Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
973-635-0674
54 Fairmount Avenue
Chatham, NJ 07928
Monday - Friday
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
973-635-0674
54 Fairmount Avenue
Chatham, NJ 07928
The Declaration of Independence
By issuing the Declaration of Independence, adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, the 13 American colonies severed their political connections to Great Britain. The Declaration summarized the colonists’ motivations for seeking independence. By declaring themselves an independent nation, the American colonists were able to confirm an official alliance with the Government of France and obtain French assistance in the war against Great Britain.
cHATHAM oVENS, nEW jERSEY
Painting by Connecticut Artist, David R. Wagner
In the summer of 1781, George Washington ordered the construction of bread ovens here in Chatham as part of a strategic ruse. The ovens were meant to signal that Continental troops were preparing to remain in the area for an attack on New York.
Instead, while the bread baked overnight, Washington quietly marched his troops out of town under cover of darkness—gaining a crucial advantage that led to the victory at Yorktown and, ultimately, the beginning of the end of the Revolutionary War. Today, you can read about this clever maneuver at the kiosk in Shepard Kollock Park.