2008 Colonial Christmas
Article

Historic Jacobus Vanderveer House in Bedminster offers visitors a glimpse of Christmas past

By JAMIE KITT, Contributing Writer

Published: Dec 12th, 7:00 AM

BEDMINSTER TWP. – When driving by the historic Jacobus Vanderveer House on Route 206, residents usually notice the dark brown building is closed and quiet in its picturesque setting among the trees.

But every once in a while, as it was this past weekend, the Colonial-era home is abuzz with activity just as it must have been some two centuries ago when it was the center of a 700-acre tract owned by the Vanderveer family.

With their wealth coming from the mills they owned and operated in the area, the Vanderveer family home was an important and prestigious one. A haven against rough early American conditions, it provided safety and comfort for those living within. A grand house for the time, it would have also been most welcoming at Christmas time.

How appropriate then that the Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House open its cheery, wreathe-clad doors last weekend for their annual fund-raising event, “Colonial Christmas.” Thanks to their hard work, as well as the creativity of many local interior designers, antique dealers and florists, the normally empty rooms were filled for three days, Dec. 5, 6 and 7, with fine period furniture, lovely decorative items, and beautifully simple and natural garlands, wreathes and Christmas trees in celebration of the holiday.

It might have looked just as it did when the Vanderveers’ esteemed guest, Gen. Henry Knox, and his wife, Lucy, and family, stayed there during the winter of 1778-89 while he was commanding the Continental Artillery encamped in Pluckemin.

“This is a gem of a house,” said Leslie Mole’ of Bedminster, who co-chaired the event along with Susan Miniman of Califon. “This home is every bit as wonderful as houses in Williamsburg (Va.), and it’s right here.”

“I think everything is beautiful, everything,” said visitor Margaret Helriegel of Bedminster.

“I was impressed that they used decorations from nature and with the flag ribbon woven through one of the Christmas trees,” she added, making note of the Revolutionary War ties to the house. “They fought so hard for us...Gen. Knox fought for our freedom.”

‘Grandiose House’

What many visitors noticed was a more spacious feeling this year. With a newly renovated kitchen wing open and also serving as a visitors’ center, the rest of the home feels larger and the flow of guests through the rooms less crowded. In the hallway leading from the new wing, greens of all kinds were arranged and offered for sale by Jardiniere of Far Hills and Chatham, designed by Nancy Mikulich of NLM Design Interiors in Bernardsville. “Over the river and through the woods” was her idea for the passageway. “I’m a little bit of a furniture history buff,” Mikulich said as she described her pieces. “And I happen to like this house. It just has a feeling to it - it’s very warm. I don’t know if it’s from the floors or the exposed beams...it’s very understated from the outside. When you come inside you see that for the time it was a very grandiose house.

“Every time I come here I feel like I learn something new,’’ she added. “The people who run the event are very knowledgeable about the property and the area.” The two rooms her hall leads into are the oldest part of the house, dating from the 1770s. The styling of Greenbaum Interiors of Morristown brought the first of them, called the north parlor, back to that era, as did an important display in the room.

It was a silver tankard with a special connection to the house that was on loan from the Newark Museum for the weekend. The piece was made by Abraham Dubois of Somerset, circa 1770-1780, for a member of the Vanderveer family. In those days it would have been a precious possession and a sign of its owner’s prosperity.

Lilting music drifted through the rooms, coming from the newer side of the house, which was added in 1813. That is where Colonial musicians Ridley and Anne Enslow sang early American holiday ballads in the Federal-style parlor, accompanied by their violin and hammered dulcimer. The music added a calming touch to the festive tour. On Sunday, the Pingry Balladeers also performed well-known carols. Two Christmas trees adorned this room, a large one with gauzy, stars and stripes ribbon threaded through it, and next to it a small “Future Trustees Tree.” Miniman, who decorated the room, said they could have called it the children’s tree, but the hope was that the kids who admire it may someday want to become trustees of the house themselves. Gift Items. The little tree was part of a new offering this year, a raffle. A few items displayed throughout the house - a hand-stitched pillow, the holiday decorations, a few of the trees - were available to win by lucky ticket-holders.

Likewise, almost all of the furnishings and decorative items in the house were for sale, benefiting both the dealers and the house itself. Vendors on the second floor offered wares such as honey and beeswax candles from a local farm; gourmet vinegar and olive oils; jewelry; textiles and unusual leather-like wallets and cases made from the skin of talapia fish. It was a boon for many, to be able to do some holiday shopping while visiting the historic home. John and Gayle Canary of Martinsville, who call themselves “boomerang grandparents’’ because they moved back to this area to be near their children in Basking Ridge, Bernardsville and Watchung, admired how well the house was refurbished. “We watched this place slowly fall apart and we always thought if it went on sale we would buy it and restore it,” John Canary said. “The only thing not on sale today is the house!”

With the money raised from the event and many others they held, The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House have saved this gem, which is not only an important piece of Bedminster’s history but also of New Jersey’s and the nation’s.

The next phase for the house is twofold, according to Ellen Vreeland of Bedminster, a past president of Friends group. Within two years they plan to furnish the oldest part of the house with period furniture based on inventories from the Vanderveers’ wills and the moving list of the Knox family. They will also set up exhibits in the kitchen wing. As Bruce Litton of Bedminster admired a portrait in the north parlor, he said, “We have great respect for this place and its history. The history of Bedminster means a lot to us and this embodies it.” His young son, Matt, was equally appreciative of the event.

“I like it,” he agreed. “I like the music.” He was especially impressed with Santa, who, welcoming guests in the Federal-era parlor, knew his friend by name. Just then his young pal, Sylvester LaBrunda also from Bedminster, came up and joined the conversation. He casually explained how Santa knew his name: “Oh yeah, he knows everybody in the whole wide world.”

Just like guests to the Vanderveer home more than two centuries ago, they obviously felt quite welcome.

For more information about the historic house, visit www.jvanderveerhouse.com.

Bernardsville News Edition: Wednesday, December 10,2008

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Submitted: October 14, 2008