The Dey Mansion (pronounced ''dye''), located in modern-day Wayne,

Passaic County Passaic County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of Passaic County was enumerated at 524,118, an increase of 22,892 (4.6%) from t ...

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, and originally known as Bloomsburg Manor, played an integral role in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. Built by Col. Theunis Dey in the 1770s, it served as Washington's Headquarters on several occasions. Today, the Dey Mansion is currently open year-round with guided public tours Wednesday through Sunday.

Dey family history

In 1641 Dirck Janszen Siecken Dey, a soldier for the

Dutch West India Company The Dutch West India Company ( nl, Geoctrooieerde Westindische Compagnie, ''WIC'' or ''GWC''; ; en, Chartered West India Company) was a chartered company of Dutch merchants as well as foreign investors. Among its founders was Willem Usselincx ( ...

, of Denmark was the first of his family to settle in the colonies. His grandson Dirck Dey, a Denmark Dutch born planter, purchased 600 acres of land in Preakness Valley, now Wayne Township. By 1764 Dirck of Denmark passed the mansion onto his niece Denise. along with his wife, Hester Schuyler, raised ten children in the mansion. Theunis was a political figure who served on the state council by representing

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

. He also served as a colonel in the Bergen County Militia during the American Revolution. It was during his service in the militia that he came into contact with

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

. This led to Theunis to offer his mansion to serve as Washington's headquarters in 1780.E.A. Smyk, ''The Dey Mansion: Washington's Headquarters 1780'' (sonson, NJ: Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 2009).Cathy Tobin, ''Images of America: Wayne Township'' (Charleston, SC: Arcadia Publishing, 2001), 14-15.Passaic County Administration Building Freeholder's Office, "Dey Mansion," Passaic County NJ. (accessed on November 5, 2010). File:Dey_Family_Crest.JPG, Dey Family Crest

Washington's Preakness Valley Headquarters

George Washington stayed at the Dey Mansion during the American Revolution as one of his Headquarters. This area of the Preakness Valley was chosen because its location, as well as its abundance of food and forage in the surrounding area. On two separate occasions the Dey Mansion served as Headquarters for Washington, once from July 1 through July 28, 1780 and again from October 8 through November 27, 1780.E.A. Smyk, ''The Dey Mansion: Washington's Headquarters 1780'' (Paterson, NJ: Passaic County Board of Chosen Freeholders, 2009). File:Washington's_Office.JPG, Washington's Office File:War_Room.JPG, War Room File:Washington's_Bedroom.JPG, Washington's Bedroom During his stay Washington and his advisers which included

Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton (January 11, 1755 or 1757July 12, 1804) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first United States secretary of the treasury from 1789 to 1795. Born out of wedlock in Charlest ...

Robert H. Harrison Robert Hanson Harrison (1745 – April 2, 1790) was an American Army officer, attorney, and judge. He was a Continental Army veteran of the American Revolution and is most notable for his service as George Washington's military secretary, th ...

Tench Tilghman Tench Tilghman (, December 25, 1744April 18, 1786) was an officer in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He served as an aide-de-camp to General George Washington, achieving the rank of lieutenant colonel. Tilghman rose ...

, David Humphreys and

James McHenry James McHenry (November 16, 1753 – May 3, 1816) was a Scotch-Irish American military surgeon, statesman, and a Founding Father of the United States. McHenry was a signer of the United States Constitution from Maryland, initiated the recommend ...

used the four rooms on the south-eastern side of the mansion for their bedrooms as well as their military war rooms. Washington also had numerous visitors while at the Dey Mansion, those of which include the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, General

Anthony Wayne Anthony Wayne (January 1, 1745 – December 15, 1796) was an American soldier, officer, statesman, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. He adopted a military career at the outset of the American Revolutionary War, where his mil ...

, Major General

Lord Stirling William Alexander, also known as Lord Stirling (1726 – 15 January 1783), was a Scottish-American major general during the American Revolutionary War. He was considered male heir to the Scottish title of Earl of Stirling through Scottish line ...

Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...

, General William Howe and the Marquis de Chastellux. Washington's letters and correspondences during his time at the Dey Mansion totaled 964, for over 1800 written pages. One of which informed him on July 14, 1780, that the French allied support had landed at Newport,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Washington left on July 28 to join them. While at the mansion, Washington also issued the commission to West Point to Benedict Arnold, a respected soldier at the time. As one of the five aides de camp at the Dey Mansion, Alexander Hamilton would write many letters, both for Washington and for personal reasons. While Washington was out of the mansion for the afternoon of July 21, Hamilton received an urgent letter from Elias Dayton regarding intelligence. This letter warned that the British had sent "fifty sails of transport" from New York for Rhode Island. Hamilton quickly drafted a letter and sent it to Lafayette in Connecticut and when Washington returned, Hamilton wrote another letter to Rochambeau with a warning. This intelligence information and quick response saved the French fleet and Continental soldiers. Hamilton would also write many letters to his fiancé, Elizabeth Schuyler. The two had met that spring and were engaged to be married, but war delayed the ceremony. Hamilton was denied time off for a spring wedding, due to the campaigns and was forced to wait until December to be married. While waiting for the wedding, Hamilton wrote many romantic letters to Elizabeth, hoping she still desired to marry him. During Washington's time away from the Dey Mansion Major, General Benedict Arnold's treason became evident and his accomplice Major

