WASHINGTON'S BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION
AT HISTORIC NEW BRIDGE LANDING
Washington's Birthday will be celebrated at the Campbell-Christie House, Historic New Bridge Landing, 1201 Main Street, River Edge, on Sunday, February 17th, from 1 to 5 pm. Under Denise Piccino’s direction, the Tricorne Ensemble will demonstrate 18th century dances in the parlor of the tavern in the Campbell-Christie House. Ridley & Anne Enslow will provide musical accompaniment on fiddle and hammered dulcimer. Tea & refreshments will be served. The gift shop will be open, offering fine gifts. Visitors can also see a working bake oven in our Bergen Dutch Out-Kitchen. Suggested donation: $5 adult, $3 children, BCHS members free. Contact: 201-343-9492
THE BRIDGE THAT SAVED A NATION
At a frozen crossroads in November, a moment of transformation sparked in the hearts of shoeless men, poorly armed, in flight, facing the cliff-climbing might of empire. These determined farmers, who would be kings in their own fields and frontier villages, struggled to read a map of the future. The large figure of a man, cloak-wrapped, upon a dark horse, gestured westward at what seemed to be a setting sun, its weak rays lighting the long difficult road ahead. The cold shadow of a Liberty Pole crossed their path. Then fortune smiled — the gate was open and in quiet order they crossed a small bridge over a muddy, marsh-fringed creek, its oak planks spanning one of the great divides in human history.
Sorely tried, those freedom fighters lived to fight another day. Stepping from the line, one citizen-soldier paused. Taking in the full breadth of the moment, he felt the gaze of even distant eyes watching their progress, hoping against hope, and he thought to himself, “The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now deserves the love, and thanks of man and woman.”
The road taken on that November day still winds unpretentiously among the sand hills and mires, though now paved and well populated. It still leads to the same crossing-place, forever known (in defiance of time’s empire) as the New Bridge. And those who happen upon this lost fragment of the Jersey Dutch countryside and cross its stream, will discover on its shore an old brownstone mansion, curiously named for the Prussian Inspector-General of the Continental Army, Baron von Steuben. Bypassed by busy highways, its gaze forever turns to the vacillating tides. But its quaint solitude is deceiving, if one truly stops to listen — these walls can talk.
The Revolutionary War events associated with Historic New Bridge Landing compose not only its most dramatic interlude, but also one that lends the place a truly national significance. Americans fought and died upon this ground, leaving future generations with a sacred trust for its stewardship in their honor and memory.
Come to Historic New Bridge Landing and connect with the Past.
