About the 250th Anniversary of the Revolution in Morris County
Morris County’s Significance in the Revolutionary War
More Revolutionary War battles and encampments arose in New Jersey than any other colony — and Morris County hosted many of the central figures from that era and has preserved numerous historic sites where key events unfolded. It will all be the focus of celebratory events throughout 2025 and 2026.
The American Revolutionary War unfolded (1775 to 1783) less than 40 years after Morris County was created (1738/1739) from a section of neighboring Hunterdon County and became one of 13 counties within the colony of New Jersey.
Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army established two significant encampments in Morris County during the course of the war, with Morristown serving as a strategic winter base for the forces both times – the first of which lasted from January through May of 1777.
Morristown was the market center at the time for area farmers and iron miners, and it was surrounded by dense forests that supported one of the era’s key resources — lumber. While a fraction of the size it is today, it still had a few dozen homes, a couple of shops, a courthouse, a church and a very important tavern.
Arnold’s Tavern, located at “The Green,” served as Washington’s headquarters during his five month encampment in 1777. It was a time of shortages and epidemics, and while Washington ordered smallpox inoculations for local residents and his soldiers, there was an outbreak in February, and it led many to desert the Continental Army.
Washington’s second encampment in Morris County, from 1779 to 1780, was harsher yet. Stationed at forested Jockey Hollow, about five miles outside of downtown Morristown, it marked one of the coldest winters on record and the horrid conditions were compounded by food shortages and a lack of both shelter and suitable clothing.
Washington and his wife, Martha, set up headquarters at the three-story Ford Mansion, a Georgian style mansion built in 1774 in Morristown. It was owned by Col. Jacob Ford, Jr. and his wife, Theodosia, and in 1933 the mansion and Jockey Hollow became America’s first National Historical Park.
Recently renovated, the Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow are open to visitors and will feature heavily in the 250th anniversary celebrations in Morris County.
However, the winter of 1779 and 1780 in Morristown generated much more historical drama than the toils of George and Martha.
There was romance: Elizabeth Schuyler, the daughter of one of Washington’s generals, absconded with the heart of Washington’s secretary — Alexander Hamilton. They married Dec 14, 1780.
There also was treachery: An officer named Benedict Arnold was court-martialed in Morristown on Dec. 23, 1779 on charges he parlayed his military authority to line his own pockets. Found guilty, he avoided any significant punishment, but went on to betray the Revolution and watch from afar as his name went down in infamy.
Finally, there were great turns in fate: On May 10, 1780, the Marquis de Lafayette arrived in Morristown, delivering the news to Washington’s Headquarters that France was formally entering the war on the side of the colonies. By July of that year, King Louis XVI sent an expeditionary force of 6,000 men under Count Jean de Rochambeau, and by Oct. 19, 1781, 8,000 British troops led by General Charles Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, marking the last major skirmish of the war.
Morris County’s Logo Significance
The logo incorporates the colors of the official Morris County seal and features a striking silhouette of Gen. George Washington and “his horse.” By personifying the image of George Washington, Morris County’s 250th anniversary logo captures the spirit of the American Revolution while authentically representing Morris County’s historical significance.
This logo is more than just an emblem – it embodies the influence Morris County has had on our nation’s path to freedom.
Revolutionary War Sites in Morris County, NJ
Boonton Township
- Hog Pen Rocks (Boonton Township)
Chatham Borough
- Chatham Historic District
- Continental Army Bake Ovens Site (Chatham)
- New Jersey Journal Site (55 Main Street)
- George Parrot House (47 Main Street)
- Jacob Morrell House (63 Main Street)
- Shepard Kollock Park (16 Henderson Road)
- Captain William Day House (70 Main Street)
- Paul Day House (24 Kings Road)
- Stephen Day House (62 Elmwood Avenue)
Chatham Township
- Green Village District (Chatham Township)
- Isaac Clark House (788 River Road)
- Lewis Noe Farmstead/House (184 Southern Boulevard.)
