Mount Pleasant

He is best remembered for his mansion, known as Mount Pleasant, which he built in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

 on the East River

East River

The East River is a tidal strait in New York City. It connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island from the island of Manhattan and the Bronx on the North American mainland...

 in 1763, near the northwest corner of 1st Avenue and East 51st Street. This mansion served as the British military headquarters during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

, and was the site of the trial of Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale

Nathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British...

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On his death, Beekman left the mansion to his nephew, James William Beekman

James William Beekman

James William Beekman was vice president of the New York Hospital.-Biography:He was born in New York City on November 22, 1815...

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Exhibition

In 2004, the New-York Historical Society

New-York Historical Society

The New-York Historical Society is an American history museum and library located in New York City at the corner of 77th Street and Central Park West in Manhattan. Founded in 1804 as New York's first museum, the New-York Historical Society presents exhibitions, public programs and research that...

presented an exhibition based around a coach owned by Beekman, one of only three such coaches to survive in its original condition. Beekman had bought the coach in 1771 from Peter Burton, a London sea captain, for £138.