“What is the reason why,” I asked my learned friend Dr. Rae Alexander Minter, “so many African Americans visit plantation houses down South?’ “It’s the same reason we go to the Hamilton Grange or to Mount Morris [the Morris-Jumel Mansion between 160-162nd Streets on Jumel Terrace]. We want to see what the ancestors did. And ironically, we respect these places, knowing full well, without our people’s toil and talent, they would not exist!”
A convivial crowd, a couple hundred strong, recently gathered for an evening of festivity and fundraising to benefit Manhattan’s oldest surviving house and most entrancing museum, the 260-year-old Morris-Jumel Mansion. The gala was held at the equally historic Shabazz Center, in the lobby and upstairs at the former Audubon Ballroom and Theater (designed by Charles Lamb, 1912, built by William “20th Century” Fox), the sacred space where Malcolm X was slain.
The museum itself has been a hallowed host to all manner of American history. Built by British army officer Col. Rodger Morris from a design created by his architect-cousin, the neo-Palladian, temple-fronted edifice was erected with the help of enslaved labor and from slave-generated profits, some 11 years before our nation’s founding. A measure of Morris’ wealth came from his wife, the heiress Mary Philipse. After they fled advancing American forces, for a couple of months, their stately house served as George Washington’s headquarters, following his victory at the Battle of Harlem Heights at the start of the War of Independence. Each year, the George Washington Dinner commemorates the 1790 banquet held at the mansion by the first President and his wife, at the close of his first term, for Cabinet members. The party included Vice President John Adams and his wife Abigail, Thomas Jefferson, and Eliza and Alexander Hamilton.
Michael Henry Adams photos
Wayne Benjamin, MJM Co-Secretary, Historic House Trust Executive Director, and dinner honoree Giulietta Fiore, Ms. Johanna Garcia, and State Senator Robert Jackson 
Built in 1765, Manhattan’s 260-year-old, oldest surviving house is a city-owned landmark undergoing an extensive multimillion-dollar restoration. (Library of Congress / Public domain photo) 
Earnestine Bell Temple and Sharon Duncan 
Michael Henry Adams and Jean Garrett 
Sisters Juana Luna and the Hon. Maria A. Luna 
Ms. Jean Garrett in front of Malcolm X sculpture by Gabriel Koren 
Ms. Johanna Garcia, chief of staff of her escort State Senator Robert Jackson
The mansion was acquired next by Haitian Revolution refugee, Stephen Jumel, and his American wife Eliza. During Madame Jumel’s widowhood, it provided a refuge for Anne Northup and her children with Solomon Northup, the victim of the harrowing “12 Years a Slave” saga. Renowned for her culinary skills, during part of the time of her husband’s ordeal, Mrs. Northup worked here as a cook. Evolving the skill of Anne Northup and tastes popular in Washington’s day, the dinner’s caterer, Norma Jean Darden, served roasted Cornish Game hens with wild rice and tart cherry sauce.
Owned by the city, but operated by a private foundation, the Morris-Jumel Mansion is currently undergoing an ambitious external restoration, befitting so significant a national treasure.
Two highly notable women were honored at the 2025 George Washington Dinner. Unfortunately, the recipient of the Morris-Jumel Mansion Community Service Award — none other than incomparable jazz pianist Marjorie Eliot — was unable to attend. Among music lovers worldwide, since 1993, Eliot has become renowned for hosting Sunday concerts with supper in her living room at the legendary Rodger Morris apartment house at 555 Edgecombe Avenue (Count Basie, Marian Bruce, Canada Lee, and Paul Robeson all once lived here).
Giulietta Fiore, the Executive Director of the Historic House Trust of New York City, received the Morris-Jumel Mansion Excellence in Preservation Award. From start to finish, the HHT is playing a key role partnering in the long-awaited mansion restoration, to bring back the true ambiance of American history.