The Hermitage (Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey)

	The Hermitage
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	New Jersey Register of Historic Places
Location	335 North Franklin Turnpike, Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ 07423
Coordinates	41°0′24″N 74°7′10″W / 41.00667°N 74.11944°W
Area	4.9 acres (2.0 ha)
Built	c.1750; renovated 1847
Architect	William H. Ranlett
Architectural style	Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No.	70000379
NJRHP No.	540
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	August 29, 1970
Designated NHL	May 22, 1970
Designated NJRHP	May 27, 1971

The Hermitage, located in Ho-Ho-Kus, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, is a fourteen-room Gothic Revival house museum built in 1847–48 from designs by William H. Ranlett for Elijah Rosencrantz, Jr. Members of the Rosencrantz family owned The Hermitage estate from 1807 to 1970. The site was designated a National Historic Landmark for the excellence of its architecture and added to National Register of Historic Places in 1970^[3]^[4] and was added to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in 1971.^[5]

History[edit]

In 1767, the original colonial estate was purchased by Ann Bartow DeVisme who moved to Ho-Ho-Kus from Manhattan with five children. One of Ann's daughters, Theodosia Bartow Prevost, and her husband James Marcus Prevost, occupied another house on the property, downhill from the present structure, nearer to the mill ponds. During the American Revolutionary War, while Major (later Lieutenant Colonel) Prevost was fighting for the British in Georgia and South Carolina, the women and children were left alone in Ho-Ho-Kus.^[6]

In July 1778, word reached Theodosia that George Washington and his troops would be passing through Ho-Ho-Kus on their way from the recent battle at Monmouth Courthouse to White Plains in Westchester County, New York. When the General and his entourage stopped at a local house, Theodosia sent an invitation to Washington for him and his men to come and stay at The Hermitage.

Visitors to the house during the Revolution included James Monroe, William Paterson, the Marquis de Lafayette, Alexander Hamilton, Lord Stirling and Aaron Burr. In 1782, after her husband was killed during the War, Theodosia Prevost married Aaron Burr at The Hermitage. For a period of time they lived in a small house adjacent to The Hermitage.^[7]

Infrastructure[edit]

In 1847, the house was remodeled in the Gothic Revival style by architect William H. Ranlett. The stone house was originally built in a Dutch-American tradition.^[8]

The large house consisted of wood-shingled roofs and pointed gables, allowing the classical music that played to be enjoyed along with the beautiful architecture.^[8] One can find a large cedar barn as well.^[9]

The Hermitage is owned by the State of New Jersey and is a museum, open to the public year-round, financed and operated by The Friends of the Hermitage, Inc., a non-profit organization. The home and land were willed by Mary Elizabeth to the State of New Jersey.^[8]

Today, The Hermitage represents Bergen County's first National Historical Landmark.^[9]

References[edit]

^ ^a ^b NHL Summary Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine
^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Bergen County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. July 7, 2009. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2010.
^ Myers, Denys Peter (April 14, 1970). "The Hermitage" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. National Park Service. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
^ "The Hermitage, Villa Fontana" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service. Retrieved May 24, 2012.
^ New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated March 30, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023.
^ A Brief History of The Hermitage Archived 2003-08-04 at archive.today, The Hermitage. Accessed November 9, 2007.
^ The Hermitage Accessed June 4, 2008.
^ ^a ^b ^c In-Depth History of Ho-Ho-Kus Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Robins Brown, T; Warmflash, Schuyler; Delgiudice, Jim (2001). The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century. p. 43. ISBN 9780813528670.

External links[edit]

The Hermitage website

[nhlsum-1] NHL Summary Archived 2007-02-25 at the Wayback Machine

[NJRHP-2] "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Bergen County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. July 7, 2009. p. 19. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 30, 2008. Retrieved February 25, 2010.

[nrhpinv-3] Myers, Denys Peter (April 14, 1970). "The Hermitage" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Nomination and Inventory. National Park Service. Retrieved May 24, 2012.

[nrhpphotos-4] "The Hermitage, Villa Fontana" (pdf). Photographs. National Park Service. Retrieved May 24, 2012.

[5] New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places: Bergen County, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Historic Preservation Office, updated March 30, 2023. Accessed April 30, 2023.

[6] A Brief History of The Hermitage Archived 2003-08-04 at archive.today, The Hermitage. Accessed November 9, 2007.

[7] The Hermitage Accessed June 4, 2008.

[ho-ho-kusboro-8] In-Depth History of Ho-Ho-Kus Archived 2008-12-04 at the Wayback Machine

[Brown2001-9] Robins Brown, T; Warmflash, Schuyler; Delgiudice, Jim (2001). The Architecture of Bergen County, New Jersey: The Colonial Period to the Twentieth Century. p. 43. ISBN 9780813528670.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Topics	Architectural style categories Contributing property Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places Keeper of the Register National Park Service Property types
Lists by state	List of U.S. National Historic Landmarks by state: Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
Lists by insular areas	American Samoa Guam Minor Outlying Islands Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands
Lists by associated state	Federated States of Micronesia Marshall Islands Palau
Other areas	District of Columbia American Legation, Morocco
Related	National Historic Preservation Act Historic Preservation Fund List of jails and prisons on the National Register of Historic Places University and college buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places portal Category

History[edit]

Infrastructure[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]