REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN EAST AMWELL, NEW JERSEY

John Hart's Cave Marker
Marker is at Lindbergh Rd. and Zion Rd.
Map / Directions to the John Hart's Cave site

John Hart was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. His homestead is located in Hopewell Borough in Mercer County.

On November 19, 1776, four-and-a-half months after the signing of the Declaration of Independence, British forces invaded New Jersey, and Washington's army began a twelve-day retreat across the state from Fort Lee. During this time, John Hart and his family were forced to flee from their property because his political prominence made him a target of British forces. Hart is believed to have hidden out in this area in a rock formation known as the Rock House on Sourland Mountain. After the American victories at Trenton and Princeton in December and January drove British forces from this part of the state, Hart and his family were able to return to their home. [1]

John Hart died May 11, 1778. He is buried at the Hopewell Old School Baptist Meeting House Cemetery.

Source Notes:

1. ^ Cleon E. Hammond, John Hart - The Biography of a Signer of the Declaration of Independence (Newfane, VT: The Pioneer Press, 1977) Page 162-164, with accompanying source notes on pages 299-300

• The "John Hart's Cave" marker is a Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission sign.