New Bridge Landing New Bridge was a prosperous mill hamlet , centered upon a bridge strategically placed at the narrows of the Hackensack River . In the American Revolution , New Bridge Landing was the site of a pivotal bridge crossing the Hackensack River , where General George Washington led his troops in retreat from British forces . The current Draw Bridge at New Bridge was built in 1888 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5 , 1989 . The area is now a New Jersey historic site in portions of New Milford , River Edge , Hackensack and Teaneck in Bergen County , New Jersey , United States . History . New Bridge was settled by the Bergen Dutch , an agricultural community whose language and culture blended contributions from Dutch , Angolan African , German , English , French , Scotch and Scandinavian settlers . At a place known originally as Aschatking ( where the river narrows ) , about ten miles above the head of Newark Bay , a Swedish land - clearer named Cornelius Mattyse acquired 420 acres at the juncture of Tantaqua ' s Creek ( Cole ' s Brook ) and the Hackensack River , in 1682 . This was called Tantaqua ' s Plain , where a Hackensack sachem of that name resided with his kinfolk . David Ackerman , residing in the village of Hackensack , purchased the land from Matheus Corneliuson , son of Cornelius Matheus of Hackinsack River , in 1695 . He devised that portion of this tract of land lying east of Kinderkamack Road to his son , Johannes Ackerman , who built a dwelling on the Steenrapie ( Kinderkamack ) Road at the time of his marriage to Jannetje Lozier in 1713 . A tidal gristmill was built on the Hackensack River . This mill got its power from an artificial pond : the high tide was trapped in the mouth of Cole ' s Brook by a dam with a special drop - gate , suspended from a horizontal timber . When the tides flowed out of the Hackensack River , the tidal millpond was slowly released through the waterwheel . Sloops pulled alongside the mill at New Bridge Landing . On March 9 , 1744 , a road was surveyed from Kinderkamack Road to the chosen spot on the banks of the Hackensack River where a " New Bridge " was to be erected ( forming was is now Main Street , River Edge ) . Jan and Annetje ( Ackerman ) Zabriskie purchased the Johannes Ackerman mill and farm in September 1745 , shortly after construction of the first draw - bridge at the narrows of the Hackensack River . This wooden span was called New Bridge to distinguish it from an older crossing several miles upstream . In 1752 , Jan Zabriskie built the oldest part of the Steuben House . The Zabriskies grew wealthy from increased trade brought on by the French and Indian War ( 1756 - 1763 ) . New Bridge Landing was the business center of the upper Hackensack Valley - the shopping mall of its day . Iron made in stone furnaces along the Ramapo Mountains was carried in ox - carts to New Bridge Landing where it was loaded onto boats for shipment to market . Flour and animal feed was shipped from the mill . All kinds of wares came in from boats returning from the city . This location had an added advantage : because of the wide Hackensack Meadowlands downstream , New Bridge remained the nearest river crossing to Newark Bay until 1790 . Overland traffic including farm wagons and stage coaches , going to and from New York City , crossed the river at this spot on their way into the interior parts of the country . The Great Retreat . After losses in the Battle of Brooklyn , General George Washington led his troops towards Manhattan , with the British in pursuit . On November 16 , 1776 , Fort Washington in Upper Manhattan fell to the British , and Washington evacuated Fort Lee on the other side the North River ( Hudson River ) . In the early morning hours of November 20 , 1776 , Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis led a British and Hessian army of about 2 , 500 soldiers across the Hudson to New Dock into New Jersey for an attack against Fort Lee , then defended by about 900 soldiers . Washington led his 2 , 000 troops in a retreat through present - day Fort Lee , Englewood and Teaneck across the Hackensack River at New Bridge . The hasty withdrawal of the American garrison across the Hackensack River at New Bridge preserved them from entrapment on the Bergen Neck , the narrow piece of land between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers . They continued westward , crossing the Passaic River on the Acquakanonk Bridge , which was dismantled . Washington continued his retreat through early December , passing through Princeton and Trenton on the way towards and across the Delaware River into Pennsylvania . According to tradition , Thomas Paine composed the first tract of " The American Crisis " - a series of essays intended to rally American resolve during the darkest hours of the war - at Newark using a drumhead for a desk and a campfire for illumination . Published on December 19 , 1776 , only six days before Washington ' s victory at Trenton reversed the declining fortunes of the Continental cause , Paine stirred hopes with his immortal refrain . Noted here is the section that refers to New Bridge : " Such was our situation and condition at Fort Lee on the morning of November 20 , when an officer arrived with information that the enemy with 200 boats had landed about seven miles above . Major General Green , who commanded the garrison , immediately ordered them under arms , and sent express to General Washington at the town of Hackensack , distant by way of the ferry six miles . " " Our first object was to secure the bridge over the Hackensack , which laid up the river between the enemy and