The Van Allen House in 2023 during the next History Coalition
I visited the Van Allen House on my first trip on the Northwest Bergen History Coalition 6th Annual History Day tour of Upper Bergen County in 2016 and in 2019. It is mentioned on ‘Day Forty-Three’ of my blog, ‘MywalkinManhattan.com’. It had been my last stop of the day. The historic home is currently closed due to renovations on the house and will open in the Fall of 2019.
The Van Allen House during the renovation in 2023 with the added dormers
Of all my stops that day, I found that the Van Allen House was in need of a renovation. From the outside, it is very quaint. On the inside, the house needed a lot of fixing up and restoration work. The upstairs had water marks all over the ceilings. The gardens also needed some serious weeding and planting. IN 2023, the renovations of the upstairs had been completed and the home was replastered and painted. Most of the artifacts were stored in a few rooms that were being finished.
The kitchen is as you enter the home
During the renovation, a lot of the artifacts were being stored in the addition to the house that took place in the early 1800’s. Many of the things that had been donated were showcased in this room off the kitchen and shows the wide variety of the society’s collection. There were all sorts of items from the home, decorative pieces and a variety of things that would have been used at the house as it being a working farm. There were also many Native American artifacts.
Some of the artifacts in the downstairs room
Artifacts in the room downstairs
Household items donated to the society
More household items of the Van Allen House
More artifacts of the Van Allen House Collection
The vast array of items in the downstairs addition of the house will be used all over the house once the renovation is completed sometime in the next two years. There was still a lot to do around the house. There had been so much damage to the house over the years that it needed a major renovation.
The upstairs had been finished with the addition of the domers which a few of the society members had said that these were not part of the original house. They can debate about it but the house looks really nice with them and makes the house look realistic. Still from what the people said that they were not part of the original design.
You could see the vast improvement in the house over the last three years and the extent of the work that had been done already. All the outstairs rooms had been plastered and painted. The rooms looked very modern,
The upstairs has been nicely restored
The upstairs rooms now house many of the home furnishings of the collection along with clothes and personal items of families that have donated them over the years. The upstairs is just finishing the renovation so things will have to be organized in the future but at least you can see the things that the Historical Society has in the collection.
Household items in the collection upstairs
Clothing and bedding items at the Van Allen House
The smaller bedroom of the Van Allen House
One of the best things of the house is its gift shop. It has some of the most unusual handmade gifts that it was worth the trip out to the house. One of the members makes handmade cloth dolls for $5.00 that are just quaint and make a beautiful gift.
The Oakland Historical Society, who operates the house, was putting a lot of time and effort in the renovations of the house and their volunteers I was told would be working on the gardens. Either way, it is an interesting house to visit and it is steeped in history.
The upstairs beams leading to the bedrooms
The toy collection at the top of the stairs
The History of the Van Allen House:
The Van Allen House was built around 1740 as the home of farmer Hendrik Van Allen. During the Revolutionary War, it served as the headquarters for George Washington on July 14, 1777. At the time, he moving his troops from Morristown, NJ to New York (Wiki).
In 1778 and 1779, Bergen County used the house as a court. Edward Day Page, a dairy farmer, businessman and Oakland’s second mayor, owned the house as well as the northern fourth of Oakland in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century (Wiki).
Household items at the Van Allen House
It was saved from demolition by the Oakland Historical Society with aid from the Woman’s Club of Oakland. It is now maintained as a museum displaying colonial Dutch life. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 24, 1973. There were several branches of the family in the Paterson, Passaic and Bergen Counties in New Jersey (Wiki).
Items in the family collection
The Oakland Historical Society:
The mission of the Oakland Historical Society (Oakland, NJ) is to bring to life and help maintain the history of the Borough of Oakland by activating and preserving especially the Van Allen House site, with the Vygeberg Farm Office Building and by keeping a museum there showing living displays and memories of Oakland’s past. We support living displays and memories of Oakland’s past. We support the Borough’s efforts to continue and complete the renovations of both buildings with the help of the Bergen County Office of Historic Preservation (OHS).
