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James Haines of Parker Road died Feb. 22, 1807 and left his only son, Jared this property which he had purchased from Caleb Swayze. This property was located on the old road to Hacklebarney, which is now part of Hideaway Farm. The home was built around 1800 and Jared was to live in the house for many years. He was to be one of Chester’s most civic-mined men, serving on the Township Committee, as Justice of the Peace, as a promoter of the Chester Academy, as a Director of the Washington Turnpike and as an elder of the Presbyterian Church. The Washington Turnpike was chartered March 3, 1806 and Chester’s Jared Haines was a director by owning 10 shares in the company. It had been written that Washington and other army officers were entertained here and that Chester men set a barn near the house on fire because British spies were thought to be inside. As pictured here, the house now stands in ruin.
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| "Sunnyside" |
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This home, called Sunnyside, was built around 1880 by cabinetmaker James Topping for his widowed daughter-in-law, Nellie Topping and her daughter Leila.
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| The Patrey Family Home |
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The Patrey family has lived in the Chester area since the late 1700s and like many residents of that time, they were farmers. A few members of the family still reside in the area today and tell us of visiting the old homestead when they were children. The home pictured here sat in the woods behind the old Patrey Family Cemetery on Fox Chase Road. Not only was the cemetery for Patrey family members, but also for neighbors and friends of the family. Some of the old families that are buried here are; Runyon, Wyckoff and Stout.
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| Wyckoff Cabin |
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Hendrick (Henry) Wyckoff brought his family from Readington, NJ in 1798, to Black River, later known as Chester. Many generations of the Wyckoff family lived in this log home and farmed the land and descendents of the family are still in Chester today. Originally this log home belonged to minuteman John Emmons who had owned and farmed many acres in this area south of Chester near the intersection of Lamerson Road and Route 206. Pictured in front of the cabin are members of the Howell family who were friends visiting. All that is left on this site are foundations and this spring pictured below. It has been noted in a letter in the Washington’s Headquarter Museum Library in Morristown, NJ that Washington himself had stayed in a log house one mile south of Chester. It is believed to have been this log cabin. Also pictured below is another view of the cabin and a luncheonette that Jennie Wyckoff operated on Main Street.
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