FY 21 Preserve New Jersey Recommended Project Profiles
- Historic Site Managements Grants
Palisades Interstate ParkApplicant: Palisades Parks Conservancy
Location: Fort Lee Borough, Bergen County
Recommended Award: $50,000
Palisades Interstate Park is a National Historic Landmark and expansive park system which extends along the West bank of the Hudson River from Northern New Jersey into Southern New York. Fort Lee Historic Park (FLHP), at the base of the George Washington Bridge, is the gateway to the Palisades Interstate Park System and represents the nucleus of the earliest portion of the Park. The Fort Lee Historic Park Visitor Center was built in 1974 in preparation for the bicentennial. Built in a late modern style with four turrets, vertical wood siding, and a slate patio in front of a low-slung entranceway, the building evokes the form and cladding of a fortress.
The Trust grant will help fund a conditions assessment and National Register nomination for the Fort Lee Historic Park Visitor Center and a cultural landscape assessment for Fort Lee Historic Park, part of the larger Palisades Interstate Park system.
Radburn
Applicant: The Radburn Association
Location: Fair Lawn Borough, Bergen County
Recommended Award: $42,255
Radburn, a planned community dubbed “the town for the motor age,” was established by the City Housing Corporation in 1928. The community was designed by planners and architects Clarence Stein and Henry Wright, as well as Marjorie Sewell Cautley, one of the country’s first female landscape architects. Radburn’s design was based on the tenets of Europe’s garden city movement, which emphasized green space and ease of access to transit, industry and commerce. Its plan is one of the first to incorporate cul-de-sacs in the country.
The Trust grant will help fund the completion of an historic landscape master plan.
Brinckerhoff Carriage
Applicant: Woman’s Club of Englewood
Location: Englewood City, Bergen County
Recommended Award: $42,000
The Brinckerhoff Carriage House was constructed circa 1910 and served as an outbuilding at the estate of Elbert A. Brinckerhoff, Englewood’s first mayor (the estate was demolished several decades ago). The building was later used as a music conservatory until 1936 when it was purchased by the Woman’s Club of Englewood (WCE), a non-profit organization founded in 1895. The WCE held their first meeting at the Carriage House in 1937. The WCE uses the building as their meeting space but also offers it as rental space for weddings, parties, lectures and other events.
The Trust grant will help fund the drafting of a Preservation Plan and a National Register nomination for the Brinckerhoff Carriage House.
Newton Friends Meetinghouse
Applicant: Newton Monthly Meeting
Location: Camden City, Camden County
Recommended Award: $21,390
The meeting house, the oldest extant religious building in Camden, was constructed in 1828 on land donated by Joseph Cooper, a prominent businessman, city councilman and Quaker. It was constructed to house the Hicksite Monthly meeting after the Quakers split into the Orthodox and Hicksite groups. The meeting house was enlarged in 1885 under the design of Philadelphia architect Wilson Eyre and incorporates restrained Victorian design influences, including a vestibule with curved wall, corbelled chimneys, decorative tie rods, and a relatively simple Tudor-style fireplace.
The Trust grant will help fund a Preservation Plan for Newton Friends Meetinghouse.
Siloam Cemetery Historic District
Applicant: Siloam Cemetery Association
Location: Vineland City, Cumberland County
Recommended Award: $30,000
Siloam Cemetery was established in 1864 by Charles Landis, the founder of Vineland, just three years after he created the town itself. Landis is buried there, along with many of the town’s influential citizens. Along with its notable residents, the cemetery also features several historic structures. This includes the 1885 receiving vault, a small sandstone mausoleum intended for the storage of bodies during the winter until the ground thawed enough for graves to be dug; the double-arched Gothic granite entrance gateway with iron gates built in 1900; the iron and granite fence added in 1902; and the non-denominational Gothic-revival granite chapel built in 1918.
The Trust grant will help fund the creation of a Preservation Plan to guide future work on the historic buildings within Siloam Cemetery.
Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society
Applicant: Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society
Location: Vineland City, Cumberland County
Recommended Award: $20,790
The Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society was formed in 1864, just three years after the founding of Vineland. After decades of expanding membership, the Society commissioned New Jersey’s first purpose-built historical society museum designed by Philadelphia architect George E. Savage. The two-story brick building with three-story stack room was completed in 1910. A two-story addition was constructed in 1931 along the north elevation and in 1933, a vault with brick veneer was added to the northwest corner. The final construction occurred in 1964, when a three-story addition was built along the west elevation.
The Trust grant will help fund the creation of a Preservation Plan to guide future work at the Vineland Historical and Antiquarian Society Building.
Israel Crane House
Applicant: Montclair History Center
Location: Montclair Township, Essex County
Recommended Award: $50,000
Built in 1796, the Israel Crane House is an excellent example of a Greek revival-style residence. The house remained within the Crane family until 1920 when it became home to the YWCA of Montclair-North Essex, exclusively serving African American women. A group of concerned citizens mobilized to save the house and later incorporated as the Montclair Historical Society. The house serves as a historic house museum housing a collection of decorative arts reflecting a period of significance from 1796 to 1845 and interprets the stories of enslaved people who worked for the Cranes and women who lived, worked, and recreated at the YWCA.
The trust grant will help fund an ADA Accessibility Plan for the Montclair History Center campus.