- Lord Sterling/Elias Boudinot House (461 Green Village Road)
- “Old Sow” Beacon Cannon (location uncertain)
- Samuel Brant House (44 Britten Road)
- Uzal Johnson House (805 Fairmont Avenue)
Chester Borough
- Stronghouse (Near 8 Seward Place)
Chester Township
- Isaac Corwin House (2 West Main Street)
Denville
- Abraham Kitchell Homestead (80 Kitchell Road)
- Denville Beacon Site (Denville)
- Denville Cemetery (Savage Road)
- General Winds House (344 Franklin Avenue)
- Job Allen, Sr. House Site (Denville)
- Job Allen Iron Works Site (Pocono Road and Diamond Spring Road)
- Kitchel Homestead (Kitchell Road and Ford Road)
- Peter Cook House Site (Denville)
East Hanover
- Adoniram Prudden House (644 Ridgedale Avenue)
- Half-Way House (174 Mount Pleasant Avenue)
- The First Presbyterian Church of Hanover (Mt. Pleasant Avenue at Hanover Road)
- Jacob Green House (27 Hanover Road)
- Cook Halfway House (174 Mt. Pleasant Avenue.)
- Morris County Historical Sign (Eagle Rock Avenue and River Road)
Florham Park
- Captain William Canfield House (110 Crescent Road)
- Daniel Cory House (30 Hanover Road)
- David Richards Farmhouse Site (13 Hanover Road)
- Hedges-Fish Homestead (206 Brooklake Road)
Hanover Township
- Joseph Morris House (Whippany Road & Hanover Avenue)
- Joseph Tuttle House (341 Route 10)
- Peter Van Cortland “Dashwood” Estate Site (Whippany)
- Rochambeau Encamp Monument (Heritage Park Whippany Road)
- Whippany Burying Yard (Rt. 10 East, near Troy Hills Road)
- Whippany Marker (Rt 10 and Troy Hills Rd., next to Molly Malone’s Restaurant)
Harding Township
- Henry Wick House (Tempe Wick Road)
- The Half Moon (Near Camp Road)
- Washington Route Marker (Intersection of Blue Mill, Lee’s Hill, Village, & Glen Alpin Roads)
- Washington Route Marker (Intersection of Village, Spring Valley, and Dickson’s Mill Roads)
- Peter Kemble House Site (Tempe Wick Road and Glen Alpin Road)
- Joseph Fairchild House (24 Lees Hill Road)
Kinnelon
- Charlotteburg Furnace Tract Site (Rte. 23 South, sign is next to Smoke Rise entrance)
Lincoln Park
- John Dods Tavern: (8 Chapel Hill Rd, now a dentist office)
- Old Dods House (11 Highland Street)
- Nathan Fairbanks House Site (27 Pine Brook Road)
Long Hill Township
- Cornelius Ludlow House (Long Hill)
- Sentinel Elms (Long Hill and Pleasant Plains Roads)
- Signal Beacon Boulder Monument/Site (Long Hill and Pleasant Plains Roads)
Long Valley
- Old Stone Union Church Cemetery (6 Fairview Avenue)
Madison
- Aaron Carter House (50 Union Hill Road)
- Burnet Farmhouse Site (100 Rosedale Avenue)
- James Madison Memorial (Main St. and Waverly Place)
- John Russell House (192 Loantaka Way)
- Luke Miller House (105 Ridgedale Avenue)
- Presbyterian Church Burying Ground (Main Street)
- Sayre House (31 Ridgedale Avenue)
- Miller’s Station (105 Ridgedale Avenue)
- Hillside Cemetery (158 Main Street)
Mendham Borough
- David Thompson House (56 West Main Street)
- Hilltop Church & Cemetery (20 Hilltop Road)
- Lebbeus Dod House (67 West Main Street)
Mendham Township
- Job Loree, Jr. House (22 Washington Valley Road)
- John Logan Grist Mill (320 County Road 510)
- Ralston District of Mendham (County Road 510 and Roxiticus Road)
- Ralston Grist Mill (County Road 510 and Roxiticus Road)
- Phineas Chidester House (17 School House Lane)
Montville
- Henry Doremus House (490 Main Rd. (Rte. 202))
- Nicholas Husk House (263 Main Road)
Morristown
- Continental Storehouse Site (Morristown)
- Daniel Pierson House Site (100 South Street)
