Prich Matthews History Center Opens at Jacobus Vanderveer House

The following was submitted by Renae Tesauro, board member and publicity chairwoman for the Jacobus Vanderveer House.

The Board of Trustees of the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House (JVH) celebrated the opening of the Prich Matthews History Center last Friday at the historic Bedminster home that once served as headquarters to Gen. Henry Knox during the American Revolution.

Bedminster Township officials, JVH supporters and friends joined Robert L. Matthews in dedicating the history center in memory of his late wife, Prich, who was a founding member of the JVH Board of Trustees and a former Bedminster township historian.

“Prich was passionate about preserving local history and among the first to become involved in the restoration of the Jacobus Vanderveer House.  It’s only fitting that this history center be dedicated in her honor,” said Leslie Molé, former JVH Board President, who spearheaded the development of the Prich Matthews History Center.

“We are proud to be able to continue Prich’s legacy with a center that is open to the public and allows anyone with an interest in history to stop by and learn more about what happened here during the American Revolution,” commented Sean Blinn, president of the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House Board of Trustees.

Housed in the small parlor of the 1813 wing of the Jacobus Vanderveer House, the Prich Matthews History Center contains a small but authoritative collection of historical documents and books chronicling the origins and restoration of the Vanderveer House, colonial architecture, General Henry Knox, the American Revolution and Colonial life. 

The 150-volume library includes detailed archaeological, furnishings, structure and landscape reports of the Jacobus Vanderveer House; biographies and autobiographies of individuals who participated in the Revolutionary War; as well as the writings of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.

Also on display are early images and drawings of the property, General Knox, 18th century magazines and a 1794 family bible. 

Although items cannot be borrowed from the center, visitors are welcome to read materials in the comfort of the warm, classically decorated room outfitted with an illuminated bookcase, writing desk, table, chairs and a laptop computer.  

A still life painting by Mrs. Matthews, an accomplished artist, adorns one of the walls.

About Prich Matthews  

Mrs. Matthews, who passed away at the age of 80 in 2009, moved to Bedminster with her husband, Robert, in 1958.  They settled into a cottage on the quadrangle of John Cowperthwaite, Sr.'s estate, now Trump National Golf Club.  In 1967, they purchased Elm Hill Farm, the 1734 farmhouse where Prich lived until her death.   Mrs. Matthews dedicated much of life to creativity and volunteerism. 

As her community grew, she saw the need to educate newcomers about Bedminster Township's rich cultural heritage.  She prepared a descriptive exhibition of 34 historic township photographs, which made its debut at the dedication of the Clarence Dillon Public Library in 1979.

Before and after the library moved to its current site in 1994, Prich directed a Friends' gallery for local artists in each venue. This led to her establishing and directing an art gallery for leading New Jersey artists in the Somerset County Administration Building while she was a member of the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

In the 1970s, Bedminster Township Police Chief Gary Cummings asked Prich to design a logo for the police uniforms.  That logo still appears on uniforms, police cars, township literature, and as a large bronze motif in the Township’s meeting room.

Mrs. Matthews became Bedminster’s Township Historian in 1988 and served as a member of the Township's Historical Preservation Commission.  Her passion for local history led to her write Bedminster Township: 250 Years, a book commemorating the 250th anniversary of King George II’s signing of the 1949 Charter establishing the Township of Bedminster.

In 1982, Mrs. Matthews, an accomplished artist, held a one-woman show of her 65 paintings and collages in the main gallery of the New Jersey State Museum in Trenton.  She was one of the founders of the Somerset Art Association and the first honorary life member of the organization, as well as the former president of the Somerset Hills chapter of the American Association of University Women. 

About The Jacobus Vanderveer House

For more than two centuries, the Jacobus Vanderveer House, located on Route 202-206, 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 upcoming events, including Colonial Christmas, phone 908-396-6053 or visit www.jvanderveerhouse.org.