Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site

Significant dates

Knox Headquarters
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark

The Ellison House at Knox's Headquarter's State Historic Site in New Windsor, NY
Location	Vails Gate, NY
Nearest city	Newburgh
Coordinates	41°27′18″N 74°03′00″W / 41.45500°N 74.05000°W / 41.45500; -74.05000
Built	1755
Architect	William Bull
Architectural style	Georgian
NRHP reference No.	72000901
Added to NRHP	November 9, 1972^[1]
Designated NHL	November 28, 1972^[2]

Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site, in the town of New Windsor in Orange County, New York, consists of the Georgian house of the Ellison family, built in 1754 by immigrant William Bull^[3]^[4] of Hamptonburgh, NY, and the grounds around it. The site is located on Old Forge Hill Road, just south of Route 94 east of Vails Gate.

Although most closely associated with Henry Knox, who used it as his headquarters as the Revolutionary War drew to a close in the early 1780s, it was used as a general's headquarters throughout most of the war, by Nathanael Greene and Horatio Gates.

The site was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1972.^[2]^[5] While owned by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation the Ellison House is administered and operated by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, like many other state parks and historic sites in the mid and lower Hudson region.

Today, the house can be toured when the site is open. It is used to educate visitors about how 18th-century families such as the Ellisons actually lived. On holidays and special occasions staff dress in reproduction period clothing and give special events. Staff dressed as the 2nd Continental Artillery frequently demonstrate cannon use on the grounds during special events, as Knox was best known for his command of Continental artillery.

The house and its grounds were the setting and subject of the children's haunted-house novel Buried Treasure (1919), by the best-selling children's author Henry Everett McNeil. The book is illustrated with McNeil's own photographs (made circa 1911 or 1912) of the various buildings and bridge at the Knox site.

The Jane Colden Plant Sanctuary along some of the trails in the nearby woods memorializes America's first female botanist, who also resided in the area.

References

[edit]

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
^ ^a ^b "Knox Headquarters". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. September 11, 2007. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011.
^ Boyd Cole, Julie (2017). Sarah, An American Pioneer. Createspace. p. 137. ISBN 9781981483334.
^ E. M. Ruttenber, "Historic Homes in Orange County," Historical Papers XI, (Newburgh, NY: Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and the Highlands, 1904), 69
^ Charles W. Snell (May 9, 1972). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: General Henry Knox's Headquarters / Knox Headquarters (John Ellison House)" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 2 photos, exterior, from 1971. (429 KiB)

External links

[edit]

Media related to Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site at Wikimedia Commons

Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site (Official site)

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in New York
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Albany Allegany Bronx Broome Cattaraugus Cayuga Chautauqua Chemung Chenango Clinton Columbia Cortland Delaware Dutchess Erie Essex Franklin Fulton Genesee Greene Hamilton Herkimer Jefferson Kings (Brooklyn) Lewis Livingston Madison Monroe Montgomery Nassau New York (Manhattan) Niagara Oneida Onondaga Ontario Orange Orleans Oswego Otsego Putnam Queens Rensselaer Richmond (Staten Island) Rockland Saratoga Schenectady Schoharie Schuyler Seneca St. Lawrence Steuben Suffolk Sullivan Tioga Tompkins Ulster Warren Washington Wayne Westchester Northern Southern Wyoming Yates
Lists by city	Albany Buffalo New Rochelle New York City Bronx Brooklyn Queens Staten Island Manhattan Below 14th St. 14th–59th St. 59th–110th St. Above 110th St. Minor islands Niagara Falls Peekskill Poughkeepsie Rhinebeck Rochester Syracuse Yonkers
Other lists	Bridges and tunnels National Historic Landmarks New York City Outside New York City
Category List National Register of Historic Places Portal

