The Wool Merchant's Daughter

Once arrived, the issue of where to park had to be dealt with. The Holmes-Hendrickson House is very small, and sits on very small plot of land on the top of a steep slope. John did not want to drive the van around the front of the house; he was afraid the van would roll over down the hill. However, there is an about-12 foot strip of cleared land behind the building. Sooooo….

Doggone. Backed it right in. Who knew this guy was such a truck wrangler?

All that was left to do was unload and carry around to the side, where there was the only level spot of ground. Here is the van disgorging its contents …

How steep is the slope in front of the house?  Pretty darned steep …

I had to walk all the way down to the brook at the base of the hill to get everything in. The popup tent on the far left is the “learn to spin” tent; the larger one right behind the house is the canvas “big top.”

The house itself has an interesting history. Monmouth County, New Jersey, was settled by the Dutch and the English in Colonial times. This house was built around 1754 by William Holmes, a local gentleman. His daughter married into the Hendrickson family and the house was expanded. The Holmes were English, the Hendricksons Dutch and consequently the house has architectural examples of both cultures, including a large Dutch double door at the front stoop. It is considered English Dutch vernacular style. 

This is not the original location for this structure. Originally, it was built on land that became part of the huge AT&T complex that was nearby. The house was used as a storage shed for many years. In the late 1950s, it was scheduled to be torn down but someone recognized its value and campaigned for it to be saved. The Monmouth County Historical Association stepped forward as willing to become caretakers of the house; the Monmouth County Parks System donated the plot of land which is adjacent to Holmdel Park and the Longstreet Farms historical site. The house was moved to the new site and has been on display ever since. It is a tiny thing and easily overlooked, but is worth a visit as it has a fantastic collection of Colonial furnishings.

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 31st, 2011 at 9:09 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.