Morristown National Historical Park

Morristown National Historical Park, established in 1933 as the country's first national historical park, preserves the landscape where General George Washington and the Continental Army spent two pivotal winters of the Revolutionary War. Located in Morristown, New Jersey, the park encompasses three distinct units spread across more than 1,700 acres. The Ford Mansion, an elegant Georgian-style home built in 1774, served as Washington's headquarters during the brutal winter of 1779-1780 and today functions as a house museum with period furnishings and original architectural details. Adjacent to the mansion, the Washington's Headquarters Museum holds rotating and permanent exhibits featuring weapons, documents, artifacts, and interpretive displays that trace the full arc of the Morristown encampments. At Jockey Hollow, soldiers from every state in the union constructed more than 1,000 log huts across the hillsides to shelter the army through what became one of the harshest winters of the 18th century. Replica soldier huts allow visitors to step inside and understand the cramped conditions endured by the troops. The park also preserves Fort Nonsense, an earthwork fortification built by Continental soldiers in 1777 on high ground above the town to defend supply lines and signal enemy positions. Throughout the park, miles of walking trails pass reconstructed encampment sites, artillery positions, and original stone walls that defined the landscape two and a half centuries ago. The National Park Service maintains interpretive programs, ranger-led tours, and living-history demonstrations that animate daily life in the revolutionary camp, from military drills and musket firing to period crafts and cooking. The museum holds a collection of over 17,000 Revolutionary War artifacts, including Washington's personal effects, military maps, and Continental Army equipment. Park rangers offer free interpretive talks at the Ford Mansion and Jockey Hollow throughout the year. The site's three units -- the Ford Mansion and museum, Jockey Hollow, and Fort Nonsense -- can each be visited independently, though the full park rewards a half-day exploration. Morristown's role as a dual-winter headquarters makes it among the most significant Revolutionary War sites in the National Park System.