John Hart, a colonial New Jersey farmer and politician, served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence. In 1761, he was elected to the New Jersey Assembly, where he was annually reelected until the assembly dissolved in 1771. Hart was appointed to the local Committee of Safety, the Committee of Correspondence, and a judge to the Court of Common Pleas in 1775. The following year, he was elected to the newly formed Provincial Congress of New Jersey and sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress. During the war, Hart's property was looted, but he continued to serve in public office, including as Speaker of the New Jersey assembly and on the Committee of Safety. In 1778, he even invited the American army to encamp on his farm, and Washington held his famous Council of War at the nearby Hunt House. Despite hosting 12,000 troops on his fields during the growing season, Hart remained active in politics until his death at age 66 in 1779.
