Francis Hopkinson House

Last updated

Francis Hopkinson House
Francis Hopkinson House, Bordentown, NJ Nov 2017.jpg
Francis Hopkinson House in 2017
Location map of Burlington County, New Jersey.svg
Red pog.svg
USA New Jersey location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location101 Farnsworth Avenue (CR 545), Bordentown, New Jersey
Coordinates 40°8′54″N74°42′50″W / 40.14833°N 74.71389°W / 40.14833; -74.71389
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1750
Architect John Imlay
NRHP reference No. 71000496 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJuly 17, 1971 [1]
Designated NHLJuly 17, 1971 [2]

The Francis Hopkinson House is an historic house at 101 Farnsworth Avenue in Bordentown, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. Built in 1750, it was the home of Founding Father Francis Hopkinson (1737-1791), the designer of the United States Flag and a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence. [3] He lived in this home with his wife Ann Borden (1747-1827) [4] from 1774 until Hopkinson's death in 1791. [5] Ann Borden was the granddaughter of Joseph Borden, the founder of Bordentown, New Jersey. [6] The house was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. [2]

Contents

Description and history

The Francis Hopkinson House stands on the northern edge of Bordentown's downtown area, at the southeast corner of Farnsworth and West Park Streets. It is a 2+12-story brick building, covered with a gambrel roof. Its main facade is five bays wide, with a center entrance sheltered by a rounded hood supported by decorative Italianate brackets. Sash windows are arranged symmetrically around the entrance, and the steep slope of the gambrel roof is pierced by three dormers with rounded tops echoing to entrance hood in style. The interior of the house has been stylistically altered, although its basic floor plan is little altered. [5]

The house was built in 1750 by Joseph Imlay, a local merchant. [5] Francis Hopkinson, a lawyer native to Philadelphia, moved here in 1774. Hopkinson was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey. He was also the first American-born composer of secular music. [7] During the American Revolution, Hopkinson designed Continental currency, departmental seals, and most of the elements in the Great Seal of the United States. [8] He later served as a federal judge in Pennsylvania. [9]

The house was to be burned by the British during a military action in 1778, but was spared by a Hessian officer's appreciation of Hopkinson's library. [10] The house remained in the Hopkinson family until 1915. [5] It has since seen mixed residential and professional use.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Hopkinson</span> American Founding Father and judge

Francis Hopkinson was an American Founding Father, lawyer, jurist, author, and composer. He designed Continental paper money and two early versions of flags, one for the United States and one for the United States Navy. He was a signer of the Declaration of Independence in July 1776 as a delegate from New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bordentown, New Jersey</span> City in Burlington County, New Jersey, US

Bordentown is a city in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 3,993, an increase of 69 (+1.8%) from the 2010 census count of 3,924, which in turn reflected a decline of 45 (−1.1%) from the 3,969 counted in the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Hanover Township, New Jersey</span> Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States

New Hanover Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 6,367, a decrease of 1,018 (−13.8%) from the 2010 census count of 7,385, which in turn reflected decline of 2,359 (−24.2%) from the 9,744 counted in the 2000 census. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bordentown Township, New Jersey</span> Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, US

Bordentown Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 11,791, an increase of 424 (+3.7%) from the 2010 census count of 11,367, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,987 (+35.6%) from the 8,380 counted in the 2000 census. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abraham Clark</span> American Founding Father and politician

Abraham Clark was an American Founding Father, politician, and Revolutionary War figure. Clark was a delegate for New Jersey to the Continental Congress where he signed the Declaration of Independence and later served in the United States House of Representatives in both the Second and Third United States Congress, from March 4, 1791, until his death in 1794.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chesterfield, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Burlington County, New Jersey, US

Chesterfield, originally known as Recklesstown, is an unincorporated community located around the intersection of County Route 528 and County Route 677 in Chesterfield Township of Burlington County, New Jersey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hancock–Clarke House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Hancock–Clarke House is a historic house in Lexington, Massachusetts, which is now a National Historic Landmark. Built in 1738, the house is notable as one of two surviving houses associated with statesman and Founding Father John Hancock, who lived here for several years as a child. It is the only residence associated with him that is open to the public. It played a prominent role in the Battle of Lexington and Concord as both Hancock and Samuel Adams, leaders of the colonials, were staying in the house before the battle. The House is operated as a museum by the Lexington Historical Society. It is open weekends starting in mid-April and daily from May 30–October 31. An admission fee is charged.

New Jersey's 3rd congressional district is represented by Democrat Andy Kim of Moorestown who has served in Congress since 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Morven (Princeton, New Jersey)</span> United States historic place

Morven, known officially as Morven Museum & Garden, is a historic 18th-century house at 55 Stockton Street in Princeton, New Jersey. It served as the governor's mansion for nearly four decades in the 20th century, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark for its association with Richard Stockton (1730-1781), a signer of the United States Declaration of Independence.

