John Jay’s original celestial globe is an optical planetarium, made by notable British globe makers William Bardin and his son Thomas Marriot Bardin, who began production of their globes in 1790. The celestial map shows positions of stars, clusters, nebula, and planetary bulae. The months of the year and corresponding zodiac signs are around the base. The globe is based upon a charting from 1800 by Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal of Britain at the time, and one of the pioneers in the field. Jay also owned a reflecting telescope, purchased in 1791, demonstrating an interest in astronomy, an interest shared by other Founding Fathers. In fact, Thomas Jefferson owned a very similar celestial globe, also by the Bardins; however, his globe was lost over time. Learn more about Thomas Jefferson during our Thematic Tours offered Thursday through Saturday at 2:00pm throughout the month of April.

Tickets for our Standard House Tour and Thematic Tours are now available through our website. Due to tour popularity, and because the number of tickets available for each tour is strictly limited, we strongly recommend you purchase your tickets in advance. Please note that all members of your party are required to have a ticket…

We are excited to announce that beginning August 1st our 2pm tour will always be a thematic tour. On Wednesday through Saturday (Thursday through Saturday beginning October 15th) we will be exploring historical topics relevant to John Jay, his family, and Jay’s relationships with other Founders. On Sundays through October 15th the thematic tour will…

Passengers on board Metro-North and Amtrak trains from New York City to Albany can now learn more about John Jay Homestead on their smartphones using the new Hudson River Train Tour App, developed by the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area, in partnership with the National Park Service. The app gives rail travelers several tools…