LS HISTORIC SITE BEGINS RESTORATION
Committee member Keith Wells is pictured at an 18th century fireplace, recently rediscovered inside Little Silver’s historic Parker Homestead.
By KAREN J. IRVINE, Press contact for Parker Homestead
And now the Parker Homestead — with its simple, lovely farmhouse that has stood in a quiet corner of Little Silver since 1665 — is being rewarded for its centuries of perseverance with badly needed restoration.
With seed money from grants provided by Monmouth County, a dedicated band of Little Silver residents has overseen the stabilization of the white farmhouse — one of the oldest structures in New Jersey, and one of the oldest in the United States to be continually occupied by a single family for eight generations — are now forming a 501c(3) not-for-profit corporation to begin raising funds for the ultimate complete restoration of the home and out buildings.
The interior restoration began in early October, and has already uncovered two long-neglected features of the house — a circa 1721 bricked-over fireplace, and large wooden ceiling beams that support the gorgeous wide board floors of the second story.