POTW: Jacob L. Van Pelt House

Today’s Photo of the Week is a two-story wooden-frame house with a portico known as the Jacob L. Van Pelt house located at 86th Street near Bay 23rd Street in Bensonhurst. Van Pelt Manor, as it is also known, was part of New Utrecht, which was one of the original Dutch towns in Brooklyn. The original owner was a descendent of Teunis Laenen Van Pelt, one of the earliest Dutch settlers. Van Pelt owned several other tracts of land including Pelham Manor and Livingston Manor. Eight generations of Van Pelts lived at Van Pelt Manor including a congressman, a state assemblyman and the last mayor of New Utrecht before it was incorporated into Brooklyn. Sadly, the house was torn down after a fire in 1952, but the grounds survived and the name was changed to Milestone Park. The Van Pelts weren’t the only occupants of the Manor. Both George Washington and British General William Howe used the Manor as a military prison at different times.  

One of the more curious objects near the Van Pelt Manor was a mile marker. The original sandstone marker, erected in 1741, was used to guide travelers along the few available roads of Kings County. Later, a replica was installed. The front of the marker informed travelers that it was 8 ¼ miles to the New York Ferry.  

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