The entire 286 acre district includes 5 properties: The Jay Estate (23 acres with 3 owners – the nonprofit Jay Heritage Center (JHC), New York State and Westchester County  – managed by JHC since 2013), Whitby Castle & Rye Golf Club (110+ acres owned and managed by the City of Rye), the Jay Cemetery (3 acres privately owned and closed to the public), Lounsbury (13 acres, privately owned), and Marshlands Conservancy (137+ acres owned by Westchester County). These 5 properties–and this unique district– received National Historic Landmark status in 1993 because of the site’s association with Revolutionary War figure, jurist, peacemaker, anti-slavery advocate and New York Governor, John Jay. Jay who grew up on this site, owned land there as an adult and is buried within the district with his descendants. The area also earned recognition because of the exceptional architectural stature of the 3 extant pre-civil war estates –including their associated buildings and landscapes. There are fewer than 2600 NHLs in the nation and over 262 of them (slightly over 10%) are in New York State.

This entire 286 acre American treasure has been further recognized as an archaeologically sensitive zone by New York State’s Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service because of its cultural affiliations which include Middle Woodland, Late Woodland, Late Archaic and periods of historic significance of 3000-4999 BC, 1000-2999 BC, 1499-1000 AD, 1749-1500 AD, 1825-1849, and 1850-1874.