Steuben House
Encyclopedia
The Steuben House is a noted example of Bergen Dutch sandstone architecture, located at New Bridge Landing
New Bridge Landing
New Bridge was a prosperous mill hamlet, centered upon a bridge strategically placed at the narrows of the Hackensack River. In the American Revolution New Bridge Landing was the site of a pivotal bridge crossing the Hackensack River, where General George Washington led his troops in retreat from...

 on the Hackensack River
Hackensack River
The Hackensack River is a river, approximately 45 miles long, in the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, emptying into Newark Bay, a back chamber of New York Harbor. The watershed of the river includes part of the suburban area outside New York City just west of the lower Hudson River,...

 in River Edge
River Edge, New Jersey
River Edge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,340.The community was incorporated as the borough of Riverside by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 30, 1894, from portions of Midland Township, at the...

, in Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...

, 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...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

History

The Steuben House has long been esteemed a Revolutionary landmark. Its architecture and historic furnishings recall the Bergen Dutch, an agricultural community whose language and culture blended contributions from Dutch, Angolan African, German, English, French, Scotch and Scandinavian settlers.At a place known originally as Aschatking (where the river narrows), about ten miles (16 km) above the head of Newark Bay, a Swedish land-clearer named Cornelius Mattyse acquired 420 acres (1.7 km²) at the juncture of Tantaqua's Creek (Cole's Brook) and the Hackensack River, in 1682.

This was called Tantaqua's Plain, where a Hackensack sachem of that name resided with his kinfolk. David Ackerman, residing in the village of Hackensack, purchased the land from Matheus Corneliuson, son of Cornelius Matheus of Hackensack River, in 1695. He devised that portion of this tract of land lying east of Kinderkamack Road to his son, Johannes Ackerman, who built a dwelling on the Steenrapie (Kinderkamack) Road at the time of his marriage to Jannetje Lozier in 1713. A tidal gristmill was built on the Hackensack River. This mill got its power from an artificial pond: the high tide was trapped in the mouth of Cole's Brook by a dam with a special drop-gate, suspended from a horizontal timber. When the tides flowed out of the Hackensack River, the tidal millpond was slowly released through the waterwheel. Sloops pulled alongside the mill at New Bridge Landing. On March 9, 1744, a road was surveyed from Kinderkamack Road to the chosen spot on the banks of the Hackensack River where a "New Bridge" was to be erected (forming was is now Main Street, River Edge).

Jan and Annetje (Ackerman) Zabriskie purchased the Johannes Ackerman mill and farm in September 1745, shortly after construction of the first draw-bridge at the narrows of the Hackensack River. This wooden span was called New Bridge to distinguish it from an older crossing several miles upstream. In 1752, Jan Zabriskie built the oldest part of the Steuben House. Its walls were built with blocks of sandstone cut from the Kinderkamack Ridge - dressed stone on the two sides of the building facing the roadway and coursed rubble on the other sides. The front door opened into a center-hall. The Zabriskie family grew wealthy from increased trade brought on by the French and Indian War (1756–1763) and doubled the size of their dwelling about 1765, increasing it from five to twelve rooms, warmed by seven fireplaces, and covering it with a fashionable gambrel roof. The gambrel roof has four slopes instead of two, providing more headroom and storage space in the garret (for this reason, many barns used a gambrel roof to increase the size of the hay mow). The Jersey Dutch also adopted the gambrel roof to span the depth of a house that was one-and-a-half to two rooms deep. New Bridge Landing
New Bridge Landing
New Bridge was a prosperous mill hamlet, centered upon a bridge strategically placed at the narrows of the Hackensack River. In the American Revolution New Bridge Landing was the site of a pivotal bridge crossing the Hackensack River, where General George Washington led his troops in retreat from...

was the business center of the upper Hackensack Valley - the shopping mall of its day. Iron made in stone furnaces along the Ramapo Mountains was carried in ox-carts to New Bridge Landing where it was loaded onto sloops, some as large as 50 ton, for shipment to market. Flour and animal feed was shipped from the mill. All kinds of wares came in from boats returning from the city. This location had an added advantage: because of the wide Hackensack Meadowlands downstream, New Bridge remained the nearest river crossing to Newark Bay until 1790. Overland traffic including farm wagons and stage coaches, going to and from New York City, crossed the river at this spot on their way into the interior parts of the country.

The house was occupied as a military headquarters during much of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

. General Washington headquartered here in September 1780 when the Continental Army
Continental Army
The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 encamped on the Kinderkamack Ridge.

While a constant arena for conflict, the following significant Revolutionary War events are associated with Historic New Bridge Landing:

• British troops under Major General Vaughan attacked the American rear guard on November 21, 1776 and seize the New Bridge, which American engineers were dismantling.

• British and Loyalist troops under command of Captain Patrick Fergusen attacked about 40 Bergen militiamen at New Bridge on May 18, 1779.

• Major Henry Lee led American troops from New Bridge on August 18, 1779, to attack the British earthworks at Paulus Hook (Jersey City).

