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Van Riper-Hopper House

House Museums

Van Riper – Hopper House and Mead– Van Duyne House Museums Site

533 Berdan Avenue:

        Dutch Colonial Farmstead

        Albert Payson Terhune Collection

        Archeology Laboratory

        Herb Gardens

Van Riper-Hopper House – 533 Berdan  Ave.:  Built by Uriah Van Riper in 1786, this home became a Wayne Township Museum in June, 1964, and is the headquarters of the Wayne Historical Commission.  The museum, depicted in the graphic at the top of this page, is open to the public by appointment.  Please call 973-694-7192.

Mead-Van Duyne House Museum - 533 Berdan Avenue:  Built around 1740, it was purchased in 1974 by the Wayne Township and moved 7 miles from 636 Fairfield Road to a safe site on Berdan Avenue near the VanRiper-Hopper House.  Six-lane NJ Route 23 South now replaces the stone colonial farmstead, an architectural gem.

Schuyler-Colfax House Museum - 2343 Hamburg Turnpike:  Located near the Pompton Lakes border, this home was built in 1696 by pioneer settler, Arent Schuyler.  This is Wayne's oldest home. The Hamburg-Paterson Turnpike is at its front door and the Ramapo River at its back door.  The family cemetery is located just north of the house.  In October, 1966, the Schuyler-Colfax house was named an historical site by the State of New Jersey.  Until recently the homestead was a private residence for the eighth generation of the family, when it became a Wayne Township Museum. One of only a few colonial homesteads built prior to 1700 on the east coast of the United States,  it was never sold out of original ownership for eight generations.  In 1994, Dr. Jane Colfax sold the landmark to Wayne Township to serve as a museum.  Each generation produced military, medical, legal and governmental representatives.

Dey Mansion - 199 Totowa Road:   This house museum is owned and operated by Passaic County.  Begun in 1740 by Dirk Dey and completed by his son, Colonel Theunis Dey, this mansion served as General George Washington's headquarters in 1780. A family burial ground is on the premises. The mansion is open to the public Wednesday through Friday from 1:00PM - 4:00PM; last tour 3:30PM. Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00AM - 12:00PM and 1:00PM – 4:00PM; last tour 3:30PM. Closed Monday and Tuesday. Admission is $1.00 for adults and children 10 and older. Call for further information at 973-696-1776.

Houses

Van Saun House - 23 Laauwe Avenue: This old Dutch home was built in 1769 by Samuel Van Saun and is presently a private residence. Major-General Marquis de Lafayette made this home his headquarters during the 1780 encampment of the Continental Army. The still active spring, which flows into the Singac Brook, maintains a 34 degree temperature year round and refreshed many a man and horse.

Mead House - 231 Parish Drive:  Built in 1780 by Jacob K. Mead, a direct descendant of the founder of Mead's Basin, this home forms the left wing of the huge mansion built in 1929 by LeGrand Parish. The house is now owned by the Lakeland Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship.

Ryerson Homestead - 44 Newark-Pompton Turnpike:  Built in 1784 by Abraham Ryerson, who is a direct descendant of one of Wayne's first settlers.  This home is now a private residence and also serves as a business location.

Henry Casey House - 1329 Hamburg Turnpike:  The first Wayne Township organizational meeting took place in this house on April 12, 1847.  It is currently a private residence and a business address.

Demarest House - 378 Fairfield Road:  This 1760 homestead is believed to have been built by John Ryerson, and used as a parsonage for the Dutch Reformed Churches.  It was dismantled and rebuilt in 1850 to rid the house of ghosts. The Demarest family bought it in 1814.  It is now owned privately.

Terhune Memorial (Sunnybank) - Terhune Drive:  In 1860, the Reverend Edward Payson Terhune and his bride settled on this sloping hill on the east shore of Pompton Lake.  Their son, Albert Payson Terhune, was raised here and became famous as the author of Lad and other dog stories.  Headstones mark the graves of favorite dogs. Sunnybank is now a town park.  The house was in too great a state of disrepair to be saved.

Tollkeeper House - 2332 Hamburg Turnpike:  Built in the 1700's to house George Colfax, the toll collector on the road from Paterson to Hamburg.  To supplement his income, Colfax was also a cobbler.  This home currently is a private residence.

Mountainview Schools:  The first school was a dug-out school built in 1743 on what is now Parish Drive near the Community Fire Company Number One. In 1812 a new Mountain View School was built on Boonton Road.  In 1920 a newer school was built across the street at 64 Boonton Road., and the old school was converted into the Town Hall of Wayne.  It presently houses American Legion Post 174. The school on Boonton Road is now a bank.

Old Preakness Schools - 1006 Hamburg Turnpike:  The small white building was built in 1866 as a single story structure to be used as old district school #14.  A second story was added and it was renamed School #2.  While still owned by the town, it is rented to a business.  The newer school, which closed in 1977, is now the Wayne Civic Center and houses the Preakness Branch of the Wayne Public Library.

The Preakness Reformed Church Cemetery - 131 Church Lane:  This is the only public cemetery in Wayne. Stones dating back to 1798 include names of those prominent in the town's early history - Berdan, Van Riper, MacDonald, Hinchman, Ratcliffe, Garside.  A self-guided tour is available at the Church.

Adapted from Know Your Town Wayne New Jersey Published by the League of Women Voters of Wayne Township.

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