New Jersey Historic Trust

07/06/2023

Applications for the Discover New Jersey History License Plate Fund for Heritage Tourism are due on August 1, 2023.

Eligible applicants can receive up to $5,000 to develop and promote visitor ready sites as heritage tourism destinations.

The grant program is supported by income from sales and renewals of the Discover NJ History License plate, which was established in 1995 to support historic preservation activities in the State. The plates feature a Victorian-style row house image, from a painting by New Jersey artist Harry Devlin. Pay a one-time $50 fee ($10 annual renewal) and pick up your “Discover NJ History” plates at any motor vehicle agency or by mail!

For more information, please visit www.nj.gov/dca/njht/programs/discover.

07/04/2023

Happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸 Learn about the first Fourth of July celebration that took place right here in your own backyard. Get a first-hand view of the Garden State's role in the war for independence. http://bitly.ws/Gs9a

06/29/2023

Grant Recipients: Capital Arts - Historic Locations Grant Program

The New Jersey Historic Trust and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts are pleased to announce the Capital Arts – Historic Locations grant award recipients! This grant opportunity prioritized project proposals that will be used to halt and remediate the physical deterioration of historic locations. There were 13 grants awarded totaling more than $2.6 million, with a maximum award of $250,000. To view the complete list of awards and to read the official press release, please visit: https://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/news/press/.

06/27/2023

Employment Opportunity

The New Jersey Historic Trust seeks a Historic Preservation Specialist to provide assistance to the Division of Disaster Recovery and Mitigation/DCA in administering federal funding for storm damage caused by Ida. As a liaison for the Trust, the successful candidate will be responsible for coordinating with the Disaster Recovery and Mitigation Division to implement the Programmatic Agreement, and ensuring compliance with Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Candidates will be required to make site visits as needed and may also provide technical assistance, and oversee grant funded projects.

This is a temporary full-time position, initially, with the potential to become permanent. The successful candidate must be willing to work through a temporary agency.

Resumes may be submitted electronically to: [email protected]. The posting is active until July 27, 2023.

To view the full job description, please visit https://ow.ly/A9Kt50OYmPV.

06/21/2023

In collaboration with the Delaware River Heritage Trail, the Roebling Museum created interpretive signage along the river trail to drive outdoor visitation traffic and increase programming opportunities.

A Discover NJ History License Plate grant in the amount of $5,000 helped fund the design and fabrication of the interpretive signs.

🏷 Roebling Museum

06/15/2023

Photos from New Jersey Department of Community Affairs's post

06/14/2023

Photos from National Guard Militia Museum of New Jersey's post

06/14/2023

Thank you to all of the sponsors, speakers, and attendees for making the 2023 New Jersey History and Historic Preservation Conference a success!

A special thank you to Stockton University in Atlantic City, for hosting us!

06/14/2023

Congrats to the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office, New Jersey Historic Trust, and all involved in the planning of the New Jersey History & Historic Preservation conference, "Fun and Fury." We are thrilled to have a strong Monmouth University showing with presentations by Professors Melissa Ziobro and Levi Fox, along with Dr. Tom Herrington of the Urban Coast Institute. Also presenting are alumni Alexis Alemy, Catherine Dzubaty, Rachael Goldberg, Ashley Parker, and Victoria Sharp! Let us know if we missed anyone!🥳

https://www.nj.gov/dca/njht/documents/events/FINAL_2023%20conference%20program%20book.pdf

06/06/2023

The 2023 : FUN & FURY is just one week away! We hope to see you at Stockton University in Atlantic City!

The conference is just one week away! Get excited for:

– An opening reception at Boardwalk Hall featuring Nelson Johnson, author of "The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City" & "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City"
– An exciting keynote address by Adam Markham, Acting Director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), at the Tropicana
– Hands on workshops with the NJ Historic Preservation Office
– Choice of classroom sessions, lightning sessions, and tours of Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hall, and South Jersey architecture
– Marketplace sponsor and vendor exhibits
– Student Poster Sessions, and
– A closing reception at Stockton University in Atlantic City.

To learn more about the conference and to register 🎫, visit njpreservationconference.org.

05/31/2023

We spy with our little eye a Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund project sign and... a miniature Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library on a float!

05/26/2023

On this day 1998, the US Supreme Court rules in the case of New Jersey v. New York U.S. 767 that New Jersey had jurisdiction over all portions of Ellis Island crated by landfill after the original compact of the two states was approved in 1834.

