Open: 11:00am-3:00pm (check the website for seasonality)
Directions: Located on Route 9G, five miles south of Hudson. Take NYS I-87 to Exit 21, Catskill. Take Route 23 over Rip Van Winkle Bridge. Bear right on Route 9G south. Olana is one mile on the left. Or visit our websites at http://www.Olana.org and http://www.nysparks.com.
Hours: House available by guided tour only. Call for days and hours or visit http://www.olana.org. Reservations suggested; group tours by advance reservation only. Grounds open 8:00am-sunset year around.
I had not been to the Olana Mansion since 2014 and it was finally nice to see it during the summer when everything was in bloom. The tours were every hour of the day during the warmer months with several types of tours available at different prices. There was a house and garden tour for two hours which I had just missed so I took the house tour.
The story board of Olana pf the family
The house is filled with original family furnishings from when the house was almost sold off in the 1960’s. An industrialist saw a reason to save the house for future generations and raised the money to keep everything intact. It gave us a glimpse into the life of artist Fredrick Church and his family. The tour consists of all the bottom floors of the house and the garden. The unique part of the tour is that the man who was our tour guide partner was the last Mrs. Church’s grandnephew. So, he remembered visiting the house as a child.
We started the tour in the formal gardens that have been replanted. They were in full bloom giving us insight to how the grounds were once landscaped. The gardens were made up of mostly local flowers that were native to the area.
The formal gardens of Olana
The Olana gardens leading to the house.
We explored the views from the porch to see what the family would have experienced when they were at the house in season. There are breathtaking views of the Hudson River and the surrounding Catskill Mountains from the porch of the house. Things have grown in since the family’s time, but it still offers amazing vistas.
The views are beautiful from the porch.
We then toured the house’s first floor where the family did their receiving of guests, their social rooms and the offices of both Mr. & Mrs. Church. Each of the rooms still contained family heirlooms and original furnishings. We started with the Receiving Room where guests would wait to be welcomed by the family or leave a calling card that they were making a visit.
The Receiving Room in the front of Olana
When you look at the walls of the room, it is decorated with Fredrick Church’s artwork. The tour guide told us that the house had the largest collection of Fredrick Church’s paintings in the country. I took this attribute as these were the pieces that he did not sell at the time. The works of the Hudson River School and of his travels abroad were very interesting and lively.
Fredrick Church paintings that line the house.
We toured the house room by room admiring the furnishings and all the artwork of Fredrick Church that lined the walls of the house. This included family members including his wife, Isabel Carnes Church, his partner for the rest of his life.
Isabel Carnes Church, the mistress of the house
On his many trips abroad, Fredrick Church painted many of the sites he had visited that included the Far and Middle East.
Fredrick Church’s painting of “Petra” in the Middle East.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Church kept up social appearances on top of their work. They had a steady stream of guests visit the house and there was a lot of entertaining here.
The view from the porch
The view from the other side of the porch
We next visited the parlor, where the family would gather when they were staying at the house. There were many exotic furnishings from their trips on top of the personal family items. There were musical instruments to keep the family entertained when they were home.
The family piano in the Parlor
The formal Dining Room was more personal with a dining table that extended out for twenty people or open enough for the family to diner in this room.
The formal Dining Room
The formal Dining Room with the collection of painting that the family acquired when they were aboard.
As we finished the visit to the public rooms of the home, we toured the outside of the home as well as we exited out the side door.
The side view of Olana
When we looked up at the home with its combination of Morrish and Arabic design we saw four teapots at the top of the tower. When asked what they meant and why they were there, no one including the tour guide knew. It was figured by a group of landscape architects that it may have something to do with longevity or renewal. This secret died with the family.
The teapots line the roof.
The tour is very interesting and gives you a view on the house and on the family who lived there and how they lived when they were in residence here. They entertained, they worked, they traveled, and they made great art. The location on the hill in the Hudson River Valley shows their investment in the location. This was all kept intact after the 1960’s for us to enjoy.
The views of the Hudson River Valley
History of Olana:
Olana, one of the most important artistic residences and planned landscapes in the United States, is the last and perhaps greatest masterpiece created by Hudson River School artist Fredrick Edwin Church (1826-1900). Church designed the landscape and his Persian style home on and around the same hilltop where, as an eighteen year old student, he sketched spectacular views of the Catskills and the river alongside his mentor Thomas Cole.
The view of the house from the back.
Even in an era defined by personal architectural statements, the home of Fredric and Isabel Church was unique. Delight in the Moorish details of the building and each room. View the original furnishings of the house and walk or jog along the paths and carriage drives of the surrounding landscape, also designed by Church. A designated National Historic Landmark, Olana State Historic Site opened to the public in 1967. The house, its contents and the landscape still look very much as they did in Church’s day.
