Poricy Park`s--murray Farmhouse: Journey back to the 18th Century,

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1983
li- I v i?4t1%-".-(
Moniouth 3
Poricy Park's --murray Farmhouse:
Journey back to the 18th Century,
By HILDY WILS-FONTAINE
MIDDLETOWN - Nestled In some
250 acres in the southwest portion of
the township is some 200 years of history - the Murray Farmhouse.
It brings to life the crafts, the
chores, the good tines and the bad
times that colonists faced.
Because of the interest of a dedi-,;
cated group of people, the Poricy Park
Citizens Comnittee, a living history of
colonial times in Middletown Is, preserved.
It is a superb example of what life
was like on an ordinary farm during
the Revolutionary War In the mid to
late 1700s.
Candlenaking, colonial methods of
dying, stenciling, open hearth cooking,
carding fleece and qpinnlng wool,
creating pomanders i I even naple
syruping are among the early crafts
visitors might learn about.
And it all started with the discovery'
of a beehive oven.
t by
PORICY PARK was purchased
he
the township in the mid 1971
urging of the Poricy Park Citizens
ommittee which was formed in 1969.
not Interested In the
"
house," said Mrs. Marcia Rissland, a
board member. "We were Interested
In saving open space," she added.
The farmhouse and a barn, both
decrepid and suffering from years of
neglect and poor maintenance, were
part and parcel of the purchase.
The committee wanted to turn the
park Into a nature center, a naturalist
was hired, and success enSued. "After
three years of proving we could attract
people to nature programs, Green
Acres and township funds were used to
eput up a new nature center, Riasland
said,
The last occupant of the farmhouse
moved out in 1973, Rissland said. Age
and Insufficient maintenance had taken
their toll. But, she said, "In 1975, we
realized we had something worthwhile,
and began research on the farmhouse.
An early clue to its age was the
beehive oven, "one of the best examples around and in Its original condition," she said.
Major funding for restoration was
furnished by Mrs. Louis K. Timolat, In
memory of her husband. Early In 1970
he aided the small citizens group in
preserving the Poricy Park area, then
almost unknown to the community.
"He shared a vision" states.a plaque
on the wall of the farmhouse.
Preserving the building was
spurred, Rissland said, by the fact that
so many old houses are bulldozed down
and landis used for developments,
"Part of the reason is that poeple
don't care, don't know about It," added
Patricia Contreras, nature center director.
Research of the history of the property revealed who had lived in the
farnhouse, and the drams of the Revolutionary War that took place on the
site.
With research "you become aware
of how Important It Is to save what Is
left," Rissland said.
Research showed that Isolated
farms like that owned by Jose b Murray were always In
dr;
anMurray
emmigrated to the colonies in 1767
from Londonderry, Ireland, and
purchased his farm from Thomas
Stillwell Jr. who$ejlly,adowned
'
THE WAY IT WAS
- This fireplace is one of three working
fireplaces In the 18th century Murray Farmhouse at Poricy Park In
Middletown. This room, the parlor, has white walls and moulding
painted a colonial blue.
Constant disruption of normal life,
the land for 100 years. Murray married
and ceaseless vigilance and apAmerican-born Rebecca Morris and' began 'tarining his lañdaiid raising apresislon tested the endurance of res -'
family. Nine years of uneasy peace
Idents of Middletown. Any man known
were followed by increasingly tense
or suspected as a rebel was killed or
opposition to British colonial policies,
taken prisoner, and homes were ranMurray enlisted as a private In the
sacked for valuables,
First Reginent, Monmouth County
Murrayas
y taken prisoner to Sand
Militia.
.
no, after r
1779- He escaped
MIDDLETOWN WAS divided, with
the majority of residents remaining
loyal to the crown, and regarding those
who favored the cause of Independence
as rebels and traitors. The community
was known as a hotbed of Tories, and
dangerous to persons who rebelled
against the crown
In January of 1780. Among his patriotic
duties was commandeering'or
from the enemy for the use of the
, Continental Army. A horse owned b
Edward Taylor of the Maripit Hal
Taylors was successfully comman. deered by Murray, but that very act
was probably the cause of his death
Plowing In his field June 7, 1780, he
was shot In his back, fought his attacker, then stabbed with bayonets 5everal times and shot a second time at
point-blank range. One assailant was
killed, and the widespread rumor at the
time was that Murray was attacked on
orders of Edward Taylor.
Murray was burled on the farm, but
In 1855 his grandson, William W. Murray, had his grandfather's remains
moved from the farm to the Baptist
Church Cemetery on Kings Highway.
Significantly, nearly 200 years after
Murray's death, a core of dedicated
volunteers began the task of restoring
(continued on next page)
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OUAINTSEIT!NG -'- Onlyone room, an up-stairs bedroom Inthe
Murrey Frmhise,sorfs,jhe g9w4g
"Umes, Colofs are red and green, and are picked up in a quilt
'-
Asbury Park Press
Joseph Murray, called boldest county patriot, lived in this 276-year-old house.
gious persecution. He married Americanborn Rebecca Morris, and they raised four
children.
Monmouth County was a divided land
during the Revolutionary War, and Middletown was not an exception. The township
was known as a "hotbed of Tories" and it
was dangerous, often fatal, to show alliegence to the rebels.
MURRAY WAS an active and rather daring rebel.
He was a member of the Monmouth Militia. He was captured by the British,
imprisioned for a year, and escaped.
