Historic Houses 

Samuel Vail (1678-1733) purchased 275 acres between Green Brook and the Blue Hills just before his death in 1733. In his will, he left half of the land to each of his two his sons, Stephen (1710-1777) and John. (1708-1758). The land was divided along a line that roughly follows Warrenville Road - the land to the East belonged to John and the land to the West belonged to Stephen. 

When John died in 1758, his Green Brook land was divided equally among four of his eight sons, John, Jr., Abraham, David, and Joseph. The remaining sons divided his plantation in Basking Ridge.

Two of the existing historic houses along Greenbrook Road can be traced directly to John, Jr., and Abraham.   

Stephen Vail had four sons. Stephen Vail, Jr. (1739-1808 ), built a grist mill and a house on Green Brook Road. While neither exist today, the mill race and and other artifacts still remain at the site. 

About 1794, Stephen Vail, Jr. and a number of his younger siblings decided to pull-up stakes and move further West. They first moved to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and by 1800, they had moved to Ohio.

Stephen Vail, Jr. is credited as being one of the founders of Middletown, Ohio. He built the first dam on the Big Miami River, which runs through the town, as well as a gristmill and a saw mill. Many Vail decedents still live in the Middletown area.

Trust House
circa 1738

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The Trust House was probably built by Gideon Mortall around 1738, shortly after he purchased the 80 acre property from Andrew Johnston, Andrew Hay, and James Alexander, who may have been agents for Donald Cameron, the son of the original owner, Scottish nobleman Sir Even Cameron.

Stephen Vail purchased the property in 1747 from Mortall's estate. Thomas Vail (1734- ), Stephen's eldest son acquired the property after a few years although the date is uncertain. Stephen apparently wanted Thomas to remain on his farm, because at a monthly meeting of the Friends of Woodbridge, the 19th March, 1756, there was a complaint made that "Stephen Vail had employed a person in the place of his son who was prest to go to ye frontears in order to build block houses."

Thomas Vail married Mary Drake in 1758, who is said to have been a grand daughter of John Vail from North Plainfield, who in turn was his grandfather's brother. Thomas Vail lived and died in Green Brook and had five children, but the date of his death is not known. The property past to his son Peter Vail (1763- ). See the complete chronology.

In a 1940 interview with Miss Josephine and Mr. George Trust, Mr. Trust said that Herman Trust had come from Germany and purchased a home in California before moving to Green Brook. In 1865, Mr. Trust purchased the house from Conrad Egel, a brother-in-law, who lived in Middlesex. At the time, Egel told them that the house was about one hundred years old.

The Trusts remodeled the east wing, and in 1876 they hired a carpenter, Mr. Runyon, to build a two story addition on the West side of the house.  

The Raritan Valley Hospital purchased the property from the Trust family and it is currently owned by the State of New Jersey.

Lowande House
circa 1800

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This 1894 image of the Lowande House was taken looking east on Greenbrook road from near the Sebring House. The house and barn at a distance is the Thomas Vail farm.

The house has sidelights and transom at front entry which is surrounded by later Colonial Revival style porch. The oldest part of house is 1 1/2 story building, 2-rooms deep, with stacked-brick construction.

Jonah Vail House
circa 1755

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1890 back view

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The Jonah Vail house was built about 1755 by John Vail, Jr. Jonah Vail was the grandson of John Vail, Jr.  

Since it was built, the house has been modified many times. The house has eleven distinct levels and numerous hallways. Most of the walls are brick-lined and the structural members are solid oak. The heavy oak beams are joined by wooden pegs which make a ridgepole for the roof unnecessary. It still has wide, random-width plank floors in some parts of the house. 

In June 1777, George Washington is said to have stopped at the Jonah Vail farm to inquire about a good place on the mountain to use as a "look-out." (See Green Brook History.)

Amos Vail, Jonah's youngest son, acquired the house in 1885. The 1890 image shows Amos and his wife from the right, and Kate Fitz Randolph and Amos' younger sister Isabella from the left. One of the two elderly women may be Jonah's wife, the former Rachel Pound.

The Shotwell house was built in 1841 by Sidna and Edward Vail. Sidna Vail, the daughter of Jonah Vail, married Edward Vail, son of Joseph Vail, who lived next door. Sidna had been a student at the Green Brook School at the corner of Greenbrook Road and Warrenville Road in 1831. (See Schools.)

When the two married, Sidna's father gave them part of his land to build a house. The "honeymoon cottage" was built flanked by the homes of their parents. Sidna and Edward celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary in this same house.

Some time in the early 1890's Mr. and Mrs. Walter Shotwell moved into the house. They were relatives of the Vail family.

