This is a sampling of houses in Morris County that were occupied by Revolutionary War soldiers and remain standing today, as well as a few other houses of the area related to the Revolutionary War. This is not a complete listing; the more I look, the more I find. Nonetheless, it is a good representation of the presence of the past in the midst of our modern life.
Chatham and Green Village
- Nathaniel Bonnell – 34 Watchung Ave., Chatham, now the Pascarella Brothers Delicatessen. Bonnell was a private in the Continental Army and the Morris County Militia.
- Elias Boudinot – 461 Green Village Rd, Chatham Twp, now a private residence. William Alexander/Lord Stirling built the house for tenants and probably did not live there. Boudinot later bought it. Stirling is considered from Somerset Co. (not Morris) and served as a senior military leader. As Commissary of Prisoners, Boudinot was charged with helping Continental Army prisoners of war held by the British.
- Samuel Brant – 44 Britten Road, Green Village, now a private residence. Brant was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Paul Day – 24 Kings Rd, Chatham, now a private residence. Day was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- William Day – 70 Main St, Chatham, now an office building for Marquis Wealth Advisors. Day was a minute man who was activated for service in the Battle of Springfield.
- Uzal Johnson – 805 Fairmount Ave., Chatham, now a private residence. Johnson served as a private and minute man in the Morris County Militia.
- Lewis Noe – 184 Southern Blvd, Chatham Twp, now a private residence. Noe was a sergeant in the Continental Army.
- Other house of interest: Jacob Morrell House – 63 Main St., Chatham, now the Scalini Fedeli Restaurant. Morrell’s home was briefly Washington’s headquarters in August 1781.
Denville
- Peter Cook – 14 Norris Rd, Denville, now a private residence. Cook was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Abraham Kitchell – At the corner of Kitchell Road and Ford Road, Denville, now a private residence. Kitchell served on the Committee of Observation.
East Hanover
- Ellis Cook – 174 Mt. Pleasant Ave, East Hanover, “Halfway House,” now owned by the township of East Hanover. Cook was a colonel and lieutenant colonel in the Morris County Militia. He also served on the Provincial Congress of NJ and the NJ General Assembly. He operated a tavern from this house, a “halfway” point for farmers from Sussex County and Pennsylvania headed to and from the markets in Newark.
- Jacob Green – 27 Hanover Rd, East Hanover, “Old Parsonage,” now a private residence. Green was a member of Provincial Congress that drafted the New Jersey State Constitution.
Florham Park
- Daniel Cory – corner of Hanover Ave and Crescent Road, now a private residence. Cory was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Sylvanus Hedges – 206 Brooklake Rd, Florham Park, “Hedges Fish Homestead,” now a private residence. This house was owned by Sylvanus’ father Gideon, so Sylvanus would have lived there in his childhood. Sylvanus was a private in the Morris County Militia. This farm also supplied oats to the army.
Jefferson Township and Oak Ridge
- Elkonah Babbitt – Berkshire Valley Road, Jefferson Twp, “Babbit-Mathews House,” now a private residence. Babbitt was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Cornelius Davenport – near the corner of Dover-Milton Road and Milton Road, Oak Ridge, “Milton Village.” Remains of the house, tavern/store, mill and forge are archeological sites. Davenport was a private in the Morris County Militia.
Madison
- Luke Miller – 105 Ridgedale Ave, Madison, “Miller’s Station,” now a private residence. Miller was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Ephraim Sayre – 31 Ridgedale Ave, Madison, now a private residence. Sayre was a minute man and commissary of the regiment. General Anthony Wayne stayed at this house during the winter of 1777.
Mendham
- Samual Alward – 61 Schoolhouse Lane, Mendham Twp, now a private residence. Alward was a private in the NJ Militia and Continental Line.
- Daniel Babbitt – 16 W. Main Street, Mendham, now a private residence. Babbitt was an artificer in the Morris County Militia.
- Ebenezer Blachley – 96 Corey Lane, Mendham, now a private residence. Blachley was an army surgeon.
- Lebbeus Dod – 67 W. Main St, Mendham, now a private residence. Dod was a captain in the Continental Army, then detached by order of Gen. Washington to set up an armory to make and repair muskets.
- Other house of interest: Ralston Grist Mill – County Rd. 510 and Roxiticus Rd, Mendham. John Logan ground flour for the army. He was not properly paid, and as a result went bankrupt.
Montville
- Nicholas Husk – 263 Main Road, Montville, now a private residence. Husk was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Other house of interest: Henry Doremus House – 490 Main Rd. Montville. Washington and Alexander Hamilton stayed at this house in June 1780, after the battle of Springfield.
Morris Plains
- Daniel Stiles – 77 Glenbrook Rd, Morris Plains, “Glenbrook,” now the Morris Plains library building. This house was owned by his father Ebenezer, so Daniel would have lived there when he was young. Daniel was a private in the Morris County Militia. This house also was used as quarters for light horseman during 1779-1780 encampment.
Morristown
- Jacob Arnold – 140 Washington Valley Road, Morristown. Arnold was a captain of light horse troops in the Morris County Militia. He was also owner of Arnold’s Tavern on the Morristown Green, which served as Washington’s headquarters in the winter of 1777.
- Jabez Campfield – 5 Olyphant Place, Morristown, “Schuyler Hamilton House,” maintained by the Morristown Chapter – Daughters of the American Revolution. Campfield was a surgeon in Spencer’s Regiment, Continental Army.