One of his duties for the Continental
Army was comandeering horses for military
use. A typical Murray story has him stealing
a horse from the stables of Tory Edward
Talyor of Marlpit Hall on Kings Highway.
According to the story researched by the
citizens committee, Taylor rushed out md, in
an attempt to stop Murray, threw his hat in
the horse's face, hoping to spook him.
Murray calmly dismounted, picked up
the hat, placed it on his head, and rode
away, leaving behind a fuming Taylor.
His enemies caught up with Murray on
June 8, 1780, as the patriot was plowing his
fields for corn.
A Tory stepped from the nearby woods
and shot Murray in the back.
DESPITE HIS WOUND, Murray managed to turn on his attacker and nearly succeeded in wrenching the musket from the
Tory.
Two other men set upon him, however,
and Murray was bayonetted and shot a second time at point-blank range.
Estimates of Joseph Murray differed, depending on which side one was on, according
to the citizens committee pamphlet.
Murray's militia comrades lauded him as
"a plain, strong, fearless, straightforward
patriot, earnest and true."
The Tories called him "a notoriously violent rebel."
Murray was buried on his farm. In 1855,
his grandson, William, moved his grave to
the Baptist Church Cemetery on Kings Highway.
The farmhouse, now a part of Poricy
Park off Oak Hill Road, was purchased by
the township in 1973.
NOTHING WAS DONE to preserve the
declining building, however, until the citizens
committee took it on as a project in 1975, Ms.
Rissland said.
In 1976, the committee extensively researched the farmhouse's Revolutionary
roots, and discovered Murray had made his
home there, not on Kings Highway as originally thought.
The house is in the center of a grassy
hollow near Poricy Brook. The nearby hill
cuts off the sight of the neighboring residential development.
"You really leave the 20th Century behind when you're here," Ms. Rissland said.
Ms. Rissland joined the citizens committee in 1970.
"I love old houses, and I always wanted
to restore one," she said, laughing. "Now I'll
have the chance of doing one with the advantage of not having to live there while the
work's going on."
The Sunday festival will t-egin at 2 p.m.,
and will include colonial singing and cooking,
and a display of marching and musketry by
the Brigade of the American Revolution.
Last month, Ms. Rissland invited the National Historic Register officials to attend.
They called last week to decline the invitation.
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Portcy Park group
will restore home of
Middletown patriot
The boldest and most active of the Monmouth County patriots," Joseph Murray, met
his death on a sunny June 8, 1780.
He was shot by Tory sympathizers as he
plowed his field by Poricy Brook.
- from a Poricy Park pamphlet
MID[)LETOWN TOWNSHIP - Marcia
Rissland's voice turns to cold steel when she
recounts how the 276-year-old Joseph Murray
home was rejected for inclusion in the National Historic Register.
"A state official told me that if the National Register people had included a picture
of this house in its handbook, they would
have become a laughingstock," Ms. Rissland
said.
"1 don't feel the home of a Revolutionary
War hero should be a laughingstock. So
we're going to restore it. Ourselves. National
Register or not," she said.
Armed with a large sum of private donslions, the Poricy Park Citizens Committee
plans to tackle that restoration by the end of
this summer, according to Ms. Rissland, the
committee secretary.
The donations come from township residents who wish to remain anonymous.
MS. RISSLAND would not reveal the
amount of money received, but said It would
be enough "to give us a good start."
The citizens committee will hold a festival Sunday, not only to mark the 20th anniversary of Murray's death, but also to celebrate the beginning of the restoration work.
The task won't be an easy one.
When asked if the committee has set a
deadline for the completion of the restoration, Ms. Rissland replied drily, "Hopefully
within my lifetime."
The restorer's job will be to turn back
the clock and strip the home of all the modern archittctural trappings acquired over almost three centuries.
Those additions are what prompted federal officials to deem the Murray house unfit
for the National Register.
Although the house was proclaimed a
state historic site in 1977, the national historic register rejected the state's nomination of
the farmhouse a year later.
THE REJECTION was based on photographs of the farmhouse submitted by the
state. No national historic register official
has visited the site, Ms. Rissland said,
In its rejection letter, the national register states: "Extensive alterations have obscured much of the original fabric and design of the house. In Its current condition, we
do not believe that it depicts or recalls the
historical events and persons originally associated with it,"
The answer still puzzles Ms. Rlsslamf.
"I always thought the Historic Register
helped you restore the building, not just preserve what's already there," she said.
There have becit several major changes
to the home since Thomas Stillwell built the
wooden farmhouse In 1704
Abeslos siding was put on the exterior of
the farmhouse. The original porch with a
lean-to roof has been demolished
The front door was changed to a door at
one side of the house. The entranceway is
sheltered by a small roof.
IN THE 1830s, two rooms were added upstairs, and one downstairs.
The downstairs room of the addition
holds a fairly modern kitchen complete with
stove, sink and refrigerator.
But much that remains is original.
In the basement of the house is the
colonial kitchen fireplace. The homemade
red bricks at the front of the fireplace are
soft and crumbling and must be replaced but those on the Inside and on the sides are
in good condition.
"When Franklin stoves came in, someone
bashed a hole in the fireplace for the pipes."
said Ms Rissland, pointing to several holes
In the fireplace.
A colonial bread kiln, built Into the fireplace, has survived several centuries with
little more damage than a few cracks in its
plaster.
The house still sits on its original stone
foundation, and has retained its initial stonelined woodframe and wide, wooden floorboards.
Even the colonial mud-and-cow-hair wall
plaster remains throughout much of the
house, hidden under countless coats of paint,
Ms. Rissland said.
