Inwood

Understanding Inwood

The farmhouse dates to 1785. Its small domestic scale contrasts with the city around it. It offers a starting point for understanding northern Manhattan before dense development.

Inwood Hill Park contains evidence of Lenape settlement, including artifacts and campfire remains found in its rock shelters. After later farming and country estates, the city acquired land for the park in 1916. Depression-era WPA workers built many of its roads and trails. The forested landscape is thus both a surviving natural area and a place shaped by generations of people.

Places to explore

• Dyckman Farmhouse Museum

  Broadway at West 204th Street

  Choose an independent interior visit during museum hours. The small rooms, low ceilings and narrow passages are part of the experience. The garden is free, while house entry requires admission; groups need to arrange their visit.

  Read the NYFE place guide

• Isham Park

  Inwood

  The park grew from gifts of the Isham family estate. Look for the stone terrace and its commemorative plaque, or the old mile marker near the southeast gate. These small remains connect the present landscape to its former owners.

• Inwood Hill Park

  Northern Manhattan

  Explore the surviving forest and salt marsh, with rock shelters that preserve evidence of an older inhabited landscape. Consult current park information to choose a path.

Planning a visit

The farmhouse lists the A or 1 to 207th Street. Follow its visitor directions from the station and check current MTA service.

The farmhouse has stairs inside and in the garden, and does not allow strollers or scooters in the house. Check the station and park approach separately.