Old Dutch Parsonage

The Old Dutch Parsonage is a historical house built in 1751, moved about 1913 and now located at 65 Washington Place, Somerville, Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 25, 1971, and noted as "an excellent example of mid-18th-century Flemish Bond brick structure".[3]

Old Dutch Parsonage
Old Dutch Parsonage, 2017
Location65 Washington Place, Somerville, New Jersey
Coordinates40°34′5″N 74°37′23″W
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1751 (1751)
NRHP reference No.71000514[1]
NJRHP No.2581[2]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJanuary 25, 1971
Designated NJRHPSeptember 11, 1970

History

The ​2 1⁄2-story brick house was the home of the first ministers of the first Dutch Reformed Churches in the area, built by the combined efforts of the congregations in Somerville, New Jersey, and Raritan, New Jersey, in 1751.

The first occupant was Reverend John Frelinghuysen who taught seminarians in the house. His son Frederick Frelinghuysen was a Captain in the Continental Army.

Jacob Rutsen Hardenbergh, one of the seminarians who occupied the house after Frelinghuysen's death along with the former reverend's widow and her children, succeeded Frelinghuysen as minister, occupant of the house, and, in 1756, as husband to the former Mrs. Frelinghuysen.[4]

Hardenbergh helped establish Queen's College, now known as Rutgers University in 1766 and in 1785 became its first President. He moved from the house in 1781 but it continued in use as a parsonage until 1810.[5]

Dr. Peter Stryker bought the house in 1810 and sold it to the Doughty family in 1836. They owned it until 1907 when they sold it to the Central Railroad of New Jersey.

In 1913, the house was set to be knocked down by the railroad, but instead it was moved adjacent to the Wallace House, which was built in 1775.

Notable burials
Old Dutch Parsonage Burial Ground
Burial Ground in 2018
Details
Find a GraveOld Dutch Parsonage Burial Ground

The Old Dutch Parsonage Burial Ground located behind the house contains early-18th-century graves.[6]

Harmanus Barkeloo II (1745–1788) and John Waldron (1737–1790) are buried in the cemetery.

See also

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Somerset County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. February 12, 2018. p. 13.
  3. Tomaszewski, Charlotte (January 25, 1971). "NRHP Nomination: Old Dutch Parsonage". National Park Service. Cite journal requires |journal= (help) "Accompanying 1 photo, from 1971". Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  4. "Old Dutch Parsonage, Somerville". Richard Stockton College of NJ. Retrieved 2007-08-26. The Old Dutch Parsonage was constructed in 1751 with funds from three Dutch Reformed Church Congregations of the Raritan Valley. It was first occupied by Reverend John Frelinghuysen, a member of George Washington’s staff during the Revolutionary War. While he served the three congregations, he also tutored several young men in his home, preparing them for the seminary. Frelinghuysen died in 1754, leaving behind his wife, Dinah, and two children, Frederick and Eva.
  5. "Old Dutch Parsonage and Wallace House". New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry. Retrieved 2012-02-03.
  6. Sarapin, Janice Kohl (1994). Old Burial Grounds of New Jersey. Rutgers University Press. p. 106. ISBN 0-8135-2111-4.
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