Pillsbury Press: Perth Amboy's Proprietary House and more

On Saturday, I attended a meeting of the Archaeological Society of New Jersey taking place at The Proprietary House in the seaport town of Perth Amboy, NJ -- about an hour drive from home.

Perth Amboy is one of those towns I've heard of, but had never been to before. Afterwards I mentioned this to Don and he said he went there to visit a friend from college in his life before we met. After nearly 35 years together we are still finding stories we have not shared. Pretty amazing.

The lectures at these events are fascinating. I heard one about "sleeper stones" that were thought to originate at Sing Sing prison (the speaker debunked that theory) and historical sites in Middlesex County. I only wish I brought my tourist notebook with me as the stories were coming faster than I could absorb them. Photos help me jog my memory, which is why I take so many.

The geologist expert on sleeper stone's first name is Pierre. Sometimes you can't make up something better than the truth. When Pierre first introduced the topic, I pictured stones the prisoners were forced to sleep on. No, they are stones the prisoners were forced to carve out as part of manual labor rehab. The debunked theory was that stones were shipped from New York to South Jersey to be used as part of the early railroad system. The system was deemed ineffective because the lines had to be adjusted after every time a train went over them. Soon they were replaced by the rails and ties system we are more familiar with. The stones were heavy, though, so they were mostly left behind. Some were repurposed, others buried. Pierre took a walking tour of the area and discovered over 2,000 of the 100,000 stones that had been made 200 years ago. The next day while in Bordentown, I saw some that he identified as having been repurposed as a monument.

As is often the highlight when this group meets, the host gave us a tour. The meeting was held at the Proprietary House in Perth Amboy -- home to Benjamin Franklin's illegitimate son, William Franklin, the royal governor of NJ during the Revolutionary War, and has had a topsy turvy history every since. The estate was expanded, had fires, was turned into a hotel, sat vacant, and became part of the historical society. It received a $3,000,000 grant for restoration (which is not complete). Next up they want to renovate the ballroom. They expect the house to be closed and turned into the Middlesex County headquarters for the 250th anniversary of our nation.

Teas are held in this room twice a month

Excellent docent -- she arranged
the tour as if we were time traveling,

The place goes on forever -- easy to see
why it was turned into a hotel.

The ballroom was turned into a library
at one point, hence the center columns.

Afterwards we walked a few blocks to St. Peter's Churchyard Cemetery to see where many of the home owners were buried, and check out the wide assortment of tombstones. I wish I had brought a notebook because information was coming at me faster than I could file it in my brain. The pictures help to jog my memory.

Thomas Peterson

William Dunlap

Perth Amboy had a rich history. They are famous for hosting the first professional play in all of New Jersey. In fact the father of American Theater (William Dunlap) is buried in town. Speaking of burials, Thomas Manly Peterson, the first African American to vote following the ratification of the 15th amendment, is off to the side in the same cemetery. Many of the past owners of The Proprietary House are buried in the same place.

Our guide shared with us the different styles of tombstones. The brown ones are the oldest. There are examples of both New England and New Jersey styles. There were some made out of clay, and others made out of marble. The tall one at the end was a cookie cutter tombstone that could be modified for the needs of the purchaser (mostly have the names engraved on it). The guide was enthusiastic, but I left overwhelmed.