The Jacob Ford Jr. Mansion: The Storied History of a New Jersey Home

By Jude M. Pfister

In 1772, the Ford family began building what would easily become the largest home in Morristown and years later
became the site of the first National Historic Park in the United States. Completed just before colonial unrest reached a boiling
point, the home quickly secured a reputation as a place of prominence for supporters of colonial interests. Today, the mansion is best known as George Washington's headquarters,
when it became a strategic site for Washington during a winter encampment and gained importance for its role in the American Revolution. Jude Pfister tells the story of this beloved home that has endured the tests of time and whose own history is inextricably woven into that of the country's.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Sep 15, 2009
• ISBN: 9781625843272

Jude M. Pfister

Dr. Jude Pfister currently works at Morristown National Historical Park and has been with the National Park Service in the field of historic preservation and cultural resource conservation since 1993. He oversees the museum as well as the archival and library programs. He is the author of The First Decade of the United States Supreme Court; The Jacob Ford Jr. Mansion; The Fords of New Jersey; and America Writes Its History: The Formation of a National Narrative.

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Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright © 2009 by Jude M. Pfister

All rights reserved

First published 2009

e-book edition 2013

Manufactured in the United States

ISBN 978.1.62584.327.2

Library of Congress CIP data applied for.

print edition ISBN 978.1.59629.716.6

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

To my wife,

Miriam

Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Introduction

The Purpose of this Book

The Mansion’s Importance

How We View Importance

The Fords and History

Chapter 2. The Ford Family Builds a Home in Colonial New Jersey

A Brief Overview of the Fords of New Jersey

The Colony of New Jersey

New Jersey Iron

The Mansion

Outside the Mansion

Mr. Corbit

Cultural Considerations

Conclusions

Chapter 3. The American Revolution and the Mansion as Headquarters

A Brief Background

Prelude to War

Local Considerations

Cultural Aspects of the Conflict

How the War Progressed

Washington at the Ford Mansion

Conclusions

Chapter 4. The Mansion and the Family in Nineteenth-Century New Jersey

The War Is Over

Gabriel Ford

The Mansion’s Development in the Nineteenth Century

The Postwar Growth of New Jersey

The Final Chapter of Ford Family Ownership

The Outcry

Remembering the Mansion

Chapter 5. The Washington Association of New Jersey

The Auction

The Washington Association of New Jersey Begins

The Development of an Ideal

Developing the Mansion’s New Role

Chapter 6. The National Park Service

The National Park Service Is Very Interested

Historical Patrimony

Historical Preservation

1939

New Deal Pressures

Afterword: History and Washington Reverence

Appendix 1: Gabriel Ford Physical Landscape Changes, 1805–1849

Appendix 2: Henry A. Ford’s Physical Landscape Changes, 1849–1873

Appendix 3: Fire Insurance Application of Henry A. Ford

Appendix 4: Washington’s Headquarters at Morristown, New Jersey

A Note on Sources

Notes

Bibliography

About the Author

Acknowledgements

This book would not have been possible without the many dedicated professionals working for the National Park Service in the field of resource preservation. It is their collective works I turned to over and over for information in writing what is admittedly a work of synthesis. I’m not claiming much originality beyond stitching together the various threads that they wrote separately as reports commissioned for specific reasons. Their works more times than not suffered the fate of many specialty reports: sequestration to a shelf to spend its life collecting dust. If they were ever utilized, it was not by the public. Therefore, this book should be seen as an attempt to provide an overview of the topics covered. In no way should it be considered definitive. Its purpose is to inspire others to further research.

Acknowledgement must first be made for Randy Turner, superintendent of the Morristown National Historic Park, who agreed to let me take time to work on this project. My curatorial colleague Joni Rowe provided many leads and ideas. Krystal Poelstra patiently provided research and technical assistance. Those who have read the manuscript and offered criticism and editing have made the book more readable and more compelling as a story. They include Judy Jacobs, Debbie Van Buren, Anne DeGraaf and Gordon Ward. Their insight and careful judgment have prevented many errors. What errors that slipped past their keen eyes are mine and mine alone. Thanks are also due to the professional staff at The History Press who knowledgably took words on paper and produced a book. I must also thank those who will remain nameless who offered encouragement during the tedious hours of writing and research. I have a great debt of gratitude to repay to them someday.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

THE PURPOSE OF THIS BOOK

This book is a biography of a house. It presents the history of a structure that has been important since its construction began in 1772. The history of that importance is a story of human proportions, which played out in the house known as the Ford Mansion, the subject of this book.