THE 1704 PORTION of the house was designed with a parlor and master bedroom on
the first floor that were joined by a center
hall that ran from the front door to the rear
perch.
The kitchen wasn the basement and two
children's bedrooms were on the second
floor.
The restoration will begin with the exterior of the house.
Besides its age, the farmhouse is made
historically Important because of the patriot
who lived there - Joseph Murray,
"lie was a real folk hero in Middletown,"
Ms. Rissland said.
In 1767, Murray bought the farmhouse
and fields stretching along Oak Hill Road to
what is now Route 35, from Thomas Stillwell
Jr.
Murray was an immigrant from Londonderry, Ireland, seeking refuge from reli-
Asbary Park Press
Joseph Murray, called boldest county patriot, lived in this 276-year-old house.
gious persecution. He married Americanborn Rebecca Morris, and they raised four
children.
Monmouth County was a divided land
during the Revolutionary War, and Middletown was not an exception. The township
was known as a "hotbed of Tories" and It
was dangerous, often fatal, to show alliegence to the rebels.
MURRAY WAS an active' and rather daring rebel.
He was a member of the Monmouth Militia. He was captured by the British,
imprisioned for a year, and escaped.
One of his duties for the Continental
Army was comandeering horses for military
use. A typical Murray story has him stealing
a horse from the stables of Tory Edward
Talyor of Marlpit Hall on Kings Highway.
According to the Story researched by the
citizens committee, Taylor rushed out and, in
an attempt to stop Murray, threw his hat in
the horse's face, hoping to spook him.
Murray calmly dismounted, picked up
the hat, placed It on his head, and rode
away, leaving behind a fuming Taylor.
His enemies caught up with Murray on
June 8, 1780, as the patriot was plowing his
fields for corn.
A Tory stepped from the nearby woods
and shot Murray In the back.
DESPITE HIS WOUND, Murray managed to turn on his attacker and nearly succeeded in wrenching the musket from the
Tory.
Two other men set upon him, however,
and Murray was bayonetted and shot a second time at point-blank range.
Estimates of Joseph Murray differed, depending on which side one was on, according
to the citizens committee pamphlet.
Murray's militia comrades lauded him as
"a plain, strong, fearless, straightforward
patriot, earnest and true."
The Tories called him "a notoriously violent rebel."
Murray was buried on his farm. In 1855,
his grandson, William, moved his grave to
the Baptist Church Cemetery on Kings Highway.
The farmhouse, now a part of Poricy
Park off Oak Hill Road, was purchased by
the township in 1973.
NOTHING WAS DONE to preserve the
declining building, however, until the citizens
committee took it on as a project in 1975. Ms.
Rissland said.
In 1976, the committee extensively researched the farmhouse's Revolutionary
roots, and discovered Murray had made his
home there, not on Kings Highway as originally thought.
The house is in the center of a grassy
hollow near Poricy Brook. The nearby hill
cuts off the sight of the neighboring residential development.
"You realty leave the 20th Century behind when you're here," Ms. Rissland said.
Ms. Rissland joined the citizens committee in 1970.
"I love old houses, and I always wanted
to restore one," she said, laughing. "Now I'll
have the chance of doing one with the advantage of not having to live there while the
work's going on."
The Sunday festival will begin at 2 p.m.,
and will include colonial singing and cooking,
and a display of marching and musketry by
the Brigade of the American Revolution.
Last month, Ms. Rissland Invited the National Historic Register officials to attend.
They called last week to decline the invitation.
The Gehhardt Farm
-
here today
gone tomorrow? This land is presently for sale
and is zoned for 1/3 and 1/2 aere housing.
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Map of the "Poricy Park" region of 1'IiddIetovn TownJiip. Shaded area indicates
Cotton property, which the Poricv Park Citizens Committee is purchasing with funds
contributed by Township residents.
\
MIDDLE TOWN TOWNSHIP LIBRARY
MIDOLETOWN, NJ
MIDDLETOWN INDEPENDENT, JANUARY 22, 1992
5
Book creates confusion about house
By Marilyn Duff
MIDDLETOWN - The Georgianstyle Wil1im Murray house, set far back
from Kings Highway near the intersection with New Monmouth Road, is at
once eye-catching because of its monmumental cedar and evergreen trees.
But because of an erroneous reference
in "The Story of Middletown," published
in 1927, its history has been confused
with that of another property. In addition, there has been confusion about
when the earlier west section of the home
was built.
The William Murray house, located at
65 Kings Highway just east of Old First
Church (formerly the Middletown Baptist Church), is part of the Middletown
Village Historic District, which in 1974
was listed on the National Register of
Historic Places and is significant as one
of the oldest permanent English settlements in New Jersey.
The house, however, has been confused with the Joseph Murray farmhouse
at Poricy Park and has been thought to
have been built in 1780. William Murray
(1772-1834) was Joseph Murray's son
and, according to research by the Poricy
Park Citizens Committee, did not acquire the Kings Highway property until
1815. In a Poricy Park History Series,
Joseph Murray is said to have settled in
Middletown about 1767 and, while on a
brief leave from the Monmouth County
Militia in 1780 to plant a crpp at his farm,
was slain by local British Loyalists
aroused by his exploits on behalf of the
patriots. Both father and son are buried at
Old First Church.
In his 1927 book about early Middletown, Ernest W. Mandeville relates that at
the rear of his Kings Highway home, William Murray operated .a store and ran the
local post office. He served as a trustee for
the Middletown Baptist Church from
1826 until his death.
