On Armistice Day (November 11, for those too young to remember the original name) work began on preparation of the Preservation Plan which is funded by a grant from the New Jersey Historic Preservation Trust. The morning started with a walk-through and then a close examination of the beams,  joists and other structural elements by engineer Jim Huffman. His report will provide guidance for what is needed to assure long-term stability and adequate load-bearing capacity for the house. Dr. Richard Veit is a dendrochronologist–one who determines the age of a wooden beam by analyzing the annual rings that are formed as the tree grows.

Jim Huffman makes notes after examining the joists in the kitchen

Dendrochronology is the scientific method of dating based on the analysis of patterns of tree-rings. Dendrochronology can date the time at which tree rings were formed, in many types of wood, to the exact calendar year. In some areas of the world, it is possible to date wood back a few thousand years, or even many thousands. In most areas, however, wood can only be dated back several hundred years, if at all. Currently, the maximum for fully anchored chronologies is a little over 11,000 years from present. (That ought to be sufficient for our purposes.)

Dr. Richard Veit drilling a core in the King beam

Richard used a hollow bit to drill in the king beam in the cellar and obtain a wooden core–a cross section of the beam showing the annual growth rings. He took  more samples from the queen beam on the second floor and several in the large lintel over the fireplace in the attached kitchen, obtaining in each case 5-6 inch cores. Those cores then go to the lab at Columbia University, and in a couple of months we may find out when those wooden beams were cut. Richard believes the beams were red oak rather than the more common white oak.

In the afternoon several people from the historical society met with historian Dennis Bertland, listening to him outline the nature of his investigation using deeds, wills, newspaper clippings, court records and other sources which we expect will fill in a lot of the early history of the house. Dennis has done a lot of work in Warren, Hunterdon and Morris, and knows the region’s historical structures quite well; equally important, he is very conversant with the documentary record. I’ve read his report on the “Fleming Castle” in Flemington and the Zion Lutheran Church in Oldwick, and was astonished at the depth of detail Dennis had uncovered.

All three of these reports will be posted on this site when they are received.

The Warren County Municipal and Charitable Conservancy Trust Fund Committee on Monday gave its approval to our request for funding for the next phase of the stabilization and preservation of the Roseberry House. The Board of Freeholders still has to approve the grant, but we expect that will be done at their first meeting in December. I don’t have the exact dollar amount of the grant, but it approximates 78% of the funding we were seeking this time around.  There were 22 applicants (8-10 is normal) and there was not enough money to satisfy everyone. We feel fortunate and appreciative. The bulk of the money will go to masonry repair and repointing the entire structure.

At the open house on a beautiful Sunday afternoon Jeff Finnegan, who is an expert on George Washington, enthralled the audience with a recounting of significant events in Washington’s life. No, Washington never slept in the Roseberry House, but its construction was more-or-less contemporary with Washington’s assuming command of the Continental army. Finnegan’s was a lively account of Washington’s early years, his development as a public figure at the same time as he was deeply involved in expanding Mount Vernon and engaged in other money-making activities. The windows were all in, the plywood removed and extensive displays of artifacts from the archaeological work were set up inside the house. Announcements had been sent home with students from several of the elementary schools in town, and there were quite a few parents with kids in tow, who toured the house, although I saw no little ones in the audience for Jeff’s talk. High school students from PASS–the town’s alternative high school–assisted with preparations, tours and greeting guests. They were invariably cheerful and very helpful; we hope to see more of them.

Gil Greene introduces Jeff Finnegan

Jeff Finegan address the crowd outside the old kitchen

Pamela Backes readies the front parlor for tours

The Roseberry House will be open for tours and inspection on October 23rd (Sunday) between 1 and 5.  Artifacts from the archaeological dig will be on display–some dating from the early 18th century. At approximately 2 pm there will be a talk by guest speaker Jeff Finegan.  Mr. Finegan lives in an historic house which has been featured for many years on the Tour of Historic Pohatcong;  he will be talking about one of his passions - “George Washington: His Life from Birth to Death”.  C’mon and bring the family.

