OLDEST -- Residence - Collingswood, PA
N 39° 54.485 W 075° 05.259
18S E 492508 N 4417559
Quick Description: According to the 1939 American Guide Series and the local Historical Society, this structure is the oldest private residence in Collingswood. At 255 years old, it is a curious relic in an otherwise modern neighborhood.
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 11/15/2009 5:09:28 PM
Waymark Code: WM7NYX
Views: 2
Long Description:
This is a very old and interesting NRHP house
tucked away in suburban Collingswood. If you can ignore the garage
addition and the west addition you can easily make out the original
structure, quite typical of mid 18th century Colonial
architecture.
High atop the eastern end, and tucked under the
A-roof, is the homeowner's initials, IMT and the date beneath,
1754. There is a spacious backyard and the town's water tower
overlooks this 1700's leftover. It boggles the mind this house
still exists. Everything around this house was built at least 175
years after this house was raised. One of the really nice features
of this house are the multiple chimney's which surround the edges.
I counted three in all.
A neighbor was in the driveway when I visited.
He told me the inside of this house has a very huge and high roof.
The fire places are still functional and all in all the house in
its interior is very well-preserved.
I was able to locate a listing for this place in
the American Guide Series. Here is what they have to say
"Also on Eldridge Ave. is the Thackara House
(open after 3:30 daily; free), oldest residence in Collingswood,
erected 1754 by Isaac and Mary Thackara and now used by the Boy
Scouts. The house bears the Thackaras' initials, built into the
brickwork of the gable. Much of the interior is unchanged." ---
New Jersey, a Guide to Its Present and Past, 1939; page 601-602