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A Brief History 1830- Present 1738: The Arrival of the Neighbours In early summer of 1738, Leanhart Nachbar, age 40, his wife and three daughters were
part of a group of 38 who sailed from Rotterdam, Holland, on the good ship Robert and Oliver of Dublin towards
New York. Strong winds blew the ship
off course and the ship’s commander was forced to land in Philadelphia. After the men scribed their names
(“X”) to the loyalty oath in the
State House (now Independence Hall), the group was determined to reach its
original destination. The journey led them through the beautiful valley known
as German Valley. No one is certain
why the group chose to stay in the valley – either they were encouraged by
old friends from home who had settled here, or were impressed enough with the
area to stay. The Nachbar family settled on land surrounding the
present house, the daughters married and Mr. Nachbar soon became the “Father
of German Valley”. It is believed that the original homestead was a log cabin
located somewhere on the property near the present house. Leanhart Nachbar changed his name to
Leonard Neighbour sometime before 1750. In 1749 the settlers learned that the
land legally belonged to William Logan of Philadelphia. Leonard traveled to
Philadelphia and purchased 310 acres for $352 and had the deed in his
possession by 1750. The farmstead
passed to his only son, Leonard Neighbour II (1741-1806) who then passed it
to his son, Leonard III (1764-1854). Leonard III was 91 at the time of his death. He led a full and impressive life, serving
as a judge and as a member of the State Legislature. His obituary lists eight living children,
sixty-six grandchildren, sixty-three great grandchildren and three great
great grandchildren. In 1830, Leonard
III divided the homestead and sold each half for $5000 to his two sons:
Leonard IV (1802-1880) and Jacob Wise (J.W.) (1805-1889). Leonard III also owned and operated an
apple distillery, which he built prior to 1800. Thirty years later, after
attending a temperance lecture at a local church, he was so inspired and
moved that he had the distillery destroyed and gave Jacob its value in money.
Leonard III also had a third son, David, who married three times and had
eight children with his third wife. 1830: The Construction It is believed that Jacob Wise began construction of
the house in 1830. Its construction
is wood over brick and the style is Greek Revival. In 1852, Jacob sold the house to his brother David. In 1854, David’s son Silas married, and
the happy couple set up housekeeping at the Neighbour House. This marriage produced three
children. The youngest, Stewart,
married in 1888 and moved into the house with his parents. Silas and his wife Ann (Apgar) celebrated
their 50th wedding anniversary in 1904. What a celebration it was:
over 80 guests filled the first floor which was decorated with flowers
everywhere and the hallway was strung with garlands of white and gold. Young and old danced as fiddlers
fiddled. Stewart and his wife Kate
celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in much the same
fashion. World War
I: The Roof is Given to the War
Effort The Neighbour House originally had a copper roof – a
dazzling sight on a bright sunny day.
During World War I, the roof was removed and donated to the war
effort. During this period German
Valley became known as Long Valley in response to the anti-German sentiment. 1920s Daily life in the household in the mid-1920s was
typical for the area. Stewart and his
son Fred, with outside help when needed, ran the farm. Plowing and haying were all accomplished
with teams of horses. The women
helped with the milking and other chores.
During this period, the house had a long wooden covered porch across
the back. Fred and his family lived
on one side of the house and used the present kitchen. Stewart and Kate lived on the other side
and used part of the back porch for the kitchen. There was no running water in the house, but there was a hand
pump in each kitchen. Many Sunday summer afternoons would find the extended
family sitting under the stately elms down by the river. Here the women kept cool while embroidering
or crocheting. Dressed in their long
skirts and broad sunbonnets, they made a fine picture of rural life. Beyond the house, past the present garage,
was a stone barn, built in the tradition of early German barns. It was large and L-shaped, with the one
wing being formed by a cow barn, probably added at a later date. The stone barn had at least two large box
stalls with Dutch doors on the ground floor.
The barn was torn down in 1930, the stones being used for construction
of other buildings in the area. 1929: Hard times for the Neighbour House Around 1929 Stewart found it necessary to sell the
farm. It was a sad day for the Neighbour family. For the first time in 190 years, the property was owned by an
outsider. The new owners were part of
the Johnson & Johnson family who already owned half of the land, which
was sold by Leonard IV many years before.
