William H. Johnson House

01/12/2026

Two of New Jersey’s greatest artists of the 20th century join together for this song. It is Paul Robeson singing Joyce Kilmer’s iconic poem “Trees.” The artwork backdrop while Robeson sings is also beautiful (still photo excerpted below). See the full video which includes images of trees while Robeson sings:
https://youtu.be/vOHekLZD5i4?si=ujYhcK_Fk9mtRgvu

We first learned of this version several years ago, when Thinkery & Verse partnered with New Brunswick Historical Society and New Brunswick Historical Association to produce a biography of the poet, Joyce Kilmer. In our research for that project we came across this Paul Robeson vocal. The website we created also includes a video tour of Kilmer’s birthplace home in downtown New Brunswick. We’ve gathered photos, video, sound clips, and historical text on our website as a tribute to this hometown hero and poet from NJ. Visit the full website:
https://www.thinkeryandverse.org/kilmer_house.html

Grant funding for this project has been provided by the Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners through a grant award from the Middlesex County Cultural and Arts Trust Fund. Additional funding was provided by Thinkery & Verse L.L.C.

08/15/2025

This building is in our neighborhood.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1B4CYpBspt/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/06/2024

Lest we forget. D-Day was 80 years ago today. Thank you to all our veterans.

June 6, 1944, 80 years ago today, the allied forces land in Normandy, France. Code named Operation Overlord, commonly known as D-Day, it is the biggest seaborne invasion in history, and laid the foundation for victory over the N***s. Thank you to all our veterans for their service.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normandy_landings?wprov=sfti1 https://maps.apple.com/?ll=49.333333,-0.566667&q=Normandy%20landings&_ext=EiQpJoKjqqqqSEAxYEPsIyIi4r85JoKjqqqqSEBBYEPsIyIi4r8%3D

04/16/2024

Exciting update on The William H. Johnson House wallpaper! This sample swatch showing the printers’ marks (circles, upper right in photo) has been rediscovered inside the Dining Room’s China Closet. We believe this was hung by Johnson himself, as he was considered a Master Paperhanger, and likely used this approach for reference. Further, the style of the design and color palette put this paper in the late 1800s during his active period in the home. The swatch is fairly large so that it can reveal the over all design of flowing Rosa ragusa flowers and leaves. This sumptuous paper included silver foiling (appears gray in photo) which would have shimmered in the gaslighting of the day. Though there is obvious staining, there is minimal fading, so we can determine that the other colors include white, coral, light medium and dark greens, on a blue green background. We believe the paint sample to the right was also used in the Dining Room since it matches well to the coral wallpaper color. It is likely that this paper was printed by the Janeway & Carpender Wallpaper Co. of New Brunswick, NJ though we have not been able to confirm this yet. Hopefully there will be more to come!
Modern photo by post author 2024.

03/21/2024

This man, William Cathcart Buttler, was part of a family that had been in New Brunswick, NJ for many years, even as of 1900. His father, George Buttler, was a partner in the Buttler & Johnson Sash Door and Blind Co. The firm built several well known NB homes including the Alfred Buttler House (Alfred was this man’s uncle) and the William H. Johnson House (c.1870). Both have National Register listings.

Colonel William Cathcart Buttler was born and raised in New Brunswick, NJ, graduating from our City’s High School. He went on to the US Military Academy at West Point, and served as a career soldier. For a time he was a Military Instructor at Rutgers U, affiliated with the Army ROTC post on College Avenue Campus. Colonel Buttler was deployed on multiple missions in the Philippines during the Spanish American War. He was a member of the Sons of the American Revolution, and the Military Order of the Carabao. We thank him for his service. Photo c. 1900. Full biography here:
https://books.google.com/books/about/Annual_Report.html?id=ksigAAAAMAAJ (p 896-900)

02/10/2024

New Brunswick Free Public Library has announced that they were part of a grant through Internet Archive that digitized 4 of their oldest editions of the City Directory of New Brunswick (1855-1871), which were previously not available anywhere else electronically. This is great news for researchers in local history, whether personal, professional, or educational. Extremely easy to use search engine as well! See NBFPL website for links to each volume.

Are you researching a property or family from New Brunswick from the late 1800's? Now you can search our earliest editions of the New Brunswick City Directory online!
The Internet Archive included the New Brunswick Free Public Library in an application for a National Historical Publications & Records Commission Grant through the National Archives. The grant was awarded and allowed us to digitize our 4 oldest editions of the City Directory of New Brunswick (1855-1871), which were previously not available anywhere electronically. (Ancestry.com offers digitized copies starting in 1872, but the collection cannot be found by a title search, meaning you will have to browse through all directories in their collections to find New Brunswick.)
This new digital local history collection can be found on the library's website at www.nbfpl.org/local-history/digitized-city-directories.
For more information, contact librarian Jackie Oshman at [email protected] or 732-745-5108 x10.

12/30/2023

December 30, 1895, 128 years ago today, The Daily Times of New Brunswick, NJ publishes an article regarding the New Year’s Reception hosted by the Ladies’ Auxiliary of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA). Within the article, Mrs W. H. Johnson is mentioned as a member of the “Rooms Committee,” while her daughter, Mrs. F. E. Kilpatrick is mentioned as a member of the “Reception Committee.” At this point in history, it was considered impolite to use a married woman’s name in the newspaper. Now we know them as Sarah Johnson, spouse of William H. Johnson, and Adelaide Johnson Kilpatrick, daughter of William and Sarah. Both women are believed to have been living here at 52 Welton Street along with their extended family at the time this article was published. From an online database of historic newspapers hosted by the New Brunswick Free Public Library:
http://newbrunswick.archivalweb.com/reelSelector.php

05/16/2023

We are featured today.

New Brunswick, NJ quiz! Where in our City can you see the State of NJ and National Register listed William H. Johnson House (c. 1870)?

Modern photo.

Disclosure: Post author and her husband are the owners of The William H Johnson House.

11/11/2022

The room in The William H. Johnson House (c. 1870) known as the Tiny Room is 8 feet x 6 feet, and is used as an office. We just gave it a little spruce up cleaning and rearranged the furniture. As much as you can rearrange anything in so small a room. Photo on the left is the view into the room from the hall. Photo on the right is the view when standing at the window looking towards the door.

06/19/2022

June 19, 1877, 145 years ago today, George H. Buttler of New Brunswick, NJ receives US Patent 192148 for his “improvement to the mortising chisel”. The description discusses how the specific angles of the tool make it carve wood easier than others of the day. We’d like to think he developed the tool when supervising construction of our c. 1870 home while he was co-owner of the Buttler and Johnson Sash Door and Blind Factory. See the full patent filing online here:
https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/f6/8d/93/4b323664a6f0ce/US192148.pdf

12/31/2021

Article about the mural in the St. Peter’s Church Bell Tower. Says there have only been 6 bell ringers in the history of the Church. One of them, J. Joseph Tomney, resided here for much of his life while he served as a ringer during the first half of the 20th century.

New Brunswick's newest mural is in a prominent, albeit hidden location: inside the bell tower at St. Peter the Apostle University & Community Parish.Continue Reading