Wyckoff-Garretson House

The Wyckoff-Garretson House was built in 1730 by Cornelius Wyckoff.

Cornelius Wyckoff

Cornelius Wyckoff was the son of Pieter Claesen Wyckoff. Cornelius wanted to buy farmland, so he moved to Franklin Township, Somerset County, New Jersey in 1701. With seven other prosperous Dutch farmers, they bought 10,000 acres (40 km²) of land. Cornelius purchased approximately 1,200 acres (5 km²) which was divided into parcels for his four sons: John Wyckoff, Jacob Wyckoff, Peter Wyckoff, and Simon Wyckoff. John was the first to move onto the land, near Middlebush, New Jersey around 1709-1710. However, he must have lived in a different structure until 1730 when he built the first half of the current house. He brought in a Dutch craftsmen from Brooklyn to construct his house of white oak. [cite web |url=http://www.themeadowsfoundation.org/wyckoff-garretson.html |title=Wyckoff-Garretson House |accessdate=2008-07-30 |quote=The Wyckoff family history has a very unusual beginning. Pieter Claesen came to America in 1636 at the age of 12 as an indentured servant to the estate of Killian Van Rensselaer, in Fort Orange (Albany), a Province of New Amsterdam on the Hudson River. “When he had worked off his indenture at 18, he rented a farm nearby and married Grietje van Ness, the daughter of a prominent citizen of the colony.” Their two oldest children were born there but soon Pieter would move down to New Amsterdam where there were better prospects for him. He signed a contract “to superintend the Bowery and cattle of Peter Stuyvesant in New Amersfoort” in 1655. Pieter Claesen prospered and became one of the most influential citizens in the Province. |publisher=Meadows Foundation ]

amuel Garretson

The house was later enlarged by Samuel Garretson from Hillsborough, New Jersey in 1805.

Meadows Foundation

The house is currently being restored by the Meadows Foundation.

References

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