Historic Preservation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

  Submitted by Victory Chase.

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.

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.

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 …

“Sinterklass” – the Dutch version of Santa Claus – kicked off the 2014 holiday season Dec. 7 with his arrival at the Hageman Farm on South Middlebush Road. The annual event was highlighted by Klompen Dancing, coloring projects for the kids and a harpsichord recital.