The Craig House is the name of a restored colonial era farmhouse in western Monmouth County, that was at the site of the

Battle of Monmouth The Battle of Monmouth, also known as the Battle of Monmouth Court House, was fought near Monmouth Court House in modern-day Freehold Borough, New Jersey on June 28, 1778, during the American Revolutionary War. It pitted the Continental Army, co ...

during the Revolutionary War in June 1778. Utilized by the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

as a hospital during the battle, this is one of many 18th century farmhouses that have been preserved at

Monmouth Battlefield State Park Monmouth Battlefield State Park is a New Jersey state park located on the border of Manalapan and Freehold Township, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States. This park preserves the historical battlefield on which the American Revolutio ...

. The Craig House is located in Freehold Township in Monmouth County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. Monmouth Battlefield is administered by the New Jersey State Park Service.

History

Colonial history

In 1664, the Duke of York (later

James II & VII James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

) granted the

Monmouth Tract The Monmouth Tract, also known as the Monmouth Patent, Navesink Tract or Navesink Patent was a large triangular tract of land granted as a land patent to settlers of New Jersey during the early American colonial period. History Colonel Richard Nic ...

Sir George Carteret Vice Admiral Sir George Carteret, 1st Baronet ( – 14 January 1680 N.S.) was a royalist statesman in Jersey and England, who served in the Clarendon Ministry as Treasurer of the Navy. He was also one of the original lords proprietor of the ...

and various Scottish

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

and English

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

settlers, fleeing religious persecution at home. In 1693, along with Middletown and

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , also ) is a market town, civil parish, and the county town of Shropshire, England, on the River Severn, north-west of London; at the 2021 census, it had a population of 76,782. The town's name can be pronounced as either 'Sh ...

, Freehold was established by act of legislature as one of the three original townships in Monmouth County. Among the first Scottish settlers in modern-day western Monmouth County was John Craig Sr. (ca. 1650–1724) of

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

, who settled with his family in 1685. He acquired in 1695 a plot of land named by locals as "Topinemes".
"Craig House, Monmouth Battlefield State Park: Interpreted by the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield", ''Friends of Monmouth Battlefield'', Text by Dr. David G. Martin, Date unknown, Accessed April 8, 2022. John Sr.'s son Archibald Craig (1678-1751) bought the premises of what would be the Craig Farmstead in 1720. His son Samuel (1708–1746) inherited the farm in 1744 and set out to construct what would be the Craig House in 1746. Samuel unfortunately died later in 1746, with the ownership of the farm reverting to his father Archibald. When Archibald died in 1751, he bequeathed the estate to his grandson (and Samuel's son) John Jr. (1737-1824), however he was not of adult age to take claim his inheritance. The farm had to been rented out to tenants until John Jr. turned 21 in 1758. Sometime around 1770, John Jr., now married to his wife Ann Craig (1739-1824) with a child, had added an addition to the house. He added a two-story Georgian architecture, Georgian style section adjacent to the older single-story

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

style section of the house. This brought the house to its modern proportions and to what it would've looked like at the time of the Battle of Monmouth, roughly seven years later.

American Revolutionary War

During the Revolutionary War, John Craig was in the

Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...

.Symmes, Frank, ''"History of the Old Tennent Church"'', January 1, 1904. Accessed April 8, 2022, This left his wife Ann as the sole protector of their property during the battle. Once it became clear that the British were heading towards Monmouth, she escaped with her child, two slaves, and her household goods to Upper Freehold, New Jersey. Ann decided not to take her prized possessions of silver and gold, out of fears that it would weigh her down on that treacherous journey. She instead placed them underneath the open well. She hid her buckets and chain in the hay mow in the barn. These efforts ended up in no avail, as the British shortly after reaching the farmstead were able to find the mineral wealth at the bottom of the well. This was mainly due to the fact of how severely hot it was on the day of that fated battle, the soldiers' first priority would have been to get fresh water from the well.Carino, Jerry
"After surviving Battle of Monmouth, historic farmhouse is crumbling. Is relief in sight?"
''Asbury Park Press'', January 9, 2020. Accessed April 8, 2022. During that battle, the abandoned Craig House was quartered by the British and utilized as a hospital. As the family returned after the battle, they were stunned to see that the house was miraculously still standing but also equally saddened that their hidden prized possessions had vanished. Thankfully, the iron kettle that the jewelry were placed in to hide under the well has been preserved. British soldiers were buried at the Craig House's premises.

Later history

With the house left intact, the family were able to continue farming for 50 years after the battle. John Craig, Jr. died in 1824, his inheritance was divided amongst his children, Jonathan (who received a half of the share) and his daughters Amelia and Mary (whom both inherited one-quarter share each). When Mary died in 1839, Jonathan and his brother Samuel (who inherited property in New York) legally granted full ownership of the property to Amelia and her husband Peter Bowne. Amelia and Peter birthed a daughter, Anna Maria Bowne. Anna married Enoch L. Cowart, birthed a son named Samuel Craig Cowart in 1854, and inherited the property upon her mother's death in 1855. Samuel Craig Cowart (1854-1943), was active in the community. Hailing from

Freehold Borough, New Jersey Freehold is a borough and the county seat of Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.

, he was a prestigious lawyer. A charter member of the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, he had a deep passion for history. When his mother Anna Maria died in 1898, the property was bequeathed to his father Enoch, before being passed down to Samuel upon Enoch's death in 1908. While despite Samuel not residing in the Craig House (he would rent it out to tenant farmers) he was still very enamored with the homestead's rich history and the role it played during the Battle of Monmouth. The iron kettle that held the legendary jewelry of his ancestors was actually retrieved and restored by Samuel. After Samuel's death in 1943, his widowed wife sold the farm to Ernest Tark, whom used what he renamed as 'Battleground Farm' to hire migrants to cultivate the agriculture. The farmland was maintained but the home itself deteriorated. The State of New Jersey acquired the house in 1965. It is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

of the

, which was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1966. With The Craig House was restored to its Revolutionary War era appearance in 1993 (thanks in part to the advocacy of preserving historic structures at Monmouth Battlefield, by the ).
, "Time Has Taken its Toll at Monmouth Battlefield's Craig House", ''The History Girl'', Written by NJ Historian, March 2014. Accessed April 8, 2022 The home reopened that same year as a museum, and remains a notable fixture at Monmouth Battlefield. The museum is located near Schibanoff Park and Ride on U.S. Route 9 in New Jersey, U.S. Route 9. Despite the restoration in 1993, the home has not been maintained that much since. There have been calls to restore the home again, especially with the 250th anniversary of American independence fast approaching. Historian and President of the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield society Dr. David G. Martin, has expressed concern for all of the structures on the Battlefield's premises, but is particularly concerned for the Craig House and thinks that should be the beneficiary of any grants from the state. For the time being, the home's rustic charm still invokes a calling to the area's colonial agrarian past.

Facilities

*Craig House – Open on Sundays from 1-4PM (as of 2022) *Barn – Closed to the public

Notes

External links

* * {{National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey American Revolutionary War sites Historic district contributing properties in New Jersey Freehold Township, New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey Parks in Monmouth County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Monmouth County, New Jersey Houses in Monmouth County, New Jersey American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places