Morristown National Historical Park ⓘ

Born 16 November 1753 at Ballymena, County Antrim, Ireland into a Scots-Irish family. He was the son of a prosperous merchant, and received a classical education in Dublin. At eighteen, McHenry was the first of his family to immigrate to America. In May 1778 the General Washington selected him to serve as assistant secretary on his staff. McHenry remained on Washington's staff as a volunteer without rank or pay for two and a half years. During that period he saw action in the battles of Monmouth and Springfield, New Jersey, and became a valued member of Washington's immediate "military family," along with men like Henry Knox, Alexander Hamilton, and the Marquis de Lafayette. McHenry's lifelong friendship with Lafayette dated from this experience. Near the end of 1780 he transferred to the French officer's staff, a change that led to a commission as major. McHenry resigned his commission at the end of 1781 to enter politics. Elected to the state legislature, he served for thirteen years, using this forum to argue the cause of federalism. Between 1783 and 1786 he sat in the Continental Congress, and in the following year he represented Maryland at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He died 3 May 1816, at Fayetteville, Baltimore County, Maryland and is buried at Westminster Presbyterian Churchyard, Baltimore, Maryland.

Born in Maryland in 1745 Harrison was educated in law. He succeeded Joseph Reed as aide to General Washington on 6 November, 1775, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel. He remained in the military until the spring of 1781. He became chief justice of the general court of Maryland on 10 March, 1781, but declined the appointment of judge of the United States Supreme Court in 1789. He died in Charles County, Maryland, 2 April, 1790.

Tilghman was born on December 25, 1744 at his father’s plantation on Fausley Creek in Talbot County, Maryland. He was educated privately until the age of 14, when he went to Philadelphia to live with his grandfather, Tench Francis. In 1761, he graduated from the College and Academy of Philadelphia. In 1776, Tilghman was commissioned captain in the Pennsylvania Battalion of the Flying Camp. In August 1776, he joined George Washington's staff as aide-de-camp and secretary. He served without pay until May 1781, when Washington, calling him a "zealous servant and slave to the public, and faithful assistant to me for nearly five years," procured for him a regular commission in the Continental Army. On 9 June 1783, Tilghman married his cousin, Anna Maria Tilghman, they had two daughters. On 1 January 1784, Tilghman formed a business partnership with Robert Morris in Baltimore. Tilghman died on 18 April 1786. He is buried at Oxford Cemetery in Oxford, Maryland.

Meade was born in Nansemond County, Virginia, 14 July, 1746. He was educated at Harrow in England. In December, 1775, he commanded a company at the battle of Great Bridge, near Norfolk, Virginia, the first fought in that state. He joined General Washington's military family as one of his aides with the rank of colonel; he served in that capacity throughout the war. He superintended the execution of Major Andre. About 1765 he married Elizabeth Randolph, aunt of John Randolph, of Roanoke. In 1780 he married for his second wife the widow of William Randolph, of Chatsworth. He died in Frederick (now Clarke) County, Virginia, in February, 1805. and of course,

Ford Mansion - This large Georgian style home was built in the early 1770's for Jacob Ford, Jr., an iron manufacturer, and his family. Mr. Ford also served as a colonel in the Morris County Militia during the Revolutionary War. Ford died in January 1777 while 35 soldiers from Delaware were briefly quartered in the house. In December 1779, Mr. Ford's widow, Theodosia, allowed General Washington to use her home as his headquarters during the winter of 1779-1780. While Mrs. Ford and her four children moved into two rooms of the house, General Washington, his wife Martha, five aides-de-camp, eighteen servants, a number of visiting dignitaries and sometimes guards took over the rest of the house. After Washington's six month stay, the Ford family continued to live in the house until the 1870's when it was sold at auction. Four prominent New Jersey men bought the house and created the Washington Association of New Jersey in order to preserve the house and display it to the public. This house is one of the earliest house museums in the United States. The Washington Association donated the house and their extensive collections to the National Park Service in 1933. Today the house is furnished to reflect how it might have appeared during Washington's stay. The house is shown only by guided tours which begin in the museum building.

