I drive along Route 31 in Hunterdon County often, daily, in fact, for many years now. Never have I noticed a spring house or any historic outbuilding along the highway. This weekend, however, my husband pointed one out to me! And several other buildings as well. I pulled up to the spot as close as I could, jumped out to take a good peak, and yes indeed! Prospects for the spring house or other historic outbuilding looked promising.
What a surprise, to say the least! Since we have gotten a reprieve from the freezing cold, I grabbed my camera during lunch and tracked through the brush and trees to get a few good shots of my stone outbuilding. Here are several views, showing how it is built into the side of a hill near a stream. This looks to be a very good location for a spring house but this is quite large – and perhaps was the original home. From its placement into the hill, it could have been a root cellar, well protected from the elements. It is very hard to see from the road.
This structure is in good condition – fairly large. Roofing is intact. As you can see, there is no chimney or flue of any kind. On one of the short sides, there is a large vent. There are markings that show the location of another shorter structure outlined on the side enclosing the vent. This structure may require some additional research. Somehow I suspect that this may have been a residence made with beautiful stones and good stone work.
The opposite short side is shown below. The short sides are about 12″ long.
This outbuilding has two doors on the front of the structure. I just learned the name of the prior property owners and will do some research at the historical societies and the hall of records. Stay tuned!
This stone building isn’t the only historical outbuilding on this property, although this one is quite hidden from view. There is a barn and a corn crib. Each are in good condition and show foundations of stone.
The barn with the white doors does have a cupola. And a water pump is shown below.
We seem to be off to a good start in 2019. Perhaps weather permitting, I will be able to photograph a few more priceless historical outbuildings this week.
