The Old Dutch Parsonage is a historic house built in 1751, moved about 1913 and now located at 65 Washington Place, in the borough of

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

Somerset County, New Jersey Somerset County is a county located in the north-central part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 13th-most-populous county,National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on January 25, 1971, for its significance in education and religion. The nomination form notes it as "an excellent example of mid-18th-century

Flemish bond Flemish bond is a pattern of brickwork that is a common feature in Georgian architecture. The pattern features bricks laid lengthwise (''stretchers'') alternating with bricks laid with their shorter ends exposed (''headers'') within the same cou ...

brick structure". With

History

The -story brick house was the home of the first ministers of the first

Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, , abbreviated NHK ) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the traditional denomination of the Dutch royal famil ...

es in the area, built by the combined efforts of the congregations in

Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Raritan, New Jersey Raritan is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 7,835, its highest decennial census count ever and an ...

, 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 The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies representing the Thirteen Colonies and later the United States during the American Revolutionary War. It was formed on June 14, 1775, by a resolution passed by the Second Continental Co ...

. 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. Hardenbergh helped establish Queen's College, now known as

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, 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. 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 Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

. 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

The Old Dutch Parsonage Burial Ground located behind the house contains early-18th-century graves. Harmanus Barkeloo II (1745–1788) and John Waldron (1737–1790) are buried in the cemetery.

References

External links

*
Virtual tour
{{NRHP in Somerset County, New Jersey Dutch Reformed Church Houses completed in 1751 Reformed Church in America Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Historic house museums in New Jersey Museums in Somerset County, New Jersey Clergy houses in the United States Houses in Somerset County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Somerville, New Jersey 1751 establishments in the Thirteen Colonies

History

Notable burials

See also

References

External links