![]() ![]() Joseph wanted to live between Philadelphia and New York, where he could rapidly receive the latest news from Europe. The grand house is in the lower right corner of this map. The beauty of the estate grounds attracted artists, naturalists, and other prominent residents of the area. Joseph Bonaparte’s estate included vast gardens, an artificial lake, and miles of winding roads. Napoleon chose not to, but Joseph escaped to the United States to begin a new life. A close confidante of his brother, he supported his brother’s return from exile in Elba in 1815, and following his brother’s defeat at Waterloo, encouraged him to flee to America. This proved considerably more challenging, and during the Peninsular Wars he was driven out of Spain. Later, Napoleon made him King of Spain (1808-13). In this role, he was seen as a democratically inclined monarch. After his brother became emperor, Joseph was made King of Naples and Sicily (1806-08). A distinguished diplomat, he helped negotiate the Louisiana Purchase (1803). In 2007, archaeology, both below and above ground, provided a wealth of new information about the layout of the site and especially Joseph’s use of the landscape as a stage for enacting his role as a king in exile.īorn on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, Joseph Bonaparte trained as a lawyer and served as a member of the Council of 500, the lower house of the French legislature during the French Revolution. Divine Word employed the property first as a seminary and subsequently as a retirement community. In 1941 Divine Word Missionaries, a Roman Catholic religious community, acquired the property. After Joseph’s return to Europe, the property remained a private estate/park owned by the Richards, Beckett, and Hammond families. It was one of the sights to see in the Delaware Valley. Joseph’s country estate, sometimes called Bonaparte’s Park, attracted many luminaries who commented on it widely. He also laid out one of the finest picturesque gardens in North America. The first was destroyed by a fire in 1820, the second stood into the mid-nineteenth century. ![]() At Point Breeze he constructed a pair of palatial houses. Joseph, who had owned fine estates in Europe, chose to live in Bordentown because of its location on the main route between Philadelphia and New York and because of the property’s exceptional setting. However, he was best known for his lavish country estate at Point Breeze in Bordentown. Known as the Comte de Survilliers, Joseph was a patron of the arts and sciences and owned a townhouse in Philadelphia. ![]() ![]() Joseph Bonaparte (1768-1844), the elder brother of Napoleon, immigrated to the United States at the close of the Napoleonic Wars and settled in the Delaware Valley. Indeed, everyone from American politicians to the Marquis de Lafayette and Mexican revolutionaries visited Joseph and solicited his counsel. Here Joseph entertained French emigres and Philadelphia elites, played host to visiting diplomats, artists, and naturalists, and stayed abreast of the latest political news from Europe. Famous for its picturesque landscape, wonderful gardens, extensive art collection, and large library, it was a center of social life in the Delaware Valley. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania)Īlthough only traces of the original Point Breeze estate in Bordentown, New Jersey, remain, extensive archaeological deposits survive to reveal the grandeur of the home occupied by Joseph Bonaparte during his American sojourn (1815-39). He built a grand estate named Point Breeze, where he collected art, cultivated sprawling gardens, and hosted some of the area’s most prominent citizens for social events. Joseph Bonaparte, older brother of Napoleon, resided in Bordentown, New Jersey, after his exile from Spain. Country estates provided the elite with refuge from the heat and disease of the city during the summer months and provided wealthy Philadelphians with showplaces for their gardens and architecture. Many of these country houses still stand, including the Woodlands, Andalusia, Lemon Hill, and others. The first was likely Pennsbury Manor, the American home of William Penn (1644-1718). Similar grand houses once graced the Delaware Valley, especially upriver from Philadelphia and along the Schuylkill. Joseph Bonaparte’s Point Breeze estate was one of the finest country houses in the Delaware Valley. Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Back. ![]()
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