About This Place
Boxwood Hall is a Georgian-style mansion on East Jersey Street in Elizabeth that served as the home of Elias Boudinot, President of the Continental Congress, and later of Jonathan Dayton, the youngest signer of the U.S. Constitution. The house is a State Historic Site administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
Revolutionary Significance
Boxwood Hall was built around 1750 and purchased by Elias Boudinot in 1772. During the Revolution, it served as Boudinot's base of operations for his work as Commissary General of Prisoners and his intelligence-gathering activities. George Washington stopped at Boxwood Hall on April 23, 1789, on his way to his first inauguration in New York City, where he was greeted by Boudinot and other Elizabethtown dignitaries. The house later became the residence of Jonathan Dayton, who had signed the Constitution in 1787 as the youngest delegate at the Philadelphia Convention.
The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and is one of the few surviving eighteenth-century structures in Elizabeth. Its location on East Jersey Street places it on the historic main road of Elizabethtown, connecting the waterfront at Elizabethtown Point to the interior of the settlement.
Location
1073 East Jersey St, Elizabeth, NJ 07201
Open in Google Maps →
Events at This Location
1664
1765
Elizabethtown Stamp Act ResistanceElias Boudinot
1774
Elizabethtown Tea BurningAbraham Clark
1775
Elizabethtown Militia MobilizationJames Caldwell, William Livingston
1776
Formation of the 3rd New Jersey RegimentJames Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell
1776
British Forces Enter ElizabethtownWilliam Livingston, Cornelius Hetfield Jr.
1777
Elizabethtown Intelligence NetworksElias Boudinot
1777
Loyalist Raids from Staten IslandCornelius Hetfield Jr.
1779
Establishment of the New Jersey JournalShepard Kollock, James Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell
1780
British Raid on Liberty HallWilliam Livingston
1780
Burning of the First Presbyterian ChurchJames Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell
1780
Murder of Hannah CaldwellHannah Caldwell, James Caldwell, Shepard Kollock
1780
Battle of Connecticut FarmsHannah Caldwell, James Caldwell
1780
Battle of SpringfieldJames Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell
1781
Killing of Reverend James CaldwellJames Caldwell, Hannah Caldwell
1789
Washington's Inauguration Journey Through ElizabethtownElias Boudinot, William Livingston