Shrewsbury Mulling Future of Wardell House

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By John Burton
SHREWSBURY – The borough’s Wardell House and property has been part of its past for centuries and will be part of its future in some capacity.
Officials are still pondering what to do with the borough-owned building, which has a storied history that coincides with that of the community and is listed on both the state and federal Register of Historic Places.
Located on a portion of the original pre-Colonial 50-acre property, the house has been owned by the borough since 1983 when its owner deeded it to Shrewsbury. It served as municipal and police headquarters for decades until a new municipal complex was constructed and completed in 2003.
“Frankly, I think there is a usage for it as some point,” said Mayor Donald Burden about the structure. Though, that day hasn’t been determined yet.
The building is one worth keeping, not only for possible future community meeting space or whatever use it is deemed appropriate, but because it is part of the community’s heritage, Burden said. “It really is part of the history of this area.”
“It is part of one of the oldest areas of the state,” said Rick Geffken, a member of the Shrewsbury Historical Society. As such, it should be preserved and its history celebrated, Geffken said. “I’m not the first to say this, but, if you don’t understand the past, you can’t grasp the present or look forward to the future.”
The Wardell House property is located on the southwest corner of what is commonly called the Four Corners at the Broad Street and Sycamore Avenue intersection. It is the site of the Wardell House, the Quaker meeting house, the Allen House and Christ’s Church, which is an Episcopal church. The intersection is considered one of the most historically significant areas in Monmouth County and state.
Burden said the Wardell House “is very much an integral part of the Four Corners.”
The original Wardell House dates back to the 1660s and 1670s when Shrewsbury Village was one of three original townships in Monmouth County, according to Geffken.
The home, which sat on 50 acres, was constructed by Bartholomew West. It remained in the West family until circa 1728, when a member of the family married into the Wardell family. It remained in the Wardell family until the Revolutionary War. The state legislature in 1778 passed a bill that allowed the state to seize the property of anyone loyal to King George III as the Colonies fought with Great Britain for independence. The Wardells were loyalists, or what were referred to at the time as “Tories,” according to Geffken.
“There’s a little irony there,” Geffken said. “Here you had property that had been owned by a loyalist and now in the 21st century, it is home of the representative government of Shrewsbury Borough.”
The property and home were acquired by the socially prominent family of the period, the Lippincotts, and was bought by George E. Tallman in the 1856. He sold off pieces of the property over the year but what remained in the Tallman family until the 1890s. Then it “went through a long series of owners,” according to Geffken.
The ownership of the home and remaining 20 acres, owned by Margret Meacham, was deeded to the borough in two separate transactions, one in 1974 and the other in 1983, Geffken said.
Geffken and Burden are currently working on a revised written history of the borough, first published in 1964 by the historical society, which they expect to publish in early 2015. The two disagree as to whether any of the original structure remains. Burden believes the original is still there, surrounded by additions built over the years; Geffken isn’t convinced, but hopeful that eventually remnants from the 1660s could be determined by a archeologist or historic architect, should borough officials decide to have a formal study undertaken.
Regardless, both men feel the site is worth preserving and with Burden adding it will serve a worthwhile purpose for residents at some point.
The borough had entered into a lease agreement with county officials to use the structure as an extension of the Monmouth County Library’s Eastern Branch, located just across the way on Broad Street. But county representatives decided against that idea, awarding the borough $165,000 for terminating the lease. That money is in a designated account for the structure’s maintenance and preservation, according to Burden.
“It’s structurally real sound,” the mayor said, acknowledging, “It needs some reconfiguration and a lot of cosmetic work.”
It was impractical for municipal offices. “It was a house; it wasn’t built for offices,” Burden said, noting that when it was used for it, “there were more extension cords than you would find in Loew’s,” referring to the home improvement store chain.
The ideas floated have been for a community theater, even an indoor pool, among others, Burden said. But “My crystal ball says it will evolve into a public meeting place,” he said. There is a shortage of space for community organizations and eventually this building, with a little work could easily adapt for that use. For now, though, the council continues, “considering the options,” he said.
The fear for Geffken is “With the speed of technology and the trend we have in our society toward newness, the latest and greatest,” he said, “we forget our heritage.”
And using the building in some appropriate capacity will help preserve the past and educate those here now. “It can be a servicing example of that history,” he said.
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