The inside of Olana in the main rooms
The views of the Hudson River from the porch of the house
Fee: $10.00 donation at the Holidays/$16.00 Adults/$10.00 Seniors & Students/Children Under 12 free
Visit Wilderstein-With its exquisite Queen Anne mansion and Calvert Vaux designed landscape, this historic estate is widely regarded as the Hudson Valley’s most important example of Victorian architecture.
I just visited Wilderstein for my third time at Christmas and it never gets boring. The house is so beautiful on its own, with its elegant woodwork and interesting family are portraits sometimes even the decorations get lost in its beauty.
The Wilderstein Carriage entrance
The carriage entrance in the summer of 2024
The entrance to Wilderstein at Christmas 2022
The same entrance in the Summer in 2024
Only the first floor is open to tourists (the rest of the house is under restoration and they fare hoping to open some rooms on the second floor by 2020) so the tour of the Receiving Room, The Dining Room, Living Room, Kitchen and Library does not take too long. Though take time to admire the rooms full of furniture that was owned by the Suckely family.
When you walk into the main hallway, you are greeted by portraits of the Suckley family descendants who line the walls of the house. To the left is the grand staircase to the upper floors and right behind that is the library.
The staircase was decorated for Christmas
Off to the right is the Receiving Room which is still in need of a renovation as the silk furnishings and wall coverings need a lot of work. Still there is almost rotting elegance to it all as if you can still see how beautiful the room must have looked when it was new.
That lead to the Family Living Room with it’s breathtaking views of the Hudson River. The room had the family Christmas tree in it and was all set out for tea. Here was one of the most livable rooms in the house where the family must have gathered every night to enjoy each others company.
The Formal Dining Room with its heavy wood paneling and carved wood work is extremely detailed accented by stained glass windows and more portraits of the family tree. The room was decked out with holiday decorations and laid out for Christmas dinner.
The Family Dining Room decked out for Christmas
Off to the side of the Dining Room was the Butler’s pantry which Ms. Suckley used as her kitchen in the later years and was equipped with a modern oven and refrigerator. It must have been a very comfortable place to cook in.
Down the hall off to the side of the formal staircase is the Library where Ms. Suckley slept in her later years but still had loads of books lining the walls and a giant fireplace in the middle of the wall to keep the room warm. The whole room was lined with ivy and garland which gave it a festive look.
The Wilderstein Library decked out for Christmas
Touring the house takes about an hour as the first floor is the only floor open right now and there is only five rooms to tour. Take time to walk the grounds especially during the warmer months. There is a spectacular view of the Hudson River from the house and grounds. It must have been fun to sit on the veranda in the summer months and just look at the river.
The view from Wilderstein is amazing! This was in the Summer of 2024
The view of the Hudson River during the Summer of 2024
In the Summer of 2024, I was able to take time to tour the grounds, it has the most amazing views of the Hudson River. There was beautiful views of the grounds, the Hudson River and the fields of wildflowers. Just walking around the grounds it has colorful flowers, wonderful shade trees and a relaxing environment. It is so relaxing in the late afternoon.
No wonder Daisy Suckley never wanted to leave this house.
The view of the lawn overlooking the Hudson River at Christmas time
The estate in the Summer of 2024
History of Wilderstein Mansion:
The Mansion: Originally built in 1852 as a restrained Italianate Villa, the house was transformed in 1888 into the elaborate Queen Anne Victorian mansion seen today. The house was designed by Poughkeepsie architect Arnout Cannon who transformed the original two story Italianate villa that had been designed in 1852 by architect John Warren Rich to the Queen Anne style mansion of today.
Wilderstein estate in the summer
The Landscape: Renowned landscape architect Calvert Vaux designed Wilderstein’s romantic grounds taking advantage of the varied topography and magnificent views of the Hudson. It was laid out in the ‘American Romance’ style of landscape.
The grounds in the Summer of 2024
The fields of wildflowers on the estate
Queen Ann Lace on the estate
The Family: Wilderstein was home to three generations of the Suckley family. The last family member to live at Wilderstein was Margaret (Daisy) Suckley, whose extraordinary friendship with Franklin Delano Roosevelt has been well-chronicled and is the subject of much interest.
The Mansion Interiors: Joseph Burr Tiffany decorated the first floor of the mansion in eclectic mix of styles. The interiors are virtually untouched since 1888 and contain original woodwork, stained glass, wall coverings and furniture.
