By:Michael Arges
EAST WINDSOR What to do with the Rescarrick Moore House the large, white Colonial house next to the Shiseido Corp. facility on Route 571 is again on the Township Council’s agenda.
At the June 7 meeting of the council, suggestions from Mayor Janice Mironov were approved that may lead to the restoration of the former home of Revolutionary War military officer Rescarrick Moore.
The historic house is in a state of disrepair. Ms. Mironov suggested that although the Shiseido Corp., owner of the property and the house, has been patient about having the house on its property, she feels an obligation to help them find an appropriate use for the building.
The council approved a proposal to advertise the existence of the house with historical societies in the area in hopes one of these groups could restore and use the house. There was also approval to bring in a professional with expertise in history and historical preservation to evaluate definitively the historic value of the house and make recommendations about whether the house could be moved to another site.
Finally, the board approved the idea of making a record of the house through photographs, floor plans, etc. This could preserve some of the house’s historical value even if it turns out that the house itself cannot stand.
Local historian Kate Middleton endorsed the council’s plans, noting that, as she understands it, the council is pursuing a course very similar to that recommended by a commission that was consulted when the issue of the Moore House first came up when Shiseido acquired the property. Ms. Middleton said it is her impression that there may have been funding set aside for the preserving the house.
Local historians knew the house might have historical significance but when Shiseido bought the property and planned to expand the facility next to the house, Ms. Middleton said many area residents became concerned. She credited some adroit negotiations by Mayor Janice Mironov and a sympathetic attitude on the part of Shiseido executives with saving the house at the last minute, with just a day or two to spare.
The commission’s first preference was to move the house, keeping it in East Windsor rather than dismantling it and dispersing the pieces far and wide, Ms. Middleton said.
However, the committee also recognized that the building had major structural problems, such as stucco improperly applied to the wooden exterior several decades ago. This allows moisture to get in between the wood and stucco, and is causing significant rotting of the wood. In the end, the commission recommended moving the house and not dismantling it, except as a last resort. One suggestion was to move the house across the field and back to a site near the East Windsor Municipal Authority, near the GMH Windsor Corporate Park.
At the time, Summit Bank and Shiseido Corp. had set aside $60,000 to be used for restoration and improvement of the building, Ms. Middleton recalls, but she doesn’t know if that offer is still on the table.
The Rescarrick Moore house has a number of historical connections and possible connections that give it special historical significance, according to Ms. Middleton. The story of the house begins with the story of Capt. Rescarrick Moore (1755-1835). It is believed that he built the house sometime between 1800 and 1820. As a soldier for the colonists he took part in the Battle of Monmouth (1778) and later, for the United States, he fought the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 out in Pennsylvania.
An example of the house’s great potential historical significance is that, when the people of East Windsor met to form a township, in 1797, they held the meeting in Rescarrick Moore’s tavern. Historians don’t know where the tavern was, but they guess that it might been located at the Rescarrick Moore house. So the house may be the location where East Windsor began. Capt. Moore also helped found the Locust Corner school, which was at the corner of Old Trenton Road and Route 571.
