THE VAN PELT MANOR HOUSE


	The Van Pelt Manor House has been standing in VAN PELT Manor
since 1664, and has always been owned and occupied by members 
of the VAN PELT family. So prominent has this family been in the 
town that the name of VAN PELT Manor has for many years been given 
to this part of Brooklyn. Mrs. Townsend CORTELYOU VAN PELT, who 
lives at the Manor House, is a direct descendant of Sarah de RAPELJE
the first female white child born in New Netherlands. Near her home,
in front of the Reformed Dutch Church, is the New Utrecht liberty pole, 
bearing high an ancient eagle and a weather-vane spelling
"liberty." The late Townsend C. VAN PELT took great pride in the preservation 
of both eagle and pole. They mark the spot over which the. American flag first 
waved in the town of New Utrecht on the evacuation of the British in 1783. On 
the green in front of the church the townspeople assembled, and cannon were 
fired and patriotic demonstrations were made. This spot, sacred to liberty, 
has been marked by four poles.  The first, second, and third. were given by
descendants of those who fought for freedom, and the fourth was given to the 
Liberty Pole Association by Mr. and Mrs. Townsend C. VAN PELT. The eagle 
surmounting the pole is the original one, raised more than a century and a 
quarter ago.

	It is made of wood, and measures five feet from wing to wing. Wind and 
weather weakened it considerably, and it has been strengthened by iron 
bands on the wings and an iron bill and legs. Nobody knows where the eagle 
came from or who made it. Though many a locality has started a movement for 
a similar liberty pole, this one in New Utrecht is said to be the only 
one of its kind in this country; and year after year it has served as a 
constant reminder of the Revolution, and has never been allowed.to fall.

	In front of the liberty pole stands the old Reformed Dutch Church, of New Utrecht, 
which we have learned was used during the War of the Revolution by the British 
as a hospital and a riding school.

	The Manor House fronts on what was King's Highway, which led from New York to 
the South. An old milestone relic of George II's time, is even now on the corner. 
They say it is one of the few remaining milestones in Kings County. Along 
the old King's Highway passed the travel of the day between Long Island and 
Philadelphia.

	Washington rode over the old highway in 1790, and was greeted in 
New Utrecht by the village people. There was great excitement 
when word came that the general was shortly to arrive. From the 
little school-house near VAN PELT Manor the school-chi1dren were 
hustled home for fresh linen and face-washings and hair-combings; 
and they were as quickly marched back, dressed in new clothes and
company manners, for the great George Washington would pass their way. 
At last, after many anxious scannings of the road, they saw him 
riding toward the little school-house, and the children lined up 
and waited until he approached. Litte Peter VAN PELT was on the end 
of the line, and he was the last boy to whom George Washington spoke; 
and to little Peter he looked very tall, as he came near to him and 
laid his hand on Peter's head.

	"Be a good boy, my son," said Washington, "and you will be a good man."

	Little Peter VAN PELT probably remembered this admonition, but how far 
it shaped his life's course is not known. He did grow up to be a good 
and a great man, entering the ministry and achieving fame throughout 
the county. When Washington died, Peter VAN PELT delivered a sermon 
wherein he extolled the great general and President; and this sermon 
was printed in something like a twelve-page leaflet. Only a short time ago
a single copy of the discourse was sold for five hundred dollars.

	The VAN PELTs were stanch to the American cause during the days of the 
Revolution, and Rem VAN PELT and his brother Aert were arrested
on suspicion by the British authorities and placed in jail. With them
also were a Colonel Rutgert VAN BRUNT,.of Gravesend, and his brother
Adrian.  Colonel VAN BRUNT bribed his jailer, and the four of then succeeded
in getting a midnight interview, duringg which they planned to tell the 
same story concerning the night when they were supposed to see certain 
American officers who were endeavoring to capture officers of the British. 
When examined, they were found not guilty, and were freed. As a matter 
of fact, they did know of plans under way to trick the British, and to 
this day is pointed out the window in the VAN PELT Manor House at which 
the American captain knocked that night when he told Rem VAN PELT's 
father of his hopes for success in the work against the enemy.

	There is a sun-dial on the green in front of the VAN PELT Manor House, and
a white fence shields the garden from the whirl of the twentieth century. 
The house is low and white, and within and without it tells tales of 
the old Dutch settlers. There are storied blue tiles about a fireplace.
They say that even in Holland there are no older tiles than these. 
The rooms are low, and everywhere are pictures and books and interesting 
things that make a home.




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