DRAFT: REVOLUTIONARY WARwick (Orange County, NY)
Signature of John Hathorn
House Photos & Restoration
House drawing from 1875 Beers Atlas of Orange County.
1903, from handwritten book A Visit For Elizabeth
Postcard circa 1910, owned by Pierson Ezra Sanford.
1949, owned by Wilfred & Dorothy Raynor
Just prior to restoration
1998, porch about to be reconstructed
Gable end showing initials of John & Elizabeth, and year, 1773. "I" is substituted for "J", because John as an educated man knew Latin; and Latin had no "J."
GEN. JOHN HATHORN HOUSE
The home of Gen. John and Elizabeth Hathorn at 21 Hathorn Road is Warwick's nationally significant structure from the birth of our nation. John Hathorn, Colonel of the 4th Orange County Regiment of Militia, also pursued a lifelong political and military career, and was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, serving on the First and Fourth United States Congresses. Hathorn rose in rank, becoming Major General of the Middle District of New York in 1793. In 1803, he was in command of nearly 9,000 troops.
The original stone structure was later enlarged by the Sanford family and maintained for nearly 100 years by the Raynors. In 2021 a major restoration and renovation was completed by Arek Kwapinski and Sylwia Kubasiak, who opened it that September as The Old Stone House Inn restaurant.
It is on the National Register of Historic Places, and much of the original farm's fields were preserved by the Town of Warwick's Open Space Preservation programs.
Learn more about General Hathorn, the men of his regiment, and the John & Elizabeth Hathorn historic site at: https://guides.rcls.org/hathornj/hathorn
BATTLE OF MINISINK
The Battle of Minisink on July 22nd, 1779 was only one of the many battles the men of Warwick were engaged in, but this disaster had a huge impact on the region.
That year George Washington allowed Gen. Pulaski to move his troops from their position guarding the Delaware frontier, leaving it undefended except for the poorly equipped and scattered local militias. Joseph Brant, a leader in the British Indian Department, seized the opportunity to attack with the goal of raiding for supplies and destroying settler colonist communities.
Brant was a highly educated Mohawk and British war leader who headed the volunteer unit sometimes called the "Painted Raiders. It was composed of Loyalists who dressed as Indians and Native American combatants. Many times they harassed and raided from the West and North, primarily along the Delaware River.
On this occasion, their raid resulted in a pitched battle with men of different militia units under Col. John Hathorn at Minisink Ford in Sullivan County. Forty eight of the militia were killed, including several Warwick men. After about four hours in blistering heat, the Americans ran out of ammunition and withdrew. The horror of the slaughter left an enduring trauma upon the participants and the entire area.
Two books have been written about the battle, So Many Brave Men by Hendrickson, Osborne, and Inners, and an older work by Vernon Leslie, The Battle of Minisink.
Read the battle report written by Hathorn and learn more here: https://guides.rcls.org/hathornj/battlemanuscript