The Friends of The Jacobus Vanderveer House

The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House (JVH) is a 501 c3 non profit organization registered with the Secretary of State of New Jersey on March 17, 1998.

The mission of the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House is to restore, develop and operate the Vanderveer House property, significant in United States military history, as a nationally important historic site and an educational and community resource.

Jacobus Vanderveer Jr, son Jacobus Sr, a wealthy Dutch miller, built a small Gregorian style farmhouse just west of the North Branch of the Raritan River on the northern outskirts of Pluckemin. In 1778, Vanderveer and his wife Maria lent their 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, used the house as his Headquarters while the family occupied the house thru the winter of 1778 thru the summer of 1779.

The Vanderveer House is now the only remaining building from that chapter in Bedminster history, as the artillery park and its academy – a forerunner of West Point – no longer stand. The house is truly a priceless piece of our history. The house and the former artillery park are listed on the state and national Registers of Historic Places.

The Vanderveer House & Museum, now completely restored, interpret three important historic themes including the Vanderveer family history, Dutch colonial life in America, and the revolutionary war period including General Knox's time spent in Pluckemin. The museum will also display artifacts excavated during archaeological digs at the Pluckemin artillery encampment site.