Van Campen Inn at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Old Mine Road Historical Buildings

The Van Campen Inn is located in the central section of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area on the New Jersey side of the park near Walpack Center. It is one of many historical buildings on Old Mine Road, which at this point is a dirt road with a good number of potholes. If using Google Maps for directions, search “Van Campen Inn.”

Van Campen Inn gets its name from owner Isaac Van Campen, a prominent citizen of the area. He purchased farmland from Harmen Rosenkrans in 1754. It is not known for sure if the three-story stone house standing today was already on the property or if Van Campen built it himself, but regardless, it was around by 1755. A two story wing was added later, possibly around 1780 when Van Campen remarried, and stood until being torn down in 1917 by owner J. J. Van Syckle.

The stone building was actually Van Campen’s house on his plantation and not technically an inn, but he had a license to house travelers in need of a place to stay and a meal to eat. Such residences were called yaugh houses. Due to its thick stone walls, it was also used as a safe house for nearby settlers during the French and Indian War (1754–1763) whenever French-allied Algonquin and Delaware Indians would attack. Van Campen later got into politics and was a member of the Provisional Congress of New Jersey in 1776. As a known patriot, his home was a stop for American military officers and their armies during the American Revolution, as well as for politicians such as John Adams.

Van Campen died in 1801, and the house passed to his son Abraham, though the agreement was that his other son, Isaac Jr., could remain living in the two-story wing for the remainder of his life. Unfortunately, Abraham fell into debt and sold the property to Henry De Witt in 1809. The De Witt Family owned the house until 1860. After that, it changed hands many times until being purchased by the National Park Service in 1970 in preparation for a lake that would soon flood the area when the Tocks Island Dam was completed. The Van Campen Inn was below the maximum pool level and would have been underwater. The project was eventually cancelled, and the government ended up with hundreds of abandoned buildings on its hands, including the Van Campen Inn, all of which became part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Today the house is run by the Walpack Historical Society. It is open to the public during special events held throughout the year. For a schedule, see the Walpack Historical Society website.

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