The William Murray house was purchased by its present owners, Margo and
Joseph Kyrillos, in 1972.
"I used to pass this house, and I liked
it." Mrs. Kyrillos said during a recent visit. She liked it so much, she recalled, she
would say to her children, "Let's go see
my house." Her husband, meanwhile,
thought she was "out of my mind," she
said.
She says
was just being silly, but
then one evening she learned that the following day the property was scheduled to
Sketch by Connie Wynn-Smith
JOSEPH MURRAY'S SON'S HOUSE
Because of an erroneous reference in the book "The Story of Middletown," the
history of the William Murray house c ft Kings Highway has been confused with that
of another property - his father's.
go on the market. "The thing that sold
us," she said, "was all the beautiful cedar
trees."
Mrs. Kyrillos offered a hint as to when
the house may actually have been contructed. The attic beams on the older side
of the house (defined by the three symmetrical second-story windows), she said,
are carved with the words "finis 1810 or
1811." Also, from what she has been told
by carpenters who have worked on the
house, she believes the older section was
originally one story and the roof was later
raised.
Accordiüg to Mrs. Kyrillos, the numerous owners in this century have all loved
the home and most have come back to
visit at one time or another.
"It's solid as a rock," she says, noting all
who touched it were careful to retain the
original characteristics. Because of that,
she said, it is expensive to maintain.
The house has seven fireplaees and every room has a special character, she said.
She has atthmpted to furnish it "in keeping with the house" and acquired some
period furniture.
Her four children, the oldest of whom
is state Sen. Joseph Kyrillos Jr., consider
the William Murray house part of their
family. While away at school, after asking
about family members, the senator would
add, "How's the house?" she said.
The house remained in the Murray lamily until 1880, then passed through a succession of owners. The property, part of a
17th century patent to prominent Middletown settler Richard Hartshorne, at one
time stretched to Route 35 and beyond.
After a 1960 subdivision, Mrs. Kyrillos
said it was reduced to its present 3.07
acres.
The house was sold in 1880 to Charles
Coudert and then in 1904 to Morris
Greenwood, who moved it back from the
road to its present location. Both Coudert
and Greenwood owned other Middletown
properties.
According to Mrs. Kyrillos, subsequent
owners were: Edward P. Dangler, 1927;
the Steuerwald family, 1929; Carl C. McRoberts, who it named it the Darry Boy
Farm, 1949; a Mr. Conway, 1960; and
finally, Tony Bush, who bought it at auction in 1969 and sold it three years later to
the Kyrillos family.
• ortcy
. Park group
will restore home of
Middletown patriot
"The boldest and most active of the Monmouth County patriots, " Joseph Murray, met
his death on a sunny June 8, 1780.
He was shot by Tory sympathizers as he
plowed his field by Poricy Brook.
- from a Poricy Park pamphlet
MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP - Marcia
Rissland's voice turns to cold steel when she
recounts how the 276-year-old Joseph Murray
home was rejected for inclusion in the National Historic Register.
"A state official told me that if the National Register people had included a picture
of this house in its handbook, they would
have become a laughingstock," Ms. Rissland
said.
"I don't feel the home of a Revolutionary
War hero should be a laughingstock. So
we're going to restore it. Ourselves. National
Register or not," she said.
Armed with a large sum of private donations, the Poricy Park Citizens Committee
plans to tackle that restoration by the end of
this summer, according to Ms. Rissland, the
committee secretary.
The donations come from township residents who wish to remain anonymous.
MS. RISSLAND would not reveal the
amount of money received, but said it would
be enough "to give us a good start."
The citizens committee will hold a festival Sunday, not only to mark the 200th anniversary of Murray's death, but also to celebrate the beginning of the restoration work.
The task won't be an easy one.
When asked if the committee has set a
deadline for the completion of the restoration, Ms. Rissland replied drily, "Hopefully
within my lifetime."
The restorer's job will be to turn back
the clock and strip the home of all the modern architectural trappings acquired over a!most three centuries.
Those additions are what prompted federal officials to deem the Murray house unfit
for the National Register.
Although the house was proclaimed a
stale historic site in 1977, the national historic register rejected the state's nomination of
the farmhouse a year later.
THE REJECTION was based on photographs of the farmhouse submitted by the
state. No national historic register official
has visited the site, Ms. Rissland said.
In its rejection letter, the national register states: "Extensive alterations have obscured much of the original fabric and design of the house. In its current condition, we
do not believe that it depicts or recalls the
historical events and persons originally as-
The answer still puzzles Ms. Rissland.
"I always thought the Historic Register
helped you restore the building, not just preserve what's already there," she said.
There have beei several major changes
to the home since 'thomas Stillwell built the
wooden farmhouse in 1704.
Abestos siding was put on the exterior of
the farmhouse. The original porch with a
lean-to roof has been demolished.
The front door was changed to a door at
one side of the house. The entranceway is
sheltered by a small roof.
IN THE 1830s, two rooms were added upstairs, and one downstairs.
The downstairs room of the addition
holds a fairly modern kitchen complete with
stove, sink and refrigerator.
But much that remains is original.
In the basement of the house is the
colonial kitchen fireplace. The homemade
red bricks at the front of the fireplace are
soft and crumbling and must be replaced -.
,but those on the inside and on the sides are
in good condition.
"When Franklin stoves came in, someone
bashed a hole in the fireplace for the pipes,'
said Ms. Rissland, pointing to several holes
in the fireplace.
