Morristown National Historical Park is a

United States National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

, headquartered in

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

, consisting of four

site Site most often refers to: * Archaeological site * Campsite, a place used for overnight stay in an outdoor area * Construction site * Location, a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere * Website, a set of related web pages, typically ...

s important during 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 ...

: Jockey Hollow, the Ford Mansion, Fort Nonsense and the New Jersey Brigade Encampment site. The sites are located in Morristown and Harding Township, both in Morris County, and in Bernardsville in Somerset County. With its establishment in March 1933, Morristown became the country's first National Historical Park.

Sites

Jockey Hollow Jockey Hollow is the name for an area in southern Morris County, New Jersey farmed in the 18th century by the Wick, Guerin and Kemble families. The origin of the name is still uncertain, but was used as such at the time of the American Revolution ...

, a few miles south of Morristown along Route 202 in Harding Twp., was the site of a

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 ...

encampment. It was from here that the entire Pennsylvania contingent mutinied and later, 200 New Jersey soldiers attempted to emulate them. morristowncamp

Fort Nonsense occupied a high hilltop overlooking Morristown, and is believed to have been the site of a signal fire, along with earthworks. The Ford Mansion, in Morristown proper, was the site of the "hard winter" (December 1779 – May 1780) quarters of

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 ...

and the

. That winter remains the coldest on record for New Jersey. Theodosia Ford, widow of Jacob Ford Jr., and her four children shared their household with Washington, his staff, including

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 ...

, along with their servants and sometimes, their family members.

Martha Washington Martha Dandridge Custis Washington (June 21, 1731 — May 22, 1802) was the wife of George Washington, the first president of the United States. Although the title was not coined until after her death, Martha Washington served as the inaugural ...

traveled to Morristown to spend the winter with her husband. Washington's Headquarters Museum, the adjacent museum is open to the public Wednesday thru Sunday from September–June and seven days a week from July- August from 9:30 AM to 5:00 PM. The museum has three exhibit rooms and a sales area. A video production "Morristown: Where America Survived" (New Jersey Network/2009) is shown. The Ford Mansion is shown only by guided tour which begin in the Museum.The Museum hosted one of the events of the CelebrateHAMILTON 2015 program: hosted by the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, a talk by Author and Historian Michael E. Newton - "Hamilton's Revolutionary War Services", who also presented his book "Alexander Hamilton: The Formative Years." at the same event. The

New Jersey Brigade Encampment Site The New Jersey Brigade Encampment Site, also called the New Jersey Brigade Area, was used by the Continental Army in the winter of 1779–80, during the American Revolutionary War. The site is located in Bernardsville, Somerset County, New Jers ...

is located south of Jockey Hollow, mostly in Bernardsville, Somerset County. It was used by about 1,300 soldiers during the winter of 1779–80.

Park history

In April 1932, the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

(NPS) published a report recommending that the site of the

's winter encampments in 1776-77 and 1779-80 become a "Federal Historical Reserve"; the report included two sites: Jockey Hollow and the Ford Mansion. In January 1933, a conference consisting of representatives of the NPS, the Secretary of the Interior, and civic and business leaders from the Morris County area, drafted a

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

supporting the concept of a national historical park, with "the rank and dignity equal to the scenic program in the West."Hosmer, Preservation Comes of Age, I: 516-21, and Interview of Verne E. Chatelain by Charles B. Hosmer, Jr., December 17, 1971 (Manuscript on file at Harpers Ferry Center) The

for creating the Morristown National Historical Park was submitted in mid-January (H.R. 14302; S. 5469), with the support of Secretary

Ray Lyman Wilbur Ray Lyman Wilbur (April 13, 1875 – June 26, 1949) was an American medical doctor who served as the third president of Stanford University and was the 31st United States Secretary of the Interior. Early life Wilbur was born in Boonesboro, Iowa ...

, who called it "the most important park project before this department at the present time." In March 1933, in the last days of

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

's presidency, the

72nd Congress The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 ...

established Morristown as the country's first

National Historical Park National Historic Site (NHS) is a designation for an officially recognized area of national historic significance in the United States. An NHS usually contains a single historical feature directly associated with its subject. The National Historic ...

References

External links

*
National Park Service: Morristown National Historical ParkNY-NJTC: Morristown National Historical Park Trail Details and Info
{{Authority control Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Parks in New Jersey American Revolutionary War sites Morristown, New Jersey Protected areas established in 1933 National Historical Parks in New Jersey Parks in Morris County, New Jersey Museums in Morristown, New Jersey American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Morris County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey Presidency of Herbert Hoover New Jersey Register of Historic Places American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places 1933 establishments in New Jersey National Historical Parks of the United States

Sites

Park history

See also

References

External links