Wilderstein at Christmas time
The mansion in the Summer of 2024
Mansion Information:
Directions: From the center of Rhinebeck travel south on Route 9, take first right to Mill Road and go 2.2 miles, take right to Morton Road (County Route 85) and Wilderstein’s entrance is one quarter mile on the left.
Hours: Tours May to October, Thursday through Sunday, from 1:00pm until 4:00pm (last tour at 3:30pm) and weekends in December. Group tours by advance reservation.
Disclaimer: This information is taken from the Wilderstein Historic Site pamphlet. Please call the site for more information.
I have been to the Hermitage Museum many times for events and they do a nice job portraying the house in different periods at different times of the year. Both Christmas and Halloween at the homestead are always a treat.
The Hermitage at Christmas is very special.
The front of the Visitors Center and Gift Shop at Christmas time.
I have taken the Haunted House tours during Halloween when The Hermitage hosts seances. Their medium was not that convincing and I did not believe a word he said. We took a tour around the house at midnight and that was interesting. The house can be quite spooky at midnight but then every house is spooky at midnight. I noticed the boards creaking and the wind blowing around the house but that’s what old houses do. The house does creak a lot and when the wind acts up you can jump. Still there was noting to convey to me that the place was haunted.
The Hermitage is spooky at Midnight at Halloween.
The tour guides will go through how the family fortunes changed the way people lived in the house up to the 1970’s when the last family member died. Please don’t miss visiting the home during Halloween for their ‘Ghost tours’ . It can get quite spooky in the house at midnight with the wind hallowing and things creaking.
Things are much more cheerful at Christmas time when the house is decorated for the holidays. During the Revolutionary War, things were kept simple. There was church service in the morning and then a Christmas lunch and visits to family. It was not until the Victorian Age and the Industrial Revolution that things got more elaborate. Queen Victoria’s husband, King George came from Germany and brought with him Pagan traditions of evergreens, garland and greens all over the house to show life in the colder months of the year.
The tours of the house are $25.00 and very reasonable for a hourlong tour.
The house was decorated in 2018 for Christmas in the 1930’s during the Depression and it showed that people still decorated and gave presents in a more subdued way during this tough time.
The Hermitage keeps this tradition alive by decorating the house for the holidays. The entrance to the kitchen was kept simple but welcoming for visitors.
The decorations outside were kept simple with greens.
The outside of the house for the tour in 2023 was done in simple lights and greens but when it gets dark the magic of the holidays shows it beauty in the house. Each room is decorated for the holidays and there are all sorts of displays about Christmas, life at the Hermitage and elaborate displays of toys and gifts and meals that would have been served to the family at that time. There did not seem to be a nook or cranny that was missed and the house was just beautiful.
Getting ready for the holidays at the Hermitage.
The docent took us room by room and we got to see how the families lived at different times of the house’s history. We were allowed a glimpse into their daily lives at the holidays.
The Hermitage decorated for Christmas
In 2019, the house was decorated for the Victorian era and was done up quite elaborately. The Dining Room was set in the best china and silver with decorative poppers for Christmas lunch. The meal that day was one of the biggest and finest of the year with roasted oysters, roast turkey, sweet and mashed potatoes and many root vegetables.
The Hermitage is beautiful at Christmas time
The Living Room was decorated with an elaborate tree with lights and beautiful Christmas ornaments and there was garland all over the room leading into the hallway with more garland on the banister. The upstairs rooms were set with seasonal plants and clothing depicting the era. It looked like the family was going on an outing.
Sweets and Treats on sale and after the tours at Christmas time.
The Hermitage gift shop has amazing things at Christmas.
Touring the house at Christmas is always a treat as it was set up for a Victorian Christmas and the whole house was decorated inside and out. The pathways were set with luminaries and white lights and the porches were elaborately decorated.
The side of the house was decorated with white lights and luminaries.
The porch was decorated with an old fashioned sleigh
The front entrance to the house at Christmas.
The Hermitage Museum History:
The Hermitage Museum in Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey is a charming and romantic mid-19th century Gothic Revival cottage. Surrounded by more than four acres of park land, the Hermitage is restored and furnished to reflect the lifestyle and interests of the Rosencrantz family during the second half of the 19th century.
The Revolutionary War display.
The fourteen room home is built in the Gothic Revival architecture that surrounds the original Dutch American home built in the 1700’s. The original colonial estate was bought by Ann Barlow DeVisne, who was from Manhattan, for herself and her five children.
The Rosencrantz Doll collection at the Hermitage.
One of the children, Theodosia Bartow Prevost, lived in the house with her husband, James Marcus Prevost. Major James Marcus Prevost fought on the side of the British during the Revolutionary War in battles in Georgia and North Carolina. Her husband would be later killed in the War.