A colonial bread kiln, built into the fireplace, has survived several centuries with
little more damage than a few cracks in its
plaster.
The house still sits on its original stone
foundation, and has retained its initial stonelined woodframe ahd wide, wooden floorboards.
Even the colonial mud-and-cow-hair wall
plaster remains throughout much of the
house, hidden under countless coats of paint,
Ms. Rissland said.
THE 1704 PORTION of the house was designed with a parlor and master bedroom on
the first floor that were joined by a center
hall that ran from the front door to the rear
porch.
The kitchen wasGin the basement and two
children's bedrooms were on the second
floor.
The restoration will begin with the exterior of the house.
Besides its age, the farmhouse is made
historically important because of the patriot
who lived there - Joseph Murray.
"He was a real folk hero in Middletown,"
Ms. Rissland said.
In 1767, Murray bought the farmhouse
and fields stretching along Oak Hill Road to
what is now Route 35, from Thomas Stillwell
Jr.
Murray was an immigrant from Londonderry, Ireland, seeking refuge from reli-
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Simon, 55. Two similar background. He
has a hearty laugh. Is fast with a quip and
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Each new, play of his, he feels,
- "throws them off", When It first appari.
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He says he's working on a new drama
u ','big play." HoIughs . 'It'ia 4fori
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ray1 Far
lives at the !old I
rove
•.- his ban
-'Pe.restoration.. photographe thw'
pink peeling paint, pipes in strange
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in~
places and a Christmas tree painted op
a downstairs b"droom wall.
"We want the hou*e;to'be dseii,'t
Contreras said
-'
'We want to keep It verycorn-'
ing work was done by volunteers. Confortable and friendly," Risslánd added.
_tracts for carpentry and masonry work
Walls are painted wThe -colOr
went out In September 1980. Sim'of-the moulding varies from -;room
,
to.
ulataneously the barn was restored.
room, with blue In the parlor, oxbiood
Two cement wings added in 1940 to that.....':
In a downstairs bedroom, greed hi an
structure were ripped off.
upstatrs.bedrooni shichts dêcarated
: .; Both; buildiIgs ;got..new sheathing,).
with green and red stendllIng,"
new siding Rotting timbers were reA lull course colonial dInnércan be
placed. The buildings got new windows,
cooked over the open hearth in-the.:
new doors and new frame work where
downstairs 18th century kitchen necessary. Modern plumbing and elecTo the original structure, built in
tric heat were installed.
about 1770, was added a kitchen and
Some rafters and timbers remain,
dining area In about 1830, Rlssland
and are the original, handhewn wood,
said. The new and old portions are
pegged togéther*Iha oak pegs.
5
appropriately labeled.
The township ocns thear, the
THE RESULT today Is home that
4,iarmhouse an ban, a1id'a resons14
could be lived in,' but that Is not thet'
friendly,i 4 1)lLe for utilities nd makitenanoet
purpose The1roombau
.ind raising *s1 'oer*Ung
comfortabIe charming, warm, and the- 1' hOuse are the respqnaIbU1tyO( ,the
setting for colonial rafts and prograins Evelyn Lewis is the historic '-titlzènsommittee
5 4
With the restoration ornpleted the
Interpreter and presides at We pro- :
: committee Is working-on plani for
grams-for adults and children. SnailJosephMurrafDay June 4. Ther will
room sizes, however, dictate that
--a
be a rèenctment of his murder- and
groups for varIpus- programs remain
An encampment of the Brigade of the
small.
.AmeiicanRevolütion, with British and
A tour through the house 13 a trip
PEELING AWAY THE YEAF?S
Original nogging In the farmhouse walls is vislb(bIn
American units right down-to fife-and
back in time.
an upstairs bedroom. A chimney, foreground, was restored with oi-iginal bricks.
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drum corps.
Furnishings are sparse. Thee are
Preliminary, demolition and finish
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tOwn. Urgé'd-tO Buyr
/jf
(P
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'icre jrennarçit
.i. arm
R'a)q/1
iLWN TDW1IP1iit1
MIbi
the 90the Pc
result
'
ss : file applications for appropti- phase' price and other costa,
rm In' ' ate state and federal aid.
the PPCC has $1;262 remaincou1d
A combined financial stat- ing in its account- with ,he
Conservancy, whrch. will be
inént issued by the pp
to the Cotton Tract purchase held • or uttrç a1uisthons
and improvements, in Poricy
purchas. . the tracjs. fuhd shows $6,779 colleèted
Dw'igh:
Richardsoq,4iw- donations for the '14-acre )3asm.
man of th . Poricy1
k. ,' ' tract, purchased by the NaThe. Cotton Tract, now
zens Corn tte(r
. V tur
Conservancy at the, owned by the Conservancy is
toe donated soon to
deduction of tie
attention
the tract's similarity to Holth-'
del çounty'Park, "complete
withfarii 'buildings, picnic
site9id sledding slopes."
•'The .ównet, Mr. Richardson
comments, has frequently ex
• pressed 'desire to save the
r Geb.atdt'arrn for public
uI* buL'he urges the Townstp 'CozmItt to state ts mtent tóqtire'the'lan'd and to
•S.Y.L
a'
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neswrect nouse OJ iionmoutn patriot opens in Aprit
Tiny farmhouse at Poricy Park
to serve as Colonial crafts center
By JAMES S. BROWN
Associated Editor
when be came, saw said Murray lay
dead with his wound bleeding, who had
Seiler.