When the Vail Hat Shop, which was located across Greenbrook Road, was torn down, part of the building was moved across the road and incorporated into the back of the house. The addition provided a new kitchen on the first floor and two additional rooms on the second floor.

There are two fireplaces in the house. The woodwork, latched doors, pegged construction, and wide floor boards are much in keeping with the houses built in that era.

The house has been well kept and nothing has been done to spoil the original design. The house is still a cottage-type home surrounded by lovely trees and beautiful grounds.

Joseph Vail House
circa 1740-1973

 

The Joseph Vail house was built about 1740 by John Vail, Sr., and willed to his youngest son Joseph (1752- ). In John's will, his second wife Mary Laing was given five acres of Joseph's land on which to construct a new house. John's first wife, Margaret Laing, who bore seven of his nine children, was the older sister of his second wife.

In 1873, the house and farm was sold to C.&.S. Sandford. After several other owners, it was purchased by the Green Brook Baptist Church in 1951 and used as a church. In 1973, the house was knocked down to make room for the new church which currently occupies the site. (See November, 1973 newspaper article)

The house was constructed of oak timbers and the walls were filled with brick or "nogging" to provide insulation and fire protection. The original house had two rooms downstairs and a sleeping space above.

Ephreim Vail House
circa 1755

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The Ephreim Vail house was built about 1755 by Abraham Vail. The house was described for many years as "the only two-story house on Greenbrook Road". This date is etched into the cornerstone of the home and can be clearly seen today.

Abraham, who died in 1824, willed the property to his son Ephraim, who lived in house until his death in 1878 at the age of 94. The last Vail heir to occupy this house was Ephraim's son, Abraham Vail, who died in 1909 and who is buried in the Burying Ground of the Quaker Meeting House in Plainfield. 

The Ephraim Vail house, rests squarely on its original foundations of native stone, supported by its massive, original hand-hewn beams in the cellar. It has lead a charmed life! One fire damaged the west wing of the house and destroyed part of the Colonial kitchen (now the dining room), but it did not affect the rest of the house. Another fire in 1969 gutted the interior of the house, but left unharmed the beautiful pine mantel and the original panes of glass in the living room. Much of the house has been restored to its original beauty and authenticity. It has been enlarge by the addition of a modern kitchen and dormers on the third floor to make room for a game room.

Sebring House
1734-1988

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The site was also the location of Matape's wigwam, which was a corner point of four of the original Indian purchases in central New Jersey. The Eastern purchase, which included Green Brook Township, was dated October 30, 1684. Its Western boundary was a line from the Sebring site North, following roughly King George Road to the Passaic River, and its Southern boundary followed Bound Brook to the East.

The Sebring site was of great significance for both the Native Americans and early settlers. The confluence of the Bound Brook and Green Brook just East of the site was just two miles upstream from the Raritan River. The road (or trail) to the North and South crossing the stream made it an ideal location for trade and for a mill. While the builder of the original house and first mill at the site is unknown, by 1788 the mill was owned by Samuel Vail, the youngest son of Stephen Vail, Jr. By 1833, the mill and house were owned by William H. Sebring.

The house was a traditional Dutch design. The fireplaces in these houses were usually large and built without jambs in order to accommodate a large family seated around the fire. The Sebring house had an exceptionally large hearth, and just next to it was a large "beehive" oven used for cooking.

The front entrance to the house was a divided Dutch door. The floorboards on the second floor rested on the heavy beams which the ceiling of the first floor. In addition to the main fireplace, there were four other fireplaces in the house. The house had a total of sixteen rooms and was built in three sections at different times. The West (left) section was the oldest and was a fine example of early Dutch architecture.

A very old stencil found in the hallway has been reproduced and used in the Victorian Parlor of the Scotch Plains Historical Society's Cannonball House which is located in Scotch Plains.

Over the years, the area around the house was the site of numerous mills, the most recent of which was owned by the Sebring family. The house was knocked down in 1988 to make room for a mini-mall.

Brokaw House
circa 1765

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The Brokaw house was purchased by Stelle Fitz Randolph from Asa Fitz Randolph the eldest son of Edward. Mr. and Mrs. John Egel purchased the property in 1855 from Stelle Fitz Randolph. The Egels lived in the house until 1868 when they moved to Iowa. The Egels sold the property to Peter Doyle. 

Mr. Brokaw bought the house and land when the Helen Brown Estate, formerly the "Rice Property", was sold at auction on May 16, 1917. At that time 150 acres called the "Green Brook Farms" were sold. There were thirty-six farms ranging in size from two to sixteen acres each.