The Children’s bedroom at the Van Allen House
During the year we offer opportunities from people to visit the Van Allen House and experience local life as it was in the 18th and 19th Centuries on a farm settlement in northern New Jersey. The Lenni-Lenape Indians are known to have used the path which followed the Ramapo River Valley north and south and has now become an interstate roadway, Route 202, which goes from Maine south into Maryland and beyond. Copies of letters George Washington wrote at the House are available there during open-houses, usually the 3rd or 4th Sunday afternoon many months during the year. Please check our events page to see when the house will be open (OHS).
The Van Allen House on that gloomy Saturday morning
The site also has a building from 1902, built by Edward Page, one of the industrialists who settled along Route 202 to develop agricultural for the growing cities of Northern New Jersey, such as Paterson or Newark (OHS).
The Van Allen House Marker
The house was really interesting to visit during the Northwest Bergen Historical Coalition. The docents were really nice and they gave some interesting insights about the family and the house itself.
The Christmas holiday eventcelebrating Sinterklaas and the Dutch Christmas:
The outside of the house decorated for Christmas
The front door wreath
The wreath
In December of 2025, I visited the historical site for the Sinterklaas celebration for the Christmas season. It was a nice festival with making in the hearth and gingerbread man decorating for the kids. These were delicious.
Baking in the hearth
Decorating gingerbreadmen
Indulging in freshly baked gingerbreamen
There was a woman playing Christmas songs on the harpsichord to the group of patrons in the main room of the house and an old fashioned Christmas tree decorated for the holidays.
The colonial woman playing the harpsichord
The performance
Sinterklaas, the Dutch version of Santa Claus was on hand to talk to the children and give out well wishes to everyone.
Sinterklaas talking to the guests
The jolly man greeting all of us
The house both inside and out was decorated for the Christmas holidays and had that early colonial look about it. Back then things were not as elaborate as the Victorian era and were simple pines, green and berries.
The simple table tree
The pines and greens decorating the mantle
The wonderful artifacts that are part of the collection
In the gift shop area there were very reasonably priced handmade dolls and ornaments made by one of the members. These one of a kind pieces are a perfect gift for the holidays. These are a very special gift for a lucky child.
The handmade items in the gift shop area
The grounds of the house and outside doors were decorated with wreaths and greens as well.
The wreath outside the Dutch doors
It was a nice event and the perfect way to start the holiday season. These Oakland Historical Society did a nice job with popular family event. It was a nice way to start the holiday season. The house was beautifully decorated for the season and the Society was planning all sorts of events for the Spring.
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.
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”:
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:
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.
The First Reformed church of Hackensack at 43 Court Street
Due to their national historic significance the church, cemetery and the adjacent Hackensack Green were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The Green dates back to 1696 and is one of the oldest public squares in NJ.
The church and its interesting cemetery.
A strategic point during the American Revolution, Hackensack was a small village centered on The Green, a public meeting place where public notices were posted. In the 18th century it was where punishments were inflicted on criminals and where the local militia trained.
The Hackensack Green
The Hackensack Green
General Washington headquartered here in November 1776, while he surveyed the local roads and bridges. On November 20, 1776, he led his army into Hackensack. The army camped on The Green as Washington made the important decision to continue the retreat from overwhelming British and Hessian forces. On March 23, 1780, the British raided Hackensack and burned the courthouse that stood on the Green at that time. Since 1715, a Bergen County courthouse building faced The Green in Hackensack, the County Seat since 1710, making it the historic heart of Bergen County (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic Courthouse of Hackensack, NJ facing the cemetery at the Church.
The Cornerstone
The First Dutch Reformed Church congregation was organized in 1686, the oldest Reformed Dutch congregation in Bergen County and second oldest in NJ. (County of Bergen Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs).
The historic marker outside the church.
The historic marker
During the first ten years, churchgoers worshiped in a private home outside the limits of modern-day Hackensack. The official name of the congregation was the “Dutch Reformed Church of Ackensack” and comprised thirty-three residents from Hackensack, New Barbadoes and Acquackanonk. All three of these townships made up most of northeastern New Jersey. Acquackanonk was located in the northern portion of modern Essex County. New Barbadoes was comprised of land west of the Hackensack River, while Ackensack was located to the east. In April of 1696, Captain John Berry (1619-1712), the proprietor of a large portion of land in northeastern New Jersey, donated two and three-quarter acres of his property to the congregation to support their efforts to build the church. Most of present-day Hackensack at that time was called “New Barbadoes Township” and Hackensack is thought to have gotten its unofficial name when the Church relocated to New Barbadoes and brought the name “Ackensack” with it.
