The Van Horne House is a historic building at 941 East Main Street near Bound Brook in Bridgewater Township, Somerset 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 Delawa ...

. The house was built and also known as Phil's Hill, after its owner, Philip Van Horne. It served as the headquarters for American General Benjamin Lincoln in 1777, 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 ...

, in particular the

Battle of Bound Brook The Battle of Bound Brook (April 13, 1777) was a surprise attack conducted by British and Hessian forces against a Continental Army outpost at Bound Brook, New Jersey during the American Revolutionary War. The British objective of capturing the ...

. Later, it served as the headquarters for American General William Alexander, Lord Stirling during the second Middlebrook encampment (1778–79). The house, on the early-18th-century

Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail ...

that connected Philadelphia to New York City, was a New Jersey landmark during the war. Since 2002, the Heritage Trail Association has used the house as its headquarters, including an exhibit space. It 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 ...

on March 8, 2002, for its locally significant

Colonial Revival architecture The Colonial Revival architectural style seeks to revive elements of American colonial architecture. The beginnings of the Colonial Revival style are often attributed to the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, which reawakened Americans to the archit ...

from 1937 to 1944.

History

Between 1683 and 1685, Thomas Codrington, a merchant from New York City, purchased 2,754 acres between the

Raritan River Raritan River is a major river of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean. History Geologists assert that the lower Raritan provided t ...

and the

First Watchung Mountain The Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States. The name is derived from the American Native ...

from the East Jersey proprietors. In 1706, he sold the property to

Phillip French Phillip French II (c. February 13, 1666/7 – c. June 3, 1707) was the 27th Mayor of New York City from 1702 to 1703. Early life French was born in Suffolk, England, and was sometimes known as Philip French Van London. He was the son of Phillip ...

, who left it to his three daughters. This tract was later split between Cornelius Van Horne, husband of Elizabeth French, and Joseph Reade, husband of Anne French, as recorded in a 1722 deed. Jacob Janeway purchased an 84-acre lot that included the site of the house, . Philip Van Horne (1719–1793), son of Cornelius, then purchased the lot from Janeway's estate in 1750. During the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, Philip Van Horne was a colonel in the Somerset County militia. In 1759, he was appointed a judge in the Court of Common Pleas for Somerset County. He was known for his great hospitality, to both sides of the war, and his house became known as Convivial Hall or Convivial Hill. Andrew D. Mellick, Jr. in his book, '' The Story of an Old Farm'', reports that Van Horne had "five handsome and well-bred daughters who were the much admired toasts of both armies." His eldest daughter, Mary Ricketts, married Irish American Colonel Stephen Moylan on September 12, 1778. American Captain Alexander Graydon (1752–1818) writes that: "His house, used as a hotel, seemed constantly full." and notes that General

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 ...

was concerned: Mellick writes: At the

, on April 13, 1777, Van Horne hosted British General Charles Cornwallis for breakfast and American Generals Benjamin Lincoln and Nathanael Greene for supper. During the second Middlebrook encampment (winter of 1778–79), Major General William Alexander, Lord Stirling used the house as his headquarters. Stirling took over command of the Middlebrook encampment on December 21, 1778, when Washington left to meet with

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in Philadelphia, until he returned about February 5, 1779. General Henry Lee, Light-Horse Harry, and other officers were also quartered here. On October 26, 1779, British Lt. Col.

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded Yor ...

led a group of the Queen's Rangers to search for and capture New Jersey Governor William Livingston or Colonel Moylan. He raided several houses in Bound Brook before arriving here, but did not find his targets. After taking prisoners at the house, he continued on to Van Veghten's Bridge. In 1934, the house was purchased by the Calco Chemical Company, later

American Cyanamid American Cyanamid Company was a leading American conglomerate which became one of the nation's top 100 manufacturing companies during the 1970s and 1980s, according to the Fortune 500 listings at the time. It started in fertilizer, but added ...

. The company had previously established a large manufacturing facility on the adjoining property, starting in 1916. Starting in 1937, company executive John McMurray had the house restored, "in colonial period", to be used as corporate guest quarters. During World War II, the company noted in its April 1944 newsletter:

Description

The house is two stories with a

gable roof A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ...

. The stone foundation is from the 18th century. The house was remodeled by the Calco Chemical Company between 1937 and 1944 using a 20th-century Colonial Revival style. It is on a hill north of the Old York Road and west of the Middle Brook.

Gallery

File:Van Horne House, Bridgewater Township, NJ - front view.jpg, Front view, looking north File:Van Horne House, Bridgewater Township, NJ - information sign.jpg, Somerset County historical information File:Van Horne House, Bridgewater Township, NJ - Old York Road tablet.jpg,

bronze tablet File:Ewald BoundBrook 1777.jpg, Plan of the

by Johann von Ewald

References

External links

* * * – Kells Hall, Island Farm, Cornelius Van Horne House * Van Horne House * {{NRHP in Somerset County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Historic house museums in New Jersey Colonial Revival architecture in New Jersey Bridgewater Township, New Jersey American Revolutionary War museums in New Jersey Historic American Buildings Survey in New Jersey American Revolution on the National Register of Historic Places New Jersey in the American Revolution Houses completed in 1750

History

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links