to follow dedication Sunday afternoon
Neighborly picnic
to follow dedication Sunday afternoon
BY CHARLES W. KIM
Staff Writer
Photo courtesy of the Dayton Village Coalition South Brunswick Girl Scout Troop 353 members lay out the new butterfly garden at the Slack house in Dayton. The new garden is scheduled to open Sunday.
SOUTH BRUNSWICK — A new garden is growing at the Slack House in Dayton.
South Brunswick Girl Scout Troop 353 members planted a butterfly garden at the historic home on Georges Road to qualify for their Silver Award, according to Dayton Village Citizens Coalition member Joan Luckhardt.
Six local nurseries donated plants for the garden, which will officially open at 1:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon with a picnic to follow the dedication.
The garden is just the latest in the effort of residents to restore the historic home.
The house was in danger of being torn down several years ago when the neighboring Wawa, which at that point owned the property, decided to expand its parking area.
After the protests of residents and the intervention of the Township Council, however, the corporation agreed to donate the property to the Dayton Village Citizens Coalition. In return, the coalition agreed to make all necessary repairs and do restoration work to the run-down house. Wawa and the coalition worked out a set schedule for these repairs to be completed.
For the past few years, volunteers have been spending time and energy fixing up the house.
According to the coalition’s Web site, the Slack House — or Slack-Carroll House — at 354 Georges Road, Dayton, is historically significant to Dayton.
The group believes that this was the first house north of the five-corners intersection of Georges, Ridge and Culver roads. They say it may date back to 1860-1867.
Physician Clarence Slack was the first to live in the house, which may have also served as the physician’s office in the rural town.
Slack was born in Hightstown and attended Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. He would later become the clerk of Middlesex County and help form the First Presbyterian Church with R.M. Rowland.
The church is located next to the home on Georges Road.
Slack sold the home to Dr. Edgar Carroll in 1887. Carroll lived there until his death in 1934.
The home was named locally significant in 1983 and placed on the state’s register of historic homes.