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Through the years, the Hopper house passed through succeeding generations of the family, until the Homestead Farm, as it came to be known, became New Venice in 1937, a restaurant noted for its excellent Italian cuisine. Later, the restaurant became Guido’s, another fine dining establishment and favorite gathering ground for local business people. Would the Hoppers ever have imagined what was in store—that their beloved Dutch colonial manor home would finally in 1982 have been restored to its original state as the Stony Hill Inn. The Stony Hill Inn is a testament to the care and detailed work that went into the original design. For John and Marie Hopper, constructing the original sandstone home was, indeed, a labor of love. It was a lavish, grand house, styled along the Georgian Classic influence, rarely seen in this part of the country. When completed, it contained 20 rooms with a fireplace in each, elaborate carved columns, and numerous slave quarters. The house became the showplace of the entire countryside and a central meeting ground for lavish neighborhood events. We hope you enjoy your time with us at the Stony Hill Inn, one of the few remaining Dutch homesteads in New Jersey. This site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Perhaps, as you dine, you may want to pause and reflect on this solitary landmark...a tribute to a time long ago, rich in its history, tradition, and elegance. The Stony Hill Inn |
ore than 300 years ago, John Hopper’s family settled on land granted to them by the Dutch Crown in 1667. The entire Hopper farm consisted of 400 acres purchased from Captain John Berry, a land speculator who bought 11,500 acres in 1669 from the Ashkinheshacky Indians. This land stretched on either side of Polifly Road, which became an important highway at that time. On the east side of the road, John Hopper’s first homestead, a typical 18th-century brown sandstone structure, was built. It was on this site that Hopper and his wife, Maria Terhune, built their second home from 1816 to 1818.