REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN HILLSDALE, NEW JERSEY

GARRET DURIE HOUSE

Garret Durie House
156 Ell Rd.
Map / Directions to the Garret Durie House
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This house is a private residence.
Please respect the privacy and property of the owners.

This beautiful house was built in 1767 by blacksmith and farmer Garret Durie, who also served as a Bergen County Freeholder, Justice and Judge. The house was later enlarged. [1]

American, British, Hessian, and French soldiers marched, encamped and fought in New Jersey throughout the Revolutionary War. Because of these armies' need for food and supplies, many citizens of the state had their properties raided.

The Durie house, farm and blacksmith shop were plundered by both American and British troops at various times during the Revolutionary War. Durie reported his losses as: [2]

• Taken by Continental (American) soldiers in November 1776: A horse, four beehives, nine sheep, two calves, a bull and a "great coat"

• Taken by Major Lee, an American officer, in 1778: A woolen coverlet and a lamb

• Taken by Continental soldiers in 1780: A side of sole leather, tanned skins, a hand vise and five shillings in silver

•Taken by British soldiers In October 1778: A horse, four sheep, a large 'knot' bowl and a scythe.
And from his blacksmith shop: a large vise, a pick iron, a large sledge, three hand hammers, four tongs, five middle-size files, two nail molds and a pair of large pincers.

WESTERVELT-DEMAREST HOUSE

Westervelt-Demarest House
Hillsdale Ave. near Saddle Ranch Ln.
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This house is a private residence.
Please respect the privacy and property of the owners.

This house, which was originally built in 1756 and later enlarged, stood on the farm of Peter Westervelt and his wife Catlyntje Haring.[3] Like the Durie Farm, the Westervelt Farm suffered from plunder by soldiers of both sides during the Revolutionary War. Peter A. Westervelt reported his losses as: [4]

Taken by Continental (American) soldiers in 1776:
A new Indian blanket, a beehive and bees, 100 pounds of rye flour, a side of sole leather, a dressed calf skin, two pigs, and a sheep

Taken by British soldiers in 1782:
Two horses, a pair of new shoes, and a middle-size iron pot

Source Notes:

1. ^ Bergen County Historic Society sign
▸ For information about the alterations made to the house since 1767, see:
Bergen County Stone House Survey - Individual Structure Survey Form for Garret Durie House
Available as a PDF here

2. ^ Stanley J, Nants, Jr. "Revolutionary War Claims Made By Hillsdale Residents," The Hillsdale, New Jersey Newsletter, Volume 2, Number 3, Autumn1989 / Available to be read as a PDF on the Hillsdale Library website here
▸ Nants, who was the Hillsdale Borough Historian, notes that this information was drawn from claims made to the state toward the end of the Revolutionary War by citizens who had suffered losses. He states that the details of Durie's and Westervelt's claims were originally published in an article by Howard I. Durie in Pascack Historical Society's RELICS newsletter, November 1969, based on records in Trenton.

3. ^ Bergen County Historic Society sign

4. ^ See Source Note number 2