Over the years, the John Rogers House has fallen deeper and deeper into neglect and disrepair. The deteriorating brick structure, believed to be the oldest in West Windsor, has become blocked with fallen trees, brush and weeds, and a tarp covers the roof.
In Princeton, the boarded-up Veblen House — which belonged to Oswald Veblen, a mathematician whose work contributed to atomic physics and was incorporated in the theory of relativity — sits isolated in Herrontown Woods and is prey to vandals.
Thirteen years have passed since the Rogers and Veblen houses were among three historical sites earmarked for stabilization and restoration. The county has rescued only the third house — the Noah Hunt House in Hopewell Township — while the Rogers and Veblen houses have been left to languish.
Princeton resident Steve Hiltner, who has taken on saving the Veblen House as a pet project, said vandalism coupled with neglect sends the historic buildings into a downward spiral.
“The county has set priorities and the houses that fall off that priority list, then become liabilities for them, and that’s a very different perspective from people in the community who see these houses as having great potential,” he said. “They (the county) choose which ones to restore and then it’s pretty tough for all the others.”
In 1998, the county Historic Preservation Commission was formed to identify historic sites for possible rehabilitation and reuse. Among their recommendations were the Rogers, Veblen and Hunt houses. The firm Mills and Schnoering Architects, then known by a different name, was tasked with preparing a preservation plan, which was completed in 2001.
“It was very clear … that until we had a county use or some other use for those structures, it made no sense to invest millions of public dollars for something that’s going to sit there and be vandalized,” said Donna Lewis, county planning director.
Michael Kelly, an ardent supporter of historic preservation who served on the county commission, said he is frustrated by the lack of progress and fears the houses will fall victim to demolition by neglect if they are not at least kept in good repair.
“I’m very disappointed. More could have been done,” he said, adding he would like to eventually see them restored to their former grandeur.
County Executive Brian Hughes said the county embraces historic preservation, but has to strike a balance between saving everything of historic value and funding the most cost-effective projects.
“This is real money going into real projects and it ought to make sense,” he said. “My administration is personally committed to historic preservation where and when it makes sense.”
Examples of smart preservation efforts, he said, include the Hunt House, which now serves as the offices of the Mercer County Park Commission; Petty’s Run in Trenton, often a stopping point for visitors and school groups; the Mercer County Courthouse in Trenton; and the Bath House in Ewing, designed by famed architect Louis Kahn, which serves as the entrance and changing rooms to the pool at the Ewing Senior and Community Center.
More than a decade ago when the firm first assessed the Rogers, Veblen and Hunt houses, they came up with potential uses, said Michael Mills, a partner in the firm.
They assumed the Hunt House off Blackwell Road would act as a trailhead for Rosedale Park, with a museum on the ground floor and offices above. The mid-1700s Rogers House in Mercer County Park, which Mills said was already ruined, would be stabilized and repaired and could potentially become the headquarters for a historic or nonprofit organization. Plans for the Veblen House explored the possibility of turning it into a meeting space, but didn’t extend much beyond that, he said.
The Hunt House underwent extensive restoration in 2010. The years had taken a toll on the 1760s-era house, with holes in the roof, water damage and crumbling plaster walls. The building’s roof, walls and windows were restored, and ceilings that were damaged beyond repair were replaced. The restorers analyzed paint chips to match the original colors and outfitted the building to be more energy efficient, Mills said.
The $3.6 million project was funded in part by a $722,000 grant.
Hughes said the county is looking at options for the Rogers House, which like the Hunt House, is listed on the state and national historic registers.
“We recognized that it is a structure that we own and bought as part of Mercer County Park and that there is some obligation to make sure it is stabilized,” he said. “But it’s difficult … to put taxpayers’ dollars into a structure that we can’t find a use for.”
Some residents have suggested converting it into the headquarters for the park rangers, but Hughes said the rangers need to be visible and spread out among the county’s parks, not concentrated in a small building set back from the road.
Mills’ firm is working to flesh out an idea that would stabilize and display the Flemish bond brickwork — the most significant part of the Rogers House — like a protected garden ruin. Mills said a full restoration would not be feasible considering there is no viable use or somebody willing to take responsibility for the upkeep, but the idea is to preserve what is left of the building and put up displays that would showcase the family’s history to parkgoers.
The patterned brickwork is “a beautiful thing and it’s getting increasingly rare as these buildings age and deteriorate, but the idea is to keep this one,” Mills said.
As for the Veblen House, which is eligible to be listed on the registers, Hughes said the county is hoping to turn over ownership to a nonprofit group that Hiltner is forming. Hiltner first discovered the house in 2007 and has since been reaching out to people to try to drum up enough interest to fix it up.
“This is such a pivotal person in the history of Princeton,” he said of Veblen, who helped found the Institute for Advanced Study and convinced Albert Einstein to join its faculty.
Hiltner, who is working with the Rotary Club of Princeton on the house, said he hopes to have a nonprofit up and running within a few months’ time to buy and repair the property. Many ideas have been thrown around, but he said converting the house into a meeting center would be the simplest and most appropriate use because Veblen worked hard to bring scholars together in one space.
The challenge then will be to raise enough money for the needed repairs, he said. For more information, visit veblenhouse.org.
Contact Cristina Rojas at (609) 989-5688 or crojas@njtimes.com.
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