American history is rarely approached through the witness or the perspective of a tangible structure. But when it is, historic structures often talk about how they have changed over time, if we listen. Normally, a tour guide provides a narrative of a historic home and the story it has to tell for visitors. In many cases, the guide will rely on a script composed of multiple parts drawn from many different independent studies of the structure and its story. By itself, though, the structure does allow you to observe for yourself the story it has to tell. Through observation and a little knowledge, many visitors can see beyond the layers to the multiple stories that lie beneath the surface. Rarely is the past so far removed from a building, particularly a historic home. Historic structures of all types are known for revealing their secrets to those who are knowledgeable enough, and willing, to discern the signs. It is as though a structure never completely allows itself over time to be so fully renovated that we cannot understand what it is trying to tell us. No matter how hard future generations try, they can never cover over every item of evidence (short of demolition) of past occupation. There will always be some element or layer of those who lived or worked in the structure before us.

It is easy to look at a structure in human terms. This book seeks to portray the Ford Mansion as a character in the narrative equal to the personalities who occupied it. When discussing a structure in terms of human qualities, it is sometimes forgotten that we are, after all, discussing an inanimate object. An inanimate object does not necessarily relate to us in any cognitive, meaningful way. The best way a house can relate to us is by representing the owner. Many times, houses reflect or convey the attitude or status of the owner. Homes advertise to observers and visitors the qualities that the owner holds high. In this way, the house does speak to us. The symbolic and emotional ties we create with the physical structure allow us to hear ourselves as part of material reality. Still, it is difficult to approach an object of such antiquity as the Ford Mansion (as understood in American terms) without a sort of reverence. There is an element of respect that we feel is naturally due to an object, any object, that survives for such an extended period of time. We like to quote the phrase respect your elders. In many ways, this admonition is as appropriate for historic sites as it is for historic figures. Time knows no boundary between animate and inanimate. That is why we have a natural reverence for the past and why historic sites are so intrinsically important.

In one sense, the layers of history in a historic house are like the stanzas of a poem. The historic house becomes the poet of the past, capable of evoking a variety of epochs relating to its past. As the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote, All houses wherein men have lived and died Are haunted houses.¹ Longfellow—who himself lived in a historic mansion in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was once also occupied by Washington—gives voice to the many layers of history that, when combined, present us with a story. For Longfellow, historic houses, or any old structure, never lose the associations they have had, regardless of how much time has passed. In his poem, Longfellow was also writing in part to remind Americans that they, too, have a past, something that can be revered and honored or reviled, as the case may be.

Knowing how a structure was utilized tells us much about those individuals who have preceded us in the historical timetable. Whether famous or not, people have all left their mark. Over time, historic houses are generally updated to the latest architectural fashion; their occupants can participate in the great events of the day; and the house can even serve as a setting for history more than once. Through it all, though, the structure remains a guide to the past. The one unending tangible symbol of the past, however altered, is the structure itself.

THE MANSION’S IMPORTANCE

Aside from the fact that the Jacob Ford Jr. Mansion was host to George Washington during a winter encampment in 1779–80, it still has a story to tell beyond that event and is still an invaluable source for understanding the past. Even if the Washington connection did not exist, the social implications alone for the Ford Mansion history would make it an important building. The social aspects of the mansion’s construction occurred nearly a decade before Washington arrived, when the wealth of the Ford family allowed them to boldly take a stand in the community as leaders and decision makers by building the mansion. The fact that Washington occupied the mansion in 1779–80 simply added another layer to an already rich story in terms of the overall history of the Ford Mansion.

Prior to Washington’s arrival in 1779, the mansion was the scene of great human tragedy for the Ford family. Before 1779, when Washington arrived, the mansion had already briefly played host to Continental soldiers in the abbreviated 1777 encampment. The presence of such an enormous historical figure as Washington should not be allowed to overshadow the significant story that this structure, or any structure, has witnessed through direct participation in great national events. Furthermore, even if a house is not a direct participant in large historical events, houses, through more indirect observation of events over the years, can lend to the overall aspect of American history by simply surviving all the potentially disastrous events that time can visit on a structure.²

The Jacob Ford Jr. family (no relation to other famous Fords such as the automobile mogul Henry Ford or President Gerald Ford) built the mansion between 1772 and 1774 using proceeds from their successful iron business. While the mansion is of grand proportions, it lacks some aspects associated with showcase homes of the period. Intricate decorative embellishments are not apparent inside the house, and the exterior lacks some of the appointments