New Brunswick Barracks - East Jersey Olde Towne

During the winters of 1756 and 1757, colonists were required to house British troops. Through petitions to the colonial assembly, citizens objected to the inconvenience and personal cost of housing troops. In many instances, the troops were ill, requiring more than just food and shelter. In 1756, the mayor, recorder and alderman of New Brunswick petitioned the General Assembly for relief of the "difficulties involved in quartering troops in their homes." In the winter of 1757 over six hundred sick troops were sent to live in private homes between Perth Amboy, Newark, and Elizabeth.

The General Assembly voted, in April 1758, to constructe five barracks. The Assembly appointed barracks masters for each location. Accomodating 300 soldiers and officers, the original barracks in Perth Amboy, Elizabeth, New Brunswick, and Burlington have all been demolished. However, the Old Barracks - Trenton have bee restored. The New Brunswick barracks (partially reconstructed here), stood on George Street and across Paterson Street.

From 1767 to May 1770, the 26th Regiment, known as the Cameronian, were quartered in New Brunswick.