Tag Archives: George Washington

Virtual Parlor Chat: “You Never Forget Your First”, George Washington’s Presidency

George Washington stayed at the Morris-Jumel Mansion for five weeks in the Fall of 1776, but that wasn’t the only time New York City was an important place for our Nation’s first leader. The city served as the Nation’s Capital during Washington’s presidency from 1785-1790. The Mansion is proud to welcome Alexis Coe, award-winning author and Presidential historian to our first Virtual Parlor Chat of 2026, to discuss Washington’s Presidency in the City of New York and beyond. Learn about why we’ve never forgotten our first Commander-in-Chief from one of the Nation’s top historians, whose lively storytelling and tedious research will introduce you to Washington and his Presidency like you’ve never seen him before. This Virtual Parlor Chat is one that will have both the casual history enthusiast and the academic professional on the edge of their seats!

About Alexis Coe:

Alexis Coe is a presidential historian, an award-winning, New York Times bestselling presidential historian, and a senior fellow at New America, a bi-partisan think tank. In July 2025, Coe became the American History Columnist at the New York Times.

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Morris-Jumel Mansion

During the decade before the Revolutionary War, the Georgian house, with its monumental portico and octagonal drawing room, was the setting for some of the colony’s most fashionable parties.

In the fall of 1776, the Mansion was seized by the Continental Army and served as headquarters for George Washington during the Battle of Harlem Heights. British and Hessian commanders occupied the house after Washington’s retreat from New York.

In the summer of 1790, Washington returned to the Mansion and dined with the members of his cabinet. Among those at the table were Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, John Adams, John Quincy Adams, and Henry Knox.

In 1810, wealthy French wine merchant Stephen Jumel and his American wife, Eliza, purchased the Mansion, and spared no expense refurbishing it. In 1828, they returned from Paris with crates of furniture and paintings, much of which they claimed had belonged to Napoleon. A year after Stephen Jumel died in 1832, his widow married former vice president Aaron Burr. The marriage ended quickly and Eliza lived alone in the house until her death in 1865.

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