The
New Jersey Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution was organized on
April 29, 1891.
The official NSDAR Insignia was adopted on May 26, 1891. The
golden wheel represents a spinning wheel, the staff represents flax, the blue
rim and the distaff carry the colors of the Society, and the stars represent the
original 13 colonies.
The NJDAR headquarters resides
at the Watson House, 151 Wescott Ave., Trenton, NJ, 08610-5721. The Isaac
Watson House was built in 1708. Isaac Watson was the son of Quakers who came to
this country from England in 1684. The furniture in the house today antedates
1790, and several pieces were made by New Jersey craftsmen. Many articles in the
house have been donated by New Jersey Daughters.
The New Jersey DAR sponsors one of the period rooms in Memorial
Continental Hall at NSDAR headquarters in Washington, D.C. The
New Jersey Room was installed prior to 1911 and is modeled on
ancient room from the City of London.
The Paneling and furniture for the
room were carved from oak timbers salvaged from the British ship HMS Augusta that
sank during the Battle of Red Bank on October 23, 1777.
The room also contains
portraits of the five New Jersey signers of the Declaration of Independence. Stained
glass windows contain illustrations depicting scenes from New Jersey at the time
of the American Revolution: the tea burning at Greenwich, the Indian King Hotel
at Haddonfield, the Engagement at Chestnut Neck, the Skirmish at Quinton Bridge,
the Battle of Red Bank, the Whitall House, Fort Mercer, the story of Molly Pitcher,
Old Tennent Church, the Old Well in Parsippany, Camp Middlebrook, the Battle of
Monmouth, Washington's headquarters in Morristown, the Battle of Trenton, the
Wallace House in Somerville, and the Battle of Princeton.
The NJDAR Library
is housed in the Special Collections Department of Rutgers University's Alexander
Library, 169 College Avenue, New Brunswick, NJ 08903.
Please click here for information about the library.