The front of the house decorated for Christmas 2023.
During battle time with the British, Theodosia invited General Washington to stay at the house which he and his troops did in 1778. Theodosia welcomed all troops, both British and American to stay at the house during the war. In 1782, she married Aaron Burr, a soldier she had met during the war. On top of her five children by her first marriage, she had another child with Aaron Burr named Theodosia. Theodosia Prevost-Burr died in 1794.
The original Ice House/Smoke House at night.
The house was then sold to the Rosencrantz family in 1807 and then the house was expanded from the Dutch tradition into the Gothic Revival addition between 1847-48 by noted architect, William H. Ranlett. The addition was at the request of Elijah Rosencrantz Jr.
The Revolutionary War display at the Hermitage.
The house was lived in by four generation of Rosencrantz’s. Elijah’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth, was born in the house in 1885 and lived there her entire life until 1970 when she fell ill. She left the house to the State of New Jersey as a National Historical site.
The history of the Hermitage display at the museum.
The Hermitage is special at the holidays
During Christmas time, the house is decorated for the holidays. This year’s theme in 2018 is “Home for the Holidays: A 1930’s Christmas at the Hermitage”. The house is decorated at the time of the Great Depression and how people dealt with those times while still providing holiday cheer to their families. The decorations do not reflect Victorian times but more when times were tough and people had to watch their budgets.
The house was beautifully decorated for the holidays.
Even the gift shop offered cheerful items such as ornaments, collectables, small trees and elaborate gifts.
This cheerful Santa was on sale at the gift shop at the Hermitage. By the time I came back from the tour, he was sold.
Disclaimer: this information was taken directly from The Hermitage pamphlet and Wikipedia and Google. Please call the facility for information on special events.
The Hermitage “Tea Room” exhibition where the family made money during the 1900’s -1930s.
I have been to many special events at the Garretson Forge & Farm over the years, but COVID had put a stop to many of them since 2020. The farm is now back and running beautifully with the help of their roster of volunteers and master gardeners manning the grounds both in the front and back of the homestead.
In previous years when I have visited, I have toured the home visiting the indoor kitchen and display room that is the oldest part of the house which was built in 1719.
The signage in front of the house
The kitchen of the Garretson Forge is from the original structure of the house.
The kitchen
The cooking utensils at the Garretson Forge kitchen
The spinning at the Garretson Forge farm was part of life
The newer part of the house where spinning takes place and where you can see examples of Dutch furniture with chest for clothing and a rope bed, where the expression ‘sleep tight don’t let the bedbugs bite’ comes from. You had to tighten a rope bed with a key to tighten the ropes at night and the mattresses were either made from straw or if you were lucky, goose feathers.
The newer part of the home with the upstairs dormers was built in 1760.
The upstairs is the newest addition to the house
The Upstairs
The Garretson Family tree
Inside the original part of the home is the family tree of the Garretson family who lived in the house for six generations from 1719 to 1972 when the last of the Garretson line, the husband of the wife who was a direct descendant died and the home was bought by a developer. The also have a collection of Presidential signatures that are kept under lock and key at night.
The Presidential Signature Room
The Living Room fireplace is right off the Signature Room
The kitchen in the original 1719 part of the home is decorated with period utensils, herbs and vegetables for drying and all the things you would need to prepare food for the long winter. These things would have been placed in the fruit cellar.
The Herb Garden right off the kitchen
The water pump and herb garden are right in back of the kitchen
Outside the home during the recent Harvest Festival that I attended in October 2022, you can visit all sorts of farming equipment, sleds, and hoes for using on the farm to grow plants.
The barn has herbs drying for the season and foods being stored. This along with farm equipment. These items have been brought from all over Bergen County.
The Fall Festival 2022 on October 9th, 2022
The other barn had period carriages and even a dairy vehicle delivery of milk and eggs to homes. There were items drying out in the barn for basketmaking and even in the back the tombstone of an original member of the family.
The Barn Vehicles
The barn equipment
The backyard of the home is an extensive number of plantings that the Master Gardeners maintain and many of the items grown on the property go to a foodbank in Paterson, NJ. I thought that was a very nice donation to give especially these days. I was able to walk through what was left of the vegetables and fruits that had not either been picked or went through their growing cycle.
Items drying in the barn
Activities at the Harvest Festival included making colonial dishes from original recipes including a roasting ham on the fire, pumpkin pie, chopped vegetables for stew and a stew that was cooking on the fire.
The bounty of Fall in Colonial America
Unfortunately, we were not able to sample these delicious looking items because of a food license but everything looked really good. They had everything laid out on the table as the ladies explained to me how things were cooked back then.
