The neighborhood of Claremont derives its name from a mansion that once stood in what is now Claremont Park. The park was originally part of the old Morris family estate, established in 1679. Aware of encroaching suburban development with the arrival of the New York and Harlem River Railroad, Gouverneur Morris II (1813-1888) auctioned off much of his land in 1848. Newlyweds Elliott Zborowski de Montsaulain and Anna Bathgate acquired a parcel in the northern portion of the former Morris property soon after. Anna had grown up on the neighboring Bathgate estate, which now constitutes Crotona Park.





