Caldwell Parsonage

The Caldwell Parsonage is located along Caldwell Avenue in Union, New Jersey, United States. It was the home of the Rev. James Caldwell, a Presbyterian minister and active supporter of the Patriot cause during the Revolutionary War.

The war is intertwined with the early history of the building. An original parsonage dating to 1730 was burned in 1780 by a Loyalist mob,^[1] and later that year Caldwell's wife Hannah was killed by British soldiers in the house during the Battle of Connecticut Farms.^[2] Caldwell himself was shot by an American sentry a year later.

In 1782, with the war over, what is now Connecticut Farms Presbyterian Church built the present building. It continued to serve as a home for its pastors until the 20th century, when the church built one closer to the building.^[3] In 1982 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places, as a well-preserved 18th-century farmhouse with a historical connection.

It currently serves as a historical museum, owned and operated by the Union Township Historical Society. It is open to the public on weekday mornings and afternoons. Several state grants have been made for renovations and upkeep of the aging structure.^[1][4]

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Caldwell Parsonage Historic Site Management Grant". http://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/caldwellparsonage.html. Retrieved 2008-03-04. 
2. ^ Caldwell Parsonage brochurePDF, retrieved March 4, 2008. "As British troops returned to Connecticut Farms, Abigail looked out a rear bedroom window and seeing a soldier walking to the house said: "A soldier is near the house." Young Elias said, "Let me see!" Hannah pushed Elias away and looked out the window. She was shot by a British soldier who fired his musket. She fell back and died."
3. ^ "A little bit about CFPC's 275-year history". http://www.ctfarms.org/history.html. Retrieved 2008-03-04. "Built by Connecticut Farms Church in 1782 - 1783 after the original parsonage was burned down, it served as the church parsonage for most of the nineteenth century. The need for extensive repairs and its distance from the church prompted the church to build a new parsonage (manse) adjacent to the church in 1901, on Stuyvesant Avenue." 
4. ^ "Caldwell Parsonage Historic Site Management". http://www.state.nj.us/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/ct-caldwell_parsonage.html. Retrieved 2008-03-04.