![]() The property is set to serve as the new heart of Bordentown, with both its city hall and its police station housed in buildings that were erected by people who owned the land after Joseph. ![]() Its most recent owner was the Society of the Divine Word, a Catholic missionary organization that took over the property in 1941 and used it to house semi-retired clergymen.ĭ&R Greenway, the land trust, teamed up with Bordentown and the state two years ago in hopes of giving the property a new life, and on December 18 they snagged the property for $4.6million. ![]() Today, all that's left of Joseph's original architecture are old foundations, collapsed tunnels, the gardener's house and a brick bridge. The property gradually lost its luster as it was passed through different owners who didn't show much interest in preserving it. He lived there for about 23 years before leaving New Jersey permanently in 1839 and moving back to Europe. Joseph hosted a number of high profile guests at the estate, including John Quincy Adams, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay and the Marquis de Lafayette. The grounds were equally impressive, boasting lush sculpture gardens, stables, a gardener's house and a lake that Joseph formed by damming a nearby creek. Joseph (pictured in a portrait circa 1808) brought his Spanish crown jewels with him to New Jersey and housed them in an art collection at Point Breeze The former king, who would have been about 48 years old at the time, quickly set to work building Point Breeze in the small town that sits right between New York City and Philadelphia, about nine miles south of Trenton. Joseph fled from Europe after his brother Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and landed in Bordentown, home to about 4,000 people back then and still today. 'There's a real opportunity to celebrate the history and at the same time make this very relevant to people today who want to come and walk on the trails, learn about the land and possibly even garden on the property,' Linda Mead, the president of D&R Greenway, the land preservation trust that helped arrange the sale of the property, told the New York Times. While the sprawling residence is no longer standing, city and state officials recently teamed up with preservationists to purchase the 60-acre plot for $4.6million and turn it into a public park to preserve Bordentown's ties to the Bonaparte family and Joseph, a former king of Naples and Spain. The Garden State was once home to French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte's older brother, Joseph Bonaparte, who settled there in the early 19th century and built a lavish estate called Point Breeze in the Bordentown in 1816. Now, one small town is working to make the state synonymous with something else - European royalty. New Jersey is known for many things: stunning beaches, luscious tomatoes, Bruce Springsteen and Atlantic City. Joseph is pictured in a portrait from the early 19th century ![]() Joseph Bonaparte, a former king of Spain and Naples, fled from Europe after his emperor brother Napoleon's defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 and landed in Bordentown, New Jersey, where he built a lavish estate called Point Breeze. Land preservation trust D&R Greenway teamed up with city and state officials to buy the property for $4.6million last month.While the mansion is no longer standing, historians and local officials are now working to turn the 60-acre plot into a public park to preserve Bordentown's ties to the Bonaparte family.Joseph lived at the property for 23 years before moving back to Europe, where he died in 1844.The grounds were equally impressive, boasting lush sculpture gardens, stables, and a man-made lake.It featured an 8,000-book library and an art collection complete with the Spanish crown jewels.At the heart of the property was a mansion fit for royalty, spanning nearly 38,000-sq-ft across three stories.The exiled former king of Spain settled in Bordentown, New Jersey, and built an estate called Point Breeze.Joseph Bonaparte fled to the US from Europe after his brother Napoleon's Battle of Waterloo defeat in 1815.New Jersey estate of Napoleon's brother Joseph Bonaparte - the ex-king of Spain who fled to the US after Waterloo - is sold for $4.6M and will be turned into a public park
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