📍 Jersey City
📸 Daniel Schwen

05/23/2023

There are three weeks left to register for the ! What are you most looking forward to at this year's conference?

The conference is just three weeks away! Get excited for:

– An opening reception at Boardwalk Hall featuring Nelson Johnson, author of "The Northside: African Americans and the Creation of Atlantic City" & "Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City"

– An exciting keynote address by Adam Markham, Acting Director of the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), at the Tropicana

– Hands on workshops with the NJ Historic Preservation Office

– Choice of classroom sessions, lightning sessions, and tours of Atlantic City, Boardwalk Hall, and South Jersey architecture

– Marketplace sponsor and vendor exhibits

– Student Poster Sessions, and

– A closing reception at Stockton University-Atlantic City.

To learn more about the conference and to register 🎫, visit njpreservationconference.org.

05/22/2023

Craftsman Farms is a National Historic Landmark and was conceived by Gustav Stickley, a furniture manufacturer, entrepreneur, publisher, and major proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. Craftsman Farms was originally a school and farm for boys, and it now serves as a physical embodiment of Gustav Stickley’s Arts & Crafts vison. While this vision was never fully realized, the Log House, originally intended as the clubhouse for the boys, became Stickley’s family home. Eleven buildings were constructed between 1909 and 1912 of which nine remain. Of the original 650-acre property, 30 acres remain with the buildings.

Completed in 1910, the White Cottage is now thought to be the house the Stickleys lived in while other buildings on the site were under construction and may have been the primary house intended as the Stickley residence. Because of a threat of private development, the Township of Parsippany-Troy Hills purchased the property in 1989 and soon after entered into a partnership with the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. Currently the site is operated as a museum showcasing Stickley’s original designs and furnishings.

A 2022 grant will help fund the remaining stabilization project to White Cottage.

📍Parsippany-Troy Hills, Morris County

05/22/2023

The Trust helped fund the preservation of the stadium in 2010 which was guided by a previously funded Preservation Plan in 2009.

05/19/2023

The First Presbyterian Church and Cemetery dates to 1839 and is the third building built on the site. It was built by Hotchkiss & Thompson of New Haven, Connecticut. This Greek Revival church with its pedimented façade and steeple, faces East State Street in the center of the City of Trenton’s business district. At the date of its construction, it was the largest building in the city.

The cemetery is reported to hold the graves of Hessian soldiers, prominent Trentonians, and veterans of the Revolutionary War. The fellowship hall was added in 1951 to fit the needs of the Church. T

he First Presbyterian Church served as an active place of worship until 2022 when the Church established a non-profit organization to reuse and steward the property.

A 2022 grant will help fund the preparation of concept design, schematic design, and design development documents for the interior renovation and site improvements to the church and cemetery.

📍Trenton City, Mercer County
🔗 http://ow.ly/fQY150Oo73o

05/17/2023

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 certified eligible for listing on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places as an outstanding example of the Neoclassical Revival style.

A 2022 grant will help fund the preparation of design development drawings focusing on the interior.

📍Plainfield City, Union County
🔗http://ow.ly/7KC050Oo6LW

05/15/2023

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 then 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. Other related components in the vicinity of the house include a lake and dam, the remains of a small hydroelectric plant, and iron furnace ruins. Outbuildings located on this property include a stone barn, a well, a root cellar, a smokehouse, and stone walls.

Solitude House has been certified eligible for listing in the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

A 2022 grant will help fund the preparation of construction documents for the preservation of the north (rear) two-story porch.

📍High Bridge Borough, Hunterdon County
🔗 http://ow.ly/wQ7s50Oo6o8

05/12/2023

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. It has been an important part of the community, hosting many local events, and historically also incorporated a summer theater. Seabright has hosted numerous National and International tennis tournaments and boasts many influential individuals having played in their tournaments. Their collection of photographs, trophies, and other memorabilia amounts to a one-of-a-kind archival collection accessible to scholars studying the history of the sport. The site 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.

A 2022 grant will help fund design and contract documents for Phase 2 restoration of the Clubhouse, including structural upgrades and repairs to the locker rooms, kitchen, front porch, and pro shop.

