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The property that Fort Washington Collegiate is on was at one time part of the estate of James Gordon Bennett, publisher of the New York Herald.  Bennett purchased the land from the estate of Richard Carman in 1871.  Carman had passed away in 1867 and his sons sold off the vast properties owned by their father.

 James Gordon Bennett, Jr., inherited the Herald and the property the following year.  James Jr., for a time, lived on the estate and passed away in 1918 in France.  The New York City Department of Parks and Recreation acquired the property from the Bennett estate and opened it as a public park on July 18, 1928.

 The original entrance and driveway of the Bennett estate known as Bennett Lane started at 181st Street and Colonel Robert Magaw Place going to 183rd Street and then west to Fort Washington Avenue.  The wrought iron gate of the Bennett estate was salvaged by sculptor George Grey Barnard owner of the original collection of medieval art which would eventually become the foundation of the Cloisters Museum in Fort Tryon Park.  Barnard's studio and collection was housed in a building on 190th Street and Fort Washington Avenue.

 The Fort Washington Collegiate Church is a member congregation of the Reformed Church of America.  It serves New York City along with other Reformed Church of America congregations such as Marble Collegiate Church on Fifth Avenue and 29th Street, West End Collegiate Church on West End Avenue and 77th Street, Middle Collegiate Church on Second Avenue and East 7th Street.  One of the most famous ministers of the Reformed Church in New York City was Norman Vincent Peale who was pastor at Marble Collegiate.

 Fort Washington Collegiate was constructed in 1909 of brick in the fashion of a quaint English church.  The land it is on was owned by the West End Collegiate Church.  The Parish House which shares the site was located at what is now 4232 Broadway in a rented storefront which was a convenient place to meet for the parish.

 The grounds of the church are well manicured and surrounded by a well appointed flower garden.  The property has a fieldstone wall adorned by an iron fence.  Above the entrance of the church is a Celtic cross that is lit at night.

HARLEM ONE STOP: In 1902 the Consistory of the Collegiate Church purchased the land on which the Ft. Washington Church now stands. On May 4, 1905 a reccomendation was made that a portion of the plot be sold and the proceeds be used for the erection of a chapel. On December 8, 1908 the cornersone was laid, and the new building was occupied for the first time on February 28, 1909.

Fort Washington Collegiate Church (1908–09)
Architect: Nelson & Van Wagenen

The Fort Washington Collegiate Church at 470 Fort Washington Avenue began as an outreach of the West End Collegiate Church. The church was built in 1908-09 and was designed by the firm of Nelson & Van Wagenen in the Country Gothic style. In 1916, it became a full member of the Collegiate Reformed Protestant Dutch Church, along with the Marble, Middle and West End Collegiate Churches. It incorporates the congregation of the Hamilton Grange Reformed Church and former members of the Harlem Reformed Dutch Church.