Shinn Log House (Curtis) - Mt. Holly Historic District - Mt. Holly, NJ
N 39° 59.625 W 074° 47.383
18S E 517951 N 4427084
An almost 300 year old log cabin lies in the heart of an historic section of Mt. Holly, which predates the Revolutionary War. The house was hidden inside another house which had been built around it in subsequent years and discovered years later.
Waymark Code: WMER43
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 06/30/2012
Views: 3
The early settler's log house of hand-hewn logs was entirely cased in a house on Water Street (now Rancocas Road) and was uncovered in 1967 when the surrounding house was demolished. It was in the possession of the Curtis family for 147 years, since 1802, and is now owned by the Mount Holly Historical Society.
The house is located at an interesting location. It seems it was just plopped down along this small road, next to the municipal building and across the creek from the courthouse, surely not its original location. Plentiful parking iseverywhere; two large parking lots for all the government employees are on either side of the house. There is also a grist mill stone on display and an historic marker as well. I visited the house on Wednesday, June 2012 at about 4:30 PM on a beautiful and very hot day.
Naturally, a building this old and unique is also a contributing structure to the Mount Holly Historic District. In my never ending quest to document all things contributing, I visited the town town library to retrieve the nomination form and narratives for the historic district. The reference desk rewarded me with a very old packet from 1969. Despite what on-line sources would have you believe, there are actually 39 contributing structures and not 36.
From the Nomination Form:
3. SHINN LOG HOUSE (CURTIS) ....C 1736 ....Park Drive and Commerce Place
One story rectangular log house; Flemish bond high brick foundation; 6/6 windows; gabled roof; board and batten doors; walls of squared logs.
There is also a historical marker attached to the front of the house which reads:
SHINN~CURTIS
LOG-HOUSE
THOMAS SHINN-OWNER
CIRCA 1712
Col. Thomas A. Reynolds ...Chapter ~ NJDAR
1995