On September 28, 1778, the British attacked soldiers from the Virginia 3rd Continental Light Dragoon regiment led by Lieutenant Colonel George Baylor, killing 11 soldiers and capturing several others. A loyalist betrayed the soldiers who were sleeping at several homes in what is now River Vale. After the attack, six men were buried in tanning vats along the banks of the Hackensack River. In 1967, these burial sites were rediscovered and, later, Bergen County purchased the site as a historic memorial park.

From 1917-1919, Camp Merritt, the 770-acre World War I embarkment camp covered what is today Cresskill, Demarest, Dumont, and Haworth. The camp had 1,300 buildings, including a hospital, barracks, and recreational and administrative facilities. Over 45,000 soldiers passed through the camp. In 1919, Bergen County purchased land in the center of the site for use as a memorial to the 535 people who died at the camp during the Spanish Flu epidemic. The memorial was dedicated on Memorial Day, 1924.

The Campbell-Christie House was built in 1774 by Jacob Campbell. Campbell operated a tavern in his home until he sold it to John D. Christie in 1795. Christie operated the tavern until his death in 1836.

In 1977, Bergen County purchased the house and moved it from its original New Milford location to the Historic New Bridge Landing State Park. The Bergen County Historical Society operates the museum.

Built in 1899, Easton Tower pumped water for several fountains in the landscaped gardens of the Edward Easton Estate. Edward Easton was the founder of the Columbia Phonograph Company, which manufactured and developed wax cylinders for phonographs. The County purchased the site in 1956.

Built ca. 1720, The Garretson Forge and Farm is one of the oldest Dutch stone houses in Bergen County. The Garretson family owned the house until 1974. Through the centuries, the house has been enlarged, renovated, and modernized multiple times, making it a perfect example of the evolution of American architecture. Bergen County purchased the property in 1977.

Garretson Farm & Forge, Fair Lawn - Virtual Tour

The Garretson Forge and Farm Restoration, Inc. operates the museum.

Opened in 1860, Gethsemane Cemetery is a one-acre cemetery for African-Americans who lived in Hackensack in the late 1800s-early 1900s. Although only 50 gravestones are still standing, about 515 people are buried there. The most famous person is Elizabeth Dulfer who established a successful clay and brickmaking business along the Hackensack River prior to the Civil War. The 1884 burial of Samuel Bass led to the Negro Burial Act that prohibited segregated cemeteries. The county purchased and restored the site in 1985.

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To access the site, please call the Division of Cultural Affairs office at 201-336-7267.

For an interactive StoryMap on Gethsemane Cemetery, click here.

Click here for a guide to Gethsemane’s grave markers.

Founded in the 1870s, Hackensack Water Works provided water to residents in Northern New Jersey until the 1990s. The plant at Van Buskirk Island was built in 1881-1882 to serve as a water treatment and pumping facility for the company. In the 1920s, George Spaulding , a chemist at the plant, developed an innovative carbon filtration system that is still in use today. Steam pumps powered the plant until the 1990s. The property was purchased by Bergen County in 1993. The site is not currently available to the public.

Washington Spring is the site where George Washington watered his horse during the Continental Troops occupation of the area in 1780. The spring was on the farm that belonged to the Van Saun family during the Revolutionary War. The county purchased the 140-acre Van Saun Park in 1957.

Built ca. 1770, the Wortendyke Barn is a rare example of the New World Dutch Barn that was prevalent in Bergen County amongst the Dutch in the colonial period. The Wortendyke family owned their farm from 1735-1851. New World Dutch barns were known for their H frame construction with steep slopping roofs that maximize storage of crops and hay, side bays for housing animals, and raised floors. The county restored the barn in the 1970s.
To access the site, please call the Division of Cultural Affairs office at 201-336-7252.