A nonprofit organization will serve as the fundraising arm for the historic site, which dates back almost 350 years. (Click to enlarge)

By ALEXIS ORLACCHIO

A charitable corporation has been formed to help carry out plans to run Little Silver’s historic Parker Homestead as an educational facility, according to borough officials.

The plan is for a foundation to raise funds to carry out the Parker Homestead mission, said Councilman Dan O’Hern.

The nonprofit organization will lease the property from the borough. The lease is still under negotiaion and has not yet been effectuated, according to O’Hern.

Some of the members on the nonprofit organization have come from the Parker Homestead Committee, which has existed for years, O’Hern said.

Recently, some landscaping was done on the property with the help of Shade Tree Commission chairperson Linda Goff.

“The big issue right now is the barns,” said O’Hern. “The town has obtained a grant from [Monmouth] County and the town is going to match that grant to restore the barns,” he said. The grant, O’Hern recalls, is $250,000.

“The building itself always requires some maintenance,” said O’Hern, “The larger question is ‘What is the long-term plan for the property, and how can it be done in a way that is not too onerous to the taxpayers?’”

The Parker estate, which is listed on both the New Jersey and national registries of historic sites, is nearly 350 years old. The property was acquired by the borough from Julia Parker, the last descendant of the original family, who passed away in 1996.