The General John and Elizabeth Hathorn House

Built in 1773, this was the home of General John Hathorn, a colonel of the 4th Orange County Militia during the Revolutionary War, and his wife Elizabeth Welling Hathorn. General Hathorn commanded troops at the Battle of Minisink and served in the New York State Senate and Legislature and the First and Fourth United States Congresses. He rose to Major General of the Middle District of NYS Militia after the War. His wife Elizabeth Welling assisted him with the family businesses and official correspondence, and she also raised their eleven children to adulthood. The Hathorn household, as did many well to do families in the region, included a few enslaved persons, who were emancipated in the early 1800s.

John Hathorn (pronounced Hay-thorn) arrived from the Philadelphia area to Warwick in about 1770. He worked initially as a surveyor and teacher and became active in supporting the cause of independence in the Revolutionary War. He was appointed as Colonel of the Orange County Militia in 1776, and he and his men participated in the early campaigns in New York as well as other major battles of the region. He and his men also helped guard the Ramapo Mountains and Sterling Forge, and guarded and responded to alarms about British-allied Native American and Loyalist raiding parties along the Delaware frontier.

Hathorn was one of the commissioners to determine the placement of the Great Chain across the Hudson at West Point, and his militiamen helped build the buildings and fortifications there. He served in the first New York State Legislature, the first and fourth United States Congresses, and held continual elected and civil positions. He was a commander of the disastrous Battle of Minisink, yet for the rest of his life was a military officer, and was continuously voted or appointed to public office, a trusted and beloved representative of the people.

Elizabeth Welling, daughter of Thomas Welling, married John Hathorn in January of 1772. During his long and busy career, he was frequently absent from home, and Elizabeth managed the household which included eleven children, as well as their servants and enslaved persons. Elizabeth often took the lead in managing business aspects of the farm and various business enterprises that they established. In addition to raising their eleven children to adulthood, she was educated and existing letters show she assisted her husband with official correspondence.

The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The deteriorated structure was rescued and renovated by Arek Kwapinski and Sylwia Kubasiak as the Old Stone House Inn, opening in 2021.

Gardner, Sue. John Hathorn's Revolutionary Legacy. Accessed June 8th, 2023. https://guides.rcls.org/hathornj/hathorn.

Gardner, Sue. The History of the John Hathorn House. Accessed June 8th, 2023. https://guides.rcls.org/hathornhouse.

The Congress of the United States. The Congress of the United States 1789-2005. Accessed June 8th, 2023. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-CDOC-108hdoc222/pdf/GPO-CDOC-108hdoc222-3.pdf.

Gardner, Sue. Pure Necessity: Revolution at Warwick. Warwick, NY. Wickham Thicket, 2019.