Historic Preservation

There was more than soup and chili served up March 11 by the East Millstone Historic Society at its annual meeting. Music by an Irish music trio, Lesser Seamus – featuring village resident Michael Steinbrück – and talks by Delaware and Raritan Canal author Linda Barth and Bob Mettler, the township historian, were also on the menu. Mayor Phil Kramer …

A major renovation is planned for the McDonald’s fast-food restaurant in the Village Plaza on Easton Avenue. Perhaps renovation is an understatement; plans call for the demolition of the current restaurant and the construction of a new building. Professionals representing McDonald’s appeared before the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission on Feb. 6 to talk about the plans and get the commission …

The Franklin Reporter & Advocate had a rare chance on Jan. 28 to tour a vacant historic home in Middlebush, and get a little history lesson along the way. Township historian Bob Mettler was on hand to talk about Middlebush as well as the house, which dates back to the late 1800s. Mettler was there with his colleague Karen Davis …

Two historic homes in the township have been added to this year’s “Weekend Journey Through the Past,” a Somerset-County wide celebration of county history. Sponsored by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission, the event is set for Oct. 14 and 15 at various locations in the county. This year, the Van Liew-Suydam House at 280 South Middlebush Rd. and …

The reconstruction of the Nevius Dutch Barn at Rockingham in Kingston won a 2017 New Jersey Historic Preservation Award from the state Historic Preservation Office. The project was one of six that were honored May 11 in a ceremony at the Burlington County Olde Courthouse in Mount Holly. Rockingham, which is owned by the state and located on Laurel Avenue, …

The owners of the Honeyman House on Canal Road will be able to use a different roofing material than originally approved on the property’s barn. The Historic Preservation Advisory Commission voted May 2 to allow the property owners, Ed Potosnak and Jeremy Pike, to use shingles made of asphalt rather than install a metal seam roof. Potosnak, who is also …

  Submitted by Victory Chase. Rockingham State Historic Site, 64 Laurel Ave., General George Washington’s final wartime headquarters, will be holding its annual Candlelight Tours of the house from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Dec. 11. The theme for this year focuses on the help foreigners provided the colonies during the course of the American Revolution, and the holiday traditions …

A handful of applications for home renovations were given the thumbs’-up Dec. 6 by the township Historic Preservation Advisory Commission. Most of the applications were for roof repairs, although two were for major home renovations. Exterior work on buildings triggers a commission review when the building is located in one of the township’s historic districts or is close to the …

The Meadows Foundation recently received a $63,150 2015 Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant for the Symen Van Wickle House off Easton Avenue. The money will be used to fund an historic structures report, according to a release from the Somerset County Board of Chosen Freeholders. The grant was one of eight totaling $885,129 awarded by the county, according to the …

Three applications for alterations to existing buildings were approved June 7 by the Historic Preservation Advisory Commission. The commission approved certificates of appropriateness for Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp., which asked to change the HVAC units on a dialysis clinic at 1135 Easton Ave.; the owner of a Franklin Street home who wants to build a deck on the rear …