From House To Home

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The first rooms of the mansion at the Rockingham State Historic site have been standing for more than 300 years. But it’s what happened at the house during three months in 1783 that brings thousands of visitors to the Franklin Township site each year.

The house served as Gen. George Washington’s final headquarters of the Revolutionary War from August 23 through November 10, 1783. Having been invited to the area by Congress, which was then headquartered in Princeton, Washington was at the mansion when he received word that the Treaty of Paris had been signed, officially ending the Revolutionary War.

Washington was also at the mansion when he penned his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States, praising and thanking his troops and announcing his retirement from the military.

During the time of Washington’s stay, the house was owned by Margaret Berrien, widow of New Jersey Supreme Court Judge John Berrien who purchased the then two-room, two-story, saltbox-style house in 1735. The Berriens expanded the house over the years, adding a kitchen and additional rooms to accommodate their six children.

Widowed in 1772, Margaret Berrien was living in Princeton when she made the house available to Washington, his wife Martha, their servants, three aides de camp, and Washington’s guard of between 12 and 24 men.

Some time after Washington’s stay, Margaret Berrien returned to live in the house where she stayed until 1802 when it was purchased by Frederick Cruser. The Cruser family further expanded the house adding servants quarters, a second story balcony, and a third-story attic. The Crusers sold the property in 1841 to David H. Mount who had large landholdings on the west side of the Millstone River in Rocky Hill.

Three years later, Mount sold the property to Martin A. Howell who began to quarry the hill that the house was situated on.

By 1896, the Rocky Hill Quarry Company had expanded to such a degree that most of the hill on which the house stood was gone. The house had fallen into disrepair and was turned into housing for Italian quarrymen .

Determined to save the mansion, Rocky Hill residents Kate McFarlane and Josephine Thomson Swann formed the Washington Headquarters Association of Rocky Hill in 1897 which raised money to purchase the house from the quarry company and move it further up the hill away from the advancing quarry operations.

In August 1897, the house was opened to the public, and in 1935, ownership was turned over to the state of New Jersey. In 1956, the house was again moved a half mile eastward to escape the expanding quarry. Once again, expansion of the quarry led to Rockingham’s third and final move in July, 2001, to a much larger site along the Delaware and Raritan Canal, closer to its original location.

The mansion was restored and reopened to the public in 2004. Visitors to Rockingham Historic Site can view a collection of 18th century furnishings and artifacts along with detailed replications of period clothing and Washington’s uniform and personal effects. A children’s museum and Colonial kitchen garden are also part of the site.

Next year is the 225th anniversary of Washington’s stay at Rockingham. Site director Lisa Flick has many activities planned between August 23 and November 10 to commemorate his stay in conjunction with many events in and around Princeton.

For more information, call (609) 683-7132.