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Historic House

Hopper-Goetschius House

About This Place

The Hopper-Goetschius House is a colonial-era sandstone dwelling that witnessed the daily violence of the Revolution in Bergen County. The house served variously as a private residence, a site of interrogations, and a shelter for families displaced by the conflict. Its sturdy Dutch Colonial architecture — built with local sandstone in the style characteristic of Bergen County's Dutch settlement — reflects the building traditions of the community that was torn apart by the war.

The house has been preserved as a museum and is maintained by local historical organizations. Visitors can view the period architecture and learn about daily life in Bergen County during the Revolutionary era.

Revolutionary Significance

The Hopper-Goetschius House is one of the surviving colonial structures in the Hackensack area that was directly involved in the Revolutionary conflict. Houses like this one served as the settings for the intimate violence that characterized the civil war in Bergen County — interrogations of suspected Loyalists or patriots, sheltering of refugees, and quartering of soldiers from both sides.

Location

Hackensack, NJ 07601

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Events at This Location

  1. 1774

    Bergen County Divided: Loyalties Split

    Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Judge John Fell, Sam of Hackensack

  2. 1775

    Formation of the Bergen County Committee of Safety

    Judge John Fell, Sam of Hackensack

  3. 1775

    Militia Musters on the Green

    Major John Mauritius Goetschius, Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Sam of Hackensack

  4. 1775

  5. 1776

    Fall of Fort Lee

    Sam of Hackensack

  6. 1776

    Washington's Retreat Through Hackensack

    Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Sam of Hackensack

  7. 1776

    British Occupation of Bergen County

    Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Sam of Hackensack

  8. 1776

    Desecration of the First Dutch Reformed Church

    Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Sam of Hackensack

  9. 1776

    Loyalist Raids and Partisan Warfare in Bergen County

    Major John Mauritius Goetschius, Sam of Hackensack

  10. 1777

    Capture of Judge John Fell by Loyalist Raiders

    Judge John Fell, Sam of Hackensack

  11. 1777

  12. 1778

    Continental Army Foraging Expeditions in Bergen County

    Brigadier General Anthony Wayne, Major John Mauritius Goetschius, Sam of Hackensack

  13. 1778

    Confiscation of Loyalist Property

    Judge John Fell, Sam of Hackensack

  14. 1778

  15. 1778

    Baylor Massacre at River Vale

    Major John Mauritius Goetschius, Sam of Hackensack

  16. 1783

    End of the War and Return of the Displaced

    Reverend Dirck Romeyn, Judge John Fell, Sam of Hackensack

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