Henry Guest House

Henry Guest, a tanner, and this historic house played a small role in the story of the American Revolution. Guest hosted notable national figures such as Thomas Paine and John Adams in this home which was constructed in 1760. Meanwhile, evidence suggests, his home later served as the wartime headquarters for British troops when they occupied New Brunswick. The home stands today as one of New Brunswick's last surviving eighteenth-century colonial buildings. 

The house enjoys both factual and legendary ties to the Revolutionary War. Anecdotes that cannot be verified include stories of British troops firing at the Guest House because they confused the hides hanging to dry (to prep them for making leather) for Continental Army soldiers. Another story that seems difficult to prove is how it functioned as headquarters for Continental troops during the war. Also difficult to verify but more likely are claims that the building was used by the British as a headquarters during their occupation of New Brunswick in 1776 and 1777. The British army occupied the city and used existing structures, so reports that the Guest House was used to house officers seem plausible as does the use of the stone structure as a military headquarters. Henry Guest recorded war losses between December 1, 1776, and June 20, 1777, which coincides with the British occupation of New Brunswick. 

During the Revolutionary War, all of the Guest's sons served in the Continental Army. Captain Moses Guest, who later owned the house, earned particular distinction as the captor of Lieutenant Colonel John Graves Simcoe, a daring British raider, in 1779. Moses Guest also led the charge (it is believed) that liberated his father's house from British troops in 1777. The Guest family's correspondence shows them to have known and hosted Thomas Paine and John Adams at the house. One letter to Paine remarks on how Paine stayed at the Guest home to avoid contact with Dutch settlers who opposed his views on Christianity. Another letter in 1808  shows that John Adams thanked Henry Guest for a gift -- a staff - that Adams used frequently. The correspondence displays the level of affection common between friends during that era. 

However, despite the family's military achievements and noteworthy friendships, Henry and Moses Guest's tanning business collapsed following the Revolutionary War, resulting in severe financial hardships for the Henry Guest, Sr., and his son Moses. Fortunately, Henry Guest, Jr., possessed enough wealth to purchase the home in 1811, which allowed Henry, Sr., and Moses to remain in the house. Four years after that, in 1815, Henry Guest, Sr. passed away. So, the family put up the home for sale. Moses moved to another location briefly before heading to Ohio as pioneers. 

From 1815 to 1843, the home changed hands numerous times before finally ending up as the possession of Reverend John Proudfit, a well-known classical scholar and full professor at Rutgers. In the three years Dr. Proudfit and his family resided in the historic house (1843 - 1846), they made substantial additions to the Guest House. The home continued to be bought and sold until 1924 when the Elks Building Corporation purchased the home and lot and proposed to tear it down. However, a local librarian named Harold Brigham led a campaign to relocate the historic home to the Public Library grounds, approximately 300 feet south of its original location. (The new site stood on land that had initially been part of the two-acre lot owned by Henry Guest.) The Library cared for the home and funded its renovation project in 1942. Another renovation to update the house and repair the roof took place in 1992, and again in 2012.

De Angelo, Walter A. The History Buff's Guide to Middlesex County. Brunswick, NH: Middlesex County Board. Accessed July 20, 2020. http://www.middlesexcountynj.gov/

DiIonno, Mark. A Guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War Trail for Families and History Buffs. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2001.

Kiss, Miriam. "Nomination Form: The Henry Guest House." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. May 24, 1976. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2927569b-ae83-4bcf-b64b-c99c706359e3

United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service. "Crossroads of the American Revolution in New Jersey." The National Park Service, Northeast Region, Philadelphia Support Office. npshistory.com. August, 2002. http://www.npshistory.com/publications/srs/rev-crossroads-nj.pdf