William H. Mason House - Mt. Holly Historic District - Mt. Holly, NJ
N 39° 59.852 W 074° 47.246
18S E 518145 N 4427505
Very nice home with Victorian-like qualities including a tower rising over the right side of the home. A historic marker gives details to the homes origins.
Waymark Code: WMETW8
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 07/07/2012
Views: 2
This is quite a quirky home especially with all the extra glass in the windows. In the secondary gable window at the very top, on the roof are 18 small panes of glass which make up the entire window. The roof has hexagonal-shaped tiles mixed in with rectangular ones, certainly not the norm for the street. The porch is also very attractive with its balustrades, sloped roof, posts and hanging flowers. The front yard is landscaped to death, much like the wild flowered initiative one might find in the grassy medial strip of a highway.
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 library to retrieve the nomination form and narratives for the historic district. The reference desk rewarded me with a very old, crumbling NRHP 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:
36. WILLIAM H. MASON HOUSE ....C 1880 ....39 Union Street
Two and one-half story central block frame house with low stone foundation; walls of clapboard, three bay porch with turned posts; interior chimney; double entrance door with upper panels vertical lights of glass; double hung sash windows 1/1 on first floor and second floor; third floor windows are 12/1 and one on front has 12 stained glass windows; modified hip roof with primary and secondary gables; third floor has a balcony surmounted by an octagonal roofed tower; central hall floor plan.
The historical marker can be found on the left side of the house, under the porch, first floor, between the first and second windows, eye level. These markers, bought from the local DAR, offer information on the home's original owner and occupation as well as the construction date. These wooden, white markers, have black writing, and can be found on any home which is authentic to the district but not necessarily contributing. The signs were first released in 1975 in time for the country's Bicentennial celebration. The name on the marker, George Rendell, is different than the name on the NRHP form, William H. Mason. For purposes of authenticity, I am keeping the NRHP name as the title but offering the contradictory marker information below, which reads:
HOUSE
of
GEORGE RENDELL
OWNER OF SHOE FACTORY
Circa .....1888
Col. Thomas A. Reynolds Chapter - NSDAR
1975