Introduction
From Lhi
| Jump | |
| |
| Reference Section | |
| Guidebook | |
| Highlights | |
| Main Street | |
| L'ville School | |
| Landmarks | |
| Other Sites |
INTRODUCTION
This guidebook highlights the most architecturally significant properties of Lawrence Township, most of which are in or near the village of Lawrenceville. It is a joint project of the township’s Historic Preservation and Cultural and Heritage Advisory Committees. The architectural and historic descriptions of the 56 homes and other buildings featured in the pages to follow were drawn largely from previous research surveys, inventories and locally published articles. Key written sources included the late Donald Tyler’s Old Lawrenceville: Early Houses and People (1965), and the official historic sites surveys of Lawrence Township conducted by Nancy Zerbe, Denise Malik and Ann Mager of Research and Archaeological Management, Inc. (1986) and Susanne C. Hand of Kinsey and Hand (1987). These two surveys were conducted for the township’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee and the State Office of New Jersey Heritage and have served as the basis for the designation of selected sites as the township’s official historic landmarks.
Old Lawrenceville: Early Houses and People by Donald H. Tyler is an excellent oral history. Like all oral histories, it was based to a great extent on interviews with older residents and ex-residents of the township. Unfortunately, mistakes are sometimes passed on from one writer to another because corroboration is either extremely difficult or cannot be achieved. We have made every effort to correct such errors.
Like the New Jersey and National Registers, local designation criteria require that properties must retain integrity. That means that they must substantially retain the physical appearance they had during the period for which they are significant. Integrity is judged in terms of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, and association. All of the designated structures are named in amendments to the township’s 1986 ordinance on historic preservation and are listed in the historic preservation element of the Master Plan.
Among these landmarks are 29 “Key” structures in the Main Street Historic District that was created in 1988. The district partially coincides with the borders of the National Historic District. You may also wish to take a look at the more than two dozen additional local landmarks and other historic sites, such as the Delaware and Raritan Canal that may be found in locations scattered throughout the township. They are mostly farmsteads and significant 18th and 19th century buildings.
There are many other homes of historic interest in the township which are noteworthy and deserve your attention, also. However, they were not considered by the township to be of landmark stature because of certain subsequent additions and changes which altered their historic character.
The most striking and common characteristic of architecture in Lawrence Township is its sequence of major building activity which takes us back to the early period of European settlement. Most buildings had two, three, four, or even more major periods of construction. They reveal a history of changing tastes, technology, economic patterns and lifestyle, and display a rich heritage, one that shows many layers of continuity and change over the generations. The landmark houses were enlarged and adapted, but their early history usually remains visible along with their changes.
The Township of Lawrence, in granting historic landmark power, has declared that the presence of historic landmarks is an essential element of the township’s character and identity, as well as an important factor in the economy of the municipality and its property values.
The Guidebook Committee urges you and your family and friends to venture out to see these local landmarks. We suggest viewing most of the landmarks in the Main Street Historic District, including the Circle of The Lawrenceville School, on a walking tour. The landmark buildings there and outside of the district represent a major element of our town’s rich heritage and add immeasurably to its appeal.
Some of the landmarks are not easily viewed from public streets. In order to maintain the owner’s privacy, we ask that you not enter any of these properties without first obtaining the owner’s permission.