The historic church and cemetery in the back.
The emergence of the Dutch Reformed Church in America developed from Dutch colonization of New York and New Jersey during the 17th century. Dutch settlement was prominent in these areas before the British took control of the area in the late 1600’s. Still, the Dutch were freely allowed to practice their religion in America, even under British sovereignty. The Hackensack First Reformed Church would become the second oldest Reformed Church in New Jersey and the first in Hackensack. Construction of the church was completed in the latter part of 1696.
The historic cemetery at the church
John Berry’s donation of land was appropriately dubbed, “The Green” and the church soon became known as “The Church on the Green”. The first sermon was preached on November 15th, 1696, based on Psalm 26:8 “Lord, I have loved the habitation of thy house and the place where thine honor dwelleth.” Although the first church was largely completed in 1696, the steeple was not built until 1708. The entire structure was rebuilt in 1728 on the same site. These two early church buildings were thought to have been octagonal structures.
The Schuyler Family marker
In 1780, during the Revolutionary War, the British invaded Hackensack. They burned the courthouse and jail and threatened to destroy the Church on the Green, which was located adjacent to the aforementioned buildings. Fortunately, the church was spared. Dutch Colonial architecture with sandstone walls being the prominent feature of the building. Some aspects, especially the arched and pointed windows, appear to have Gothic elements.
The Zabriskie Family plot
The front of the church has three sets of double doors with similarly arched doorways and transom windows. This style was a precursor for many of the Reformed Dutch churches that were eventually build in New Jersey. Although the present-day building dates from 1791, the church was enlarged in 1847 and again in 1847 and again in 1869, thus containing newer elements.
The Demarest Family plot.
The attached cemetery is original to the first building’s construction in the late seventeenth century but during the renovation in 1847, it was also enlarged. The neighboring service house was built in 1867 and was used as a Sunday school, lecture hall and chapel.
The Van Riper/Kipp Family plot
The churchyard cemetery features simple stone tablets and obelisks that are surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Some notable burials include General Enoch Poor (1736-1780), Colonel and New York Mayor Richard Varick (1753-1831), Congressman George Cassedy (1783-1842) and Congressman Adam Boyd (1746-1835). General Enoch Poor’s burial is especially noteworthy as he served alongside George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
The General Poor statue on the Green
Plaque on the side of the statue
Additionally, both Washington and the Marquis de Lafayette were in attendance at Poor’s funeral. Enoch Poor’s gravestone reads: “In Memory of the Hon’ble Brigadier General Enoch Poor of the State of New Hampshire who Departed this Life on the 8 day of Sept: 1780 aged 44 years/Washington, Lafayette and a portion of the American army attended the burial of Gen. Poor. In 1824, Lafayette visited this grave and turned away much affected, exclaimed, “Ah, that was one of my Generals!” Poor died in 1780, before the close of the Revolutionary War, so this gravestone is clearly not the original.
The cemetery at the Dutch Reformed Church
The Reformed Church was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places on April 25, 1983. Included in this nomination was the “Green”, which is one of the oldest public squares in New Jersey. This area encompasses the Churchyard, the cemetery, the church outbuilding and the green area that is adjacent to the Bergen County Courthouse. There are a few monuments that occupy this space, including a statue memorial to General Enoch Poor, which was dedicated in 1904 and the Hackensack War Memorial, which dates to 1924. The church continues to be a prominent feature of the history of Hackensack through community and self-guided walking tours. In addition to this, there are yearly Memorial Day commemorations, where a wreath is placed over General Enoch Poor’s grave and a tour of the church is provided to the attendees of the celebration.
Surrounding the Green, there are a few other historical buildings:
*The Peter Zabriskie Mansion site at 50 Main Street.
*Archibald Campbell’s Tavern Site at 41 Main Street
*The Hackensack War Memorial
*Site of the Burned Jail
*The Annual Christmas Tree on the Green
Disclaimer: This information was taken directly from the Bergen County Historical Society pamphlet and the Clio Website on the First Dutch Reformed Church of Hackensack and from visiting downtown Hackensack. Please call the church at (201) 342-7050 for details on visiting it. Please remember this is a resting place.
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 