📍Rumson Borough, Monmouth County
🔗http://ow.ly/5VfN50Oifpn

05/10/2023

The Friends Meetinghouse is listed on the New Jersey and National Register for Historic Places as a representative example of a simple, wood-frame meetinghouse with a second-floor gallery. The building was constructed circa 1758 to serve a growing pioneer community of Quakers in what is now Randolph Township. The resource retains an exceptionally high degree of integrity, including oak floors kept in place with wooden pegs, hand-crafted oak framing, and simple ten-foot pews. A small, 1920s building now known as the Annex was moved to the site in 1965.

The building has been owned by the Friends Meeting House and Cemetery Association (FMHCA), a non-sectarian, preservation-focused organization, since 1898. Its mission, in general terms, is to promote the preservation and restoration of the meeting house and cemetery and related educational and charitable activities.

A 2022 grant will help fund interior restoration of the meeting house.

📍Randolph Township, Morris County
🔗http://ow.ly/HuqI50Oifaj

05/08/2023

Celebrate Preservation Month by learning how New Jersey was at the forefront of preservation.

May is National Historic Preservation Month, and New Jersey has a long history of significant efforts to ensure that the state’s heritage is preserved for generations to come. In fact, the state was at the forefront of preservation with major decisions and acquisitions being made as early as the nineteenth century. More formally, however, New Jersey’s progress in historic preservation can be observed through legislation, incentive programs, and community-focused efforts. New Jersey is committed to making preservation more accessible to all populations across the state and beyond its borders. Learn more in our latest blog post!

📰 http://ow.ly/JW9P50OfMfL

05/08/2023

The Cresse-Holmes House, formerly called the John Holmes House, was added to the New Jersey and National Registers for Historic Places in 1979 for its fine detailing in the vernacular Georgian/Federal style. Originally listed as the John Holmes House, the Cresse-Holmes House has been determined a more appropriate historic name because the circa 1704 rear kitchen ell was constructed by the Cresse family, and Robert Morris Holmes constructed the main back of the house circa 1830.

Today, the house serves as the headquarters of the Museum of Cape May County.

A 2022 grant will help fund revisions to existing State and National Register nominations.

📍Middle Township, Cape May County
🔗 http://ow.ly/arAQ50Oie6p

05/08/2023

Project update!

04/26/2023

Sally Stretch Keen Memorial Library is a key contributing resource to the Vincentown Historic District, listed in the New Jersey and National Registers for Historic Places for significance as an agrarian commercial center in rural Southampton Township. The period of significance extends from 1790 to 1935. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, Vincentown was at the height of its prosperity, supporting shops, taverns, a tannery, and grist and saw mills, all of which were integral to the commercial life.

The library was built in 1923, gifted to the community from Mary Irick Drexel and endowed in memory of her mother and prominent local resident Sally Stretch Keen. Designed by noted Philadelphia architects Stewardson and Page, the small, one-room library incorporates elaborate Georgian Revival details including Flemish bond brickwork, quoining, a central front door flanked by sidelights and headed by an elaborate arched fanlight, and a large rear Palladian window.

A 2022 Trust grant will help fund interior and exterior preservation.

📍Southampton Township, Burlington County
🔗 http://ow.ly/STQz50NQk66

04/24/2023

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. Barn S-2 was built in 1903 and contributes to the significance of the U.S. Animal Quarantine Station, which was listed on the New Jersey and National Registers in 1981.

A 2022 Trust grant will help fund Phase 2 interior rehabilitation of Barn S-2.

📍Clifton City, Passaic County
🔗http://ow.ly/VA2w50NQjOi

04/21/2023

The Obadiah LaTourette Grist and Saw Mill is a key contributing resource within the German Valley Historic District.

The earliest portion of the mill dates to circa 1750. Philip Weise had constructed the three-story frame mill. By 1860 Obadiah LaTourette owned the mill. The mill flourished during LaTourette’s tenure. He replaced the two water wheels with turbines and around 1875 he constructed a large addition incorporating part of the earlier structure into its current configuration. Following LaTourette’s death in 1898 and until 1940 the mill continued to operate under various owners. In the 1940s an apartment was constructed within the mill building. The apartment continued to be used until at least the late 1960s. After that the mill was mostly vacant and continued to deteriorate until it was condemned by the Township in 1991.

The Washington Township Land Trust stepped in and purchased the mill saving it from demolition. The Land Trust subsequently stabilized and rehabilitated the mill during the early 1990s, but never fully restored the mill.

A 2022 Trust grant will help fund the installation of protections to prevent water infiltration in preparation for a full rehabilitation of the mill.

📍Washington Township, Morris County
🔗http://ow.ly/n2xf50NKJRz