Welcome back to National Parks and other public lands with T!
The Dey Mansion was owned by Theunis Dey, great grandson of Dutch settlers who had come to Preakness Valley in the 1600s. Theunis inherited the mansion in 1764, on 600 acres in what is now Wayne, NJ.
Theunis was a local politician. He and his wife raised ten children in the mansion. During the Revolutionary War, Theunis was a Colonel in the Bergen County Militia.
While serving in the militia, Theunis met George Washington and offered up the use of his house. Washington used the Dey Mansion as his headquarters for about three months on two separate occasions in 1780.
The Passaic County Parks Commission acquired the estate and opened it to the public in 1934. They completed restoration in 2016.
In December (pre-covid), I visited during the Colonial Christmas celebration. Volunteers decked the halls with boughs of holly and provided living history demonstrations.
Location: 199 Totowa Rd, Wayne, NJ 07470
Designation: National Register of Historic Places
Date designated or established: December 18, 1970
Date of my visit: 12/7/2019
