Plywood and boards currently cover the first-floor windows and doors of the historic Olde Stone House on Egg Harbor Road, also known as the George Jr. and Sarah Morgan House.
Window Repairs & Restoration LLC Company, a historic preservation contractor, has taken the windows and doors of the house to its Gloucester City shop for restoration. In business since 1988, Ray De Piano and wife Cheryl have worked on restoration projects for the Independence Hall tower and Philadelphia city hall, according to Connie McCart, of the Washington Township Historic Preservation Commission.
Two volunteers from the Friends of the Olde Stone House Village visited the shop recently to see the restoration’s progress. Company foreman Chris Capaldi showed three of the first-floor windows in various states of repair, including one with wood that has held up pretty well and will only require stripping, coating with epoxy and repainting.
The Window Repairs & Restoration LLC Company, a historic preservation contractor, has taken the windows and doors of the Olde Stone House to its shop for restoration.
Specific woods are required by the project architect and glass will be replaced with similar panes that date to the first restoration of the building in 1986. In all cases, a special chemical epoxy will coat the restored structures to prevent future water damage.
The three doors to the house – two facing Egg Harbor Road and the third opening onto the herb garden in the rear – are in various states of disrepair.
The Olde Stone House dates to about 1765. It was included on the National Registry of Historic Sites in 2019, partly because stone was an unusual building material in sandy South Jersey but also because of its unusual coursed ashlar façade, with squared blocks on the front of the building as opposed to the more usual random placing of stones.Â
The township acquired the building and its 6.2-acre site in 1980 as a gift from the developer of nearby Saddlebrook Farms. In a state of bad repair, the house suffered from a fire later that year, and in 1981, volunteers began to restore the house to its original appearance. They dedicated it in 1986.
For more information, or to donate money toward further repairs, or to join our group of volunteers, visit https://www.friendsoftheoldestonehouse.org/joindonate.html.