Roasting meats on the fire a traditional way
Here and there were tables of items for sale including snacks, crafts and vintage decorative items for the home. This helps raise money for the maintenance of the house.
There was also a plant sale where items grown on the property were being sold for people’s decorative gardens.
Before I left, the master gardener explained to me that the Chinese Chestnut Tree in the back of the property was a documented tree and was one of the oldest and largest in the State of New Jersey. They are not too sure who planted it years ago.
Their Harvest Festival was a lot of fun and there were lots to do for families with small children. This takes place every October.
In December I took a special tour of the farmhouse during the holiday season when the forge was decorated for the Sinterklaas event and the Christmas holiday season. I was very lucky that the President of the organization gave me a private tour of the house and gardens. The house had been very busy for the Christmas season.
During the time of the Dutch, homes would not have been as decorated for the holidays as they would during the Victorian Age with trees and massive amounts of decorations. Around the time of the Revolutionary War, ‘greens’ would have decorated the home to bring ‘life’ back into the home during the long winter months. So things like pine, holly and mistletoe would have decorated the house.
The front of the house for the holiday season.
The front of the house at Christmas time.
The entrance to the house decorated in bows and garland.
The entrance to the house decked in garland, bows and fruit during the holiday season.
Entering the house from the back door.
The entrance to the back door decked out for the holidays.
The entrance to the historic farmhouse.
During the holiday season, the New Jersey Dutch citizens would celebrate “Sinterklaas”, the Dutch Christmas festival in which Sinterklaas (Santa Claus) would bring good little children toys and sweets. During the first week of December, the farmhouse has the traditional “Dutch Christmas Festival” in which children can visit with Sinterklaas and enjoy music and holiday treats.
The front hallway decorated for the Dutch Festival.
The Dutch Kitchen ready for the holidays.
The kitchen getting ready for the holidays.
The back fireplace during the Christmas holidays.
The main room of the Dutch Farmhouse during the Christmas holidays.
The banister was decorated in garland and bows.
The Spinning Wheel and fireplace during the festivities.
Where Sinterklaas engages the small children at the event.
The stockings and wooden shoes which would have been filled with candy and toys by Sinterklaas for good little girls and boys. The Christmas tree would have come in Victorian times along with the presents in the later part of the 1870’s and 80’s with the rise of Queen Victoria.
As we exited the house at the end of the tour, the President took me on a tour of the greenhouse that was attached to the house. This is where all the new plants and saplings were being grown during the winter months.
The Greenhouse is attached to the main house.
The decorated window box just outside the kitchen of the farmhouse.
We passed through the gardens that were now dormant for the holidays but would be sprouting in about four months.
During the Revolutionary War and the take over of the English, Christmas would have meant church services on Christmas Day and a light luncheon in the afternoon. Things like gift giving, entertainment and music would have been later in the 1800’s as the ‘Puritan influence’ would have prevailed at this time with little merriment during the holidays.
After the Civil War and the rise of the Industrial Revolution did Christmas get more elaborate and festivities became more colorful. You see this in different stages of the house. The forge is open for the “Sinterklaas Festival” the first week of December every year.
In the Spring, I attended “Pea Day”, the first planting of the gardens took place in March of 2024. The volunteers were cleaning the beds out and planting the first fruits and vegetables that could survive in the cool weather. It gave us a chance to see how things were planted on the farm during the different seasons.
The front of the Garretson Forge & Farm during the last days of Winter.
The property during the late Winter months.
The daffodils were in full bloom on the property.
Cleaning up the property during the late Winter months.
The volunteers planting the beds during “Pea Day”.
The volunteers planting the beds during “Pea Day”.
The students of Bergen Community College learning about the Garretson Forge.
“Pea Day” gave us a chance to see the property and see how the plantings of the farm were timed with the seasons. It also gave the students a chance to see what the farm looked like and understand its logistics.
The farm on “Pea Day”.
The History of Garretson Forge & Farm:
Garretson Forge & Farm is one of the oldest historic sites in Bergen County, New Jersey. Settled in 1719, this Dutch Colonial homestead was home to six generations of the Garretson family. Their homestead remains a rare surviving example of a simple farming life that was prevalent in the 1700’s and 1800’s. It now functions as a living museum and a working farm, preserving our colonial past and agricultural heritage.
The front of the Garretson Forge on River Road in Fair Lawn, NJ.
The Property:
Located along an old Native American trail, about a mile north of Garretson Lane, is one of the original farms in Slooterdam, owned by the Dutch family of Peter Garretson. Today, more than 300 years later, the trail has come to be known as River Road, Garretson Lane is now called Broadway and Slooterdam has evolved into Fair Lawn, yet the original farmhouse and remaining grounds are still referred to as the Garretson Homestead.
