Blackledge-Kearney
Encyclopedia
Blackledge-Kearney House, also known as Cornwallis' Headquarters, is located within the Palisades Interstate Park
in Alpine
, New Jersey
. The house was built in 1750 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
on July 24, 1984. Lord Cornwallis
was believed to have used the house as a temporary headquarters during his crossing of the Hudson River
in 1776 (modern historians dispute this claim).
lived in the house with her husband Daniel Van Sciver. The house was purchased in 1817 by James and Rachel Kearney. James died in 1831 and Rachel turned the house into a tavern. The house was expanded to accommodate the tavern. In 1907 the house was purchased by the Palisades Interstate Park. The house was used as a police station for the park in the 1920s.
The park now uses the house as a museum known as Kearney House.
Palisades Interstate Park Commission
Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century...
in Alpine
Alpine, New Jersey
Alpine is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located northwest of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 1,849....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The house was built in 1750 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on July 24, 1984. Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis KG , styled Viscount Brome between 1753 and 1762 and known as The Earl Cornwallis between 1762 and 1792, was a British Army officer and colonial administrator...
was believed to have used the house as a temporary headquarters during his crossing of the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
in 1776 (modern historians dispute this claim).
History
The house was built next to Closter Landing in 1750. Maria Blackledge, the daughter of Benjamin BlackledgeBenjamin Blackledge
Benjamin Blackledge was an American educator and public official. He was the first teacher of English language in Closter, New Jersey, and rose to become "the most prominent man in the northern part of Bergen County"...
lived in the house with her husband Daniel Van Sciver. The house was purchased in 1817 by James and Rachel Kearney. James died in 1831 and Rachel turned the house into a tavern. The house was expanded to accommodate the tavern. In 1907 the house was purchased by the Palisades Interstate Park. The house was used as a police station for the park in the 1920s.
The park now uses the house as a museum known as Kearney House.
External links
- Kearney House - official site