Preservation New Jersey

Promoting the economic vitality, sustainability, and heritage of New Jersey’s diverse communities through advocacy and education.

William Green House

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Year Listed: 2015
Status: Endangered
City: Ewing
County: Mercer

Additional Features:


DESCRIPTIONWilliam Green House
The William Green Farmstead is one of the oldest settlements in Ewing Township. A building has been on this property since the late-seventeenth century. The oldest portion of the surviving farmhouse, which is now located on the campus of the College of New Jersey (TCNJ), was built in the 1730s. It was enlarged late in the century and brought to its current dimensions around 1830. Later alterations to the house neither diminish its integrity nor obscure the evidence of its evolution. The brick portion of the house is one of the oldest and northernmost examples of patterned brick architecture in New Jersey.

Groups have been working with the College to support the restoration of the William Green House for forty years. The house, which housed College employees until the mid-1970s, has been in need of restoration since a late 1970s plan to restore the building as conference space for the College was scrapped. That project was revisited in the mid-1990s, and the drawings and specifications were updated. But once again the project was not funded. Vandalism and deterioration currently beset this National-Register listed building

In 2006, TCNJ stabilized the building and secured its exterior envelope, mothballing it while plans were formulated for its possible reuse as an alumni reception center. In 2012, construction costs were estimated at over $2 million. The Friends of the Green House began making plans to raise funds and apply for grants to assist the College. But in March 2015, the College suddenly announced that it would not “endorse a fundraising effort or commit to any future use” of the Green House, abandoning years of town and gown collaboration. PNJ believes that TCNJ (and other owners of historic buildings) have a civic duty to preserve them. We urge the College to reconsider this wasteful decision and work with local supporters to secure the future of this important historic resource which has been entrusted to its care.

CONTACTS:
Anne McArthur, President
Friends of the William Green Farmhouse
peteandanne@verizon.net
609-510-9120

Bill O’Neal, Vice President
info@billoneal.com
609-599-1843

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