In the 17th century, New Jersey was divided into the Provinces of East and West Jersey by its English proprietors, Lords Berkeley and Carteret. These lands were then sold to a group of Quakers headed by William Penn. By 1692, part of East Jersey, known as the Saddle River Tract, had been divided into large lots, one of which was sold to the Stillwell family.
The Garretson homestead stand on a portion of land that was acquired in 1708 by David Daniellse from the Stillwell family. A copy of the original propriety deed signed by King George of England and the Lenni Lenape Chief, Spotted Tail and granting the land to David Daniellse, is hanging in the homestead. The original property was bounded on the west by the Passaic River and on the east by the Saddle River. Peter Garretson purchased the property from Mr. Daniellse in 1719.
After Peter Garretson’s death, title to the land was passed from one generation to the next. From time-to-time parcels of the tract were sold. The present site consists of 1.84 acres along River Road.
The beauty of the Garretson Forge Farm in the Fall
The Homestead:
The house is an example of Dutch Colonial architecture which is charismatic of Bergen, Passaic and Hudson Counties.
One and one-half stories high and built about 1719 of rubble and undressed stone, the current kitchen wing is considered by most to be the homestead. It features a large open-hearth fireplace typical of Flemish design of the late 1600’s. On a late nineteenth-century photograph of the house, remnants of a brick beehive oven can be seen on the outer wall.
Farming equipment outside the barn
In 1760, the larger section of the house was built using dressed stone. The sandstone blocks were held together with mortar made of river mud mixed with straw and hogs hair. It was under this section that fragments of clay pipes (c1720) were uncovered.
The farmhouse on River Road in Fairlawn, NJ
The Farmhouse
Extensive renovations were made to the house in 1902. The present gambrel roof replaced a steep gable roof; a front door was replaced with a window; an inner stairway to the basement replaced cellar hatches. A large center Victorian stairway to the second floor was also built and the open-hearth fireplaces were enclosed in the Victorian style. A large pillared porch was also added.
An early nineteenth century carriage house still stands on the property along with a large barn and several smaller outbuildings, the oldest of which is a small wooden structure built circa 1800 in the Dutch barn style.
The barn and carriage house
The Garretson Family:
The history of the Garretson family in America began in 1660 with the emigration of Gerrit Gerritse, his wife, Annetje Hermansse and their son, Gerrit from Wageningen, Gelderland (Netherlands). They arrived in New Amsterdam and proceeded to the town of Bergen, where in 1668, Gerrit (Sr) bought from Philip Carteret, eight parcels of land. The family resided in what is now the Communipaw section of Jersey City, where Gerrit died in October of 1696. His wife died on September 7, 1696.
Some of Gerrit Gerritse’s children took the name Van Wagenen, while others retained that of Garretson, from the name of their father. The descendants of Gerrit Gerritse, going by the surname of Garretson, Van Wegenen and Van Wagoner are today numerous throughout Bergen and Hudson Counties.
Mary Garretson’s Tombstone is located in the barn
Peter Garretson, grandson of the elder Gerrit Gerritse, purchased the Slooterdam Patent from David Daniellse in 1719. The house was built shortly afterwards. Six generations of the Garretson family resided on the farm until the death of Mary Garretson Brocker in 1950. Her widower, Feenix Brocker, remained at the homestead and continued farming until 1974.
The Gardens:
Originally a homestead farm, subsistence and market crops were grown from the early 1700’s through the early 1970’s by the Garretson family.
The back of the house
Today, the gardens at Garretson continue an agricultural tradition. A variety of heirloom vegetables, all open-pollinated are grown in the kitchen garden using organic and sustainable practices. Produce in season is donated to a local emergency food pantry. An extensive herb garden contains over 75 types of medicinal and culinary herbs that were grown in the seventeen and eighteen hundreds.
The Garretson farm gardens behind the house are tended to by the master gardeners.
Garretson’s Butterfly Garden provides host plants and nectar sources for many different kinds of butterflies. Since 2005, Garretson has been certified by Monarch Watch as a Monarch Waystation (monarch habitat).
The Children’s Garden at Garretson abounds in spring ephemeral wildflowers, bulbs and ferns. In the heat of summer its offers a welcome place to sit in the shade. Gardeners have been restoring native plants to this woodland area.
The garden sheds behind the house
Many of the garden volunteers are Rutgers-trained Master Gardeners who have done their community service at Garretson and who give back to the community and Bergen County Master Gardener Program by training new gardeners at Garretson.
