Warwick lies midway between General Washington’s headquarters in New Windsor and Morristown, NJ. Our” Kings Highway “ was part of the pathway for Washington and his troops.
While the General stayed with his friend, Colonel Hawthorne , his troops were quartered at what is now the Sanfordville property because of the spring on the corner of Sanfordville Road and Route 94. They held races in Jockey Hollow - the Borderland Farm ( now Quiet Creek) just down the road.
Before Washington, the property was part of the Wawayanda Patent given out by George III to his friends, and that piece was owned by the DeKay family. A small cemetery still exists near route 94.
There ensued many a battle between NJ and NY as to the location of the state-line . At various times, parts of Warwick were in NJ.
As time passed, various generations owned the property. One of the owners, Hamp Willcox created a dairy farm on the property and back in the 1950’s , yours truly learned how to drive farm trucks and tractors there, along with Hamp’s son.
Shortly before his retirement, the property was sold to an engineering firm and lay fallow for years until purchased by the Warwick School District with the creation of the Sanfordville Elementary School. And most recently a solar farm appeared on the southern end.
So now we have young children learning about lockouts and lockdowns, getting to meet mounted police and swat teams a few years after creating the Circle Of Peace in tribute to 9/11.
And when school is not in session, my dog and I enjoy walking the cross country course.
A bit of history of the fields you pass when driving down South of Warwick.
Gerry Freisinger
Warwick