’s also a lot of information on early American architecture and furniture and ample information on the slaves and indentured servants who lived at the house. While other institutions often overlook slavery and indentured servitude, you can learn a lot about those who labored here from 1765 to 1865, representing two thirds of the inhabitants.

To gain access to the mansion’s archives, which hold both books and personal documents of those who lived in the house, call the curator of the collections, Sheena Brown, at 212-923-8008 to make an appointment. You should try and call a week in advance and have a general idea about what kind of information you are looking for. While use of the archives is free, you may have to pay ten cents a page for photocopies. Since you cannot copy all of the documents in the archives, be prepared to take a lot of notes. The archives are spotty and not good for very general, overview-type historical topics but are very good in an array of very specific areas.

Don’t be discouraged by the limited range of the documents. They reveal a great deal of information. Though this may not be a great place to start research, this is a great place to do case studies and find specific examples of artifacts that you can discuss within a greater context. Even if you have done preliminary research, you should consider asking to see the eight-minute video about the mansion’s history as well as the recently published book about the house, available in the archives and at the bookstore.

While visiting the mansion, keep in mind that you can find a lot of political history. Ask yourself what “equal” meant to all of the different people who lived there and you might just find yourself with a paper topic. You might also ask yourself how the changing people and décor reflect the changing identity of America. The architecture alone reveals how the new nation looked to Greece and Rome as a model for its style and design as well as for its government. Also, ask the mansion staff about school programs. While they are not available to individual students, the information and ideas that the staff uses in the programs are available to you.