Solitude House
Applicant: Borough of High Bridge
Location: High Bridge Borough, Hunterdon County
Recommended Award: $25,500
Solitude House and its associated outbuildings are primarily associated with the Taylor Wharton Company, the successor firm to the Allen & Turner ironworks; however, portions of the building may predate this association. The ironworks and the subsequent steelworks were significant in the industrial development of New Jersey. The house was likely expanded between 1740 and 1776 and was significantly remodeled in the Italian Villa style during the middle of the nineteenth century, which coincided with a major expansion of the Taylor-Wharton facility.
The Trust grant will help fund the preparation of a National Register nomination, preparation of a strategic plan, and the preparation of a maintenance plan for the property.
William Trent House
Applicant: Trent House Association
Location: Trenton City, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $42,360
The William Trent House is an excellent example of an early Georgian house. The current house was built in 1719 as the summer home of William Trent, a wealthy shipping merchant based in Philadelphia, and it is where he established “Trent’s Town” which would later become Trenton. Built of red brick with white trim, the house is two stories tall, with arched windows, doorways with arched transoms, and a belt course at the second story level. It retains the original stairway and floorboards, nine fireplaces and cellar kitchen hearth all in good condition. The site is listed individually on the New Jersey and National Registers and is also a designated National Historic Landmark.
The Trust grant will help fund a continued archeological investigation on the grounds of the William Trent House.
Pleasant Valley Historic District
Applicant: Mercer County Park Commission
Location: Hopewell Township, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $22,500
The Major Henry Phillips House is a contributing resource to the Pleasant Valley Historic District listed on the New Jersey and National Registers. It is also a designated historic landmark of Hopewell Township. The period of significance for Pleasant Valley Historic District is 1735 to 1925. This contributing resource is notable for its architecture and historical association with the American Revolutionary War. In 1732, Joseph Phillips, a house carpenter of Maidenhead (Lawrenceville), New Jersey purchased 125 acres of land in Hopewell Township. In 1737, blacksmith John Phillips of Hopewell purchased the same 125 acres from Joseph Phillips (likely his brother). John Phillips died in1789 leaving the farm to his son, (Major) Henry Phillips, who enlarged the land holdings.
The Trust grant will help fund a Historic Structure Report for the Major Henry Phillips House, Howell Living History Farm, Pleasant Valley Historic District.
Mercer Cemetery
Applicant: City of Trenton
Location: Trenton City, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $50,000
Located in downtown Trenton, Mercer Cemetery is significant for its connection with local history and its embodiment of 19th century urban cemetery ideals including highly decorative monuments and its use as a greenspace. It has a unique legacy as the first non-secular cemetery in New Jersey. Organized in 1843 from parcels of farmland on the edge of town, the Cemetery was popular for many of Trenton’s important families and business leaders until the end of the century. Over 4000 people, including 160 veterans and countless prominent Trenton citizens, are buried here. The cemetery features a variety of high-style monuments and simple gravestones with motifs and sculptural forms prevalent in the Victorian era including weeping willows, flora, hands, urns, funerary cloth, and masonic symbols. They also showcase a wide diversity of headstone shapes and epitaphs, including several large and impressive monuments featuring the skilled work of both local and Philadelphia based carvers.
The Trust grant will help fund a Preservation Plan to establish current conditions and to guide future work at Mercer Cemetery.
First Presbyterian Church
Applicant: First Presbyterian Church of Trenton
Location: Trenton City, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $44,482
The First Presbyterian Church is the third church at this location and was built in 1839, though its congregation was established in Hopewell (now Ewing) in 1712. In 1839, the present church was constructed at the center of the lot in order to maximize space for the growing congregation. The surrounding area served as the cemetery. Folklore relating to a Hessian encampment at the church during the American Revolution has not been verified by primary sources, but Hessian Colonel Johann Rall, killed at the First Battle of Trenton in December 1777, is buried in the cemetery alongside a number of Revolutionary War veterans.
The Trust grant will help fund a conditions assessment and site preservation plan for the First Presbyterian cemetery.
Ensley-Mount-Buckalew House
Applicant: Borough of Jamesburg
Location: Jamesburg Borough, Middlesex County
Recommended Award: $48,750
The Ensley-Mount-Buckalew Mansion is located on Lake Manalapan, an 18th century millpond, and associated with James Buckalew, a prominent New Jersey businessman credited with the development of Jamesburg in the 19th century. Buckalew was a pioneer in the cultivation of cranberries, transportation, and banking. He also contributed to many local philanthropic efforts, including the brick schoolhouse that would become the Jamesburg Public School. The rear-ell is estimated to have been built in the late 18th century. The street-facing, side-gabled block may have been constructed in two phases, with evidence suggesting a circa 1800 Federal wing was expanded after 1832, when Buckalew purchased the property. The third story was added and the house remodeled in the Italianate style by Buckalew’s wife, Margaret, circa 1870.
The Trust grant will help fund a conditions survey, structural assessment, and construction documents for the Buckalew House and outbuildings.
Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District
Applicant: Borough of Metuchen
Location: Metuchen Borough, Middlesex County
Recommended Award: $15,000
Middlesex Avenue-Woodwild Park Historic District is significant for its association with the development of Metuchen in the late 19th and early 20th century. It was during this time that Metuchen, a booming suburban railroad town with easy access to New York City, attracted business, artistic and literary persons and became known as the "Brainy Borough." The district is also listed for its collection of Italianate, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Craftsman and Tudor Revival style residences.
The Trust grant will help fund the development of a Historic Preservation Ordinance for the Borough of Metuchen.
Seabright Lawn Tennis and Cricket Club
Applicant: SLTCC Landmark Friends, Inc.