v t e New York in the American Revolution
1765	Sons of Liberty First Liberty poles erected Stamp Act Congress
1770	Battle of Golden Hill
1775	Capture of Fort Ticonderoga Invasion of Canada
1776	New York and New Jersey campaign Battle of Long Island New York Prison Ships begin Submarine attack in New York Harbor Staten Island Peace Conference Landing at Kip's Bay Battle of Harlem Heights Great Fire of New York Execution of Nathan Hale Battle of Valcour Island Battle of Pell's Point Battle of White Plains Battle of Fort Washington
1777	Meigs Raid Saratoga campaign Siege of Fort Ticonderoga Battle of Fort Anne Siege of Fort Stanwix Battle of Oriskany Battle of Bennington Battle of Setauket Battle of Staten Island Battle of Freeman's Farm (1st Saratoga) Battle of Forts Clinton and Montgomery Battle of Bemis Heights (2nd Saratoga)
1778	Setauket Spy Ring launched Battle of Cobleskill West Point established Attack on German Flatts Raid on Unadilla and Onaquaga Carleton's Raid Cherry Valley massacre
1779	Battle of Stony Point Battle of Minisink Sullivan Expedition Battle of Newtown Boyd and Parker ambush
1780	Battle of Young's House First Purple Heart Arnold–André conspiracy exposed Battle of Klock's Field Battle of Fort St. George
1781	HMS Culloden runs aground at Montauk Washington calls off invasion of New York Battle of Fort Slongo Battle of Johnstown
1782	Washington's Headquarters at Newburgh Newburgh letter
1783	Newburgh Conspiracy British evacuate New York Washington's Farewell to His Officers

Protected areas of New York

Federal

National Historic Sites and Historical Parks	Eleanor Roosevelt Harriet Tubman Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt Martin Van Buren Sagamore Hill Saint Paul's Church Saratoga Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Women's Rights Kate Mullany House affiliated Thomas Cole affiliated
National Memorials	Federal Hall General Grant Hamilton Grange Statue of Liberty
National monuments	African Burial Ground Castle Clinton Fort Stanwix Governors Island Stonewall
National Trails	Appalachian Trail North Country Trail
National Seashores and Recreation Areas	Fire Island Gateway Upper Delaware
National Marine Sanctuaries	Lake Ontario
National Wildlife Refuges	Iroquois Long Island Complex Amagansett Conscience Point Elizabeth A. Morton Lido Beach Oyster Bay Sayville Seatuck Target Rock Wertheim Montezuma Shawangunk Grasslands Wallkill River
National Forests	Finger Lakes
Wilderness Areas	Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune

State parks

State historic sites

Preserves and sanctuaries

Public preserves	Albany Pine Bush Forest Preserve Adirondack Park Saint Regis Canoe Area Santanoni Preserve wilderness areas Catskill Park Hudson River Estuary Long Island Pine Barrens Reinstein Woods Rome Sand Plains Tahawus Vischer Ferry Welwyn
The Nature Conservacy	Accabonac Harbor Andy Warhol Visual Arts Arthur W. Butler Memorial Atlantic Double Dunes Bear Swamp Calverton Ponds Chaumont Barrens Clintonville Pine Barrens Coon Mountain Deer Lick Denton El Dorado Beach Eugene and Agnes Meyer Everton Falls Freund Gadway Sandstone Pavement Barrens Hannacroix Ravine Henry Morgenthau Indian Brook Assemblage Ironsides Island Kenrose Limestone Rise Lisha Kill Long Island Center for Conservation Long Pond Lordsland Lower Poultney River and Saddles Marrion Yarrow Mashomack Mianus River Gorge Mildred E. Grierson Memorial Moccasin Kill Montauk Mountain Moss Lake Mount Holly Nellie Hill Neversink O.D. von Engeln Otter Creek Pawling Peconic Estuary Big Woods Pine Neck Roger Perry Memorial Ruth Wales Schunemunk Mountain Shadmoor Silver Lake Bog Spring Pond Bog Stewart Lewis A. Swyer Thompson Pond and Stissing Mountain Uplands Farm West Branch Whitbeck Memorial Grove
Other preserves	Angle Fly Baxter Bergen-Byron Swamp Black Rock Forest Brandreth Park Cornell Botanic Gardens Ferncliff Forest Great Camp Sagamore James Lime Hollow Louis Calder Center Louis C. Clark Sanctuary Mohonk Peabody Plotter Kill Sam's Point Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest Teatown Lake Reservation Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center Turkey Mountain Turner Brook Wallkill Valley Rail Trail Woodlawn Zurich Bog

Other (lists)
National Historic Landmarks National Natural Landmarks Botanical gardens and arboretums Nature centers New York City parks POPS WWI New York state forests wild historic sites parks wildlife management areas Trails rail trails

See also

References

External links