Morristown
National Historical Park
The Ford Mansion
(George Washington's Headquarters)
This massive Georgian style mansion was built between 1772-1774 for Jacob Ford Jr. Mr. Ford was involved in a number of business ventures including an iron mine, iron forges, a grist mill, a hemp-mill, a gun powder mill and farms. Mrs. Jacob Ford Jr. and her four young children continued to reside in this house after Mr. Ford's death on January 11, 1777. Through the hospitality of Mrs. Ford, General Washington rented this home for the winter of 1779-1780. Consequently, the Ford Mansion, one of the finest homes in Morristown, became General Washington's military headquarters during the winter of 1779-1780. The Ford family was crowded into two rooms of their home during General Washington's stay. General Washington brought with him his Aides-de-Camp and a number of servants to assist him in performance of his many roles and duties. Daily meetings and discussions attempted to solve multiple problemsfacing the army during the winter months inclusive of severe shortages of food rations and supplies. Urgent financial support of state government and the Continental Congress was imperative for clothing and feeding of the army. Military strategy in the northern and southern theaters also had to be worked out with theFrench. The Ford Mansion is open daily and may be seen by Ranger Guided tours only Tours are given hourly at 10:00 a. m., 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p. m., 2:00 p. m., 3:00 p. m. and 4:00 p. m.
to home pageBeing one of the most prosperous families of the times, the
Wick family lived in a comfortable home whose construction and
style reflected their New England origins. The Wick farm included
a fine and roomy, well constructed home house with windows, circa
1400 acres of timber land and open fields; a perfect area for
Washington's soldiers to camp for for the winter. The Wick farm
and adjacent farms grew various crops including wheat, corn, rye,
oats, buckwheat, apples and flax. Consequently, the Wick farm and
a couple of adjacent farms became home to 13,000 soldiers during
the winter of 1779-1780. The Wick farm house became winter
headquarters for General Arthur St. Clair. Jockey Hollow was a
popular camp ground for General Washington's army. It was used by
portions of the Continental Army for a total of 24 months during
the American Revolution. The Wick House is open to visitors daily
between the hours of 9:30am and 4:30pm.
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Jockey Hollow Reproduction Soldiers Huts
When soldiers first arrived in Jockey Hollow for their winter
encampment, they had no choice but to sleep out in the open in
the snow. Wagons with tents arrived a few days later than did the
soldiers. Soldiers remained in the tents until the completion of
the wooden huts. The soldier huts used at Jockey Hollow were
fourteen feet by sixteen feet and housed twelve men.
General Washington ordered that enlisted mens' huts were to be
built first. Therefore, Officers' huts were not built and
completed until all the enlisted men were settled in huts. It
took most of the soldiers about two to three weeks to build their
huts. The majority of the enlisted men in the Continental Army
were poor, lower class men. A good number of these men were not
even born in America. Army Officers, on the other hand, were from
middle to upper class society and were often land owners.
Enlisted men moved into their huts around Christmas. The last of
the Officers did not get to move into huts until mid February.
The 1779-1780 winter at Jockey Hollow was the worst winter in
over 100 years. Military camp conditions were so deplorable that
many soldiers stole regularly just to eat, deserted or mutinied.
Replica huts can be seen in the Jockey Hollow section of the
unit. They are open from dawn to dusk daily.
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[Contact on cc:Mail: (Green, Joseph, S.)]; or Joseph_S._Green@nps.gov
Last Updated:Wednesday, 22-Dec-2004 09:42:24 Eastern Standard Time
http://www.nps.gov/archive/morr/morr1.htm
Author: NPS, Morristown NHP
