![]() ![]() Most of the former New Jersey country estate that once belonged to the oldest brother of Napoleon Bonaparte is to be part of the state's park system following a recent purchase. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that the grand buildings of the Point Breeze estate of former Spanish king Joseph Bonaparte are long gone, with only a gardener's house dating to 1820 remaining, but the 55-acre heart of the estate now belongs to the public. The $4.6 million purchase by the New Jersey environmental protection department, the city of Bordentown and the nonprofit D & R Greenway Land Trust was finalized Dec. Lennon said the missionaries would like to donate most of the artifacts to the New Jersey State Museum and Monmouth University.18 with Divine Word Missionaries, the Catholic order that had owned the site since 1941. "This event has proved to me how much the inhabitants of Bordentown appreciate the interest I have always felt for them and shows that men in general are good. In a letter to the local magistrate, Bonaparte later wrote: When the first mansion caught fire, local residents rushed to the estate to help save his silver, gold, jewels, money, art collection and furniture. "(The site) was an icon for culture, a very special place and rivaled the White House," said Father Raymond Lennon of Divine Word. ![]() ![]() His estate was a social hub, attracting French expatriates and prominent Americans like President John Quincy Adams. "But the best evidence we have is servants used them to bring food and other supplies from the docks to the houses - a practical use but nowhere as exciting a story."īonaparte possessed the largest book collection and the largest collection of paintings and sculpture in America. "The mythology has been the tunnels were constructed so (Bonaparte) could flee if British agents came to nab him or else to secretly give his paramours access to the house," Veit noted. Closer inspection reveals a crumbling tunnel, its Roman-style, arched brick roof and stone walls partially collapsed from age and elements, now too dangerous to enter. The lawn near the first mansion's site has a gaping hole close to the high, eroding creek bank. Today the foundation of the original home, built in 1817, lies under a grassy lawn.Ī thick cushion of leaves, brush, vines and soil hides the second home's foundation. "It's one of New Jersey's hidden archaeological treasures," said Richard Veit, a professor of archaeology at Monmouth University.Įxcept for a gardener's house, only crumbling or buried remnants remain of the estate - underground foundations tunnels docks a wash house and what was an extensive park system of gardens with a lake, walking paths and arched trail bridges.īehind the Park Street pillars stood Bonaparte's second mansion, more regal than the first and built after fire destroyed much of the first home. He settled first in Philadelphia but later built two mansions on a bluff overlooking Crosswicks Creek and the Delaware River, where he lived from 1817 to 1839. ![]() With his brother's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, Joseph Bonaparte escaped France in disguise, carrying a suitcase containing Spain's crown jewels. Point Breeze - the estate of Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon and former appointed king of Italy and Spain - was a home in exile. Today, the pillars form an eerie entrance into what was once part of a sprawling estate that stretched across both sides of Crosswicks Creek.įew realize a king lived on its 1,000-plus acres. Camouflaged by tree trunks and vines near the roadside are two granite pillars, one holding the rusting remnants of a gate. Travelers along Park Street in Bordentown City likely may take more notice of the Ocean Spray processing plant than a patch of woods nearby. ![]()
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