Location: Rumson Borough, Monmouth County
Recommended Award: $30,788
The Seabright Lawn, Tennis and Cricket Club was built in 1886, designed by the architectural firm of Renwick, Russell and Aspinwall in the ‘shingle style’, prevalent along the Jersey shore at the time. It is one of the oldest lawn tennis clubs in the United States and one of the oldest standing structures in Rumson. While it is a private club, it has been an important part of the community, hosting many local events, and historically also incorporated a summer theater. As part of its tennis history, it has hosted numerous National tennis tournaments and boasts many influential individuals having played in their tournaments. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992 and continues to be used as an athletic club in the manner for which it was built.
The Trust grant will help fund a more in depth documentation of the existing structural conditions and prepare contract documents addressing structural deficiencies from foundation to roof, removal of the existing five layers of roofing and installation of a new roof, and addressing any electrical deficiencies and any related repairs to the porches, siding, trim and interior finishes.
Madison Public Library and the James Building
Applicant: Museum of Early Trades and Crafts
Location: Madison Borough, Morris County
Recommended Award: $50,000
The Madison Public Library building was designed by Boston architects Brigham & Adden and constructed between 1899 and 1900. Known then as the James Public Library, the building is a strong example of Richardsonian Romanesque Revival architecture featuring round arches, groin vaults, narrow windows, carved capitals, and a cruciform floor plan. The building’s rough-hewn granite and limestone were sourced from the same Connecticut quarry that was used to build the Brooklyn Bridge and the New York Public Library. The exterior also prominently showcases the clock tower and an 1899 Seth Thomas clock. Other notable building features include the stained-glass windows that contain literary quotes and decorative motifs. The highly decorative interior has elaborate fireplaces and detailed woodwork as well as stenciled and painted brick walls. The building also contains state of the art electric chandeliers by Cassidy & Son of New York, unique for the time, as the library was one of the first commercial buildings in Madison to have electricity when it opened its doors on Memorial Day in 1900.
The Trust grant will help fund the creation of a feasibility study and construction documents to guide the creation of a visible collections storage facility in the basement level of the Madison Public Library building, known now as the Museum of Early Trades and Crafts.
Twin Oaks (Peter H.B. Frelinghuysen Residence)
Applicant: Morris Museum
Location: Morristown Town, Morris County
Recommended Award: $30,180
The house was designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White, attributed to architect William Symmes Richardson who later became a partner at the firm. It was built as the primary residence for the prominent Frelinghuysen Family in the Classical Revival style. In 1913 after three years of construction, the house was named “Twin Oaks” after the large oak trees that stood outside the home’s grand entrance. The mansion was expanded in 1925 to accommodate their growing family and hired the same firm to enlarge the north wing of the home. The home was part of a 150 acre cattle farm. The Morris Museum acquired the property in 1964 from the Frelinghuysen Foundation.
The Trust grant will help fund an optimization study of its aging HVAC systems, particularly as they impact Twin Oaks.
Ayres’ Farm (Knuth Farm)
Applicant: Ayres-Knuth Farm Foundation, Inc.
Location: Denville Township, Morris County
Recommended Award: $29,738
Ayres' Farm, known locally as Ayres-Knuth Farm, is significant for its associations with the history of agriculture in New Jersey. Specifically, the site represents the shifts from early 19th century subsistence farming, the impacts of transportation on agriculture in the mid-to-late 19th century, and the early 20th century transition to family-run truck farming. It is considered one of the last intact farm complexes in Morris County and includes the main farmhouse, tenant house, outhouse, smoke house, two chicken coops, a garage, a barn, and carriage house/barn.
The Trust grant will help fund construction and contract documents for rehabilitation of the garage at Ayres/Knuth Farmstead.
Phoenix House
Applicant: Borough of Mendham
Location: Mendham Borough, Morris County
Recommended Award: $12,000
The Phoenix House was built in 1810 (HABS estimates the date of construction to be slightly earlier) potentially as a women’s seminary. The building was soon purchased in 1820 by William Phoenix who operated the building as an inn. The Greek Revival portico was added circa 1840 to entice travelers passing through Mendham. The building later became an antique store until it was purchased by the borough in 1938. The Phoenix House has operated as Mendham Borough Hall since that time.
The Trust grant will help fund the preparation of design and contract documents to address structural deficiencies and exterior work.
Great Falls Historic District – S.U.M. Historic District
Applicant: City of Paterson
Location: Paterson City, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $50,000
The Allied Textile Printing Site (ATP) contributes to the Great Falls of Paterson/Society for Useful Manufacturers National Historic Landmark Historic District. The ATP Site falls within Great Falls National Historical Park. The period of significance for the ATP Site extends from 1793 through 1945. The 6.5-acre site contains the remains of numerous important mill buildings and power system components. Many of these mills were critical to Paterson’s development of cotton manufacture, sail cloth production, silk spinning and weaving and integrating dyeing and finishing, among other manufacturing enterprises such as the Colt Gun Mill.
The Trust grant will help fund the preparation of an adaptive reuse plan for the former Allied Textile Printing site.
Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
Applicant: Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum / Sourland Conservancy
Location: Montgomery Township, Somerset County
Recommended Award: $50,000
The African Methodist Episcopal Church grew out of the Free African Society (FAS), which Richard Allen, Absalom Jones, and others established in Philadelphia in 1787. Elmer Hight, a local builder, constructed the Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church in 1899-1902 in Montgomery Township, Somerset Count. The church’s period of significance is 1899-1958. Its importance derives from its architecture and historical associations. The church is a small, modest, one-room, rural Black church. It is noteworthy for its material integrity, including interior and exterior finishes, reflecting a very modest, vernacular interpretation of Black church architecture. Mount Zion AME Church represents the evolution of African American heritage in the Sourland region of central New Jersey.
