County supports nomination of two historic sites

RED BANK— Two historic Monmouth County properties might receive national recognition this year.

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders unanimously passed a resolution on Aug. 12 supporting the nomination of the Dutch Colonial Robert White House at 20 South St. in Red Bank and the Robert W. Cooke Medical Office at 67 McCampbell Road in Holmdel for the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places on Aug. 12.

“There is a substantial amount of research and substantiation of fact that goes into a nomination of this sort,” Freeholder Director Lillian G. Burry said at the freeholders’ work session meeting. “I intend to attend and support these nominations.”

According to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), cultural or historical organizations, government agencies and professional consultants typically prepare nomination applications for historic sites. Completed forms are submitted to the state’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO), where a staff member evaluates each application for eligibility, technical completeness and substantive sufficiency.

Applications are then presented to the New Jersey State Review Board for Historic Sites, made up of professionals in the fields of architecture, history, architectural history, archaeology, and landscape architecture, according to the DEP.

If the application is passed by the State Review Board, the property is listed in the New Jersey Register and then recommended by the state for the National Register.

Mary Gilligan, owner of the Robert White House and a member of the borough’s historic preservation commission, said the one-and-a-half-story house was constructed at 20 South St. sometime between 1735 and 1740, making it one of the oldest structures in the entire borough. An extension was put on the house in 1795 with materials dating back to the earlier 1700s, she said.

“According to my architect, who is Margaret Westfield, simple houses weren’t intended to last this long,” Gilligan said. “The grand houses were intended to last forever, but the simple farmhouses … they didn’t think they would last as long. The fact that it has survived all these years with a lot of original material intact, I think it is register worthy.”

Preservation consultants Westfield Architects of Haddon Heights prepared the application for the home.

“Truly, their expertise has truly made the application what it is,” Gilligan said. “The original research on the house was done by local historian Joseph Hammond. Years ago, long before I even purchased the house, he had done the initial research on it. I am very lucky in my choice of friends.”

According to the Holmdel Historical Society website, the Federal-style Robert W. Cooke Medical Office was constructed in 1823, making it one of the oldest existing structures built as a professional doctor’s office in the state — and possibly the nation — according to George Joynson, president of the historical society.

In 1823, Cooke bought 14 acres of land and built the medical clinic. Now the tract is occupied by Village School on McCampbell Road.

“The Cooke family goes back to the 1700s in Colts Neck, and they occupy one of the oldest homes there,” Burry said at the meeting. “I am sure most of you have seen this but never really realized what it was. It is along [Route] 520 right next to the Holmdel Elementary School. That little white structure was once a medical office through the 19th century. [Dr. Cooke’s office] and all the equipment he used is all there on display, beautifully done and well maintained by the Holmdel Historical Society.”

According to the DEP, inclusion on the National Register makes available financial benefits to historic sites, such as a 20 percent federal income tax credit for sustainable rehabilitation. Properties listed on the New Jersey Register are eligible for matching grants and low-interest loans for restoration and other maintenance services.

The 2010 State Review Board will review both applications at a public meeting on Sept. 30 at 401 East State St., Trenton. For more information, visit http://holmdelhistory.org or http://www.redbanknj.org/content/historic preservation-commission.html.