Other Sites of Interest
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OTHER SITES OF INTEREST
In addition to the township’s official historic landmarks that are the subject of this guidebook, two other homes were recommended by the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee to be so designated: the Gordon Homestead and the Brewer House. At the time of printing, the latter had just been designated a landmark.
4240 Province Line Road - Gordon Homestead
This house, ca. 1700s and 1850, is located between Mercer Mall and the Canal. It is an unusual blend of Greek Revival and Italianate design and is the sole remaining historic building representing the eighteenth and nineteenth century farmstead visible from the road along this stretch of Province Line Road. Unlike the standard practice of building a new addition in a separate block adjacent to the original house, this house incorporates an older house within a mid-nineteenth century addition. The farm was in the Gordon family from 1848 to 1940.
634 Rosedale Road - Brewer House
This house, ca. 1870, is a rare and superb example of a high style Victorian Gothic house in an excellent state of original preservation. It is the only house of this style in the township. Compared to two Gothic Revival houses in the Historic District, it shows the evolution of this style as more exaggerated, more vertical, and of more intricate design. It is noteworthy for its stucco exterior since most builders in the area interpreted this style in wood. Its strong sense of vertical proportions is created largely by tall, thin windows and steeply pitched projecting slate gable roofs.
Delaware and Raritan Canal
The Delaware and Raritan Canal travels through approximately six miles of Lawrence Township. When opened in 1834, it connected New Brunswick and Bordentown by a navigable water transportation route. The canal not only cut the traveling distance between New York City and Philadelphia but also bypassed the dangerous ocean route.
During the construction of the canal, a cholera epidemic killed many of the workers. The Lawrence Township governing body in 1832 voted to provide “a suitable building for the purpose of accommodating any poor and transient person that may fall sick (with cholera) within the bounds of our Township.”
The canal was one of the busiest navigation canals in the United States. In fact, by 1866-1871, it surpassed the more famous Erie Canal in total tonnage. The Delaware and Raritan Canal remained in operation until 1932-33 when it was closed to transportation. Today, it is used as a source of water for agriculture, industry, and homes. Lawrence Township’s portion of the canal is open for recreational uses such as hiking, fishing, and canoeing. At the foot of Cherry Tree Lane, a canoe launch has been installed. The township utilized the Green Acres program to add to the open space network, adding more than 100 acres.
Though it has not yet been designated as a local landmark, the Delaware and Raritan Canal, including its towpath and its structures, has been placed on the State and National Register of Historic Places. It is owned by the State of New Jersey and operated as a sixty-mile linear state park. The canal park was recently added to the National Trails System by the federal government.
