History

While living at the Dutch Parsonage Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh

Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh

Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh was a Dutch Reformed minister and the first President of Queen's College from 1785 to his death in 1790. -Biography:...

 sold 95 acres (384,451.7 m²) of land and a small farmhouse to John Wallace, a Philadelphia fabric importer and merchant. Between 1775 and 1776, Wallace purchased an additional 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) of land and built the eight-room Georgian style mansion adjoining part of the existing farmhouse. Hew called the estate "Hope Farm," Wallace intended the property to be his place of retirement. In the winter of 1778, George Washington

George Washington

George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...

's Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

 camped at Middlebrook in the Watchung Mountains

Watchung Mountains

The Watchung Mountains are a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 ft. and 500 ft. high, lying parallel to each other in northern New Jersey in the United States...

, 3 miles (4.8 km) from Hope Farm. John Wallace was asked to share his home with Washington and his staff and Wallace House became Washington's headquarters during winter, spending 11 days before moving to Philadelphia to attend Congress for 6 weeks. When he returned to the Wallace House in February of 1779, his wife, Martha, his aides and his servants went with him. Washington and his staff planned the 1779 campaign against the Iroquois League, or Sullivan's Campaign. Washington left on June 3, 1779, and paid Wallace $1,000 for the use of his house and furniture. Wallace occupied the house with his wife, Mary, his mother-in-law, Mary Maddox, his youngest son, William, and their slaves. Two older children, Joshua and Anne, lived nearby with their families. In 1783, John Wallace and Mary Maddox died. Mary Wallace died the following year. William Wallace, at the age of 21, became the heir to Hope Farm. He lived there until his death in 1796 at age 33. His wife, Sarah had died before him and their three orphaned children went to live with their uncle, Joshua Wallace in Burlington, New Jersey

Burlington, New Jersey

Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....

. Joshua sold Hope Farm to Dickinson Miller in 1801, after the house sat vacant for 5 years.

In 1896, after several different families lived in the house, the Revolutionary Memorial Society purchased the home as their headquarters and museum. In 1947, they gave the house to the State of New Jersey. The Old Dutch Parsonage

Old Dutch Parsonage

The Old Dutch Parsonage is a historical house at 38 Washington Place in Somerville, New Jersey.-History:It was the home of the first ministers of the first Dutch Reformed Church and was built with the pooled funds from the congregations in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and Raritan, New Jersey, in 1751...

 and the Wallace House are both listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

.

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Somerset County, New Jersey
• List of museums in New Jersey