Preservation group calls Van Dyke parcel ‘irreplaceable.’
By: Joseph Harvie
The 200-acre Van Dyke Farm on Davidson Mill Road just got another supporter for its preservation.
The folks at Preservation New Jersey have named it one of 2006’s 10 most endangered historical sites.
The Trenton-based Preservation New Jersey, a non-profit organization formed in 1978, began its top-10 list in 1995 as a way to make people aware of historical sites in New Jersey that are in danger of being destroyed, Ron Emrich, the organization’s executive director said Wednesday.
The list also includes historic houses along the D&R Canal State Park, including the lock tenders house in Kingston. Mr. Emrich said that some of the houses are deteriorating and should be kept in better condition.
Residents of the eastern section of the township, near its border with East Brunswick and Monroe, hope that including the Van Dyke farm on the list will lead to its preservation, a goal of theirs for about a year.
Residents formed the Eastern Villages Association, whose main purpose is to save the farm, a historic house on it and what they believe to be a cemetery where slaves are buried. In addition, a family plot also may be on the farm and could contain the remains of a Revolutionary War soldier, John Vandike, who fought in the Middlesex County Militia.
According to Preservation New Jersey, the house and land were originally deeded to the Van Dyke family in 1688 and was in the family until it was sold to William Pulda in 1957. The owner of the property is Walter Pulda, of Piscataway, but the Joe Morris Co., of Rutherford, is under contract to purchase the land from Mr. Pulda.
Mr. Morris approached the Township Council in February 2005 about rezoning the property to allow the construction of three warehouses. Residents in the area fought the proposal and the council turned down the developer’s request. Since then Morris has approached the Planning Board with a concept plan for 76 single-family homes on the parcel.
Mr. Emrich said that the endangered historic places list is created to get the word out across the state that there are many places of historical significance in the state that are "irreplaceable" and in danger of being "lost forever." He said that being recognized could help sites chances of being protected.
Mr. Emrich said that its list of endangered historic places is compiled after submissions are made and gone over by architects, archaeologists and historians.
Some of the criteria the group looks at in order to compile the list is the condition of the site, how it is endangered, if there is a local group working to protect it, its historical value and its location.
"Each site ends up being treated differently," Mr. Emrich said. "We are a statewide non-profit education, advocacy and outreach group that helps organizations find solutions to preservation."
He said that the Van Dyke farm is endangered because, although the site is eligible to be on the National Register of Historic Sites, but isn’t, the developer has filed plans in the township to build on the parcel.
"The mayor and the township of South Brunswick are already in support of preserving the farm," Mr. Emrich said. "We feel like the listing will help support local efforts that are currently underway."
The farm’s inclusion on the list was announced Tuesday at a rally on the steps of the Statehouse Annex in Trenton, where members of EVA attended, displaying pictures of the farm as a way to get the word out about the site, William Klimowicz, a founding member of EVA, said Wednesday.
"It is wonderful that people throughout the state know about it now because it is state history," Mr. Klimowicz said. "It is not just state history but early American history. And if it does get preserved it could be a wonderful educational site for people to learn about how farms worked in early America."
Mr. Klimowicz said he hopes that one person in particular sees that the site has been included on the list.
"Hopefully, Mr. Morris sees this and realizes that it is too important of a site to fall under the blade of a bulldozer and be lost forever," Mr. Klimowicz said.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said he was happy to hear the farm made the list and that it could help in the township’s preservation effort.