LOOKING BACK
By:Michele Dansak
In the 1960s, the state highway department was planning to construct a portion of Interstate 95 through New Jersey. The first route under consideration would have had I-95 running parallel to Route 206. The other route, which nearly gained the approval of the state highway department, would have run through the Millstone River Valley.
The latter proposal quickly drew the attention of a number of the township’s residents, among them Robert Moevs, Jerry Della Torre, Harry Smith and Ann Van Middlesworth. They formed the Millstone Valley Preservation Society in order to protect townships situated along Millstone River.
The society was an incorporated organization, complete with bylaws, officers, regular meetings and several hundred dues-paying members.
Armed with petitions filled with hundreds of signatures, the society set forth in trying to get the state highway department to change its plans. No one had ever managed to get the state highway department to change its mind about anything. Not surprisingly, the society’s plans were met with a great deal of skepticism. They were seen as fighting a useless battle.
The society joined forces with Princeton (who had the money to support an effort of this magnitude), Lawrenceville and Hopewell.
This new coalition hired a Scottish engineering specialist in road design. His presentation showed that it was not feasible to run I-95 through the Millstone Valley. The struggle continued for years, but the efforts of the society and their neighbors were eventually successful.
A movement to get local support from townships along the valley for larger preservation goals emerged from this struggle. Hillsborough was the first to take action. By 1972, the township planning committee had been presented with petitions to incorporate an historic ordinance into the township’s master plan that was in the process of being formulated.
Sample ordinances, from other municipalities in the state, were used by the society as guides. They learned what to watch for and what to do by following court cases that were pending in those other municipalities.
At the time, it was constitutionally unacceptable to have a historic board that would have legal power over property.
As a result, the society became the nucleus of a commission, without legal power, that would serve as an advisory arm to the Planning Board. (That is the arrangement still in place today). With the acceptance of the township ordinance in 1974, the Hillsborough Historic Commission was officially born.
At the same time, an effort to have the Delaware and Raritan Canal made into an historic landmark culminated with the establishment of an historic district that ran the entire length of the canal. This included an area of land that was bounded by the Millstone River.
The objective of the Millstone Valley Preservation Society was met with the establishment of the historic district. The society disbanded and its members turned their attention to the needs of the Historic Commission.
Almost immediately, the commission canvassed the township. They sent out letters to create an interest in historic preservation. They prepared a survey of historic sites and hired a consultant to help prepare applications for both the State and National Historic Registries.
The establishment of Hillsborough’s five historic districts – Neshanic, Neshanic Mills, South Branch, Clover Hill and the Millstone Valley – was the result of this initial work.
From the beginning, the commission has emphasized its role as an education-oriented body. Fairly close to the commission’s formation, the groundwork was in place for a series of publications that would cover various aspects of the township’s history.
The first two, covering Hillsborough’s prehistory and its architectural history, have already been published. It produced a driving tour that emphasized historic structures throughout the township.
The commission also worked with individual homeowners and developers. It advised them on how to restore historic structures and on ways that they could be readapted for another use. Now however, the situation has changed. The commission is running into trouble because of developers who are coming in and swallowing up isolated structures. The Whitenack House and the Brokaw-Gulick House are examples of this. Because they are situated outside of the historic districts, there is less that can be done to protect them.
In the years to come, it is likely that the commission will assume a more traditional role as it tries to protect and preserve the historic structures that are left within the township.
Michele Dansak is a member of the Historic Preservation Commission.