Hopkinson is a surname of English and Welsh origin. Notable people with the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roebling, New Jersey</span> Populated place in Burlington County, New Jersey, US

Roebling is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Florence Township, in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that was established as part of the 2010 United States census. As of the 2000 United States census, the CDP was combined as Florence-Roebling, which had a total population of 8,200. As of the 2010 Census, the Florence-Roebling CDP was split into its components, Florence and Roebling. As of the 2010 Census, the population of the Florence CDP was 4,426.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbott Farm Historic District</span> Historic district in New Jersey, United States

The Abbott Farm Historic District is a National Historic Landmark archaeological site in New Jersey. It is the largest known Middle Woodland village of its type on the East Coast of the United States. Significant evidence suggests that the Delaware River floodplain was occupied by Paleoindian people for a long period. It was inhabited between 500 BC and 500 AD. It has been a source of controversy and debate around early development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Summerseat (Morrisville, Pennsylvania)</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Summerseat, also known as the George Clymer House and Thomas Barclay House, is a historic house museum at Hillcrest and Legion Avenues in Morrisville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Built about 1765, it is the only house known to have been owned by two signers of the United States Declaration of Independence, Founding Fathers George Clymer and Robert Morris, and as a headquarters of General George Washington during the American Revolutionary War. The house is now managed by the Morrisville Historical Society, which offers tours. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burlington County Prison</span> United States historic place

The Burlington County Prison is a historic museum property, located next to the Burlington County Jail in Mount Holly Township, Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. Operating from 1811 to 1965, it was the oldest prison in the nation at the time of its closure. Designed by Robert Mills, its design exemplified period thinking in progressive prison design, with individual cells, good ventilation, and fireproof construction. Now operated by a local nonprofit as a museum, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Hopkinson</span> American politician & judge (1770–1842)

Joseph Hopkinson was a United States representative from Pennsylvania and a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concklin–Sneden House</span> Historic house in New Jersey, United States

The Concklin–Sneden House is located in Rockleigh, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The house was built in 1796 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 10, 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cassina Point</span> Historic house in South Carolina, United States

Cassina Point was built in 1847 for Carolina Lafayette Seabrook and her husband, James Hopkinson. Carolina Seabrook was the daughter of wealthy Edisto Island planter William Seabrook. William Seabrook had hosted the General Lafayette in 1825 at his nearby home at the time of Carolina's birth. Seabrook gave Lafayette the honor of naming the newborn child, and the general selected Carolina and Lafayette. When Carolina Seabrook married James Hopkinson, they built Cassina Point on the land given to them by William Seabrook.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crosswicks Creek Site III</span> United States historic place

The Crosswicks Creek Site III is a historical archaeological site in the vicinity of Bordentown in Burlington County and Hamilton Township in Mercer County, New Jersey. It encompasses the remains of Revolutionary War-era ships that were sunk in Crosswicks Creek in 1778. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 26, 1990, for its significance in military and maritime history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Breeze (estate)</span> United States historic place

Point Breeze was an estate in Bordentown, New Jersey. It was the home of Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon Bonaparte, from 1816 to 1839.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fernbrook Farms</span> United States historic place

Fernbrook Farms is a 230-acre (93 ha) working farm located along County Route 545 in Chesterfield Township in Burlington County, New Jersey. Originally an 18th-century farm, it was briefly a stock breeding farm, known as the New Warlaby Stock Farm, in the 19th century. It now includes an inn, plant nursery, environmental education center, and community-supported agriculture. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 7, 2022, for its significance in architecture and landscape architecture.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Francis Hopkinson House". National Historic Landmark Quicklinks. National Park Service. Archived from the original on September 28, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
  3. Leepson, Marc (2005). Flag: An American Biography. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. 32–33.
  4. Collection 1978. "Hopkinson Family Papers 1731-1941" (PDF). Historical Society of Pennsylvania. Retrieved May 22, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Snell, Charles W. (February 4, 1971). "Francis Hopkinson House" (pdf). National Register of Historic Places - Inventory Nomination Form. National Park Service . Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  6. Hastings, George E. (1926). The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. p. 160.
  7. Hastings, George E. (1926). The Life and Works of Francis Hopkinson. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. pp. 70–71.
  8. Williams Jr., Earl P. (Spring 1988). "The 'Fancy Work' of Francis Hopkinson: Did He Design the Stars and Stripes?". Prologue: Quarterly of the National Archives. 20 (1): 44–48.
  9. Williams Jr., Earl P. (June 14, 1996). "A Civil Servant Designed Our National Banner: The Unsung Legacy of Francis Hopkinson". The New Constellation (Newsletter of the National Flag Foundation). Special Edition #7: 5.
  10. "Bordentown tour". Archived from the original on December 10, 2007. Retrieved March 22, 2008.