Steuben House

The Steuben House is a noted example of Bergen Dutch sandstone architecture, located at New Bridge Landing on the Hackensack River in River Edge, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.

History

A wooden drawbridge was built across the Hackensack River in 1744, near Johannes Ackerman's tidal gristmill, in 1744. John Zabriskie, a miller, built the oldest portion of the building, containing five rooms, in 1752, and his son expanded the house in 1767 to its present size, with twelve rooms and seven fireplaces.

The house was occupied as a military headquarters during much of the American Revolutionary War. General Washington headquartered here in September 1780 when the Continental Army encamped on the Kinderkamack Ridge.

The State of New Jersey confiscated the stone mansion from Jan Zabriskie, a Loyalist, in 1781. The New Jersey Legislature 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, 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. He died in 1793. Andrew Zobriskie, 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 one acre 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 house displays Bergen Dutch artifacts belonging to the Bergen County Historical Society. Owned and staffed by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry and administered by Ringwood State Park, the Steuben House is listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places. 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.

The house is now the cornerstone of this historic district, spanning both sides of the river. 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 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.

2007 flood

In the aftermath of the April 2007 nor'easter, the Steuben House, sitting just a few dozen feet from the Hackensack River, suffered significant damage caused by the rising floodwaters. Many objects 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. [Boburg, Shawn. [http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZnYmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MTIwNjk5 " Floods ruin priceless artifacts"] , "The Record (Bergen County)", April 22, 2007, accessed April 30, 2007. "A collection of Jersey Dutch antiques housed in the state-owned Steuben House in River Edge suffered $1.5 million in water damage last week, and the historical group that owns the collection is blaming the state for failing to protect it adequately."]

References

External links

* [http://www.bergencountyhistory.org/Pages/steubenhsehistory.html Bergen County Historical Society history of the Steuben House]