Committee might try to save
pieces of old Dreyer house
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — Members of the Manalapan Community Center Committee have sought the advice of the Friends of Monmouth Battlefield regarding the Dreyer house.
"We met with Rich Walling, the president of the Friends of Monmouth Battle-field, on Jan. 8," said Arlene White, chairwoman of the private community center committee. "Mr. Walling is knowledgeable in the history of this area and in the restoration of historical sites."
The community center committee is looking at a site in the Manalapan Recre-ation Center, Route 522, as the location for a new facility. The committee is recommending that the Dreyer house, which sits in the middle of the recreation center, be torn down to make room for a new building.
The Township Committee may act on the recommendation at its meeting tonight.
White said Walling told the community center committee that the Dreyer house has no official historical value.
"A suggestion made by Mr. Walling was to see if it were possible to keep something from the house," said White. "The committee has considered this from the very beginning and will try to keep a piece of the house or something from the house and incorporate it into a new structure."
On Jan. 9, Walling corresponded with the News Transcript and confirmed that he had met with the committee. He said he reviewed the history of the site and the house’s evolution over the years with additions and changes.
"It shows up on the 1778 Butler Map of the Battle of Monmouth," Walling said. "(The) bottom line is that the building appears not be either state or national register of historic sites material, although it does reflect a local example of historic association. This criteria, however, is not compelling enough to save the site in association with the community’s needs."
Walling said he suggested that if a portion of the Dreyer house retains the framing and construction details from the original colonial dwelling, perhaps that portion could be saved and incorporated into a new structure.
Additionally, Walling said a second alternative would be to save important elements such as windows and ornamental details and exhibit them in the new structure.
White said, "It is the recommendation of this committee that the house be taken down, due to the deterioration of the foundation as well as much of the house, the astronomical cost to restore the house and the fact that the house, even (if) restored, would not fit the needs of a community center. We are, at present, waiting for a response from the Township Committee as to whether we can build a new structure on the site and if we should include office space for the township.
"We are also in need of an architect who would be willing to donate time to this project, as we need professional drawings to submit to the township before any building can be started," White said.