The Johnson’s used the house for tenants and farm workers. The house changed owners once more, but
stood idle and empty for some time…a haven for hobos passing through. During this time much damage was done to
the house as the various unwelcome occupants burned shutters and other parts
of the house as firewood. 1941: The Deckers move in Luckily, in 1941, a young couple, Joseph and Marion
Decker, purchased the house and gradually restored it without alterations
other than adding running water, bathrooms and modern heat. The Decker’s lived in the house for nearly
50 years and raised two children here.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Decker had a strong interest in preserving the
architecture and history of the area. 1990: The Neighbour House joins the National
Register of Historic Places It was the dream of the late Mr. Decker to see the
Jacob Wise Neighbour House placed on the National Register of Historic
Places. In 1990, the nomination was
approved and accepted by the New Jersey Register and now awaits approval from
Washington DC for entry to the National Register. Washington Township is proud of the Deckers, and the Historical
Society recently dedicated the Curators Room of their museum to Joseph
Decker. 1990: The
original Neighbour properties are rejoined The house was purchased in late 1990 from the Decker
estate by Jack Borgenicht, who owned the surrounding acreage. After 160 years, the two original
Neighbour properties were joined, as they had been over 250 years ago when
Leanhart Nachbar first settled in German Valley. 1994: Long Valley’s first Bed & Breakfast
opens Iris
and Rafi Kadosh first opened the Neighbour House as a Bed & Breakfast in
the fall of 1992. Both natives of Demona, Israel, they arrived in Long Valley
to manage the house fulltime. In 1994
Rafi refinished the huge open basement into a large apartment that his family
now occupies. Their two sons, Sagi (born 1994) and Neeve (born 1999) keep
their parents busy, along with the guests of the very popular B&B. The
family is active in the community, and continues the passionate tradition of
preserving the history of this beautiful home. 2000: The Kadosh family purchase the Neighbour
House The
Kadosh family, after managing the Bed & Breakfast for nearly 8 years,
purchase the home as their own. Architecture Sited on a sloped lawn amidst mature specimen trees
and overlooking rural West Mill Road and the distant South Branch of the
Raritan River, the Neighbour House reflects the early and mid-nineteenth
century romantic ideal of domestic architecture. This high-style farmhouse, built in 1830, represents an early
and notable example of Greek Revival architecture in rural Morris
County. The degrees of detailing and
workmanship distinguish the Neighbour House from other rural farmhouse of the
period. The Neighbour House features a low-hipped roof,
full-length windows on the first floor and frieze band windows on wide flushboarding
on the second floor. Classical
moldings and door surrounds, mahogany handrail and newel post, marbleized
wooden fireplace mantles and interior window shutters are just some of the
house’s finer interior details. The
house is surprisingly sophisticated for such a rural location. It stands as a single, prominent feature
on the landscape, dominating a setting of ideals of the period. The house,
whose summer kitchen and service rooms (milk room, cold room and laundry
room) were located in the basement, is devoid of wings and dependencies that
are typical of farmhouse of the period.
It also reflects a finer classical design, the kind illustrated in the
architectural pattern books of the late-eighteenth and nineteenth-century.
Carpenters and builders, who had little or no formal architectural training,
used pattern books as models for their clients’ houses. Although the builder
of this house has not been established, it appears that he may have used
designs from one of the many popular pattern books or builders’ guides
available at that time. The cellar contains four rooms with some of the
original doors. The outside entrance door retains its original iron strap
hinges and lock. The room used as a
laundry room contains a pair of stone piers with arched brick heads
supporting the large kitchen fireplace and hearth on the first floor. Throughout the house, much of the original hardware is
intact. The random-width, heart-pine
floors appear to be original. Note
the fluted keystone, which crowns the arch dividing the hallway into entrance
hall and stair hall. The front door
retains its original unornamented hardware including the wrought iron,
Norfolk box lock and latch. The mantle pieces in the identical parlors are
wood with transitional Federal/Greek Revival detailing. Pocket doors separate
the north and south parlors and the north parlor mantelpiece was marbleized
using a floating oil technique to imitate the appearance of veined black
Egyptian marble. The folding shutters on the downstairs windows were in
past times, kept closed in the summer, thus helping to keep the house cool
and the carpets and drapes from fading.
The kitchen has its original fireplace, complete with Dutch oven and
wrought iron crane. The cupboard
beside the fireplace was used to warm the blankets during the day so the
family could snuggle down in warm blankets on a cold winter’s night. The
paint on the inside of the cupboard doors is original. A winder stair leads
from the kitchen to the room above. The four principal rooms upstairs were originally
divided by side-to-side closets with one closet serving each room. The design
was later altered by the addition of the bathroom. The mantle pieces on the
second floor are Federal in style and are typical of the late eighteenth and early
nineteenth centuries. Two mantle
pieces retain their original marbleized treatment in imitation of black
Egyptian marble. The stairway leading to the second floor is graced
with a fine mahogany banister. At the
time this house was built, the mahogany was brought was from Trenton by horse
and wagon over rough and rutted roads.
One of the most distinguishing features of the house
is the front porch with square column pillars, which support the porch roof
and give the house its Greek Revival style.
The original back porch was removed sometime between 1930 and
1940. The present porch was
constructed in 1960.
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