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Old Stone
House Essay
I’m
trying to help save the Old Stone House because it is a historic
house that I would like to help become an asset to the community.
It’s the oldest house in South Orange; it might even be the oldest
house in New Jersey!
The
Old Stone House is located by Grove Park and behind the police
station. It was once a private home, with lots of stone detail and
expert handiwork. Now, it is covered with blue tarps; it has some
water damage and is a home to many little critters, like raccoons
and squirrels.
 The
Old Stone House is important to me and it should be to you too,
because it’s a part of our history. That house has been there since
1680, that’s more than 325
years! The Old Stone House should be cherished because it
really shows the craftsmanship of the workers back then. It must
have been built well, because it still stands today. It shouldn’t be
torn down because, when you think about it, it’s really old. It was
here before our country was even a country.
The
Old Stone House is also important because it is the only standing
house that was associated with the life of William Brewer. William
Brewer, who lived in the Old Stone House for more then 50 years, was
also village president while living in that house. He added on a
“new” part of the house in front of the original structure. You can
still see where he added the part today.
The
Old Stone House is important because it has been here through thick
and thin with the residents, the town and the country. It went
through the Revolutionary War and the two World Wars; through the
Depression and Prohibition. It also went through the Emancipation of
slaves. It has survived through the modern age, with cell phones,
ipods and worst of all, bulldozers. Yet, those stone walls have
remained upright and mostly intact. Sadly, neglect over the years
has led to significant damage. With a bunch a repairs to do, the
more we put it off, the more extensive and expensive it will become.
My
dream for the Old Stone House is that it would be a kitchen. I can
envision that whole stone structure filled with warm ovens and
brilliant smells. It would be a place were you could take classes or
make special meals for the senior citizens. I’m sure that the
policemen and women wouldn’t mind being taste tasters every once in
a while! We could also cater to Seton Hall or they could use the
facility. There are tons of food-lovers in our town and with the new
Eden Gourmet Market coming to South Orange, we could always get the
freshest food. We could teach baking and regular cooking classes.
There could be special baking classes around the holidays. We could
make food baskets with the food from the Old Stone House kitchen for
people who are less fortunate; but most of the time you could keep
the food you made. There would be separate classes for children and
adults, but sometimes we could ha~~e a “bake-with-your-mom-or—dad”
class. I love to cook and I’m sure that a lot of people would love
it to, if they learned it in a good environment.
There is always the problem of money though. I’m sure that if we
worked hard enough, that we would be able to get a couple grants and
get people who lived or lives here to donate. We could get Home
Depot or Lowes to donate supplies, so we wouldn’t have to spend
money on that. This would help the town to preserve a part of our
history, in a yummy and delicious way.
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