Jacob Drake House

Built perhaps as early as 1754, when it was thought to have been the tavern established by Abraham Drake (1709-1759) on the 54-acres he had acquired three years earlier. His grandson, Jacob Drake (1732-1823), took over the tavern in 1756 and ran it until 1773 when he became a prominent Patriot and Colonel of the Morris County militia. According to Ledgewood Historic District's entry on the National Register of Historic Places, "Colonel Drake's house... may have encompassed the tavern... at 6-8 Emmans Road, just south of the old turnpike road". At his peak, Colonel Drake owned 950-acres here and the village of Ledgewood was originally known as Drakesville. However, by 1820 his finances were stretched and the tavern was put up for sale....