The Trust grant will help fund the prepare a Site Master Plan for the future The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum & Education Center.
Six Mile Run Historic District
Applicant: NJ State Park Service
Location: Franklin Township, Somerset County
Recommended Award: $23,531
The nine farmsteads are located within the Six Mile Run Historic District. The Historic District lies within the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park’s Six Mile Run Reservoir Site. The over 3,000 acres comprising the Reservoir site was acquired by the State during 1960s and 1970s. In 1990 the plans for the reservoir were abandoned and the land was transferred to the State’s Division of Parks and Forestry to be managed as open space and parkland. The buildings comprising this project date from the eighteenth century and throughout the nineteenth century. The Six Mile Run Historic District embodies Dutch settlement and agricultural development. Both the Peter and Jacob Wycoff farmstead and the Polhemus farmstead contain Dutch barns and other farm out buildings. Some have been altered over time to reflect changing agricultural practices.
The Trust grant will help fund a condition assessment of nine historic farmstead complexes. The proposed project will also provide prioritized repair recommendations and inform future reuse evaluation of the properties.
Plainfield Masonic Temple
Applicant: Jerusalem Lodge No. 26F & AM
Location: Plainfield Township, Union County
Recommended Award: $45,000
The Plainfield Masonic Temple, also known as Jerusalem Lodge No. 26, was built in 1929 and designed by F.B. & A. Ware of New York City. The building is four stories, with the first story containing multiple retail establishments, offices and an auditorium on the second floor, and elaborate, double-height Lodge rooms on the third and fourth floors. The resource retains a high degree of architectural integrity and is eligible for listing on the New Jersey and National Registers under criterion C as an outstanding example of the Neoclassical Revival style.
The Trust grant will help fund the design development for interior rehabilitation of the Plainfield Masonic Temple, National Register nomination and development of a cyclical maintenance plan.
- Historic Site Managements Grants for Heritage Tourism
Camden City HallApplicant: City of Camden
Location: Camden City, Camden County
Recommended Award: $50,000
Located at 520 Market Street, Camden City Hall is an important civic landmark built in a restrained Art Deco style. As the tallest building in the city, this government hub is built of light gray granite and has a six-story high base and a 371-foot tall, 18 floor slender tower at the center of the building. Construction of City Hall Camden began in 1929 and was completed in 1931. It was designed by Camden architects Alfred Green (1895 to 1978) and Byron Edwards (1895 to 1968). Their firm, Green and Edwards, began in 1924 and built other notable New Jersey and Camden buildings including Chalcar Apartments at 218-222 Cooper Street (within the Cooper Street Historic District) and the Cape May County Courthouse and Jail, among others.
The Trust grant will help fund the purchase and installation of an interactive, heritage tourism kiosk in Camden City Hall; the development of the software and content for the kiosk; and the development of a website that mirrors the content of the kiosk.
Queen’s Campus
Applicant: Rutgers University
Location: New Brunswick City, Middlesex County
Recommended Award: $22,275
Queen’s College was established in 1766, making it the eighth oldest institution of higher learning in the United States, although the College lacked a permanent location during the American Revolution and thereafter. In 1807 the trustees acquired a five-acre site which had been occupied by Hessian troops during the Revolutionary War, as well as an additional acre, forming the Queen’s College campus. The campus began with the construction of Old Queens, designed by John McComb as the original multipurpose building for the College. The federal style building features pedimented gables with bullseye windows on all four sides, and a wooden cupola in the center. The corner stone was laid in 1809. When first occupied in 1811, Old Queens housed all the functions of Queen’s College.
The development of the campus throughout the 19th century on that site illustrates the growing presence of Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
The Trust grant will help fund the design, fabrication, and installation of six signs for improved interpretation and wayfinding of the Queens Campus.
Grover House
Applicant: Navesink Maritime Heritage Association
Location: Middletown Township, Monmouth County
Recommended Award: $22,291
Grover House was constructed in 1750 and remained in the Grover family for seven generations, until the death of its last member in 1983. The house is one of four extant Dutch framed houses in Monmouth County and serves as an excellent example of other regional vernacular building practices. Grover House is located in Middletown, one of the oldest settled communities in the state. The house serves as the headquarters for the Naveisnk Maritime Heritage Association, the only historical society in Monmouth County dedicated to promoting local maritime heritage.
The Trust grant will help fund the design and installation of interpretive signage; marketing materials; social media training, and the creation of a new educational program.
Dey Mansion
Applicant: County of Passaic
Location: Wayne Township, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $19,443
Dey Mansion is one of Passaic County’s most notable historic sites. Built in 1750 for Theunis and Hester Dey, this masonry house features high-style Georgian elements and was used by George Washington as his headquarters on two occasions in 1780. The proposed project will include several additional historic resources significant for their Revolutionary era associations. Among these are National Historic Landmarks (the Great Falls National Historic Park in Paterson and Ringwood Manor in Ringwood).
The Trust grant will help fund the development of a Passaic County-focused American Revolution narrative to aid in planning for the semiquincentennial.
