I found ABANDONED LATE 1700's SHERIFF HOUSE! Huge property in woods of NJ

The last week of the winter I spent hiking in woods of Delaware Water Gap. I was lucky to explore and document some cool vandal free abandoned houses and you could see their photos in my Facebook group.
My wandering led me to discover a unique historic farm property. That lost in bogs abandoned house has been never filmed and I decided to tell you its long story.

The house is practically all that remains of the village of Brick House which was demolished to make a way for a bridge across the Delaware River after Second World War.

Documentary evidence shows the house was built in the early 1800s by either William Crawford or George Nelden, both of whom were landowners in those distant years.
In 1817, William Crawford and his wife May sold two parcels of farm land to George Nelden.

The property evidently survived the fire, however the damaged walls are still covered multiple layer of wallpaper. Linoleum floor applied over wood floor boards.

After Nelden died in 1836 the property passed to his sons.

The youngest son of George, John Holcombe Nelden graduated from Union College, New York. He worked at the farm for over 20 years.
The oldest son, George Holcombe received his early education in common school at Montague. Between 1829 and 1839, he carried on a general mercantile business and learnt legal studies in a law-office in New-York. In the beginning of 1840s, George ran a business associated with import of china, glass, and earthenware.

In 1846 he retuned to Sussex County, where with partnership with his brother, John, he carried on five years a general mercantile business, farming, lumbering. In 1849, George Nelden was elected sheriff of Sussex County, and held the office for usual term of three years.

The Nelden brothers owned the farm jointly until 1843. In that year George who was residing in New York City, sold his part of the property to his brother John. John Nelden and his wife Susan lived at the farmstead for another 17 years. In 1860 they sold the farm to George Y. Hornbeck and became a lumber merchant in Newton.
The Hornbeck family was one of the pioneer families of Sussex County.
This part of the house was built in 1860s, I think, under George Hornbeck ownership.

In 1903 George died and his surviving heirs sold the property to his son Joseph S. Hornbeck. Joseph's tenure was short-lived. He died intestate in 1907. His wife Emma H. Hornbeck continued to live in this house until her death. The property was inherited by her daughter Bertha E. Cole. Bertha Cole died in 1944 and the farmstead passed to her daughter Mabel E. Roberts as the only surviving heir. Believe, Mabel may have rented out the house between 1944 and 1968. In 1968, she sold the house to the United States Government to make a way for new dam.

The house has remained abandoned since the early 1970s. In Historical Architectural Survey of Delaware Water Gap this place is marked as the Nelden-Hornbeck Farm (formerly the Roberts Farm).

00:00 Introduction to the history of the abandoned house
03:40 House exploration
10:32 2nd floor, creepy room, attic
17:05 Basement, conclusion

Historical links for your own research:
History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey (p. 260)
https://archive.org/details/historyof...

Historical Architectural Survey NJ Delaware Water Gap National Recreational Area, 1975
https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/tr/pdf/ADA1...

Draft Historic Buildings Strategy, 2021
https://npshistory.com/publications/d...

Sheriff's Office History, Sussex County, NJ
https://www.sussexcountysheriff.com/s...

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I search and explore alone ghost towns, historic, abandoned, haunted places in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. My explorations are based on local creepy legends and old maps research and aimed to discover something new in urban exploring.
I found ABANDONED LATE 1700's SHERIFF HOUSE! Huge forgotten property in woods of New Jersey.

Please be respectful to ghost towns, haunted and abandoned houses! No trash and graffiti!

Music credit provided by:
CO.AG Music - Haunted;
Jon Bjork - Defending the Keep & Slow Revolt;
Farrell Wooten - Who's in the Basement;
John B. Lund - Magical Dream Dust;
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