Everyone is invited to check out the historic Federal-style home that was built around 1810, and see the house drawings, landscape plan and old photographs of the house.
The East Amwell Historical Society will host a free open house at the Clawson House on Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from noon-3 p.m.
Everyone is invited to check out the historic Federal-style home that was built around 1810, and see the house drawings, landscape plan and old photographs of the house. Members of the East Amwell Historical Society will offer tours of the house and discuss its past. Refreshments will be served and donations will be accepted.
The house is located at 1050 Old York Road and fronts Marion F. Clawson Park. Harold and Marion Clawson owned the farm and house for decades. In 1999, the township purchased the property to establish a park, but the house sat boarded up for several years
Renovations on the home are still in progress, but the herculean efforts of volunteers have gotten the house in a condition where it can be opened to the public for this event, said East Amwell Historical Society President Jim Davidson.
Stage one, completed earlier this summer, included all new sheathing, siding, windows, trim and exterior doors to the building. Stage two, which should begin this fall, will feature a total basement renovation that includes a new floor and staircase to the first floor, pointing of the stone foundation, and a new 200-amp electric service.
The third stage is a one-story back entrance, a kitchen and bath. Plans for this stage are currently in development. The final stage is to finish renovating the home's interior.
Once renovations are completed, the building will serve several purposes, including: The headquarters of the East Amwell Historical Society, the home of the township's museum and a place to store and display items from the Edward Quick collection of East Amwell memorabilia and artifacts. The collection is currently packed away in the basement of the township's Municipal Building.
The East Amwell Historical Society is actively soliciting grants and donations to help with the restoration. Rutgers Landscaping recently created a landscape design for the property.