Rockingham
Rockingham
84 Laurel Ave./Rte. 603
Kingston
Phone: 609-683-7132
http://www.rockingham.net/
rockingham1783@yahoo.com
Rockingham is believed to be the 2nd oldest house in the Millstone River Valley. The first section was built around 1710 and was greatly expanded in the 1760s by John Berrien, a prominent NJ Superior Court justice and State legislator. At its peak, the property comprised over 350 acres and served as a gentleman's farm. Final touches of a second-story porch and attic were added in the early 1800s by the Cruser family. The house was moved three times to save it from an encroaching quarry, beginning in 1897. The original site was about one-mile NNE from its present location.
The farm homestead served as the final wartime headquarters (late August to early November, 1783) for General George Washington, who was accompanied here by his wife Martha, three Aides-de-Camp, a small guard and "domestics," while Congress was meeting in Princeton. It was here, in October, that he wrote his Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States, shortly before receiving word that the Treaty of Paris had been signed on September 3, formally ending the Revolutionary War. The house contains period furnishings, reproductions of Washington military equipment and a life-size figure of Washington. An 18th-century-style kitchen garden is on site.
Open for guided tours only: Wed-Sat 10 & 11 am, 1, 2, & 3 pm and Sunday 1, 2, & 3 pm. Tour size limited to 10 individuals and it is recommended to call and check with staff as to tour availability. Group tours by appointment only.