—
01 an
yowl
places
"
It HOUSE RESTORATION showing
44.how the average _ rather than the The affidavits obtained Murray's
t,uent - Monmouth County resident lived'
in the 18th century will open to the public widow, the former Rebecca Morris of Mida hail-pay pension.
Apil 4 in Pus-icy Park, Middletown 'thorn- dietown.
During those dangerous days in old
tter-'.irathsi of the tiny farmhouse atso Manmoutit, it was customary to have one
Mit nc,uor Joseph Murray, a nearly forgot- man stand watch with a musket white
en patriot who paid with his life as a another worked his fields but Murray remember of the Monmouth Militia In the poi-tediy had told Hill, who lived at Heddens Corners, not to wait. Murray had
6attte for American independence,
Murray was shot in death by refugees placed his gun against a fence but could
.s- British supporters - as he plowed a not reach it when the refugees emerged
àeld near his house in 1788 after receiving from the marsh along Parley Creek and attacked.
4 few bourn off from militia duty to visit
An account prepared in 1882 by Mrs.
his family.
Opening at the house, which will serve Mary Murray Hyde, a direct descendant,
turned
up In a three-volume history, The
rimarity as a Colonial crafts center in the
88(1-acre park, adds luster toa project Jersey Coast in Three Centuries. With the
tiegun in ISt when the Poricy
cia- articles are drawings showing Murray's
seas Committee began a campaign to sadu house and barn, which still stands nearby,
the property from a sewer
scheduled and the field where he was shot.
line
for installation arrow the lands.
Subsequently the property was acquirml by the township and developed with
(reen Acres funds and then turned over to
the citizens committee to operate as a
i(atm-al
ACCORDING TO MRS. HYDE, her
ancestor was of Scottish descent but came
to American from Londonderry, Ireland,
with his mother Elizabeth while still a
young man sometime prior in 1761.
Family tradition unset-ta be bought the
FOR SEVERAL YEARS, until a mod- farm May 9,1761, from Thomas Stillwell
rn building was constructed, the old Mae- Jr., whose family had owned the land since
cay farmhouse was used as a nature center 1704. On that date, he borrowed 49 pounds
giving a mortgage - not recorded - to
th little attention
to
orimi
Lydia Crawford Compton ( who toter may
nlftcaore. Gradually the realization
have become his wile's sister-in-tow). The
grew that the house was woritt restoring as
mortgage, according to Mrs. Hyde, identiatypical farm dwelling of the lBtt century
fled Murray as mason.
even though architectural changeshad
"The money thus raised was probably
Ijeen made din-tag more than two ceoused to build his house," declared Mrs.
tt frles.
Hyde.
Painstaking research by members of
Though there have been suggestions
t committee gradually dug out and decothat the house Is earlier, it seems likely the
nented the true story of Joseph Murray,
house and barn both were built by Murray.
aipported by pension affidavits filed in 1788
The masonry work in both structures Is
and now preserved In the Hall of Recui-ds
exceptional, the sort of thing a skilled
a Freehotd
mason could have been expected to ttse It
buildings of his own.
H Lt. Garret Hendrickson affirmed:
"This is to certlfye that Joseph
IN MRS. HYDES WORDS:
Murray a militia Soldier belonging to
Chi. Ashes- Holmes iOgt of Monmouth
"It Is peculiarly constructed (the
AllltLu under the command of Loll.
house), with a high basement, and
ilanwf Hendrickson then In service
above that one story and a half. The
foundation and stonework were nearly
Was ordered to ree-onlius- on the boy
,hone near Sandy Hrn* on the 7th of
two feet thick. The one great chimney
June, 17W, and on the eighth in the
and the oven In the basement were
morning, had leave from me for his remassive enough for a very large
turn to quarters to visit his family;
house. The doors and shatters in the
alter being at home a few hours was
basement were of two-inch oak with
killed by three refugees nigh his barn,
wrought Iron hinges and fastenings.
The small barn also had a cellar and
and left a wife with four small chilsiren, as olijtens my hand this 25th day
foundation of very heavy masonry."
of April, 17W."
The house has a large kitchen with
cooking fireplace and beehive bake oven in
the cellar, a feature seldom seen in ManA FELLOW SOLDIER, Thomas Hilt, mouth County houses of the period.
On the first flour a halt extended stung
added in his affidavit that he:
the south side at the house from front to
went home with said Murray and
rear, with the parlor and main bedroom
after a short time was a going to a
opening off It. Upstairs were two bedneighbor's not far distance when deporooms, probably for the children. A small
nent heard the report of a gun at the
addition was added to the southerly end in
afsd. Murray's and Ins short time was
the 19th century.
alarmed with the news that said MurThis is a simple tarmhonu', unlike the
ray 0:1.0 killed by three refugees, depo-
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This early drawing (above) shows
the appearance of the Joseph Mur'
ray house In the 18th century, beIn historical restorations. But it Is soundly
fore an addition on the southerly'
built and survived the years well,
Dutch-type framing was used, accord- end. Well-sweep at right, once com
lag to James McCabe, an architectural mon in the county, was used to
historian now working an a county-wide raise buckets of water, The Joseph
survey of historic buildings.
Murray house as It appears today
McCabe dates the house as tnld-15t
century. The heavy beams in the first flow after restoration by members of
ceilings are smoothly finished and decorat- the Pot-Icy Park Citizens Commited with a bead molding, evidence that they tee,
had originally been exposed though In later,
years lath and plaster was applied over
them.
