The Scott-Edwards House (Port Richmond/West Brighton)


Along with the lush grounds and gardens lovingly maintained by the owner, this Greek Revival house (renovations c. 1840) was originally built c. 1730 in the Colonial Dutch Farmhouse style.  This is truly a home out of the 18th century. The combined use of diverse building materials, including sandstone on the ground floor and wood clapboard on the upper half-story give this house its enduring charm.  The eyebrow windows under the eaves of the Portico make this an intriguing and mysterious structure. 

The house sits on a parcel of land that was originally granted to Governor Dongan in 1677. The property was passed down to the Governor's nephew and then the investigation grows cold for the Revolutionary War period.

Judge Ogden Edwards, the nephew of Jonathan Edwards (the famous American theologian noted for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"), then took possession of the house in the 1840s.  The Judge was also the cousin of the infamous Aaron Burr, the Vice President of the United State who murdered Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804.

In turn, the property came to Adam Scott, a florist, and then to Samuel Henshaw, a worker at the Bronx Botanical Garden.  Mr. Henshaw is believed to have enhanced the garden landscape that you see today.


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