Located on 23 acres in Westchester County, the Jay Heritage Center celebrates the boyhood home of John Jay, New York's prominent Founding Father. The Jay estate, which overlooks Long Island Sound, features a 1838 Greek Revival mansion, built by Jay's eldest son, Peter Augustus Jay.
John Jay was born in New York City in 1745 but lived at the Rye property until he left for King's College, the original name of Columbia University. A lawyer by trade, Jay served in the Continental Congress during the American Revolution and helped negotiate the Treaty of Paris with Great Britain. He later served as Secretary of Foreign Affairs before being appointed by President George Washington to become the first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.