- Capital Level I Grants
Absecon LighthouseApplicant: NJ State Park Service / Inlet Public Private Association, Inc. d.b.a. Absecon Lighthouse
Location: Atlantic City, Atlantic County
Recommended Award: $88,560
Construction of the Absecon Lighthouse began under the direction of Major Hartman Bache of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lieutenant (later General) George Meade replaced Bache and oversaw the completion of the structure. The first lighting occurred on January 15, 1857. The tower rises to a height of 171 feet. It is the tallest lighthouse in New Jersey and the oldest structure in Atlantic City. The United States decommissioned the light in 1933. The Inlet Public/Private Association (IPPA) was formed in 1988 and officially adopted the Absecon Lighthouse as its logo and in 1993 the IPPA began planning for the lighthouse’s restoration. In 1996 the IPPA signed a long-term lease from the State of New Jersey to operate the lighthouse as a historic site.
The Trust grant will help fund materials testing and investigative probes, in preparation for interior and exterior restoration.
White Hill Mansion
Applicant: Borough of Fieldsboro
Location: Fieldsboro Borough, Burlington County
Recommended Award: $24,000
White Hill Mansion, located along the Delaware River, possesses local significance for its role as a Hessian headquarters during Revolutionary War engagements in December, 1776. The property also possesses local significance for archeological deposits that may yield important insights into prehistory, as well as eighteenth and early nineteenth century life at a New Jersey riverfront farmstead. The original Georgian-style house, with Flemish bond brick façades, was expanded with a brick addition in the nineteenth century and later remodeled in a Queen Anne/Shingle style with the addition of shingle-clad bays, projecting additions and dormers, iron cresting, and vernacular Gothic details. The period of significance for the property extends from approximately 1721, the date of construction of the first section of the Field Mansion, until 1810, when the last member of the Field family left the property.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior restoration of White Hill Mansion to close any openings on the building’s façade and create a water-tight exterior envelope.
Emlen Physick Estate
Applicant: The Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts/Cape May MAC
Location: Cape May City, Cape May County
Recommended Award: $81,620
The Emlen Physick Estate is an outstanding example of Victorian Stick-style architecture. Constructed in 1879, the building is attributed to prominent Philadelphia architect Frank Furness. The building’s architectural character, as defined by its ornate inverted chimneys, its arcaded porch, its dormers, and its combined roof forms is representative of the Stick Style. The house is the only Furness-designed domestic commission open to the public. When the building and its eight outbuildings were threatened with demolition in the 1960s, a local group of concerned citizens formed the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts (now Cape May MAC) joined to save the resource. The city of Cape May purchased the estate in 1970 and MAC has leased and maintained it since that time.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior rehabilitation, including roof repairs, of the eight outbuildings at the Emlen Physick Estate, plus repairs to masonry arch chimney supports in the basement of the main house.
Llewellyn Park Historic District
Applicant: Llewellyn Park Preservation Foundation, Inc. / Committee of Managers of Llewellyn Park
Location: West Orange Township, Essex County
Recommended Award: $150,000
The Llewellyn Park Gatehouse, also known as “Willow Lodge” or the “Gate Lodge,” was built in 1857 and designed by Alexander Jackson Davis, one of the foremost architectural practitioners and promoters of the Picturesque Movement. The Gatehouse features a two-story, irregular plan with random-laid, rough-faced stone, a connecting porch, watchtower, and a mid-twentieth century addition. It survives as one of the most important monuments of romantic architecture and landscape design, and as a prime example of Davis’ picturesque response to the interaction between buildings and landscapes. The materials used in the exterior of the Gatehouse – sandstone, bluestone, log rafters, and cedar shingles – are common features in A.J. Davis’ architectural designs. Moreover, the rough-faced design of the stone exterior and the natural wood detailing of the Gatehouse contribute to the “dialogue” between the built and the natural landscape, which was laid out by the Park’s founder, Llewellyn Haskell.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior repairs to the Gatehouse to create a watertight exterior envelope. Work includes wood shingle roof repairs, repair/replacement of damaged/missing wood trim elements, repointing, and repair/replacement of caulk at connection points between wood and masonry. The scope also includes the recently completed conditions assessment as match expended.
Speedwell Village
Applicant: Morris County Park Commission
Location: Morristown Town, Morris County
Recommended Award: $115,000
Speedwell Village is the location of entrepreneur Stephen Vail’s early 19th century estate and famed ironworks, which helped to establish Morris County as a leader in the iron industry. It was here in 1818 that the engine, paddle wheel and assorted machinery for the first ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean using a steam engine were manufactured. The factory was built circa 1829 and expanded upon by Vail soon after in an effort to establish a water-powered cotton factory. A waterwheel was added utilizing water flowing down a raceway from the pond behind what is now the Moses Estey House. To keep the wheel operating in winter, the wheelhouse was constructed. The cotton factory would never become a successful venture for Vail; nevertheless, he continued to improve upon it in the coming decades. The current waterwheel was installed in 1853. The wheel was used routinely to power other largescale machines until 1873 when the Ironworks closed.
The Trust grant will help fund restoration of the Vail Factory waterwheel and the wheelhouse at Historic Speedwell Village.
- Capital Level II Grants
Lucy, the Margate ElephantApplicant: Save Lucy Committee, Inc.
Location: Margate City, Atlantic County
Recommended Award: $673,668
Lucy is significant as a representative example of the zoomorphic vernacular style, according to architectural historian G.E. Kidder-Smith. Designed by James V. Lafferty and constructed in 1881 as a marketing tool for the architect’s nearby real estate venture, the building has been used as a restaurant, residence, a tavern, and a museum. She was moved 100 yards in 1976 by the Save Lucy Committee (SLC) following threats of demolition. The SLC has restored, rehabilitated and maintained Lucy since that time. While SLC owns the elephant, the City of Margate owns the site.
