By Dana Slavick, Kruti Sitwala, Chris Bateman, Brooke Enners, and Ryan Zinsky
The outside of the building is covered in bricks, however the placement of the stones in the front is more precise than those in the back of the house. The Henry Guest House has two stories with a cellar below and a front porch in the front, which leads into the hallway. The House is presently used as a historic site, with plaques of information distrusted around the rooms and kept in pristine condition.
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More about this house:
The Henry Guest house is located at 60 Livingston Ave because in 1760 Henry Guest worked at a tannery nearby and also served as an Alderman for the city. In the 1700’s the Henry Guest House was located in the outskirts of town and considered “out in the country” but the location was convenient for Henry and his lifestyle. Henry Crow sold the two-acre plot of land in NewBrunswick to Henry Guest. Five years later, Henry Guest built the two-story house. The outside of the house was covered in Bricks and Henry carved his name and the date on a brick above the front porch, which can still be seen today. This house is also connected to the Dutch. Henry Guest’s baptism took place in the Dutch Reformed Church in Hackensack on 25 June 1727. While building the house, Henry Guest laid down tiles imported from Holland in two of the cellar rooms. The Dutch tiles were there in 1925 until the building was a short distance to it’s present location. It is now a mystery if the original Dutch tiles are still present in the house. This house is even connected to Rutgers! In 1843 the Henry Guest House was purchased by a Rutgers Latin and Greek professor, Reverend John Proudfit. Today the Henry Guest house serves as a historic site and museum that reminds us of the Dutch culture and heritage of New Brunswick
Why did we pick the Henry Guest House?
We chose the Henry Guest House as our object because we were able to get a first-hand look at the house during the walking tours and it’s history is extremely interesting. Who knew a piece of Dutch history was located so close to Rutgers?
” If his descendants would only keep a roof on it, the house would stand till Gabriel blew his trumpet.” – Henry Guest
Citation:
“Digital Archive.” Digital Archive. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/booklets.html>.
“History of the Henry Guest House.” History of the Henry Guest House. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/house.html>.
“Who Was Henry Guest?” Who Was Henry Guest? N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Apr. 2016. <http://nbfplarchive.org/henryguesthouse/henryguest.html>.