The gardens at the Garretson Forge farms behind the house
Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc.:
The Garretson property was sold in 1974 to a private builder for residential value, community members became interested in acquiring the property for preservation. This led to the founding of the Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc. in 1974 for the purpose of raising funds for the purchase. Through the efforts of the organization, the community at large and government agencies, the necessary funds were raised for the acquisition of the property.
GFFR Inc. continued to raise funds to maintain the site and to restore the kitchen to its eighteenth-century design. Money was also used to purchase artifacts and articles related to Garretson history.
The open kitchen at the Garretson Farm
In 1977, ownership of the property was accepted by the Freeholders of Bergen County. Now a county historical site, the Garretson homestead continues to be administered by the members of Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration Inc.
GFFR Inc. is a volunteer organization whose mission is to preserve and maintain the Garretson homestead, keeping it open to the public; to educate the greater community about local and state history; to foster environmentally sustainable agricultural practices and biodiversity.
Programs and Special Events:
Throughout the year, Garretson Forge and Farm offers.
Living history events:
*The Spring Festival celebrating colonial life and crafts in the 1700’s.
*The Fall Festival celebrating the harvest and the 1800’s farm.
Fall Festival 2022
Civil War Activities at the Garretson Forge
Civil War activities at the Fall Festival
Spinning wool and cloth making at the Fall Festival
*Dutch Christmas presenting a traditional Dutch celebration with the homestead decorated in Victorian style.
The house decorated for the Sinterklaas and Christmas festivals.
The house decorated for the Christmas holidays.
Educational Programs:
The Map and Signature galleries
*School Tours
Children’s toys at the Garretson Forge
*Open House and garden tours
*Lectures on the environment and on local history.
The Signature and Map Collection at Garretson Forge
*The Master Gardener Program
*Organic/sustainable gardening
*Garden and craft workshops
*The annual Butterfly Festival for families.
Community Service Programs:
*Eagle Scout Projects
*Community Seed Bank
*Seasonal produce donations to local food banks.
For more information on events, please check out the website:
The Bergen County Division of Cultural & Historic Affairs received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.
Disclaimer: This information is taken directly from the pamphlet from the Garretson Forge & Farm. For more information on the site, please call the above numbers or email them.
In the Spring Semester of 2023, my Introduction to Business class at Bergen Community College in Paramus, NJ created a project to promote the Garretson Forge & Farm for Destination Tourism. It was an extensive project creating new programs, new advertising and promoting the site with commercials and walking tours.
I think a lot of these historical sites do not get the attention they deserve and with the 250 Anniversary of the Revolutionary War happening in two years, these wonderful sites needed to be showcased. They needed to dusted off, revamped and a fresh perspective was needed to tell their story. This is where the project for the “The Bergen 250: Tourism at the Garretson Forge & Farm” came from.
The project “Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. presents “Bergen 250-Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm”:
That and the tour the former President gave me during the holiday season when I begged to see the Christmas decorations for the Sinterklaas celebrations were still up. I needed pictures for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” and “MywalkinManhattan.com”.
My blog on Touring the Garretson Forge & Farm on VisitingaMuseum.com:
When I toured the home during the holidays, I approached them on using the home as a future project and she seemed to like the idea. This is where the partnership for the project came from.
Our first visit to the site was on “Pea Day” in March 2024 for an extra credit assignment to start the project off so that the students could see the grounds and experience the farm and its attributes.
Visiting the Garretson Forge & Farm in Fair Lawn, NJ for “Pea Day”
Visiting the farm house and gardens on “Pea Day”
The volunteers planting at the Garretson Forge & Farm on “Pea Day”.
Observing the Master Gardeners and Volunteers on “Pea Day”.
The students coming in on their day off to attend “Pea Day”
Everyone took turns getting their hands dirty on “Pea Day”
We also had a special field trip to the Garretson Forge & Farm on class day so that everyone could tour the farm and the farmhouse. Outside “Pea Day”, it was the first time anyone in my class had ever visited the site.
We started the tour on a rather gloomy night. We had just had a rain storm but that did not stop our visit. Our whole class attended the trip (it is a mandatory part of both the project and the class) and it was a interesting tour for all of us.
Our host was the President of the Friends group that helps raise money for the site. We started the tour after the rain storm with a trip through the barns to see some of the old farm equipment. The were some interesting artifacts that included farm plows and horse drawn articles to carriages and sleds.
Then we toured the gardens where the volunteers had just finished the plantings of the summer fruits and vegetables. The President explained that the fruits and vegetables that were grown here were donated to a soup kitchen in Paterson. I thought this was a great idea.
Then were toured the farmhouse, which I had just been to for a private tour during the holidays. The kitchen was set up for a harvest meal now and I explained to some of the students how food was cooked back then in the hearth.