TRADITION CASTS Murray as
powerful man, a strung and fearless patriot
who on use occasion In broad daylight seized a young horse from the Middletown Village stable of Edward Taylor, a Tory
whose son, George, was serving as a cutenet in a Loyalist regiment.
The militia was continually seizing
horses and livestock from British sympathizers In the county.
Edward Taylor Is said to have attempted to stop Murray by throwing his cap at
the horse to perhaps spook him and throw
the rider. But Murray calmly dismounted,
picked up the cup and put it on, and then
rode sway from the furious Taylor.
The Original deed to the Murray house
was "nearly destroyed by refugees," according to a quitclaim recorded at Freehold in 1884 by Stillwell heirs, a step taken
to confirm Murray ownership of the farm.
It Is not clear whether this took place
during the fatal attack in 1788 or on another occasion. Family tradition asserts that
Murray was taken prisoner and his house
ransacked in 1719, later escaping, according to Mrs. Hyde.
The militiaman was regarded by Tories
as a "notoriously violent rebel" and an
"obnoxious persecutor of Loyalist subjects." Obviously the patriots had a different view of him.
NEARLY TWO years ago, restoration
of the house began with foods privately
donated by members of the citizens committee. The barn had been restored earlier.
Work was supervised by Mrs. Marcia Dm5land, committee secretary, with advice
from restoration architect Charles H. Detwiiler Jr. of Plainfield.
The project included removal of doors
and porches not originally present, reranstrttctiun of fireplaces and replacement of
James 8, Dr.wa/Aabury Park Peens
Massive framing of the little house Is evident In this view of the basement kitchen. A beehive oven in to the right
of the cooking fireplace,
The addition added to the south end In the
A busy schedule of craft programs are:
The house had been continually oresscheduled for the months ahead. A hoase18DOs was repaired but not historically re-- pied until It was acquired by the township,
Furnishings being acquired are repro- warming for members ynly will fake place:
stored so that perhaps, at some future
date, it can be occupied by a caretaker, dactlons rather than antiques, said Ms. neat month and the house will open to the
according to Ms. Patricia Contreras. park ('ontrerark, so that ttie' t in to' u'it rcitti. iiihlii' April 4 VotonI,'r in ('ot,,niat vu".
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Volunteer ;uides get " .ressed up,.
By ANITA FERRARO
MIDDLETOWN - Volunteers at the
Stillwell-Murray Farmhouse at Poricy Park will
be looking more realistic than ever, thanks to a
state grant, and the talent of two local women.
According to Patricia Contreras, project director at the farm, the volunteers will soon be
outfitted in "authentic looking costumes, appropriate for the time of the farm."
Four costumes have been completed - two
for men, and two for women. Funds for these
costumes came from donations, and the park's
budget.
A $200 grant from the New Jersey Historical
Society will make it possible for at least one or
two more costumes to be made.
Barbara Chafkin of Middletown, and
Barbara Finch of Little Silver, served as the
costume-makers for these first costumes. The
two do costume restoration work at both the
Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum
of Art, and the Costume Department at the
Museum of the City of New York.
According to Finch, the patterns for the
costumes were purchased from a pattern company called the Brigade of the American Revolution, which has been making such patterns
since the Bicentennial.
She explained that the parts of the costumes
that are visible were sewn by hand, while the
interior sewing was done on a sewing machin.
She added that she and Chafkin will probably
advise a committee of Poricy Park volunteers
on the creation of the new costumes made
possible by the state grant, but that the committee would probably be more or less self-subsistent.
The application process for the N.J. Historical Society grants is a statewide competitive
process, ran once a year, explained Mary Alice
Quigley, public programs coordinator of the
N.J. Historical Society.
Eleven grants were given in the state, totalling $4,625. In addition to the Stillwell-Murray
grant, a second grant was given in Monmouth
County, to the Keyport Histoflcal Society, which
is preparing a slide and 'video-tape show of the
towns history, entitled 'A Postcard Panorama.'
"The local history grants are meant for an
organization to do something in regard to state,
county or local history," explained Quigley.
"Most organizations choose to do local history,
but they don't have to."
"The projects must be done by agencies, not
individuals, and must be of a public-education
nature," she said.
"It covers a range of projects, usually including such things as oral history, symposiums,
lectures, forums, slide shows or video-taped
projects."
Quigley expressed her enthusiasm for the
Stillwell-Murray project, saying that she wished
the volunteers "all the luck in the world with
the project."
"We have the restored farmhouse, and we
are starting projects and tours," said Contreras," and so we wanted to have people outfitted in clothing that would be appropriate."
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Poricv-. Park. reminder. .of leeacv from days gone by
Asbury Park Press/Sun. Feb. 15, 1981 E3
Y the Humanities, the state
program, a $10,0DO Bmiman
ant, a $10,0 Dodge FoundaI a flO, Institute of Museum
have been applied for.
nto come through, site said,
neugh money to be sell-ouSt-
tead shows what life was like
years ago. A tour describes
trvived during colonial times,
bey didn't
niated a story concerning John
at the original owners of the
a mem
of the colonial millattacked and killed by Tories
evolutionary War. He was
land, but his body was later
oe at his survivors and moved
'ARK nile,, more to the vhumy lm. The first structure
entrance Isa modern nature
ALA in 1979, the center is gearo and otters programs about
o their natural habitat,
om features a collection of
tu with various mammals, reptom the surrounding area, The
center otters more than a dozen programs
for youngsters at a nominal fee.