Washington's Headquarters Museum - This Colonial Revival building was designed by the noted architect John Russell Pope, who also designed the Jefferson Memorial in Washington D.C. Pope used Mount Vernon, George Washington's Virginia home, as the inspiration for this building. Built in 1930's, by the Public Works Administration, it was constructed with steel and concrete to serve as a fireproof building to display and store the historic collections. The museum features a number of exhibits showing furniture, weapons, documents and other objects from the 18th century as well as a interactive area called the Discover HIstory Center. The building also houses a research library, the park collections and administrative offices.

Wick House - Henry Wick built this Cape Cod Style house around 1750. His 1,400 acre farm, most of which was covered by forest, made him the largest landowner in Morristown. Henry Wick's trees attracted Washington's army to the area as a winter encampment site because they needed logs to build cabins for shelter and wood to burn for heating and cooking. During the winter of 1779-1780 the army chopped down over 600 acres of his trees on Mr. Wick's property and more on his neighbor's properties. Additionally, Major General Arthur St. Clair, commander of 2,000 Pennsylvania soldiers, made his quarters in Mr. Wick's home for the winter.

Today the house is furnished to portray its use as a general's headquarters. Tours of the Wick House are offered periodically.

Jockey Hollow Visitor Center - This mid-1970's building features a large mural illustrating the winter encampment of 1779-1780, a full-scale model of a soldier's log cabin and a short movie. A gift shop, restrooms and an information desk staffed by a park ranger will also be found in the Visitor Center.

Grand Parade - Originally the Grand Parade was an open field 400 yards long and 100 yards wide. A two-room log cabin located there served as the camp administrative center from which orders were issued and court-martials were held. Two cannon stationed here served as alarm guns to alert the camp of attack. Guards assembled daily on the Grand Parade for inspections and to receive their orders. The Grand Parade also served as a place for military executions; two soldiers were hanged and buried here.

Guerin House - Joshua Guerin, his wife and 8 children lived in a small house on an average size farm of 76 acres. Guerin served as a sergeant in the Morris County militia and occasionally hauled supplies in his wagon for the army. He allowed the army to graze horses in his pasture and sold hay and firewood to the army. Soldiers were even briefly quartered in his house. Like many of his neighbors Guerin's property also suffered damages from the army's encampment. Soldiers stole potatoes, rye, sheep, tools and even some of his wife's clothing. Additionally, soldiers burned his fences and let horses loose in his wheat field resulting in the loss of half his crop. The house currently is used by park staff as a residence and is not open to the public.

When the New Jersey troops arrived in Jockey Hollow in mid-December, there was no suitable camp site available. Instead, the troops moved a few miles south of Jockey Hollow, encamping on a hillside near Ayer's iron forge. The soldiers built their log cabins and moved into them by Christmas Day. The Jersey troops camped here from December 1779 until April, when they moved into huts in Jockey Hollow that had been vacated by the Maryland Brigade.

Today, the site of the New Jersey Brigade encampment is marked by interpretive signs. It can only be reached by a hiking trail, which can be accessed at the New Jersey Brigade parking area at the Cross Estate. PLEASE NOTE: The buildings in the New Jersey Brigade area, including the Cross Estate, are not open to the public.

