Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

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Washington’s Headquarters Main Page

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GENERAL INFORMATION

George Washington and his staff used the Morristown mansion of widow Theodosia Ford as their headquarters during the winter of 1779-80. In the 1870s, four businessmen formed the Washington Association of New Jersey and purchased the house, which was still in the Ford family at the time. They ran it as a museum up until the Great Depression hit in 1929. Unable to pay their bills, the men worked a deal to donate the house to the National Park Service. Part of the deal was that the government had to build a separate museum to house their collection of American Revolution memorabilia. The museum was built in the 1930s and is now known as the Washington’s Headquarters Museum. It is located just a short walk from the Ford Mansion.

OPERATING HOURS

Washington’s Headquarters Museum is typically open Thursdays through Sundays from 10 AM to 4 PM. Keep in mind that times can always change, so be sure to get the latest schedule on the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Morristown National Historical Park.

MUSEUM EXHIBITS

Washington’s Headquarters Museum is made up of four different galleries.

DEFINING AMERICAN STYLE GALLERY

Defining American Style gallery in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

Fitting into the theme of General George Washington’s stay at the Ford Mansion, home of one of the wealthy families in Morristown, the Defining American Style museum gallery is a Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in the 1700s exhibit. It it designed to showcase the types of luxury items wealthy colonists had around the time of the American Revolution. Clothing, furniture, house wares, and leisure activity items make up the collection.

18th Century luxury items on display in the Defining American Style gallery in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

18th Century luxury items on display in the Defining American Style gallery in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

Notable exhibits are a pair of slippers supposedly worn by Martha Washington and given to her dressmakers, Kitty and Nancy Sanchez, and a collection of items that supposedly belonged to George Washington.

Slippers supposedly worn by Martha Washington on display in the Defining American Style gallery of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

Personal items of George Washington on display in the Defining American Style gallery of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

EXPLORING THE REVOLUTION GALLERY

Exploring the Revolution gallery in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

A second museum gallery at Washington’s Headquarters Museum is a general American Revolution military museum, with a slight focus on the events that took place in New Jersey. The bulk of the artifacts is a large collection of weapons.

18th Century cannon and musket exhibit in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

18th Century English flintlock pistols on display in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

The most encompassing exhibit about the war is the Timeline of the American Revolution. This consists of four videos (roughly 6 minutes each) that cover the Revolution from start to finish and beyond: Rebellion, War, Victory, and Democracy. All begin with the push of a button.

Timeline of the American Revolution videos in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

There are also interactive touch-screen exhibits that focus on the war year by year. An American Revolution buff could spend all day playing around with these.

Timeline of the American Revolution exhibit in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

DISCOVERY HISTORY CENTER

Discover History Center at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum in Morristown National Historical Park

The Discovery History Center section of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum focuses on the Morristown winter camps and the workings of the American Army during the Revolution. Topics include the organization of the military, recruitment practices, 18th century communications between military units, medicine and disease, soldier life at the winter camps, weapons, and the impact of the winter camps on the town of Morristown.

Winter Camp at Morristown exhibit in the Discover History Center of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, Morristown National Historical Park

Exhibit in the Discover History Center on sanitation and daily life at the Morristown winter camp, Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

While the exhibits in the Defining American Style and Exploring the Revolution galleries are mainly a collection of artifacts put together in the 1870s (other than the videos), the Discover History Center is a modern exhibit area filled with interactive videos and games, mind puzzles, audio programs, and short videos on various topics. If you have children, this is the section of the museum that they will most enjoy. However, the exhibits are for all ages, so there is plenty for adults to do and learn as well.

One of many interactive video exhibits in the Discover History Center of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

The Discover History Center features a mock-up of a log hut soldiers lived in during their winter camps. The soldiers arrived in Morristown with nothing but a tent to live in until they were able to build their huts, which took about two weeks. Hundreds of acres of forest were stripped for both construction materials and fuel.

Soldier Hut exhibit in the Discover History Center section of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

Soldier Hut exhibit in the Discover History Center section of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum at Morristown National Historical Park

LLOYD W. SMITH RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT ROOM

Lloyd W. Smith Rare Book and Manuscript Room at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, Morristown National Historical Park

A fourth section of the Washington’s Headquarters Museum is a collection of American Revolution-related books, manuscripts, sermons, and other written materials that was donated to the museum by Lloyd W. Smith in 1955. Smith’s collection includes manuscripts on all sorts of topics, not just the American Revolution. He had Civil War-era materials and European materials. The total collection includes 17,000 items, but only a few pertaining the Revolution are on display.

Items of the Lloyd W. Smith Rare Book and Manuscript collection on display at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, Morristown National Historical Park

This is the least involving section of the museum. Most visitors walk in, take a look around, and leave. Only those fascinated by old books will stick around much more than five minutes.

Copy of Two Discourses on Liberty by American lawyer and politician Nathaniel Niles, part of the Lloyd W. Smith Rare Book and Manuscript collection on display at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, Morristown National Historical Park

Smith also collected paper money (technically bonds) issued by the Continental Congress and various colonies to pay soldiers, and later to buy equipment and supplies for the military. These were to be redeemed a few years after their issuance for Spanish silver coins. Most merchants thought them worthless, thus the saying at the time, “Not worth a Continental.” They were eventually redeemed for a small fraction of their face value. The Americans could have lost the war and currency holders wouldn’t have been much worse off.

Paper currency from the 1770s, part of the Lloyd W. Smith Rare Book and Manuscript collection on display at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum, Morristown National Historical Park

PARK FILM

The full 26-minute version of Morristown: Where America Survived is shown at the Washington’s Headquarters Museum (an abbreviated version of the film is shown at the Jockey Hollow Visitor Center). This is without a doubt the best way to learn about the history of Morristown during the winter of 1779-80. The film also covers what happened in the spring and summer when the Americans and British fought battles at Elizabethtown and Springfield. The film is a live-action production with a narrator. There are a few scenes of muskets and cannon firing, but there are no developed battle scenes or deaths shown. The film is suitable for all ages.

You can watch the full version of the film on the Morristown Documentary web page here on National Park Planner.

SCHEDULING YOUR TIME

For those who want to read everything and watch all the videos in the Washington’s Headquarters Museum—which isn’t many people—plan to spend two hours on that task. For most people, a half hour will do. Add another half hour to watch the film at the park. And by the way, even if you watch the film here on National Park Planner, if it isn’t fresh on your mind, I recommend watching it again at the park.

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