During the Revolutionary War, this was the home of Lieutenant Garrett Hendrickson, a wealthy and prominent local citizen. Hendrickson served as a Lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of the Monmouth County Militia.
As an officer in the Monmouth County militia, much of Hendrickson's wartime experience involved fighting against Loyalist raids. (Loyalists were Americans who remained loyal to the British in the Revolutionary War).
Violence between Loyalists and those who supported Independence happened throughout many parts of New Jersey, but Monmouth County was a particular hotspot for this type of fighting. Raiding parties of Loyalists (also called Tories) attacked Monmouth County many times.
”Holmes - Hendrickson House"
On May 27, 1778, a large group of Loyalists raided nearby Matawan (then called Middletown Point). Local militiamen, including Garrett Hendrickson, responded and fought with the raiding party. Hendrickson was wounded during the fighting when he was shot in the hand.
Hendrickson was again wounded by a different party of Loyalist raiders in June 1780; he suffered a gunshot to his ear and a sword wound to his arm. Due to these wounds, he retired from the militia.
On February 8, 1782, another group of Loyalist raiders captured Garrett Hendrickson at this house, and also captured eight or nine other local residents. A newspaper article several days later reported:
"[The raiders] visited the houses of sundry persons in the neighborhood, from whence they took off upwards of twenty horses, five sleighs, which they loaded with plunder, and eight or nine prisoners.... At Garret Hendrickson's, having entered the house and made him prisoner, they went to the barn to take his horses and sleigh. In the mean time, two young men, his son and one William Thomson, who slept in the second story of the house, being awaked by the noise below, secreted themselves till the enemy were gone to the barn, and then came down, escaped and went to the house of Capt. John Schenck, of Col. Holmes's regiment, whom they alarmed about an hour and a half before day."
Captain Schenck and some militiamen pursued the raiders and some fighting ensued. Hendrickson either escaped during the fighting, or was held prisoner for a short time after. The Revolutionary War officially ended a little over a year later.
”Holmes - Hendrickson House"
With this history, it is not surprising that Hendrickson was unforgiving towards the Loyalists after the war ended; in 1787, he signed a petition that called Loyalists "atrocious monsters of wickedness."
The Holmes-Hendrickson House was moved from its Original Location in 1965, originally located about a mile from here on Crawford's Corner Road. The property was acquired by Bell Labs in 1929, and in 1965 they moved the house to its current location. It is now operated by the Monmouth County Historical Association and open to the public for tours.
This cache is one of "The American Revolution Geo~Trail" caches throughout New Jersey. These special geocaches are hidden at many historic locations which have a connection to important New Jersey's American Revolutionary War history. To participate in the optional Geo-Trail, after you find the geocache, locate the secret code and record it into your passport which you will print from this website. Information at njpatriots.org
”njpatriots.org"
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nnjc.org & metrogathering.org, & njpatriots.org