Whether you call the mansion before you "Queen Anne Farm" as the Bensels did, or Hardscrabble House as the Cross Family renamed it, the estate served as an escape from everyday life. John A. and Ella Bensel built the house in 1905, and William R. and Julia Newbold Cross purchased it in 1929. Both families were part of a trend of wealthy industrialists and financiers who established country homes in the Morristown area and Bernardsville's "Mountain Colony." As you explore the mansion's grounds, you'll discover a few of its Bensel-era remnants, including a five-story, stone water tower and a large silver maple tree the Bensels planted in 1906. The house was remodelled in 1940 after the death of William R. Cross, but the gardens remain the most significant contribution the Cross family made to the estate. View the garden and enjoy the legacy left by Julia Newbold Cross and her landscape architect Clarence Fowler. Volunteers have cared for this garden since 1977. In 1975, Morristown National Historic Park purchased this property to protect the adjacent Revolutionary War New Jersey Brigade encampment area and connect to the Jockey Hollow section of the park. The house and grounds of this former private estate have recently been declared eligible for National Historic Landmark status. Today, the grounds can serve as your retreat to share with friends and family. The hours to view the grounds vary seasonally--see the Operating Hours & Seasons page for the latest information..

Morristown National Historical Park preserves the lands, features, and artifacts associated with the 1777 and 1779-80 winter encampments of the Continental Army and General George Washington's headquarters in Morristown. Comprised of four geographically separate units approximately 30 miles from New York City, Morristown NHP lies at the junction between the Highland and Piedmont physiographic provinces providing for both hilly terrain and scenic views. The park has twenty seven miles of hiking trails winding through mature forests which Washington’s Army utilized to construct a "log-house city" of over 1000 soldier huts and successional forests which have regenerated on agricultural fields abandoned in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. Located in the upper end of the Great Swamp Watershed, the headwaters of several streams utilized as a water source by Washington’s soldiers intersect many of the park’s trails. The mosaic of fields and forests found in the park are interwoven with a wide variety of natural resources containing significant plant and animal communities.

Part of the NPS Inventory & Monitoring Program , the Northeast Temperate Network (NETN ) brings together NPS researchers, citizen scientists, and other organizations to monitor the ecological health of Morristown National Historical Park and 12 other parks in the northeast. The wide-reaching, scientifically robust information gathered through these long-term natural resource monitoring projects are important to help park managers make better informed decisions, and in promoting research, education, and public understanding of park resources.

Morristown National Historical Park is home to more than 120 bird species at various times of the year. The park contains important breeding habitat for a variety of species. During a survey conducted in 1999-2000 by park volunteers, 49 different species were found nesting in the park. The park’s many trails, fields, orchards and vistas provide opportunities for bird observation. Large avian species such as Red-tailed Hawks and Pileated Woodpeckers are commonly seen in the park. In 2002, a two-year National Park Service Inventory and Monitoring Program was initiated to inventory the bird species at Morristown NHP. So far the presence of 67 bird species including 31 neotropoical migrants have been documented. A number of extremely interesting species have been detected in the park including Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, Pileated as well as Hairy Woodpeckers, Yellow-throated Vireo, Seven species of thrushes (Eastern Bluebird, Wood Thrush, Gray-cheeked Thrush, Swainson's Thrush, Hermit Thrush, Veery, and American Robin), Cerulean Warbler, Louisiana Waterthrush, and Indigo Bunting. Surveys will continue during the 2003 breeding season.

Morristown National Historical Park contains many different plant communities including mature and successional forests, open fields, cultivated sites and wetland vegetation. In 1995 an herbaceous inventory identified 291 species of herbaceous plants as well as 22 species of ferns. The forests within the park consist primarily of native hardwood species, with a lesser number of introduced species. The most abundant canopy species include Yellow Poplar, Black Birch and Beech. Other common canopy species are Hickories, Yellow Birch, Red, White, Black and Chestnut Oak, White Ash and Red Maple.

Flowering Dogwood is the most common understory species. Invasive nonnative plants have begun to dominate the forest understory in all of the parks units. Prevalent invasives include Siebold's Viburnum, Japanese Wiregrass, Japanese Barberry and Oriental Bittersweet.

Fifteen fields totaling 122 acres are maintained within the park. These fields originally were used for agricultural purposes but now serve to retain a historic appearance. Field vegetation includes grasses and herbaceous and woody plants that attract numerous species of birds, insects, and other animals. Three hundred years of human and natural disturbance have altered plant communities throughout the park and adjacent landscapes. Cultivated communities include: