Raynham Hall

New York · United States · Execution site

The Oyster Bay house where a Townsend daughter overheard the plot to buy Benedict Arnold, and where the hanged Major John André was first seen in the

Raynham Hall in Oyster Bay, New York belonged to the Townsend family and was taken over as a base by British forces during the Revolutionary War. Major John André was a frequent visitor. So was John Simcoe, who commanded the British troops quartered there.

One of the Townsend daughters overheard the two men discussing a payment to Benedict Arnold in return for surrendering his troops. The family passed what she had heard to George Washington. Arnold escaped. André was captured and hanged. He was first reported at the house in the 1930s, seen on horseback outside a bedroom window.

He is not the only presence recorded here. Sally Townsend, said to have been in love with Simcoe, is described as still occupying her old bedroom. Staff report that the room stays cold through the summer, cold enough that the curator has worn a wool vest to work in it. Investigators who have spent time in that room describe whatever is in it as unhappy. In October 1999 a volunteer working on the grounds added another account from the garden.

FAQ

Where is Raynham Hall located?

Raynham Hall is in New York, United States.

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Accounts are drawn from local folklore and visitor reports.

Image: Idoysterbay / CC BY 3.0 via wikimedia