The Point Breeze property in Bordentown, the former estate of Joseph Bonaparte — the former King of Spain and brother to French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte — has been a center of interest since it became the property of the D&R Greenway, City of Bordentown, and State of New Jersey.
The D&R Greenway is the owner of the section known as the Gardener’s House, the only structure remaining from Joseph Bonaparte’s presence there from 1816 through 1839.
Recent work on the property prompted the following explanation from D&R Greenway President and CEO Linda Meade:
“The D&RG hired a gardener, (Lambertville field crop manager and land steward) Lara Periard, who laid out the plots with advice from a committee that included local reps and an expert in historic preservation and gardens. We aligned it with the plots shown on the historic 1847 map of the site.
“Our staff tilled the soil for the garden using a tractor that was donated to D&RG by Betty Wold Johnson. We had mushroom compost and mulch delivered, to be used on the garden. We also recycled bluestone that we were told is from the original Bonaparte mansion. It will be used to create a path through the garden so people can “walk in the footsteps of Bonaparte.”
“D&RG staff member David Seiler, who has expertise in carpentry and historic renovations, is (managing) the fence. We modeled it after a fence at a vegetable garden on an historic site, Hildene (the Robert Todd Lincoln home in Vermont). A wooden fence since appears in sketches to be historically accurate to the site. Of course, it needs to be high enough to keep out deer. It should be close to finished, and planting is next.
“Lara, who spent five years working at a large organic farm, Chickadee Farm, has planned the garden and will be planting historic seed obtained from Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s garden was the same era, ca. 1820). We will be planting fall crops based on the list of vegetables and herbs that were originally grown here.
“We have been taking photos so that we have a timeline as the garden and fence are created.
“We are looking for volunteers to help weed, water and harvest. We are installing an irrigation system.”
For more information, visit the D&R Greenway website.
Meanwhile, the Bordentown Historical Society notes the following:
On Saturday, August 6, at 4 p.m., Richard Veit, professor of anthropology and interim dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth University, will discuss the archeological findings from his recent dig at the Gardener’s House, the only remaining intact structure from Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze Estate.
Veit did his initial archeological dig at Point Breeze in 2007 in the area of Bonaparte’s first mansion. His most recent dig was in October 2021, at the Gardener’s House.
The free talk with wine reception compliments the BHIS’s current Joseph Bonaparte exhibit and takes place at the Bordentown Historical Society’s headquarters at the Friends Meeting House, 302 Farnsworth Avenue, Bordentown. Registration is requested.
For more on the BHS, visit the Bordentown Historical Society website.
