- Cornelius Low House
-
Ivy Hall
Cornelius Low House in 2008
Location: 1225 River Rd., Piscataway, New Jersey Coordinates: 40°30′45″N 74°27′45″W / 40.5125°N 74.4625°WCoordinates: 40°30′45″N 74°27′45″W / 40.5125°N 74.4625°W Area: 2 acres (0.81 ha) Built: 1741 Governing body: Private NRHP Reference#: 71000510[1] Added to NRHP: May 27, 1971 The Cornelius Low House is a Georgian manor in Piscataway, New Jersey built for Cornelius Low II (c. 1700–1777) in 1741 at Raritan Landing.[2] The Cornelius Low House is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places and National Register of Historic Places, and was surveyed in 1937 for the Historic American Building Survey.[3] The Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission currently operates the house as the Cornelius Low House/Middlesex County Museum. The museum presents changing exhibits about state and local history, and offers school, outreach and public programs.
The main portion of the home is forty by thirty feet and originally included a 1 1⁄2-story kitchen wing. When it was built, it was one of the largest and most expensive in the province of East Jersey. It was built with more than 350 tons of sandstone. While most of the homes at Raritan Landing had stone foundations, his was the only house to have been built entirely out of stone. Today, the community of Raritan Landing is all but forgotten. The remains of the once-thriving village lie beneath portions of Johnson Park and River Road. The Low House is one of two remaining structures from the Landing, and is a vital link to Piscataway and Middlesex County history.
Contents
Cornelius Low
The history of the Low family in America dates to 1659 when Peter Cornellessen Low left Holland for the American colonies and settled near Kingston, New York. Peter’s oldest son, Cornelius Low, moved to New York and established himself as a merchant. He married Margareta Van Borsum in 1695 and they would have fifteen children. Their third son, and museum namesake, Cornelius, was born in 1700.
During the 1720s, Cornelius Low became a successful merchant in Newark, New Jersey. In 1729, he married Johanna Gouveneur and they made plans to move to the emerging port community of Raritan Landing near New Brunswick, where Low, a merchant with shipping capabilities, became one of the community’s most prosperous businessmen. Lows’ first home was located along the wharf near Landing Lane at the Raritan’s edge. Following a great flood in 1738 that damaged his home, Low decided to obtain property on the bluff on the opposite side of the Great Road (River Road) overlooking the Landing.
Low’s “new house on the mountain”, as he would refer to it in an entry in his family Bible, was in a much better location than his first house. Firstly, from this vantage point, he could keep a watchful eye on the activities at the wharves, and especially at his warehouse located between the river and the Great Road. Secondly, and probably more importantly, he no longer needed to worry about the occasional floods that continue to plague the region to this day.
Cornelius Low died in early 1777, but the British spared his house because his loyalty to the King of England remained steadfast until his death.
Preservation, acquisition, and restoration
Preservation
The five families that owned this majestic home took their charge very seriously. They were, for the most part, wealthier families who could economically afford the maintenance necessary with a property such as this. More importantly, however, these families respected the historic fabric of the structure.
Because of this, the Low House today is one of only two remaining structures from Raritan Landing, and one of the finest examples of Georgian-style architecture in America. The Lows, Pools, Metlars, Voorhees and the Strongs were all good stewards of the property. Their care has preserved the home so it can be viewed and enjoyed by future generations.
Middlesex County acquisition
The house and grounds are owned by Middlesex County, New Jersey, which bought the property in 1979. Under the guidance and administration of the Middlesex County Cultural and Heritage Commission the site has been established as the County Museum. Part of the mission of the Cultural and Heritage Commission is to be responsible for "the development of county-wide programs, and the promotion of public interest in local and county history, in the arts, and in the cultural values, goals and traditions of the community, state and nation and within the limits of funds appropriated, or otherwise made available to it, undertake the restoration, operation, maintenance and preservation of real property acquired by the County, pursuant to RS 40:32-6 or otherwise."
The County acquired the Low House to use as a local heritage museum discussing the history of New Jersey and its context within that of national events. Even in 1979, it was acknowledged that the Low House was perhaps the finest example of Georgian architecture in the state, and that it was one of two remaining structures from Raritan Landing. In order to fulfill their mission, the Commission realized that the preservation of the building should be its first priority.
Later restoration and preservation
Considering its age, the house was in fair condition when obtained by the County. Several changes did, however, take place shortly following its purchase. A garage and pool were removed from the back yard, a new parking area was created next to the building, and the ivy (causing people to refer to the house as “Ivy Hall”) was removed. The entire roof, including the badly deteriorated support structure was replaced in 1982–1983, and cedar shingles replaced the slate tiles that were put on decades earlier. In 1987–1988, badly worn windows on the side of the house facing the water were replaced with ones crafted as restoration replicas. It wasn’t until the 1990s, however, that plans to undertake a massive restoration addressing major issues plaguing the Low House came to fruition.
In 1995, the Cultural and Heritage Commission and the Board of Chosen Freeholders accepted a grant from the New Jersey State Historic Trust for the restoration of the Low House. Under the guidance of Ford Farwell Mills and Gatch architects of Princeton, the restoration took place between 1995 and 1996. This restoration returned the Low House to the glory that Low himself intended, and reinvigorated the site with a mission to educate and serve this public purpose well into the future. The Commission created an interpretive path, with innovative installations that tell the history of the house, along with new landscape plantings.
Interior restoration
From 1995 through most of 1996, Arvid Myhre Building Construction Company of Frenchtown, New Jersey would complete the physical rehabilitation of the house. Evidence of the restoration can be seen in woodwork that was stripped of 26 layers of paint and repainted in historically accurate colors. Further, Myhre Construction repointed the front facade, and created an interpretive path leading from the parking area to the Museum.
