As age begins to take its toll on Buckelew Mansion, Jamesburg Historical Association is looking to repair the home’s damage.
By: Melissa Hayes
JAMESBURG Historic Lakeview: Buckelew Mansion, will be 320 years old next year and the building is starting to look its age.
With cracked walls and ceilings and spots of water damage, the Jamesburg Historical Association is asking for help to repair the damaged building.
"It’s been 25 years now since this house was re-done," said association member Marise Burger.
The Jamesburg Historical Association acquired the house 25 years ago and began restoring it. There haven’t been any major renovations since.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the association held Ladies Day at Lakeview, opening the house to visitors and encouraging them to get involved with the association and restoration process.
"We wanted to show the house off while it’s decorated (for the holidays) and hopefully people could get away during their lunch break," Ms. Burger said. "We wanted to get some ideas from them, how they might think they want to promote the idea that this place is here, what kind of sign they might like to hang in their local business."
In addition to recruiting members to get involved in the restoration process, the historic association also hopes to attract volunteers for when the house is open to the public the second and fourth Sunday of every month.
"We could use people on Sundays to conduct the tours," said Marge Perrine an association member.
The group has acquired some funds for the restoration but hopes to start fund-raising soon for the major renovations, including lifting the house on one side and making it water-tight.
The Historical Association received $45,000 in grants from the New Jersey Cultural Trust and Middlesex County and is planning to use the money to add a public restroom to the house.
"In order to get more grants we have to have a public bathroom," Ms. Burger said.
The association is also looking for groups to adopt a room in the house and renovate it.
The Rev. Ron Becker said the Jamesburg High School Alumni Association raised $7,500 to renovate the second-floor room, which houses school trophies, varsity jackets, photographs and an alumni listing.
"The only things left of Jamesburg High School are in that room upstairs," he said.
There is also a local group of men that maintains and updates the train room which contains a model of historic Jamesburg.
Chuck Bindig has been working with model trains since about 1950 and got involved with the Jamesburg Historical Association about seven years ago.
"I remember reading something about them starting this a few years ago and said ‘let me go down there,’ " he said.
Mr. Bindig said there are about five or six men who take on different projects.
The model of the town is complete with historic replications of houses in Jamesburg including Lakeview and the Star Theater before it became the Elks Lodge.
The Jamesburg Historical Association is always looking for new members and ideas. It meets the first Wednesday of every month in Lakeview at 7 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.
For Presidents Day, Feb. 13, the association will be hosting Colonial and Civil War re-enactors, including Meet the Presidents with George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.
"Hopefully we’ve reached a stage where people’s interest in history is reviving," Ms. Burger said.
She said Lakeview is different than walking into a museum and she hopes people will visit the house and see that and get involved.
"You’re at home here," she said. "It has a different feel."