- Phineas Chidester and Abner Condict – 17 School House Lane, Morristown, now a private residence. Chidester was a minute man and private in the Morris County Militia. He later sold the house to Abner Condict, who was a private in the Continental Army.
- Silas Condict – 21 Cutler St., Morristown, “Cutler Homestead,” now the Red Oaks School. Condict was a member of the Provincial Congress that drafted the New Jersey State Constitution, the Council of Safety, and Continental Congress.
- Zenas Condict – 38 Washington Valley Road, Morristown, now a private residence. Condict was a private and captain by brevet in the Morris County Militia. His son Ebenezer later lived in the house for many years.
- Moses Estey – He lived in Hunterdon County during the war, and moved to Morristown shortly after. His first house in Morristown burned down in 1786, and he built this one to replace it. The house at the corner of Spring and Water Streets in Morristown was moved to Historic Speedwell. Estey was a captain in the New Jersey State Troops.
- Jacob Ford Jr. – Ford Mansion, “Washington’s Headquarters” at Morristown National Historical Park. Ford was a colonel in the Morris County Militia and New Jersey State Troops.
- Joshua Guerin – Jockey Hollow Rd. and Sugarloaf Rd, at Jockey Hollow in Morristown, now a private residence used by the National Park Service. Guerin was a sergeant and ensign on the Morris County Militia. His farm was also used by the Continental Army during their encampment at Jockey Hollow in 1779-1780.
- John Gwinnup – The house originally on Spring Street in Morristown was moved to Historic Speedwell. Gwinnup was a private in the Morris County New Jersey Militia.
- Thomas Kinney – The “Vail House” at Historic Speedwell. Kinney was a captain in the Morris County Militia, Troop of Light Horse. Kinney built the house which was later bought by Stephen Vail.
- Job Loree – 22 Washington Valley Road, Morristown, now a private residence. Loree was a private in the Morris County Militia.
- Mattaniah Lyon – 20 Gaston Road, Morristown, now a private residence. Lyon served in the Militia and also rendered material aid to the army.
- Timothy Mills – 27 Mills St., Morristown, now a private residence. Mills was a teamster in the Morris County Militia.
- John Smith – 124 Washington Valley Road, Morristown, now a private residence. Smith was a wagoneer in the Quartermaster General’s Department.
- Henry Wick – the Wick House at Jockey Hollow, Morristown National Historical Park. Wick was a captain in the Morris County Militia. General Arthur St. Clair stayed at this house during the winter encampment of 1779-1780.
- Other house of interest: Sansay House – 17 DeHart St, Morristown. The Marquis de LaFayette was feted here in 1825.
- Other house of interest: Peter Kemble House – 667 Mt. Kemble Ave, Morristown. Home of the prominent Morristown citizen who became a notorious Tory and whose daughter married British officer Thomas Gage. The house was originally built near the corner of Route 202 and Tempe Wick Road (now the Glen Alpin estate), and moved to its present location ca. 1840.
Parsippany-Troy Hills
- Benjamin Howell Sr. – 709 S. Beverwyck Rd, Troy Hills, now a private residence. Howell served on the Committee of Observation.
- William Livingston – 25 Old Parsippany Road, Parsippany-Troy Hills, “Livingston-Benedict House,” now a private residence. Livingston NJ militia officer and NJ Governor, and though he was not from Morris County, he leased this house during the Revolution.
Randolph
- Moses Combs – 27 Combs Hollow Road, Randolph, “Moses Combs-Jacob Briant House,” now a private residence. Combs served as an artificer and sergeant in the NJ Militia.
- Samuel McIlrath and his son Andrew McIlrath – 21 Combs Hollow Road, Randolph, “McIlrath-Lorey House,” now a private residence. Samuel McIlrath served as a private in the Morris County Militia; Andrew McIlrath served as a private in the militia and NJ State Troops.
Rockaway
- Stephen Jackson – 40 E. Main St., Rockaway, now used as a convent of Sacred Heart Church. Jackson was a cavalry captain in the Morris County Militia.
- Other house of interest: Ford-Faesch Manor House – 629 Mt. Hope Road, Rockaway, maintained by the Historical Society of Rockaway Township. Owned by John Jacob Faesch, who made cannonballs for the army.
Roxbury
- Lewis Cary – 208 Emmans Rd, Roxbury, now a private residence. Cary was a matross in the Continental Army. His house also served as a site to house smallpox infected soldiers to relieve the overcrowded church. The house was built by Lewis, though is credited on the historical marker is his father, Daniel.
Stirling (Long Hill Twp.)
- Cornelius Ludlow – Long Hill Road and Pleasant Plains Road, Long Hill Twp, “Sentinel Elms,” now used by the Shrine of St. Joseph as part of the Trinity House. Ludlow was a major and lieutenant colonel in the Morris County Militia.
Washington Township (Long Valley)
- Other house of interest: Philip Weise House – 24 E. Mill Road, Washington Twp, “The Old Fort.” Weise housed soldiers at this house.
Whippany
- Joseph Morris – at the intersection of Whippany Road and Hanover Ave. in Whippany, now a private residence. Morris enlisted as a captain in the Continental Army, was later promoted to major. He served in the Battle of Saratoga, and was mortally wounded in the Battle of White Marsh. He died in this house a month later.
Credit: Susan (Bobbi) Bailey, State Historian, New Jersey Society Daughters of the American Revolution.