The Trust grant will help fund phase 2 exterior restoration including exterior cladding replacement and repainting.
Burlington County Prison
Applicant: County of Burlington
Location: Mt. Holly Township, Burlington County
Recommended Award: $526,500
The Barclay Farmstead, located in Cherry Hill, was constructed in 1816 in a vernacular Federal style and retains good integrity both inside and out. The house is interpreted as a Quaker family farm, typical of the small family operation that dominated Southern New Jersey in the nineteenth century. A spring house, corn crib, and forge barn are also on the property.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior restoration of the main house, springhouse, and forge barn.
USS New Jersey
Applicant: Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc. (DBA Battleship New Jersey Museum and Memorial)
Location: Camden City, Camden County
Recommended Award: $500,000
The Battleship New Jersey, in commission from 1941 to 1991, is the country’s most decorated, longest and fastest battleship, serving in World War II, Korean War, Vietnam War and providing a shield in El Salvador and Lebanon in the late 20th century. The ship is a product of the local shipbuilding and technology industries in Camden and the Greater Philadelphia area. It was decommissioned and authorized for use as a museum ship in 1999. The applicant, the Home Port Alliance for the USS New Jersey, Inc. (HPA), was formed soon after, was awarded the contract in 2000, and opened the museum in 2001.
The Trust grant will help fund teak deck replacement.
Salaam Temple
Applicant: Newark Performing Arts Corp.
Location: Newark City, Essex County
Recommended Award: $750,000
Newark Symphony Hall, originally known as the Mosque Theatre (and officially called the Salaam Temple) was designed by architects Frank Grad, Henry Baechlin and George Backoff for the Newark Shriners, and built from 1922 to 1925. The Hall suffered financial problems during the Great Depression and in 1933 was sold at auction to the Prudential Insurance Co. It then passed through several owners until in 1964 it was sold to the City of Newark. It served as the primary symphony space in New Jersey until the construction of NJPAC in 1997. The imposing structure is a unique example of Newark’s 20th century history as a city of many theaters, most of which have been lost or converted.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior rehabilitation of Newark Symphony Hall.
Hopewell Railroad Station
Applicant: Borough of Hopewell
Location: Hopewell Borough, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $249,907
The Hopewell Railroad Station is one of a surviving pair of train stations built by the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad. Built in 1876, the station is a high-style example of Second Empire architecture, with patterned slate cladding, gingerbread woodwork, cross-gable with upper and lower slopes and round-arched windows. It was placed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places on April 17, 1984 and on the National Register, June 22, 1984 as part of the thematic nomination of Operating Railroad Stations in New Jersey.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior restoration. Non-construction costs include preparation of construction documents and administration. Construction costs include replacement of the existing standing seam roof and box gutters on the 1st floor wrap-around roof and balcony roof. Repair and replace portions of the slate cladding. Repoint deteriorated mortar joints. Repair and replace in-kind; windowsills, windows, doors, soffits, balcony railing, sub-fascia, and decorative gingerbread trim. Repair basement bulkhead and door to prevent water infiltration and install dehumidifier.
King Store and Homestead
Applicant: Roxbury Historic Trust, Inc.
Location: Roxbury Township, Morris County
Recommended Award: $177,127
The King Store was constructed circa 1826, one year after the groundbreaking for Morris Canal’s Plane 2 East in what was then the small mill village of Drakesville (now Ledgewood, Roxbury Township). The building features a simple, open sales and display area on the first floor with a rear staircase providing access to a living space on the second floor. The store sold groceries, medicine, house wares and farming equipment, and coal, which was weighed on the recently restored coal scales adjacent to the store’s porch. Other goods were lifted from wagons using the wooden hoisting wheel in the top floor. The store’s success allowed its owner, Theodore F. King, to build the high-style Queen Anne residence next door circa 1878 and to renovate the store’s exterior in 1885. At that time, the original stone exterior was clad in stucco, which was then scored to resemble large ashlar blocks and quoins. The store remained under King family ownership until 1928. The store is significant for its associations with the Morris Canal, the remains of which are located on the opposite side of Main Street.
The Trust grant will help fund interior rehabilitation of the King Store Museum and repair of the wagon shed wall.
Landing Railroad Station
Applicant: Lake Hopatcong Foundation
Location: Roxbury Township Morris County
Recommended Award: $254,879
Constructed in 1911 by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad, the Landing Railroad Station is an example of the Tudor Revival/Jacobean style. It was designed to integrate the Morris Canal and rail travel. Although built at a time when the cargo shipping use of the Canal was waning, the station was designed to utilize the canal for passenger access to Lake Hopatcong, once a major summer resort. This station may have been the only one of its kind along the Morris Canal designed to integrate canal, trolley and rail passenger service.
The Trust grant will help fund restoration of the building proper and restore important site features between the building and the railroad cut. Specifically, restoration of the cast-stone and iron fence with its built-in cast stone water fountain.
Stone Arch Bridge
Applicant: Town of Boonton
Location: Boonton Township, Morris County
Recommended Award: $320,000
The Stone Arch Bridge over the Rockaway River, constructed circa 1866, is representative of the unique history of the town’s ironworks during the Industrial Revolution. The bridge was constructed as an aqueduct to carry piped water from a pond to the Boonton Ironworks to ensure fire protection for the Ironworks; the water was piped to fire hydrants at key points throughout the facility. It is the single remaining intact portion of the industrial complex that evolved in Boonton in the years after the opening of the Morris Canal.
The Trust grant will help fund stabilization and restoration of the Stone Arch Bridge over the Rockaway River, in the Boonton Ironworks Historic District.