Behind-the-scenes work included complete upgrades of heating and cooling systems, new electrical wiring encased in metal conduit, and new plumbing and water supply systems. Additionally, an exhibit system was fabricated to protect the original plaster walls, while still allowing the museum to install changing exhibitions. One of the major steps taken to ensure the survival of the building in the event of a fire was the installation of a state-of-the-art, dry-feed fire suppression system.
Archaeology
Once preliminary plans and specification were accepted, restoration began on the exterior. Prior to this work being started, however, an archaeological study of the grounds was undertaken, led by Hunter Research of Trenton. The archaeological observation and study was necessary in order to obtain as much information from the earth as possible regarding the house’s history, and to make sure that no previously unknown structures were disturbed or destroyed. These digs yielded a wide variety of objects including clay pipe fragments, Delft tiles, glass pieces and a British military button. The artifacts would help give more clues to what was going on in and around this house over the years, and would also confirm previous theories and thoughts regarding its history.
Architecture
Careful examination of the exterior of the home reveals many significant details. Foremost among them is the usage of stone for the exterior. Low wished the front of his home to reflect his stature as one of the most influential and prosperous men of the community. To that end, he purchased large, rectangular blocks of high quality stone for the front facade (facing the river and the community of Raritan Landing), most likely quarried in the Newark area. This may seem a long distance from which to acquire stone, but Low came to Raritan Landing from Newark and still had business associates there. Also, as a successful merchant, he had ships available to him for transport of the stones.
Low, however, was a frugal man, and finished stone was only used on the side of the house facing Raritan Landing. The other three sides were built of rubble stone, or irregular pieces that required minimal finish work. This type of stone was much less expensive than that installed on the front of his home.
There is also a ledge, or sill course, located approximately three feet up from the ground and encircling the house. This sill makes the house appear to be sitting on a pedestal and is another feature Low used to add stature to the home’s appearance.
Constructing his home in this manner, Low was making sure it looked impressive to all who saw it, and that the structure represented his high stature within the community of Raritan Landing. It was his way of showing the best he could afford.
Crooked windows
The windows to the left of the front porch appear to be crooked. In fact, both the first and second floor windows are approximately three inches off square.
When Low lived here, the two basement windows closest to the front entrance were doorways. They allowed access to the basement for Low’s servants and workers so that certain goods could be stored there rather than in the warehouse along the Great Road. The front yard has since been substantially filled but the doorway outlines are still visible in the basement. Sometime after Low’s death, these doorways altered and turned into windows. Subsequently the house settled and these windows are no longer square.
In the mid-1980s, the front windows, having been severely exposed to the elements, were replaced. Rather than square up the window openings, the restoration firm installed fully functional though crooked windows in their place. It is common in the restoration of a structure of such antiquity to leave features intact that help show its age and character.
Trivia
Kitchen "ghost"
The kitchen "ghost" or shadow of a since removed structure, is visible due to the different colored mortar between the stones. This shadow shows the original location of the kitchen wing of the house.
Within the shadow on the exterior, you can still see the outline of the doorway that led into this room. Due to its proximity to the kitchen, this room was most likely used primarily for dining or entertaining. Other rooms in the home served multiple functions, determined by the need. It is believed the Metlar family removed the kitchen around 1870 for unknown reasons[citation needed]. At that time, the portion of the home currently used for our kitchen and restroom facilities assumed the function of the meal preparation area.
Delft tiles
The fireplaces in the Low House contain original 18th Century Delft tiles. Delft tiles take their name from the city Delft, in Holland, where the tiles were first created in the 16th century. Until that time, tiles had been used as flooring and were made from red clay. If walked on, the glaze on a Delft tile would wear off; therefore it was unsuitable as a floor tile.
By the end of the 16th century the tiles were used as wall tiles in many homes. Dutch houses were built near the water and, given the climate, tiles were ideal for keeping out the dampness and were used on the joining of walls and floors and for walls behind fireplaces.
Timeline
- 1738 Cornelius Low purchases 2 acres (8,100 m2) of land from William Williamson, on the bluff overlooking Landing Lane
- 1741 Low moves into his "new house on the mountain" and remains there until his death in 1777
- 1793 John Pool purchases the property from Cornelius Low’s son, Nicholas Low
- 1871 George W. Metlar acquires the house from John Adams Pool’s widow for $14,000
- 1916 Anna Voorhees obtains the house through sale from the Metlar family
- 1965 Stephen Van Rennsalear Strong purchases the property from Theodore Voorhees for $1
- 1979 Middlesex County, New Jersey takes title to the house, buying it from Stephen’s widow, Marianne Strong, for $160,000
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
- ^ "Cornelius Low House". New Jersey Historical Trust. http://njht.org/dca/njht/funded/sitedetails/cornelius_low_house.html. Retrieved 2008-10-16. "The Cornelius Low House is one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in all of New Jersey. Constructed in 1741, the house has survived essentially unaltered. It is one of two remaining buildings from the once-thriving early New Jersey settlement of Raritan Landing. The Cornelius Low House is listed on the state and National Registers of Historic Places, and was surveyed in 1937 for the Historic American Building Survey."
- ^ "Cornelius Low House / Middlesex County Museum". Middlesex County, New Jersey. http://co.middlesex.nj.us/culturalheritage/museum.asp. Retrieved 2008-10-16. "Cornelius Low was a leading citizen of Raritan Landing, a port community on the Raritan River in central New Jersey that flourished between 1720 and 1835."
External links
Categories:- Historic house museums in New Jersey
- Museums in Middlesex County, New Jersey
- Biographical museums in New Jersey
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey
- Buildings and structures completed in 1741
- Georgian architecture in New Jersey
- Houses in Middlesex County, New Jersey
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