Old Dutch Vanderhoef House of Clifton, New Jersey

The Vanderhoef-Westervelt House in Clifton, Passaic County, New Jersey sits in Weasel Brook Park. I visited on June 6, 2026.

Jody and Angie standing at the door of the Vanderhoef House

The original part of this structure was supposedly built around 1720 by Gysbert Vanderhoef. The nearby brook powered a grist mill.

Plaque affixed to exterior wall to the left of the front door.
Inscription: About 1720
Gysbert Vanderhoef
built here this house and
the second saw and grist mill
in Passaic County
Claverack Cahpter, D.A.R.
Nov 6, 1940

The original structure was expanded and modified over the centuries. The interior, as viewed through the windows, looks completely modern. The inside is not open to the public, but in consolation, if you want to see a replication of the interior of an 18th century Dutch home, this is not the place.

My pictures never do justice to the subject, but I think you can see the reddish brownstone from the local quarries.

By 1720, as Gysbert was building, New Jersey had been newly formed by uniting East and West Jersey. The map below is from 1748, or decades after Gysbert built his tiny house. I placed the yellow dot in the area that I think the house is in. Today, Clifton is a city in Passaic County. When Gysbert lived in this house, this area was not known as Clifton or Passaic County.

Map of New Jersey circa 1748
I added the yellow dot to show the location of the Vanderhoef House on Weasel Brook
Map at David Rumsey dot com

In a book about Vanderhoofs by Wilson V Ledley (1913-1978), he places Guysbert Van Der Hoef (1692-1758) as a son of Jan Cornelise Van Der Hoeven. Jan was born about 1648 in Holland and immigrated about 1661 to New Amsterdam, New York with his mother, Geertje VanFulpen, and siblings. Jan was my 8th great grandfather. Guysbert/Gysbert was my 7th great granduncle.

Excerpt from the book
New Netherland Families. Vanderhoef Family. The First Five Generations.
Author- Wilson V Ledley.
You can view this book on the Internet Archive.

The Vanderhoofs relocated from New Amsterdam to Albany, New York, 150 miles north. This must have been an arduous journey in the 1600s. Some descendants then relocated south again to northern New Jersey/East Jersey in the late 1600s/early 1700s.

According to a book, History of Passaic and its Environs, Gysbert Vanderhoef received land from his father-in-law, John E Vreeland. The area was described as lot number 9 of Weasel Division. Gysbert conveyed the property to Gerret Gerritse on May 1, 1736. Where is this deed? New Jersey State Archives hosts a searchable database index, Early Land Records, 1650-1900s. I don't see a listing for Guysbert/Gysbert Vanderhoef and this property.

Where was Weasel Division in the early 1700s? Bergen County was east of the Hackensack River, but later encroached west, but not past the Passaic River. Acquackanonk was in Essex County. I think this was where the property was. Does anyone know of documentation and maps for this area and time period?

Excerpt from the book History of Passaic and Its Environs
mentioning Gysbert Vanderhoef and the Weasel area (now in Clifton)

To place a building on the National Register of Historic Places, an application and supporting documentation must be submitted to the National Park Service. The paperwork for the Vanderhoef House is online, though it is marked "Draft." Was this structure not accepted for inclusion on the Register?

How can we find these older land records for East Jersey and New Jersey?

A House Eighty Years Later

Among the pictures taken by my grandfather, Clifford Lutter (1915-1980), is this house. My aunt said it was in Nutley where Clifford's sister, Beryl lived after she married, but nobody remembered the address.

I revisited this project and located the modern-day house and address.

Beryl Lutter (1918-1988) married Harry Nanejian (1901-1986) in 1937 in Suffern, Rockland County, New York. I do not know why they traveled there to marry.

In the 1938 city directory for Nutley, New Jersey (collection at Ancestry.com), Harry and Beryl are living at 104 McKinley Street. This address, accessible via Google Street View, looks like the house in the photograph. The couple moved around in the years that followed, but those houses do not resemble the house in the photograph.

Old Dutch Farmhouse: Jacobus House of Cedar Grove

I toured the oldest house in my hometown of Cedar Grove, New Jersey.  The Jacobus House was built in the 1700s by Roeloff Jacobus.  The house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.  You will come across the surname Jacobus if you study local Cedar Grove history or people who lived in this area.  (You can see older pictures of the house here.)

The house was recently renovated and is for sale!  If you've been wanting to live in a house like your Dutch ancestors who settled in New Jersey and New York, this is your opportunity.

Jody at the Jacobus House
178 Grove Avenue, Cedar Grove, New Jersey

A living room, kitchen, and full bathroom comprise the first floor.  Notice the beams.  Remember my trip to Amsterdam and the pictures of the beams?  The Dutch built these homes to last.

Fireplace in the living room.
Electricity, heat, and air conditioning have been integrated over the years.

Hearth in the kitchen.

Modern area of the kitchen for the days you feel like cooking on the stove and not the hearth.

300 years of difference in the kitchen

Upstairs you will find three bedrooms and another full bath.

The basement walls:  21 inch thick sandstone blocks.