Van Cortlandt Park

The common horsechestnuts on the east lawn of the Van Cortlandt mansion are said to stand like sentries at the gate of history. Built in 1748, the Van Cortlandt Mansion is the oldest building in the Bronx, and it provided a roof for George Washington: twice in defeat and once in triumph.

The white ash on the east side of the entrance to the cross country trail, not far from Van Cortlandt Mansion, stands tall and strong as it towers over the thousands of runners that pass below it each year.

This white oak grows at the edge of Gun Hill Road at Moshulu Parkway North in Van Cortlandt Park. Situated directly across from the Moshulu Teaching Forest, this tree is believed to have been planted hundreds of years ago as a property line marker. Nominated by a Bronx-based artist-in-residence with the NYC Urban Field Station, Citizen Pruner, and community gardener, this tree inspired some of his interdisciplinary artwork where he investigates the relationship between people and local landscapes.