The Beech Allee (Avenue) and Stone Fences

The Beech Allee (Avenue) and Stone Fences. John Jay Homestead. , When Jay assembled his 750 acres by 1800, much of the land had already been cleared indiscriminately by tenant farmers. Stone, however, was abundant and it was put to good use. Jay spent 15 years encircling his property with stone fences and an additional decade dividing it into lots still visible in the newly reforested landscape. , This magnificent allee of European and copper beech trees was planted in the second half of the 19th century by John jay II. To the right of the allee, along the hillside below the main house, the Jays planted a pear orchard which was productive for more than 100 years. , , “As one approaches the estate of Jay, the marks of superior taste and cultivation are apparent; the stone walls are more neatly and compactly built and the traveler is refreshed by the grateful shade of maples and elms which were planted along the road by jay and his descendants.” , (John Jay’s success in nurturing the land by sculpting, dividing and planting it over time, is apparent a generation later in this description of the estate from Homes of American Statesmen (1854). , “It always gives me pleasure to see trees which I have reared and planted; and therefore I recommend it to you to do the same, planting is an innocent and rational amusement – my father planted many trees, and I never walk in their shade without deriving pleasure from that circumstance – the time will probably come when you will experience similar emotions.” , (Excerpt from a letter from John Jay to his son Peter Augustus Jay, 1792.)