Originally the Brokaw house faced Greenbrook Road but was back quite a distance from the road. In 1973, the house was moved from its original site on Greenbrook Road and turned to face Woodlawn Avenue. An addition was added on the left of the house facing Woodlawn Avenue in keeping with the original house. In the moving and remodeling, great care was taken not to make any unnecessary changes.

The interior and exterior walls of the original house are brick-lined. The dining room which probably was the kitchen before the addition was put on has a lovely fireplace. The woodwork, the random-width floors, and the general layout of the house puts it in the class of houses of the time in which it was built.

The property, on which the house sits, was part of Stephen Vail's original farm which was subsequently owned by Edward Fitz-Randolph. 

Burns House
circa 1830

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Built on property originally owned by the Vail family. A 1872 map shows that it was owned by D. Palmer. The Burns House was occupied by Mr. Fred Bruns when he owned "The Blue Hills Plantation."

This house was built at two different times. The original section on the west was the kitchen and living room with rooms above on the second floor. A large kitchen was added. It has a brick fireplace, cupboards and large ceiling beams in keeping with the original house. The original kitchen is now the dining room and contains a large fireplace and the original corner cupboards.

The large living room has been redecorated and most of the large porch which used to be across the front of the house has been made into a recreation room. The original part of the house has brick-lined walls, brick foundation, and pegged construction.

Blue Hills Plantation
circa 1758


More images and information on the Blue Hills Plantation. 

The Blue Hills Plantation Restaurant was located at the corner of Greenbrook and Warrenville Roads. The original house was built by  Stephen Vail (1710-1777) son of Samuel Vail. The house was located on the Eastern side of Stephen Vail's plantation.

Mundy House
circa 1770

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The Mundy House is one of more interesting houses in Green Brook. A 1823 Mortgage document between John J. Vermeule (the great-grandson of Cornelius Vermeule) and James Vail (the grandson of John Vail of Green Brook), provides insights into its early history. The document states that the property on which the house is located was purchased  by Cornelius Vermeule (1716-1784) from John Laing in 1768. It also indicates that John J. inherited the house from his father, Dr. John Vermeule (1768-1813). 

The house was probably built by Adrian Vermeule (1741-1777) sometime between 1768 and 1770. Adrian was the eldest son of Cornelius Vermeule, and the father of Dr. John Vermeule. He married Elizabeth Field of Bound Brook in 1767. Adrian was an express rider for the Somerset militia who was wounded and captured near Quibbletown. He died in 1777 while being held a prisoner by the British at the notorious "sugar house" in New York. (See C. C. Vermeule, "The Revolutionary Camp Ground at Plainfield, New Jersey." )

The property originally encompassed 116 acres, running from just North of Green Brook to the foot of the mountains, and from Rock Avenue to Jefferson Avenue. In 1832, the property passed from the Vermeule's to James Vail and his wife Maria, and then in 1872, to Theodore F. Hay. This fact is confirmed by a 1872 mortgage document signed by Maria Vail and Theodore F. Hay. A 1850 Somerset County map shows that the house was owned by J. Vail, and a 1872 Warren map shows that it was owned by G. Hay. The relationship between G. Hay and Theodore F. Hay has not been determined.

The house is unique in that neither the interior nor exterior has been modified. The changes that have been made to the original design are a hot water furnace and a bathroom. The slate roof has also been replaced. There are nine rooms in the house along with many storage spaces. The house has both a front and back stairway, and in the attic you can see the hand-hewn oak beams butted together to form the ridge of the roof. There floors are made of wide, random-width planks. 

The house has four fireplaces. The one in the living room is Hessian carved and is exceptionally beautiful. The one above it on the second floor is also carved, but with a different design.

The basement has hand-hewn oak beams which are butted together to form first-floor supports. There basement is partitioned into many small areas perhaps to be used for storage.

Interhaven House
circa 1868

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The Interhaven House is a rare example of Gothic Revival architecture and it is one of the most unusual houses in the county. It was builder is believed to be Thomas A. Bennett who owned the quarry not far away.  The house was also owned by Clarence Smalley, the first mayor of Green Brook and operator of the quarry.

Little altered, the house features bluestone walls; brownstone sills, lintels, and quoins; a mansard roof with pointed-arch windows, and dormers; battens, brackets, and ornate iron cresting. Its interior retains heavily modeled newels, balusters, surrounds, plaster ornaments, and wainscoting.

The date of construction is said to be scratched into a plaster wall. 

Alexander Vail House
circa 1800

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Jacob Smalley House
circa 1800

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Asa Fitz Randolph House
circa 1830

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