John Andre John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

was hanged in

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on October 2. Fearing that the British commander Sir Henry Clinton would seek revenge, Washington moved his army once again to the Preakness Valley's Dey Mansion, and arrived on October 8, 1780. He stayed there until November 27, 1780, when he moved his headquarters and a portion of his army to

Morristown, New Jersey Morristown () is a town and the county seat of Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. ...

. Alexander Hamilton would leave the Dey Mansion with Washington, but would travel to Albany, where he would wed Elizabeth Schuyler on December 14, 1780.

Layout of the mansion and surrounding property

The Dey Mansion is of Georgian style architecture with English and Dutch influences, and was built on a 600-acre lot in Preakness Valley, now Wayne, New Jersey. The mansion was built facing the south in order receive sunlight. Each floor of the two story mansion features a long and wide center hall with multiple rooms on each side and an attic that spans the entire length of the mansion. The original kitchen was separate from the house and burned down sometime in the 19th century. A new kitchen was built next to the house as a WPA project in the 1930s, which accurately represents a colonial summer kitchen for a wealthy family. In the home today, a full restoration of the mansion was completed in 2016 however, most of the original wood frames and floors still exist. The mansion sits on the 377-acre property of the Preakness Valley Park, with features built onto the property, including a forge, plantation house, spring house, and a courtyard in the middle of the three buildings.

Dey Mansion through the years

Colonel Theunis Dey's grandson, General Richard Dey, sold the mansion and remaining 335 acres land in 1801. Since then sixteen different families have owned the mansion and land until the County of Passaic purchased it. Besides the Dey family, another family of notoriety to live here was the Hogencamp, who was the first mayor of Wayne Township. The family lived in the house for almost fifty years and is buried in the family cemetery on the property. Theunis Dey's daughter, Ann, is also buried in the family cemetery, but it's unknown if any other family members are buried here. List of Family Owners from its Construction to Present *1740–1801: Dey *1801–1813: Neafie *1813–1861: Hogencamp *1861–1864: Yeoman *1864–1865: Gillen *1865–1866: Tainter *1866–1875: Millington *1875–1883: Howe *1883–1889: Heeseman *1889–1891: Islieb *1891–1892: Heeseman *1892–1901: Petry *1901–1902: Heeseman *1902–1906: Belcher *1906–1907: French *1907–1909: Murphy *1909–1912: Wright *1912–1918: Pfister *1918–1930: Alsheimer *1930–present: Passaic County Parks File:FDR's_Letter.JPG, Letter from FDR regarding opening of Dey Mansion to visitors On January 10, 1930, the Passaic County Parks Commission acquired the land, and on October 8, 1934, it was opened for visitors. Among the guests invited to its opening was President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and although he was unable to attend he wrote a letter in which he said, "You have made a real contribution to the history of the nation"(See picture of letter). In 1970 the Dey Mansion was entered into the New Jersey Register of Historic Places as well as 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 ...

. As of 1987 the Dey Mansion has been open to the public as a museum, and it is owned and operated by the County of Passaic Department of Cultural & Historic Affairs. It serves as a meeting place and reenactment center for many historic groups such as the Hester Schuyler-Colfax Chapter,

Daughters of the American Revolution The Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a person involved in the United States' efforts towards independence. A non-profit group, they promote ...

. On February 22, 2016, the newly restored Dey Mansion was rededicated by

. The Dey Mansion is currently open year-round, with guided public tours Wednesday through Sunday. Events and lectures are also scheduled throughout the year and publicized on Facebook. For more information and schedule of tours and events, please visit Dey Mansion on The County of Passaic website or Facebook page.

Gallery

File:Dey Mansion 2.JPG, Before reconstruction in 1936 File:Dey Mansion.jpg, After reconstruction in 1936 File:Dey Mansion 3.jpg, Exterior of added kitchen File:Dey Mansion 4.jpg, First floor hallway

References

External links

* {{NRHP in Passaic County, New Jersey Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Georgian architecture in New Jersey Houses in Passaic County, New Jersey Colonial architecture in New Jersey Museums in Passaic County, New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Passaic County, New Jersey Wayne, New Jersey Houses completed in the 18th century New Jersey Register of Historic Places American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places