Sip Manor House
South east corner of Newkirk and Bergen Avenue
Presently at Five Cherry Lane, Westfield, New Jersey

Southeast corner of Newkirk and Bergen Avenue
Photo: P. Shalhoub

The Sip Manor House, built between 1664 and 1666, is presumed to be the house of Nicholas Varleth, one of the patentees of the property in the Old Bergen Township. It was apparently built soon after the English take over of New Netherland from the Dutch for the formation of the colony of New Jersey. It is argued to be the "oldest" house or building in New Jersey, gives evidence of renovations over the years, and was removed to Westfield, NJ, from its original site in Jersey City.

The house stood on a town lot that was granted by the Director-General of New Netherland, Peter Stuyvesant, to Nicholas Varleth and Balthazar Bayard on January 3, 1662. The grant was later confirmed by Governor Philip Carteret of New Jersey in August 1671. Varleth had arrived in New Netherlands in 1652 and was a prominent member the Court of Bergen and later the Council of Governor Carteret. After Varleth's death in 1675, his heir sold the house to Jan Adriaesen Sip in 1699. Sip too emigrated from Holland and possibly settled in Bergen prior to 1663. The Sip family members were active in the settlement of Old Bergen Township and donated part of their property to the construction of the first Dutch Reformed Church.

With its Dutch Colonial architecture, the Sip Manor House features a steep overhanging roof and the small dormer windows. The first story is of brick construction and the upper story and roof are shingled. Tunnel-like storage places in the bedrooms served as shelter for the children during Indian attacks. The garden on the Sip property was noted for the imported tulips from Holland, among other flowers, and giant willow trees.

Revolutionary War legends claim that the British general, Lord Charles Cornwallis, came to the area of Bergen Township in search of General George Washington in 1776. Cornwallis spent a night in the Sip household; he reportedly hanged three spies on the branches of a willow tree before he left the next day. The tree is said to be one that Stuyvesant sat under during a visit to the property. In 1824, General Marquis de Lafayette visited Bergen Township for Fourth of July celebrations. Lafayette planted two elm trees near the Sip Manor house and stopped at the home of former comrade Colonel Richard Varick at Prospect Hall and the Van Wagenen or "Apple Tree" House.

Richard Garret Sip was the last descendant to live in house; he put the house up for sale in 1924, hoping it would become an historic landmark. General William C. Heppenheimer was briefly the "nominal owner" and then it was temporarily occupied by the Michel and Moore realty firm. The widening of Bergen Avenue and renovations to the nearby commercial center of Journal Square, however, necessitated the moving of the house for it to be saved. But it was considered as too wide and too costly to be removed within the city to Lincoln (then West Side) Park as suggested.

In 1926, the Sip Manor House was torn down in stages by the Goldberg Wrecking Company, amidst secrecy to avoid local dispute. It had been purchased by Arthur H. Rule and was to be rebuilt for him in Westfield, under the supervision of New York architect Bernard Miller. The process took over three years. Miller studied photographs and paintings of the house as well as the landscaping of the original property. Beams were added to give support to the living room, a kitchen pantry was built, and the front door is now used as a back entrance. But the original brick and beam foundation were reused. Parts of the house that were lost or destroyed in the process, like the banister and hand rails for the stairs, were reproduced. Three-inch thick doors retain their original casements and sills, and the windows are in their original casements. Wooden pegs, rather than nails, were used to reinstall the flooring, and latches, rather than doorknobs, were used on the doors. The dormers, trellis work, windows, chimneys, and shutters have been changed or added.

A bronze tablet was placed on the Bankers' Building at the corner of Newark Street and Bergen Avenue to mark the site of the Sip Manor House. The dedication was conducted by Henry W. Runyon, president of the Jersey City Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. It reads: "Site of Sip Manor. Jan Ariaense Sip. Erected 1666. First Dutch House in Old Bergen. Sons of the American Revolution."

Present day Sip Avenue is named for Jan A. Sip who was the patriarch of one of the founding fathers of the colonial Town of Bergen and contributed to the development of the community.

References:

Grundy, J. Owen. "Earliest Chapters in Jersey City History Written at Old Sip Manor House." Jersey Journal 8 March 1968.
"Historic Sip House, Torn Down Here, Rebuilt as of Old, 20 Miles Away." Jersey Journal 20 August 1929.