- Dickerson’s Tavern Site (Corner of Spring Street & Martin Luther King Avenue, Morristown)
- Jacob Arnold Tavern Site (20 North Park Place)
- Jabez Campfield House (5 Olyphant Place)
- John Doughty House Site (129 Mt. Kemble Avenue)
- John Gwinnup House (333 Speedwell Avenue)
- The Green (West, East, North, South Park Place)
- Presbyterian Church and Cemetery (57 East Park Place)
- Powder Mill Site (Lafayette Avenue)
- Primrose Farm (995 Route 202)
- Moses Esty House (333 Speedwell Avenue)
- Evergreen Cemetery (Martin Luther King Boulevard)
- The Upper Redoubt “Fort Nonsense” (Off Chestnut Street)
- Gen. Washington Equestrian Statue (Morris Avenue and Valley View Drive)
- Ford Mansion & Washington Headquarters Museum – Morristown National Historic Park (230 Morris Avenue)
- Life Guard Camp Monument (Morris Ave. and Washington Avenue)
- Jockey Hollow Encampment Area (Jockey Hollow Road) – Morristown National Historic Park
- Visitor Center
- Wick House
- Soldier Hut Recreations
- Joshua Guerin House
- Artillery Park Site (Mendham Ave. near Jones Drive)
- Artillery Horses Pasture Site (Burnham Park Washington Street)
- Thomas Pain Monument (Burnham Park Washington Street)
- Thomas Kinney House (333 Speedwell Avenue)
- Schuyler-Hamilton House (5 Olyphant Place)
- Norris Tavern Site (Spring St. & Martin Luther King Boulevard)
- Timothy Mills House (27 Mills Street)
- Sansay House (17 DeHart Street)
- Morristown Baptist Church Site (Morristown Green)
- Morristown Baptist Church Cemetery Site (North Park Place)
Morris Plains
- Ebenezer Stiles House (77 Glenbrook Road, now the Morris Plains Library)
Morris Township
- Washington Route Marker (Spring Valley Road and Van Beuren Road)
- Jacob Ford Jr. Powder Mill Site (On the Patriot Path walking trail)
- James Brookfield House (131 Kitchell Road)
- John Smith House (124 Washington Valley Road)
- Joshua Guerin House (Jockey Hollow Road)
- Mattaniah Lyon House (20 Gaston Road)
- Samuel Alward House (61 School House Lane)
Mountain Lakes
- Gasper Righter House (99 Pocono Road)
Mount Olive
- Mount Olive Baptist Church Site (Mount Olive Road & Flanders-Drakestown Road)
Parsippany-Troy Hills
- William Livingston House/Livingston-Benedict House (25 Old Parsippany Road)
- Vail Memorial Cemetery (1774 Route 46 West)
- John Hutchinson House (129 South Beverwyck Road)
- Benjamin Howell House (709 S. Beverwyck Road)
- Beverwyck Site (Parsippany)
Pequannock Township
- Giles Mandeville House (513 Newark Pompton Turnpike)
- Jacob Miller’s Tavern Site (location unknown, Pequannock)
- Mandeville Farm Encampment Site Monument (Front of Pequannock Valley School, Newark Pompton Turnpike)
- First Reformed Church & Cemetery (529 Newark Pompton Turnpike)
- Newark-Pompton Turnpike Marker (Municipal Building, 530 Newark Pompton Turnpike)
- Slingerland Homestead (143 Boulevard)
Rockaway Borough
- Rockaway Presbyterian Church & Cemetery (35 Church Street)
- Captain Stephen Jackson House (40 East Main Street)
Rockaway Township
- Ford-Faesch Manor House (629 Mt. Hope Road)
- Hibernia District (Rockaway Township)
- Lewis Carey House (208 Emmans Road)
- Middle Forge (Rockaway Twp. Middle Forge was sited in a now restricted area)
Roxbury Township
- First Presbyterian Church of Succasunna (99 Main Street)
- Daniel Cary House (208 Emmans Road)
- Prisoner of War Campsite (Rockaway Township)
- The Stark Family Burial Ground
Washington Township
- Philip Weise House/The Old Fort (1 East Mill Road)
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