REVOLUTIONARY WAR SITES IN MONTCLAIR, NEW JERSEY

Lafayette Site
Next to 551 Valley Rd.
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Located next to the Photo Cullen store at 551 Valley Road, at the entrance to the parking lot, this site contains the stone doorstep of house that once stood nearby, and was used as a headquarters by the Marquis de Lafayette. Along with the step, there is a flag pole and an Eagle Rock Chapter Daughter's of the American Revolution plaque.

The plaque reads:
'This stone was the doorstep of the house occupied by Lafayette as a headquarters". [1]

Washington's Headquarters Site Monument
Corner of Valley Rd. and Claremont Ave.
(Private Home)
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This house is a private residence.
Please respect the privacy and property of the owners.

At the intersection of Valley Road and Claremont Avenue is this interesting spot.  On a large boulder is a bronze plaque that was dedicated on Oct 26, 1922. Since the boulder is surrounded by shrubbery, it is often overlooked by many people passing this busy intersection.

The plaque on the boulder reads:
"This boulder which lay from time immemorial on this site near the turn of the old road marks the location of a house used by General George Washington as temporary headquarters on October 26, 1780 while on the march from Totowa now Paterson to support Lafayette's expedition against the enemy on Staten Island." [2]

Please note that the current house is not the house that stood here in 1780. The original house, which was owned by William Crane, was torn down  circa the early 1900's. [3]

Several articles and books state that this spot was once listed in Ripley's Believe It or Not as "The World's Smallest Park". However, when I contacted the Archive Department of Ripley's Believe It or Not, I was told that they have no record of this. [4]

Cranetown Marker
Corner of Valley Rd. and Claremont Ave.
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The Cranetown marker commemorates the colonial hamlet of Cranetown, which became Montclair in the 1870's. It references George Washington's stay (See above listing) at the Crane House in October 1780. [5]