Like many more famous places, Greenwich was settled by parties fleeing religious persecution. Quakers, Presbyterians and Baptists bought lots in this manor town beginning in 1683, seeking refuge from the harsh religious climates of Old and New England.
Once it was designated as a port of entry for all ships traveling up the Delaware River, the town was destined to prosper. It also hosted a lesser-known "Tea Party " than Boston's, when young patriots disguised as Indians burned a load of tea from the brigatine Greyhound. As a result, many patriots of the day were proudly known as Greenwich Teaburners.
By 1800, Greenwich went from bustling commercialism to a 150-year period of dormancy , the result of land routes displacing river transportation. In the mid-20th century , though, Greenwich became significant for preserved colonial and pre-colonial homes . Virtually all the houses built along the tree-lined Greate Street in the 18th century still exist, including many outstanding Revolutionary-era homes. Standouts include the 1730 Gibbon House, a two-and-a-half-story patterned brick structure; the Richard Wood Store, an I-story frame building with garret and cellar built around 1796; and the 1728 Stone Tavern, built in a style similar to the Dutch Colonial houses in northern New Jersey.
Watson House
In 1774, a year after the Boston Tea Party, the citizens of Greenwich expressed their solidarity with the perpetrators of the act by staging their own rebellion and burning their tea. The house that farmer Phillip Dennis had built was already a decade old by that time, and when architect Bob Watson acquired it in 1979, the structure had aged any way but gracefully. Watson turned sleuth to uncover the home 's physical past, uncovering long-hidden features such as its beamed ceiling and the living room fireplace.
Twenty years later, Watson's restoration tasks continue and his perfectionism shows : the house is now considered to be one of the most authentically preserved in southern New Jersey. A lovingly restored example of colonial architecture, it stands to this day in silent witness to the passing of time--and to the promise of the future.
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