Jacobus Vanderveer House Hosts “Thomas Jefferson/Alexander Hamilton” Debate – Saturday, May 17

The Articles of Confederation, the Constitutional Congress and the drafting of the Constitution will be debated  between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton interpreters Steve Edenbo and Ian Rose at Bedminster’s Jacobus Vanderveer House and Museum, Saturday, May 17 from 2:00-3:00 p.m.  The historic home, once the headquarters for General Henry Knox, will be open for tours from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, May 18.

The debate, “Conflict and Constitution,” will showcase Jefferson and Hamilton’s differing viewpoints on the need for balance between states’ rights and a centralized government, while giving the audience a glimpse of what the early negotiations were really like during our nation’s founding.

Admission to the Jefferson-Hamilton debate is $10 (free to members) and space is limited.  Register online or phone (908) 396-6053.   For more information visit

www.jvanderveerhouse.org. The Jacobus Vanderveer House is located at 3055 River Road (in Bedminster’s River Road Park), Bedminster, NJ 07921. 

About The Jacobus Vanderveer House

For more than two centuries, the Jacobus Vanderveer House, located in River Road Park, has been at the center of Bedminster Township’s rich and colorful history.  It is situated on part of the 218 acres that make up River Road Park in Bedminster Township, Somerset County. 

Jacobus Vanderveer, Jr., son of Vanderveer, Sr., a wealthy Dutch miller, built a small Dutch frame-style farmhouse just west of the North Branch of the Raritan River on the northern outskirts of Pluckemin.  In 1778, during the War of Independence, Vanderveer lent his home to General Henry Knox, who was to command a new artillery encampment and training academy being established by the Continental Army on a hillside above the village of Pluckemin.  General Knox, along with his wife Lucy and family, occupied the house from the winter of 1778 through the summer of 1779.

The Vanderveer house is the only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin encampment, which is considered to be the first installation in America to train officers in engineering and artillery.  General Knox established “The Academy” and subsequently created its successor, The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  

The Jacobus Vanderveer House and property were purchased by Bedminster Township in 1989 with the help of Green Acres funding.  The house was listed in 1995 on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places.  The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House is a nonprofit organization formed to restore and develop the historic site as an important educational and cultural resource.  During the past decade, the Friends have restored the house, created historically accurate period room exhibitions, established historic collections, supported important research, and embarked on a program of education and interpretation to tell the stories of General Henry Knox, the Pluckemin military encampment and the community’s key role in the American Revolution. 

The Jacobus Vanderveer House is located at 3055 River Road (in Bedminster’s River Road Park), Bedminster, NJ 07921.  For information about membership and other upcoming events, phone (908) 396-6053 or visit www.jvanderveerhouse.org.

The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House received an operating support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.