The Old Stone House 538 Island Road Ramsey, NJ 07446

The Old Stone House 538 Island Road Ramsey, NJ 07446

The Old Stone House

538 Island Road

Ramsey, NJ  07446

(201) 327-2655

http://www.RamseyHistorical.org

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Old-Stone-House-Museum/448284202043523

Open: Four times a year, for special events and by special appointment only. Call for hours.

Fee: Voluntary donations

TripAdvisor Review:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g46762-d20323524-Reviews-The_Old_Stone_House_Ramsey_Historical_Society-Ramsey_New_Jersey.html?m=19905

The Old Stone House in April 2023 for the Northwest Bergen History Day tours

I visited ‘The Old Stone House’ during the Northwest Bergen History Coalition’s 8th Annual History Day.  This Dutch stone farmhouse is one of the oldest buildings in Ramsey, NJ. It has been known as the Westervelt-Ackerson House to the families that built it and have lived in it in the past. The house is on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

The house sits on a bluff that overlooks the highway but at one time was a 300 acre farm. The house’s furnishings on the first floor are period to the house with some of the original doors and windows of the house. There are still many original features in the house.

The Old Stone House signage

The first floor has a exhibit on the armed services and off to the side of the house which had once served as a antique shop to the last two owners of the house is a general store exhibition.

The General Store display on the first floor

The Armed Forces Display was very touching

The first floor is designed as most Dutch homes were at the time in the farming community. The kitchen was the center point of the home as a source of heating and cooking. The other rooms were connected so that the heat from the fireplace could spread through the home. It was simply furnished to reflect the life on the farm.

Another view of the Dining Room

As time went on and the family got more affluent, better furnishings were bought for the home. The house today reflects that home that would have been during the late 1700’s early 1800’s life on the farm.

The Old Stone House kitchen

The Old Stone House parlor

The Old Stone House Bedroom

The Old Stone House Living Room

Old Stone House Living Room

The upstairs painting and art collection

On the second floor are two children’s displays, one of toys and the other is set up like a school. There are period furnishings and children’s playthings in both rooms. The upstairs was finished off the house in the 1920’s.

The Old Stone House Schoolhouse display

The Old Stone House Toy Display

Antique Toys

Antique Toy Display

The barn off to the side of the house was moved to the property and holds a collection of period farm equipment.

The Old Stone House barn and farming equipment

The Old Stone House barn equipment

A historic marker in the barn

The house had been used as a private home for most of its history as well as a tavern during the late 1700 to early 1800’s. In the modern age, it was used as a antique store for the last two residents.

During the holidays, there is a big Christmas ‘Sinterklaas Festival’ (Dutch Christmas) that happens in early December.

Old Stone House II.jpg

The Old Stone House Barn

The History of the house:

(from the museum website)

The house has had many owners who have put their own touches to the ownership of the house. The original part of the house was built around 1746 by the original owner of the house, Jan Westervelt. This may have been part of the land leased to Uriah and Ruloff Westervelt in 1744. The land was part of the Ramapough Tract for the Proprietors and was from Peter Fauconier, one of its original purchasers (RHS).

The Ramapough Tract is situated between  the Ramapo Mountains and the Saddle River. It was purchased from the Indians on November 18, 1709 and it was acknowledged by the Indians at Tappan before Cornelius Harring, the Justice of the Peace. The land was passed through the Westervelt family through the early 1800’s until it was sold outside the family in 1837.

From there the house had multiple owners until it was sold to the State of New Jersey in 1955 and is now leased to the borough of Ramsey for a dollar and is maintained by the Ramsey Historical Society.

The Old Stone House

My class promotion of the Borough of Ramsey for the project “It’s Razzling in Ramsey: Be a Tourist in your Own Town”:

The blog on this project:

https://mywalkinmanhattan.com/category/exploring-ramsey-nj/

In the Fall of 2024, I created a Team Project with my students at Bergen Community College that promoted the Borough of Ramsey for Destination Tourism. Part of this project was a trip to the Old Stone House with the assistance of the Ramsey Historical Society, our class toured the museum and understood its rich history not just in Ramsey but in Bergen County.

Touring the Old Stone House right before Thanksgiving

The Old Stone House from the street

The barn on the property

The President of the Ramsey Historical Society tour us on a tour of the barn, the grounds and then around the house. He explained the town’s past and its place from Colonial to modern times.

My students exploring the barn

Taking class pictures outside the barn

Touring inside the barn with its farm equipment and sleighs

Looking at the farm equipment from all ages

My students touring the Old Stone House

My students touring the museum

A group of my students touring the museum to promote it for tourism

The Historical Society even let us tour the basement

The Team group picture of all my students touring on the walking tour of the Old Stone House in November 2024.

They created the very funny and clever “Visit from Mr. Pumpkin” event for the project. Here is a link to the video:

https://www.youtubeeducation.com/watch?v=qbs2jhkrNWE

The students did an excellent job on the project and you can see the whole present above through the blog and its links. It was the perfect showcase to this hidden gem of a museum.

4 thoughts on “The Old Stone House 538 Island Road Ramsey, NJ 07446”

    2. Dear John,

      You would have to call the town’s Municipal Building on this. The house will be open in May for the Bergen County Historical coalition’s event. Outside of that, you would have to call the town and ask for someone in the Historical department.

      Have a good weekend.

      Sincerely,

      Justin Watrel, Blogger
      VisitingaMuseum.com/MywalkinManhattan.com

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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