• A force of Bergen Militia and Continental troops attacked 600 British troops and German auxiliaries at New Bridge on their retreat from Hackensack and Paramus on March 23, 1780, during the two hours it took for the British to repair and cross the New Bridge.

• A body of 312 British, Loyalist and German infantry, attacked and overwhelmed an American outpost at New Bridge commanded by Lieutenant Bryson on April 15, 1780.• Eight British soldiers were killed, and several wounded, by friendly fire when British troops attempted to attack a body of Bergen Militia in the Zabriskie-Steuben House at New Bridge on May 30, 1780.

• Brigadier General Anthony Wayne led American troops from New Bridge on a raid against the Bull’s Ferry Blockhouse on July 20, 1780.

• General Washington made his headquarters in the Zabriskie-Steuben House during the Steenrapie encampment of the Continental Army, encompassing nearly 14,000 men, on September 4–20, 1780.

The State of New Jersey confiscated the stone mansion from Jan Zabriskie, a Loyalist
Loyalist (American Revolution)
Loyalists were American colonists who remained loyal to the Kingdom of Great Britain during the American Revolutionary War. At the time they were often called Tories, Royalists, or King's Men. They were opposed by the Patriots, those who supported the revolution...

, in 1781. The New Jersey Legislature
New Jersey Legislature
The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and the Senate...

 gave the Zabriskie estate at New Bridge to Major General Baron von Steuben, the Inspector General of the Continental Army, on December 23, 1783. His aide-de-camp and alleged homosexual companion, Captain Benjamin Walker
Benjamin Walker (representative)
For other persons named Benjamin Walker, see Benjamin Walker .Captain Benjamin Walker was a soldier in the American Revolutionary War and later served as a U.S. Representative from New York....

, resided there, operating the mill and river dock in partnership with Jan Zabriskie. Captain Walker purchased the Zabriskie estate on Steuben's behalf in 1786. Steuben sold the house to Jan Zabriskie, son of the Loyalist, in 1788, after thoroughly renovating it. His grandson, John J. Zabriskie, died trying to free the mill waterwheel in 1793. Andrew Zabriskie, a cousin, purchased the Steuben House in 1815. His descendants owned the property until 1909.

The Steuben House Commission was created in 1926 to purchase Baron Steuben's home at New Bridge. The State took possession of the historic mansion and 1 acres (4,046.9 m²) of ground for $9,000 on June 27, 1928. It was renovated and opened as the museum headquarters of the Bergen County Historical Society in September 1939. The Steuben House is listed on the New Jersey and 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...

. The Bergen County Historical Society continued stewardship of the site by purchase of land between the Steuben House and the encroaching autoparts yard in 1944. In 1954, the Society was able to persuade the County of Bergen to divert the planned 4-lane highway to the north of site instead of alongside the historic site. The highway bridge opened in 1956 and the one-lane 1888 swing bridge was closed to vehicles. It remains open for pedestrians.

The house is now the cornerstone of this historic district, spanning both sides of the river. Three additional buildings were move onto the adjacent property of the Bergen County Historical Society, a private non-profit volunteer organization. The Demarest House was moved here from New Milford in 1956 and is maintained by the Blauvelt Demarest Foundation. The Westervelt-Thomas Barn was relocated from Washington Township in 1958. The County of Bergen moved the Campbell-Christie House
Campbell-Christie House
The Campbell-Christie House is a historic home that has been relocated to New Bridge Landing in River Edge, New Jersey.-History:Jacob Campbell, a stonemason, constructed a store southeast of the intersection of River Road and the highway leading from Old Bridge to South Church, now Henley Avenue,...

 here to lands of the Bergen County Historical Society in 1977. The Society erected a working replica of a Bergen Dutch Out-Kitchen in 1991 and an outhouse in 2009.

The Historic New Bridge Landing Park Commission was established by law in 1995 to coordinate and implement all private and governmental plans and activities at Historic New Bridge Landing Park, which was named one of three new urban state parks in 2004.

2007 flood

In the aftermath of the April 2007 nor'easter
April 2007 Nor'easter
The April or Spring Nor’easter of 2007 was a nor'easter that affected mainly the eastern parts of North America during its four day course April 14 to April 17, 2007. The combined effects of high winds, heavy rainfall, and high tides led to flooding, storm damages, power outages, and evacuations,...

, the Steuben House, sitting just a few dozen feet from the Hackensack River, suffered significant damage caused by the rising floodwaters. The Bergen County Historical Society collections that had been moved to the second floor in previous floods, had been left on the first floor, and numerous artifacts were damaged or destroyed. Damage has been estimated at $1.5 million.

See also

  • New Jersey during the American Revolution
    New Jersey during the American Revolution
    As the location of many major battles, New Jersey was pivotal in the American Revolution and the ultimate victory of the American colonists. The important role New Jersey played earned it the titles of "Crossroads of the Revolution" and the "Military Capital of the Revolution".Not all of the...

  • National Register of Historic Places listings in Bergen County, New Jersey

External links

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