REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN PISCATAWAY, NEW JERSEY

East Jersey Olde Towne contains buildings from the 1700's and 1800's. Several of the buildings have always stood here, but the majority of them originally stood in other locations and were moved here. Several of the buildings date to the Revolutionary War era, including the Indian Queen Tavern, which was originally located in New Brunswick. It has a particularly interesting history, having been visited by John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington.

On September 9, 1776, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, and Edward Rutledge reached New Brunswick while en route to Staten Island from Philadelphia. They had been sent by the Continental Congress to meet with British Admiral Richard Howe to discuss the prospect of peace negotiations. Because there were so few rooms available, Adams and Franklin were forced to share a room at the Indian Queen Tavern.

In his diary, Adams related an amusing story about this evening: (Adams' spelling, punctuation, and capitalization are left unchanged) [1]

"The Taverns were so full We could with difficulty obtain Entertainment. At Brunswick, but one bed could be procured for Dr. Franklin and me, in a Chamber little larger than the bed, without a Chimney and with only one small Window. The Window was open, and I, who was an invalid and afraid of the Air in the night [blowing upon me], shut it close. Oh! says Franklin dont shut the Window. We shall be suffocated. I answered I was afraid of the Evening Air. Dr. Franklin replied, the Air within this Chamber will soon be, and indeed is now worse than that without Doors: come! open the Window and come to bed, and I will convince you: I believe you are not acquainted with my Theory of Colds. Opening the Window and leaping into Bed, I said I had read his Letters to Dr. Cooper in which he had advanced, that Nobody ever got cold by going into a cold Church, or any other cold Air: but the Theory was so little consistent with my experience, that I thought it a Paradox: However I had so much curiosity to hear his reasons, that I would run the risque of a cold. The Doctor then began an harrangue, upon Air and cold and Respiration and Perspiration, with which I was so much amused that I soon fell asleep, and left him and his Philosophy together: but I believe they were equally sound and insensible, within a few minutes after me, for the last Words I heard were pronounced as if he was more than half asleep...."

The following day, they reached Perth Amboy, where they took a short boat ride across the water to meet with Howe in Staten Island. (See the Perth Amboy page for more details about that portion of their journey.)

Seven years later, in early December 1783, George Washington was honored with a dinner at the Indian Queen Tavern. [2] Just over a month earlier, General Washington, headquartered at Rockingham, had received news of the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the Revolutionary War.

From December 1776 - June 1777, British and Hessian troops occupied New Brunswick. At that time, there was a small port village called Raritan Landing which was located along Raritan River where Johnson Park is now.  Raritan Landing suffered damage during this time from the occupying forces.  These two houses on River Road overlooked Raritan Landing. They are now both museums.

The historic marker that commemorates the site of Raritan Landing shown below, stands in Johnson Park along Landing Lane.