Mary Etta Cox House
Applicant: Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders
Location: Barnegat Township, Ocean County
Recommended Award: $750,000
The earliest section of the Mary Etta Cox House was built circa 1829 and expanded circa 1848. The property is significant architecturally for the massive Colonial Revival-style (with Queen Anne influences) expansion and remodel completed by Cox and local architect H.W. Tolbert in 1904. The renovation was completed after the death of her husband, William, a well-known local businessman and sailor, in 1903. She continued to live in the house until her death in 1949. Her son and daughter-in-law, Mary Ann Cox, lived in the house until their deaths in 1965 and 1983, respectively. Mary Ann was a well-known Ocean County politician and was passionate about the arts. The rear outbuildings consist of a frame barn and an attached carriage house.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior rehabilitation of the Mary Etta Cox House, adaptive reuse of two outbuildings into public restrooms for the Barnegat Branch Trail and development of construction documents for interior rehab of the main house.
Ringwood Manor
Applicant: NJ State Park Service, Ringwood State Park, Ringwood Manor
Location: Ringwood Borough, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $550,000
Ringwood Manor, now Ringwood State Park, was established as an ironworks in the early 18th century. During the American Revolution, the ironworks supplied various tools for the Continental Army. The first iteration of the manor house, a 10-room Federal-style home, was built by Martin J. Ryerson in 1810. When iron magnate Peter Cooper purchased the manor and the surrounding 19,000 acres in 1853, he instructed his son, Edward, and his son’s business partner, Abram S. Hewitt, to manage the successful ironworks. Though Cooper & Hewitt was the major supplier of iron to the Union side during the Civil War, the economic panic of 1873 compounded with a decrease in demand for iron led to the decline of the company over the next several decades. With the closure of many of the mines, the Hewitts transformed the land into a summer estate and expanded the manor house in 1864, 1875, 1900 and 1910. The Hewitts gifted the manor, all outbuildings and the grounds to the State of New Jersey in 1938. It has operated as a state park since that time, with the manor house containing some park offices but largely serving as a museum.
The Trust grant will help fund cedar shake roof replacement of the carriage barn at Ringwood Manor.
United States Animal Quarantine Station
Applicant: City of Clifton
Location: Clifton City, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $300,750
The U.S. Animal Quarantine Station, known as the “Ellis Island for animals,” is significant as the sole facility on the east coast that was dedicated to the inspection of foreign animals. From 1900 to 1979, the facility inspected commercial animals, including cattle and imported animals to be put in zoos, under the direction of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1979, the facility moved to Newburgh, New York. The City of Clifton purchased the site in the 1980s and, soon after, constructed their city hall on the property. The site now serves as a municipal complex, with quarantine buildings repurposed for new uses such as an arts center and sculpture garden, senior center, animal shelter, recycling and garbage centers, and municipal offices.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior rehabilitation of barn S-2 (also known as the flag barn) at the U.S. Animal Quarantine Station.
First Presbyterian Church of Paterson
Applicant: New Jersey Community Development Corporation
Location: Paterson City, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $750,000
The First Presbyterian Church of Paterson is significant for the Romanesque Revival architectural style of the circa 1850 church building (sanctuary) and the Chapel and Fellowship Hall (c. 1886) and Memorial Hall (c. 1908) additions. The congregation was founded in 1813 by the same Presbyterians who founded New Jersey’s first Sunday School in 1794 and was the first church in Paterson to preach in English. The significance of the First Presbyterian Church is also tied to Paterson’s industrial development. Congregants included Peter and Roswell Colt, managers of the Society of Useful Manufactures (S.U.M.). Countless other church members were city, county and state elected officials, making the First Presbyterian Church a hub of civic life in the city.
The Trust grant will help fund the complete interior and exterior rehabilitation of the First Presbyterian Church of Paterson for use as a community educational, rehearsal and performance space.
Broadway Historic District
Applicant: Stand Up For Salem
Location: Salem City, Salem County
Recommended Award: $630,000
The building housed New Jersey’s first J. C. Penney store. The store opened in 1924 utilizing part of an existing building constructed a few years earlier. In 1942 J. C. Penney altered the building (to its current configuration except for a rear addition constructed in 1955). The building includes some heavy timber construction and the use of tin ceiling and wall coverings. The J. C. Penney store closed to the public in the 1990s. For eighteen years the owner stored heavy printing equipment in the building causing significant structural damage. The former owner performed little maintenance allowing the building to further deteriorate.
The Trust grant will help fund the final two phases of a five-phase project to rehabilitate the former J. C. Penney Store into a training center for teaching building trades. These last two phases include MEP work and interior finishes.
Mount Bethel Baptist Meeting House
Applicant: Township of Warren
Location: Warren Township, Somerset County
Recommended Award: $218,495
The Mount Bethel Baptist Meetinghouse was constructed in 1786. Previously, it was believed that the church was built in 1761 and moved to its current location, or dismantled and partially rebuilt using old framing members, between 1785 and 1786. This was echoed in the original (1975) National Register nomination but revised in a recent amended and expanded nomination currently under review by the Historic Preservation Office (HPO). The church is significant for its associations with the early Baptist population in the Mount Bethel area (what was then Bernards Township). It is also significant as a representative example of a late 18th century Baptist church with a meetinghouse plan.
The Trust grant will help fund exterior and interior rehabilitation as well as site work including archaeology, grading and ADA accessibility.
Elizabeth and Gershom Frazee House
Applicant: Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Frazee House Inc.
