Jacobus Vanderveer House
The Jacobus Vanderveer House and Museum was the headquarters of General Henry Knox during the winter of 1778-79 and is the only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin Artillery Cantonment, America’s first military academy. A National and New Jersey historic site, the Vanderveer House interprets 18th century Dutch-Colonial life through the Vanderveer and Knox families and underscores the Pluckemin Cantonment’s role in helping the Continental Army to defeat the British during the American Revolution.
The oldest part of the Jacobus Vanderveer House was built in the early 1770s. It is typical of the Dutch frame houses that dotted the countryside before the American Revolution. Much of the original fabric of the house remains intact. A wall in the west parlor features raised wood paneling above the fireplace with a barrel-back cabinet to the side. The house retains the original wide pine board flooring.
The house gained a Federal style addition in the early 1800s. Later 19th and 20th century alterations imposed “bungaloid” features such as exterior stucco, a north porch and roof dormers. These modern elements were removed when the restoration returned the exterior of the house to its circa 1813 appearance. The interior of the house contains both the west Georgian section when Knox is believed to have in residence and the more spacious east Federal addition with its higher ceiling.
This is one of five houses known as the “Five General’s Houses” from the Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-79.
