Thomas Cowperthwait House 1742 - Moorestown, NJ
N 39° 56.966 W 074° 58.315
18S E 502398 N 4422145
This grand old building is currently under going renovations. I was surprised to find it is not on the NRHP as it is typical of all the other sites in Burlington county with that distinction. It is located at 85 Kings Highway (and S. Lenola Road)
Waymark Code: WM3E6T
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 03/22/2008
Views: 8
The historical marker is pretty high up on the house so it is kind of hard to see. High atop on the right side is 1742 emblazoned on the bricks. On the opposite side is some weird initials, the first letter incomprehensible. It appears to be a backwards J. perhaps it is a weird-shaped L? The next initial is unmistakable; it is a W.
Although I was not able to obtain documentation, this house was undoubtedly part of a larger private farming complex. These houses were built very stoically and without fanfare. There is nothing special about this house except it is built like a fort! Compare this to the ornate houses in downtown Moorestown (.25 mile away) and the differences are distinct. With one look, it is easy to determine who was a farmer and who was a mid 18th century "professional".
It is also kind of weird to see the electrical wiring coming out of the left side of the house, like some kind of necessary malignancy. Such is progress.
UPDATE: March 25, 2008
I found the following excerpt on the Historical Society of Moorestown website:
"The old homestead on the northeast corner of King's Highway and Lenola Road was constructed in 1742 by John Cowperthwaite. Because of its excellent example of an 18th century home, record of its construction was made in 1937 by the U.S. Department of Interior and is now recorded in the Library of Congress."