Then we toured the small museum and looked at the family tree, where generations of Garretson’s had lived. Our last stop on the tour of the farmhouse was the main living room where the Sinterklass event was held and many of the talks on domestic life on the farm.
This is where we concluded the tour and many students asked questions about life at that period of time. After the tour was over, I took the students out to dinner as part of their Team Building. It is important for the students to get to know one another.
The start of the tour near the barns.
Our tour of the grounds, the barns and life on the farm.
The grounds near the second barn. Touring the gardens at twilightTour of the kitchen.
Discussing the expression “Sleep tight don’t let the bed bugs bite” and where it came from.
Discussion on the second floor.
The second floor had been added on years later.
Discussion on farm living.
Discussing the furnishings and how the farmhouse ran as a farm and a home.
Continuing our discussion of life on the farm.
Talking about life on the farm.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. tour of the site.
Our group shot with President of the Garretson Forge & Farm April Barth.
After the tour was over, I took my class to Bella Vita Pizzeria in Fair Lawn, NJ for their first Corporate dinner and Team building exercise. The dinner was wonderful, and the pizza was excellent. It really warmed us up after a cold night of touring and the students seemed to enjoy getting to know each other over a hot pizza dinner.
Bella Vita Pizzeria at 1761 River Rd A, Fair Lawn, NJ 07410:
My Teams dining together at a “Corporate” pizza dinner.
The company Team dining together that night.
The aspect of dining together is an important part of the Team Building exercise and you can tell by the pictures that my students enjoyed it.
The next few weeks were preparing the project for the presentation. We had a visit from Vivian Davis, who I had known for years from working in the Division of Disability Services when she was one of our speakers. She now was running the “Bergen 250: The 250th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County” and we had incorporated part of this in the project. I had given her a copy of the project and she came into the class to discuss what she was planning and the significance of the Revolutionary War had on the towns in Bergen County. It was a real history lesson on some of the towns in Bergen County and some of the historical homes and sites in Bergen County.
This project was a bit more intense than my morning class. While they designed the rigors of the Bergen Room Bistro, my evening class was putting together an entire game plan of Revolutionary War events for the ‘Bergen 250’.
I had the students working on an Independence Day event, a Children’s Walking tour of the property, a Mid Summer dinner with a Revolutionary War themed dinner, a continuation of the Sinterklaas event that would extend visiting the decorations in the house another two weekends and then a new Digital Marketing campaign for the site with a commercials and posters.
The night of the presentation on April 24th, it all came to life. The students each showed the PowerPoints with their ideas, menus and commercials to promote the site. They really had some interesting ideas.
Finishing the evening with my Student Consultants was great. The students were so excited to finish and I have to admit it was quite the journey for me too. It was a lot of work (and money) to pull this event off but it went by well. The Board of the Garretson Forge & Farm really seemed to enjoy it and asked lots of questions.
Vivian Davis, who is running the “Bergen 250″ asked the most important question of the night, if I was to run all of these events, would your age group come?” This got the students thinking and one said, “We are a busy group with college and work. If you want our age group to come, you are going to have to cater to things we like.” I thought that was fair and gave her something to think about as well.
We then took our Board picture. I am always so proud of my Student Executive Consultants. They come dressed for work.
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting Inc. “Bergen 250″: Garretson Forge & Farm” Executive Team.
I want to thank my President of the Team Project, President TJ Fischer and SVP of Operations Camila Alvarado and the entire Team of Vice-Presidents, Team Leaders and Team Members for tackling this very difficult and very detailed job of promoting this wonderful historical site with such detail.
The questions on the project were excellent and direct and audience was very impressed by how thorough the project was done that evening. To all my Student Consultants, you did an excellent job!
Great Work!
New Historic Project for 2025:
To Celebrate the “Bergen 250: the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in Bergen County”, we are creating a new project with a series of special events and meals at different historical sites in Bergen County. It gives these sites a fresh approach to new visitors.
Our class toured the site and I tried to showcase this site to another Team of students to reimagine it.
We were joined by County Historian Vivian Davis who led the tour to my students
We toured the grounds and gardens where a Country Afternoon Tea would be planned in the backyard of the home with a house and garden tour and plant sale.
My class toured the historic kitchen
We then toured the historic room with the homes past and the family tree
The Bergecco-Parc Consulting 250 Team in the backyard of the Garretson Forge & Farm
Our selfie with Vivian
The end of our tour that afternoon
It was another successful in the field by Bergecco- Parc Consulting Inc.
Visiting a Museum: The Unique, Unusual, Obscure and Historical 