Guide Me Home to North Jersey

Here in the Somerset Hills of New Jersey we are very lucky to have an array of examples of historic architecture dating back to pre-revolutionary times. The earliest homes in the area date to the 1600s and display such charming traits as hand-hewn beams, mortise and tenon joinery and huge fireplaces with beehive bread ovens. It is almost impossible to imagine being the original owner of these homes, living with no heat other than that coming from the fireplace, baking your daily bread in a brick oven and braving whatever social and political climate prevailed at the time!

Fast-forward to the 1800s when the prosperity that had arrived in the new world began to be evidenced in the homes people were constructing. Greek Revival, Federal and other popular styles of this era still line the streets of our towns and create the charm that lures many people to our area. These homes often boasted high ceilings, better light through larger and more numerous windows, and later in the century, coal-fired central heating systems.

By the early twentieth century two very interesting trends in real estate had begun. On the one hand there were immensely successful business men moving out from New York City to create lavish compounds. Many of these homes were enormous, even by today’s standards, and often sat on hundreds of acres where a working farm served the needs of the homeowner and the large population needed to maintain this lifestyle. At the same time the first attempts at what eventually became tract housing began cropping up in the villages. Small groups of modest homes were constructed in a row, each one very similar to the next, for the purposes of housing the working men and women of the town. Remaining examples of these homes often display the Victorian traits popular at the time, with gingerbread front porches and steep gables.

A stunning example of early American architecture can be found in Tewksbury Township along the Rockaway Creek in the stone and shingle home aptly named, “Creek House”. Currently for sale, this home offers all the charm of a bygone era while sacrificing none of the amenities of today’s lifestyle. Four bedrooms plus a guest cottage with a thatched roof, five fireplaces (including the original cook hearth) and a detached garage ensure one’s comfort while beautiful gardens and a babbling creek on a winding country road make for an idyllic setting. For more information on this home, please click here.

Posted by: John Turpin