Location: Scotch Plains Township, Union County
Recommended Award: $218,495
The Frazee House is a individually listed in both the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places for its significance in Revolutionary War history, its association with notable carpenter Gershom Frazee, and as an example of a Deep East Jersey cottage with a blend of Dutch and English construction methods. Constructed between 1761 and 1766 by Gershom Frazee, Frazee House is located very near to where the Battle of Short Hills took place. The Frazee’s story and their life in Scotch Plains embody the impact of the Revolutionary War on civilians. Although unsubstantiated by primary sources, local legend has it that in the aftermath of the Battle of Short Hills, Elizabeth “Aunt Betty” Frazee famously, and reluctantly, gave retreating British troops a loaf of bread out of “fear, and not in love.” This act of defiance further showcases how civilians were confronted with wartime realities while living their daily lives, with British and Continental troops occupying the area for months at a time.
The Trust grant will help fund the installation of new utilities at the site, including electric, heat, and water; the construction of a new ADA restroom cottage adjacent to the historic house; the construction of a new ADA ramp/walkway adjoining the restroom and the house (and also providing ADA access to the house); and restoration of the first floor interior of the house. The scope also includes match expended for some of the exterior restoration work that was recently completed.
Hoffman Grist Mill
Applicant: Musconetcong Watershed Association
Location: Franklin Township, Warren County
Recommended Award: $525,000
The Hoffman Grist Mill is the only surviving historic industrial building remaining in the Asbury Historic District. It is unique and visually important building within the district and community. The mill was constructed circa 1863 for James M. Hoffman. In 1895 Harry M. Riddle converted the mill for commercial graphite production. The graphite mill remained in use until 1970 when its graphite production was transferred to a neighboring plant. The stone and stucco mill has a distinctive gambrel roof and still contains its barrel-vaulted stone headrace as well as its 1920 Leffel turbine and power transmission system. Following its closure, the building remained unoccupied until Asbury Carbon deeded this and two other buildings to the Musconetcong Watershed Association in 1998.
The Trust grant will help fund Phase IIIA of the adaptive use of the former Hoffman Grist Mill. Specifically, this phase will make improvements to two floors of the mill and provide a new code compliant stair tower and elevator. This work will allow some use of the building for public meetings and events until future phases are compete.
- Capital Level II Multi-Phase Grants
Statue of Liberty National Monument, Ellis Island and Liberty IslandApplicant: Save Ellis Island Inc.
Location: Jersey City, Hudson County
Recommended Award: $560,422 for Phase I
Ellis Island is known as one of the most important historic sites related to United States immigration history in the nation. The island first opened as a federal immigration station in 1892—here over 12 million immigrants were processed until the island closed in 1954. The island’s administrators and staff processed some 5,000 people daily at the peak years of immigration—one record setting day in 1907 saw 11,747 immigrants processed. The island was abandoned as a federal immigration station in 1954. The Contagious Disease Hospital was used by the United States Coast Guard from 1951 until 1954, when it too was abandoned. It has not been occupied since. In the 1980s, a major restoration effort took place at the Immigration Building, which now functions as a museum and is open to the public on a regular basis.
The Trust grant will help fund two phases of capital work at Ellis Island’s Contagious Disease Hospital, located on what is known as the South Island. Both phases will accomplish major structural work in the five areas of concern including two passageways, the Administration Building, the Staff House, and the kitchen. The scope of work for Phase I also includes a recently completed Historic Structures Stabilization Report as match expended.
Shadow Lawn
Applicant: Monmouth University
Location: West Long Branch Borough, Monmouth County
Recommended Award: $750,000 for Phase I
Shadow Lawn (formally known as Woodrow Wilson Hall and now known as the Great Hall at Shadow Lawn) was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1984 for its architectural significance. It is a rare extant example of America’s Gilded Age with much of its original features and architectural integrity intact. The mansion was designed in 1928 by Horace Trumbauer, a Philadelphia based architect known for his work in classical revival designs, along with Julian Abele, notably America’s first African American professional architect and graduate of the Ecole des-Beaux Arts in Paris. The mansion was completed in 1929 for a total cost of $10.5 million.
The Trust grant will help fund updating the entire electrical system in the building, rewiring/relamping all 1,044 historic light fixtures, a conditions assessment of the light fixtures, an interior finishes analysis, construction documents for interior repair, updates to the fire alarm system, and the installation of a new emergency generator.
- Special Initiatives
Passaic County Regrant ProgramApplicant: County of Passaic
Location: Paterson City, Passaic County
Recommended Award: $500,000
Passaic County administers a small grant program for historic sites stewarded by nonprofit organizations and local government. Funds for their existing program are allocated from their dedicated open space tax. The Historic Trust grant award of $500,000 will match the County’s funds to enhance and expand the program. Individual projects will be administered by the County with newly appointed professional staff. Guidelines, applications and deadlines will be established by the County and projects must meet the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for Historic Preservation Projects. This is a first-time initiative for the Historic Trust that will expand our impact and diversify our project types.
Heritage Tourism
Applicant: New Jersey Historic Trust
Location: Trenton City, Mercer County
Recommended Award: $50,000
The New Jersey Historic Trust will dedicate $50,000 from the Preserve NJ Fund to supplement its existing heritage tourism grant program, funded by the Discover NJ History License Plate revenue. Small grants will be competitively awarded throughout the year for initiatives that are consistent with the State’s Heritage Tourism Masterplan visitor readiness and to enhance the visitor experience. Applicants may be nonprofits and/or entities of local government.
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