Roseberry House - September 2, 2011

The initial phase of our stabilization efforts is now completed with the installation of the new and newly-restored windows and doors. Until we have shutters to protect the windows, plywood has been installed in all windows, so the building will not look to the passersby quite like this photo, which was taken on September 2.

detail of the cellar window

The cellar windows are quite different than what we are used to.  Sometimes there was a sill, sometimes not. We elected the no-sill option.  Although the original windows of the Roseberry house have not survived, this style is authentic to the period. There’s no glass in them, but screens on the inside protect against insects, birds and small rodents. I watched the installation of these windows, and they are VERY securely anchored, with heavy bolts into the rock (not the mortar joints). Ultimately they will hardly be noticed—the piazza (porch) will extend the full length of the house when it is rebuilt a couple years from now, and the cellar door and the two cellar windows will be largely overshadowed. If we wind up configuring the cellar for workshops and meetings, we’ll fit them with glass to keep the cold out. But that’s a decision for next year.

Jimmy entertains the kids as Donna Curzi Fulton and Johnny Pappas look on

When Thomas the Tank engine comes to Phillipsburg, we park cars. More than $5,000 was raised for the third year in a row, all of which goes to support the Roseberry house preservation effort in one way or another. In the photo, Johnny Pappas and Donna Curzi Fulton pose with Jimmy, who enchanted many of the kids (and frightened a few). We had about a dozen volunteers—some from the Historical Society and some old friends of Scott’s—tending the parking for the six days of Thomas. Danette again organized the volunteers, and was there all the time.

On Thursday, July 16, the Phillipsburg Area Historical Society met for the first time in about 35 years at the Roseberry House. Michael Margulies spoke about the philosophy and process of preservation, highlighted by his work at the Vanatta Farm, the Vail house in Historic Speedwell (Morristown), and at the Roseberry House (of course). There were about 30 people in attendance–some standing–as space was limited in part due to the fact that it is still a “construction zone.” We had the pleasure of hosting Catherine Goulet, Principal Historic Preservation Specialist with the New Jersey Historic Trust. She got a thorough tour of the house and a sense of how we were approaching the preservation task. The Trust is the state entity that recently awarded the Society a $50,000 grant to prepare a Preservation Plan.

Windows and doors are now being installed, but the work goes deliberately, as there is still a lot of fitting and adjusting. We expect all to be completed within two weeks. And then the plywood goes back up to protect against vandalism, until we have shutters made.

Michael Margulies, Frank Greenagel, Cathy Goulet and Wayne Sherer in the hall of the Roseberry House

In the first weeks of June passersby will notice something very new about the Roseberry House-the original windows have been refurbished where possible and replaced where necessary. The millwork has been competed, stacked up waiting for the windows themselves in the photo below. The original color—a dark brownish red—discovered on a shim beneath one of the original sills was scanned and matched by the nice people at Sherwin-Williams in town, is being applied. The place will begin to approach its original appearance. There’s not enough money available now to replace the shutters, but that will happen next year (we hope!). In the meantime, we’ll have to put plywood over the windows again—to protect them from stone-throwers who pitched rocks through many of the temporary blue plexiglass panels that have been there for the last year. That’s unfortunate, but vandalism is a fact of life, even for historic places.

Preservation work often turns up more questions than immediate answers when one is digging around in an old building. While preparing the window openings for new or repaired sills, our lead carpenter, Noah Woodruff, discovered this small domino underneath the old sill. It’s handmade, and probably of whalebone, or maybe ivory; definitely not cow bone or wood. The “spots” are hand-drilled holes, and the divider between the two sides has been sawn or filed. The holes are not perfectly aligned and the divider is a little crooked. The domino is 2.7 cm long and about .5 cm high. We don’t know the date of it—probably late-eighteenth century, or why it was under the sill. Seems like it had to have been placed there deliberately. These are the kinds of artifacts that may tell us something about the lifestyle and culture of the early inhabitants—or the builder. As we learn more, we’ll post additional information here.