us , about six miles from us , and three from them . General Washington arrived in about three quarters of an hour , and marched at the head of the troops towards the bridge , which place I expected we should have a brush for ; however , they did not choose to dispute it with us , and the greatest part of our troops went over the bridge , the rest over the ferry , except some which passed at a mill on a small creek , between the bridge and the ferry , and made their way through some marshy grounds up to the town of Hackensack , and there passed the river . We brought off as much baggage as the wagons could contain , the rest was lost . The simple object was to bring off the garrison and march them on till they could be strengthened by the Jersey and Pennsylvania militia , so as to be enabled to make a stand . We staid four days at Newark , collected our outposts with some of the Jersey militia , and marched out twice to meet the enemy , on being informed that they were advancing , though our numbers were greatly inferior to theirs . " The British failure to capture the American garrison at Fort Lee , and perhaps defeat the American rebellion , was a consequence of self - confident British officers not realizing , despite reminders from local Loyalists , that " New Bridge was the key to the peninsula between the Hackensack and the Hudson . " While a constant arena for conflict , the following significant Revolutionary War events are associated with New Bridge : • British troops under Major General Vaughan attacked the American rear guard on November 21 , 1776 and seize the New Bridge , which American engineers were dismantling . • British and Loyalist troops under command of Captain Patrick Fergusen attacked about 40 Bergen militiamen at New Bridge on May 18 , 1779 . • Major Henry Lee led American troops from New Bridge on August 18 , 1779 , to attack the British earthworks at Paulus Hook . • A force of Bergen Militia and Continental troops attacked 600 British troops and German auxiliaries at New Bridge on their retreat from Hackensack and Paramus on March 23 , 1780 , during the two hours it took for the British to repair and cross the New Bridge . • A body of 312 British , Loyalist and German infantry , attacked and overwhelmed an American outpost at New Bridge commanded by Lieutenant Bryson on April 15 , 1780 . • Eight British soldiers were killed , and several wounded , by friendly fire when British troops attempted to attack a body of Bergen Militia in the Zabriskie - Steuben House at New Bridge on May 30 , 1780 . • Brigadier General Anthony Wayne led American troops from New Bridge on a raid against the blockhouse at Bull ’ s Ferry on July 20 , 1780 . • General Washington made his headquarters in the Zabriskie - Steuben House during the Steenrapie encampment of the Continental Army , encompassing nearly 14 , 000 men , on September 4 – 20 , 1780 . Historic Homes . On December 23 , 1783 , in gratitude for his service to the Continental Army , the State of New Jersey presented use of a house , mill and the surrounding areas to Major - General Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben . The house had been confiscated from Jan Zabriskie , a Loyalist , in 1781 . This gift was one of many grants of land von Steuben received from several states in thanks for his efforts in training the Continental Army . This estate is considered to be the most valuable and is now known as the Steuben House . The Steuben House Commission was created in 1926 to purchase Baron Steuben ' s home at New Bridge . The State of New Jersey took possession of the historic mansion and of ground for $ 9 , 000 on June 27 , 1928 . The Steuben House was renovated and opened as a public museum in September 1939 displaying period artifacts belonging to the Bergen County Historical Society . The Steuben House , listed on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places , is under the jurisdiction of the Historic New Bridge Landing Park Commission . The Historic New Bridge Landing Park Commission was established by legislation ( P . L . 1995 , Chapter 260 , powers expanded by P . L . 2009 , Chapter 45 ) to coordinate and implement governmental and private development policies and other activities incidental to the preservation , maintenance , restoration and interpretation of the historic riverfront village surrounding New Bridge , so as to optimize its educational and recreational benefit to the public . Since this historic neighborhood spans the Hackensack River at the intersection of four municipalities ( namely , River Edge , New Milford , Teaneck , and Hackensack ) , the Commission provides an intercommunicative forum to inform and coordinate decisions made by diverse public and private entities having ownership of properties within the Commission ’ s jurisdiction . The Bergen County Historical Society , non - profit volunteer organization , is a member and lead force of the commission , is the largest landowner and volunteers provide all programming . The house is now the cornerstone of a historic site . Other threatened historic homes , including the Campbell - Christie House and the Demarest House Museum were moved from New Milford and the Westervelt - Thomas Barn , from Washington Township , have been relocated onto BCHS property for preservation . BCHS constructed a working out - kitchen . The April 2007 Nor ' easter caused significant damage to the Steuben home and the many historic artifacts housed there . New Bridge Landing Station . The New Bridge Landing station on the New Jersey Transist Pascack Valley Line was named in 2008 to honor the site and return the historical name to the area .