WHERE: Morristown, New Jersey
START/FINISH: Morristown station (New Jersey Transit Morris and Essex Line), accessible
DISTANCE: 2.4 miles (3.9 kilometers)
Photographs by Michael Cairl. Map courtesy footpathmap.com.
Map of this walk. Route clockwise from the train station.
Most of my walks have a theme such as stair streets, architecture, walkable bridges, and so on. A few of my walks will include sites from the American Revolution. This walk, in Morristown, New Jersey, started the series. Others will be in White Plains, Princeton, Brooklyn, and more.
Morristown is a pleasant, prosperous-looking town, the county seat of Morris County. The walk began at the Morristown station, accessible with a mini-high platform in either direction and an elevator on the westbound platform. The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, a precursor to New Jersey Transit, built impressive stations and other infrastructure throughout its territory. The Morristown station, dating from 1913, is no exception.
Leaving the station, my first stop was the Schuyler - Hamilton House Museum, built as the Campfield House around 1760. The second image below describes it. The house is maintained by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and it is open to the public only on Sunday afternoons.
From there I went to the Washington Headquarters Museum. This building was George Washington’s headquarters from December 1779 until June 1780. It was the harshest winter ever recorded. Washington chose Morristown not by accident. It was near enough to British-occupied New York (about 30 miles/50 kilometers) to keep an eye on what was going on there, yet far enough away to have some protection afforded by distance and the Watchung Mountains. The museum has many interesting historical artifacts and a short film that is helpful with the context of the site, and is open Thursdays through Sundays. The museum is accessible from the parking lot on Washington Street.
The quotation seems sadly appropriate to our time.
George and Martha Washington lived in the Ford House, across from the headquarters.
Officers of lower rank, and ordinary soldiers, built an encampment of log huts at Jockey Hollow, south of town, during that harsh winter. Jockey Hollow is not accessible by public transportation but I’ll find a way to get there on a future visit.
For a lot more information about the Morristown National Historical Park, go to https://www.nps.gov/morr/index.htm
From Washington’s headquarters I meandered through town toward the town green. Within a few blocks I passed old houses, new houses, two Episcopalian churches, a Presbyterian church, and a Roman Catholic church. Walking along Franklin Street, I had a nice chat with a homeowner who was raking leaves in front of his house. South Street has a lot of shops and restaurants.
St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
Church of the Redeemer (Episcopalian)
South Street, looking west.
The Vail Mansion, once the town hall, and a monument to Morristown’s World War I dead.
The Presbyterian Church of Morristown, on the town green.
The town is quite walkable, but it has its challenges for accessibility, with many short slopes and stretches of uneven sidewalk, the latter reminding me of my neighborhood in Brooklyn. Walking from the train station to Washington’s headquarters takes one past an unsignaled left turn onto Interstate 287, so look carefully before crossing! As the train station has only mini-high platforms, not full-length high platforms, be in the first open car on the train in either direction.
Morristown has a lot more history than I could absorb in an afternoon, so I’ll go back. It’s an easy train ride from New York or Hoboken, around 1 hour 20 minutes. And it is pleasant to walk around.