Existing comment:
L'Hommedieu House:
The L'Hommedieu House is an excellent example of late 18th/early 19th century domestic architecture. This stylist town house originally stood on Spring Street in Morristown on a lot first owned by Nathaniel L'Hommedieu and alter sold to John Gwinnup in 1775.
Although the exact age of the present structure is not known, the center hallway and staircase clearly date to a remodeling done in the early 1800s. The house has four rooms on each floor and a basement with a large fireplace for cooking. The roof has been gambreled to allow more second floor headroom. An interesting feature is the beautifully paneled front door with small paned sidelights and transom. Much of the clapboard siding is original. The house was recently renovated and is now Historic Speedwell's Visitors Center with admissions, exhibits and gift shop on the first floor, and staff offices above. The basement has been restored for educational programs, and includes a working open hearth fireplace.
When moved to Historic Speedwell, L'Hommedieu House was placed on a new foundation on the site of the Homestead's Farm barn and woodshed that had burned in the 1960s. A front porch, dormer window and two layers of siding were removed to return the house to its early 19th century appearance.
In the 1960s, a Morristown redevelopment project called for the construction of three building complex to be known as Headquarters Plaza in the block between Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street. Water Street would be realigned, and a section of the oldest part of town including a pond, mill site and many historic buildings were slated for demolition. The L'Hommedieu House on Spring Street was among the houses to be destroyed. This area of Morristown called "The Hollow" was once a important crossroads. A short distance away, a the southeast corner of Spring and Water Street once stood Dickerson's Tavern. The tavern was the site of Benedict Arnold's court-martial for minor offenses in 1779, shortly before his treason at West Point. In 1969, the town donated both the L'Hommedieu House and the Estey House, which stood across the street, to Historic Speedwell.
Although the L'Hommedieu House was in poor condition, in the 1960s it still retained its dignity as one of the oldest houses in Morristown.
To save it from demolition, Federal funding was used to move the house one mile to Historic Speedwell. |