The Ford Mansion - Morristown, NJ
Posted by: 
briansnat
N 40° 47.744 W 074° 27.976
18T E 545026 N 4516218
The Ford Mansion is part of the Morristown National Historical Park, and is located in Morristown, New Jersey. George Washington used it as his headquarters in the winter of 1779-80.
Waymark Code: WM359D
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 02/11/2008
Views: 72
On December 1st, 1779 Gen. George Washington and his staff moved into the mansion of his old friend, Col. Jacob Ford. Col. Ford had passed away in 1777, but his wife Theodosia welcomed Washington, despite the fact that she, her servants and 4 children had to confine their selves to 2 rooms while Washington, Martha and his staff took over the rest of the grand house.
Washington spent the entire winter at the mansion while his troops camped about 5 miles away at Jockey Hollow. The winter of 1779-1780 was the coldest and snowiest of the century, food was scarce and the troops spend a miserable winter at Jockey Hollow while Washington and his staff lived in relative luxury.
In 1873 the mansion was put up for auction and the assumption was that it would be purchased and demolished. It was saved by 4 like minded men who met at the auction, pooled their money and saved the mansion for posterity. It was turned over the the National Park Service on July 4th 1933.
Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.