They Include a fossil hunt, where children have an opportunity to silt through the
bed of Pm-Icy Break in search of specimens;
a nature hike In areas beyond the fields that
overlook a pond and marsh; field hunts for
rabbits, spiders and crtckets, cycle vi life
studies at the creatures that inhabit the
fields and Pm-icy Pond.
The nature center hours are 9-4, Monday
through Friday, and 12:l-3 on Sunday.
Special series are offered on Saturdays
and evenings.
HiStOriCall);T1C11 tJcØia"if '
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44ieriôrtiiig, ausill",
Murray coninnding ofli- Deponent saith he went immediately back (arid)when
desibeswIit befell the mediately
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concern
BOB BR' t I• 'a
P.
HbIoric soldier on hts farm July
lay dead with his wound
.
11I)I)Iare
1'TOWN
a1ues
ttiklin—aa at 1780 in' an affidavit still on bleeding, who had been shot
file in the county offices in and bayonetted n several
the bh dt Farm ',
places, and farther saith that
J'
"This
is
to
cet1fye
that
JoJoseph Murray
left a wfe
Cominité(IP(C) warn ..
children
and
os
hp:
ac
.
seph
Murray,
a
militia,
soldier
!with
four
small
'Whn:çhe
belonging to Col.. A s h er that he had leave of absents
quired thfleblardt Farm
.'
Poricy Prk in 1973, it obtain' llo(1)mes RigI of Monmouth from his offices. Sworn before,
ed not only open space for the Militia under the command of mç,h1s 25th day of April
community, but also a farm- Leut.
Hendrickson
,,
wasGarret
ordered
10 the bay Joseph Stillwell, Just.
house and barn constructed in
(signed) Thomas
,.
the early 1700s. The buildings shore near andyjlook on the . After, thekilling, the body
have great historic value. 7th of June 1780, and on the
They are aisoipfortunately, eighth, in the morning, had of Joseph Murray' was taken
'to the farmhouse bfhisiM
in poor coiiditton,"sayS Paul leave fromme for his return
T. Brady, sec tãryof the to quarters to visit his fami- friends and neighbors, who
ly after being at home a few hadtiurrled to the scene when
hours was,kklled by three'' heard the gunshot It
'4j
iI I
Owed by Qbtier
I'
(Loyalist) fjgees nigh his aid that for many years af
wire
with
fourV'
the
tragedy
bloodstains
'
---i '----Thç hitoric yaue of th barn, and,1e4
18th centUry farmhoue an small children as witness my prom Murray's wounds could
seen on the small farmbarn is rnádéivld in the stO háiid 5 this ?5th 'day
y o1 April, house porch.
-'
ry otV..Jo5eMurray,.a
• 17138 Changes
hands
vate in, he 1st Regiment,
- .,
(signed):
nLiut" The. farm was owned by
Monmoutir County, New JerWilliam Mears of Rumson
sey Militia in the,evolution ' , w
,Øf Thomas when it was sold in 1940 to At
ary. War-., M'raywho came. /The .depltion
.
Re1istSrIiaNPhOtO
comrade .1ñarrns to bert H Gebhardt, a New
New Jersey with his moth- Hill
Thl
farmhouse
on
the
Gebhardt
Farm
In Mid
HISTORIC
LANDMARK
Free
York
City
flamond
broker
er, ELIzel,Murray from Murray, alto on them
Working onthe farmhouse af diefown's Poricy Park stands vacant arid deteriorating since the tenant left
Londónderry Irelançi was hold iSmorØspecific
"TomasfliUbñg duly ter he had acquired it, Mr. last yqr.:The stone porch reportedly once showed bloodstains left when a
the owner of the Gebardt
Farm at least as early as sworn upon s'oth saith that Gebhardt found between the former owner, a Revolutionary War soldier, was murdered in 1780.
May 9, 1767, when he granted he, deponent,-and the above bricks of the main chimney a the buildings are subject to f "The township has also choa mortgage deed to the prop- said JoseplMurray WIthColomal Coin which had evi- the - attacks of vandals and .sen to use the Gebtiardt Farm
ntly been placed there by constitute an attractive and'1 as a dump for leaves., Where
erty of Lydia Compton.
'some other persoms had been
the original owner,
dangerous nuisance to all apimals once grazed, we now
He was still in possession of on the hues of thbay on the The concern OL members of childten,,the. members main- have large,, ugly piles of
thefarmstead June 8, 1780. night of the.'7th1une, 1780, the
as been elgh tam
leaves which also contain
Taken prisoner of war Ii the and in thorfltng went
and r?ratict continuing dete1 'The btmlldings are a hazard plastic bagsan nondegra t
British in January' 1719 Mur home with $idr*uiTay
has
to children who per1st in dable debris
especially
ray had escaned by iáktiary after a shotttime wa going inns whih
I"
and Who objected to thlt6 no avail
,a
"oi
e
yarn
playing,
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thenv
n
1780 Iji Jmi?f that,èar he to a neigh Ojaotar distant frm'climb tllre' stories high on Poricy Park is one a.f the
Col
Ashei
when
dp*
cherd
the
re
missiti wihheôtd IOOf5
was seing IR
a,n, the exposed roof beams of thd township's mostmportant as
lolmes s regtniht of Mon' port of ag athe afsd 1ieWn teams open
Sn
e
am
0
time
YS
h
thWtf 4nfj.Ständing Idle,
It
iii C
township': cómitlnued , neglect
'
5 "" *..-..
nrged 'tching coyalist
and abuse,': warns Mr.
-activities in the lighthouse news
Murray was
Brady.
iii thatsald
top
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The PPCC