Developed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century on twenty acres of land closely associated with the historical evolution of the surrounding community, the area attracted as residents many prominent artists and writers of the period.

The twenty acres now included in the boundaries of Lawrence Park, which is within the Village of Bronxville, Town of Eastchester, are a part of a large parcel of land deeded to Thomas Pell.

Pell received it from four chiefs of the Mohican tribe — Gramatan, Annale, Wariatipus, and Wampage — and he in turn deeded it, in 1664, to ten families from Fairfield, Connecticut.

This document, unusual for its time, made provisions for the education of children, the disposition and upkeep of property, the support of a minister, and the regulation of all public affairs.

Pre-Revolutionary settlers included the Underhill family who originally owned much of the land in the west part of what is now the Village and operated a saw and grist mill on the river.

Charmed by the rural character of a village only fifteen miles from New York City, he initially bought the land as a long-term property investment.

Lawrence took great personal care, as roads were surveyed and lots plotted, to protect the large trees and other natural features of the property.

He then chose four of the most picturesque sites and hired the architect William A. Bates, who had just successfully completed a group of "cottages" at Tuxedo Park, to design four houses to be built on speculation.

Bates, born in 1853 in Michigan, came to New York City at the age of nineteen to train as an architect, while working as a draftsman in the offices of Herter Brothers.

An article in the May, 1970, issue the Bronxville Women's Club magazine "The Villager" states, "Bates belonged to...the school of architects who worked in what one writer terms the "High Victorian Picturesque Eclectic" manner, drawing details from French and Spanish Romanesque, late French Gothic, Victorian Gothic of Italian inspiration, sixteenth-century castles on the Loire, Second Empire Norman, even early Christian Syrian monuments.

But his Bronxville tower houses seem to be more French than English...the important thing is not the historical accuracy of the design but the architect's art in harmonizing whatever his fancy leads him to, with itself and with its surroundings.

With such a concentration of persons in the arts, it was not long before Lawrence Park acquired the reputation of being "an exclusive literary and artistic development."

In 1896, Mrs. George Custer, widow of the general and interested in becoming part of this exclusive development, bought a lot and commissioned Bates to design the first of the two houses she eventually built in Lawrence Park.

Heads were counted, but the population was not sufficient; so in the winter of 1897 Lawrence built seven larger houses for big families that would require many servants.

In a 1904 article in Architectural Record, Theodore Tuttle stated "The houses belong where they are placed, as if they had grown there and were content to remain, and the general effect is tranquil refinement.

"[7] These houses, taken as a group, today represent in practically unspoiled form all the major styles that were in fashion at the turn of the century.

Strung along narrow winding roads and perched on rocky ledges, they offered their owners the advantage of privacy combined with great natural beauty.

He was responsible for the design of much of the commercial area of the Village, as well as the Mission style Hotel Gramatan, of which only the shopping arcade now remains, on which he collaborated with A.E.

The home was designed by Bates and serves as a fine example of the Shingle style with its undulating surfaces, diamond-paned fenestration, and gable roof.

The house features a trap door in the floor of Will Low's former studio, which was useful to the artist in working on top sections of his paintings without using a ladder, as well as for canvas storage.

Within the chimney of the fireplace within the studio, there is a plaster medallion created by American sculptor Augustus St. Gaudens depicting the novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, who wrote many infamous works such as Treasure Island.

While married to her first husband Frederick MacMonnies, she lived in a home at Giverny, often remembered as the grounds of impressionist artist Claude Monet.

The home was designed strategically for the lot, as it was mostly rocky terrain; most of the rooms face South, as to best capture shade and sunshine at various times of the year.

According to Tuttle in the Record, "Oak Ridge...while not the most pretentious in appearance, probably excites interest more than any other house in the park, and more firmly impresses itself on the mind.

He was recognized for his illustrations in the beginning of his career, and by the end, was an infamous commission painter for the wealthy residents of nearby New York City.

The house is sited on one of the highest points in Lawrence Park Historic District and derives its name from the unusual design of the stone work on the porch which rests solidly on an outcropping of granite, overlooking the valley.

The house and its environment provide a prime example of how the natural landscape has been treated with reverence, giving the homes an organic compatibility with their wooded surroundings.