The Eifert-Wilson-Reed Farm​

Eifert-Wilson-Reed house and barns, July 2023.

Historical Overview

Standing at 106-108 Rabbit Hill Road is a 5-bay, 2-story house set close to the road. To its immediate south is an old wood and metal potato packing house, built in sections, followed by a former livestock barn (with upper floor that once housed dormitories for migrant workers) and attached cinderblock bus garage.[1] To the house's immediate north is a standalone cinderblock garage with sliding doors, followed by a long, gable-roofed barn, similarly-sized vaulted metal-roof barn, and finally a smaller shed/garage a few hundred feet from the road. This is the historic Eifert-Wilson-Reed farm - a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

The house - originally 1.5 stories but raised to 2 with a shed dormer across the front[2] - is the oldest structure, probably built between 1849[3] and 1860.[4] The potato packing house and livestock barn were reputedly constructed in the early 1900s,[5] perhaps around the same time as the freestanding garage. The vaulted metal-roofed barn was erected around the 1960s[6],[7] and the gable-roofed barn in the 1980s.[8],[9] The smaller shed/garage has an unknown date of construction.

The farm's earliest known owner - but probably not its originator - was Joseph Hutton, an Irish immigrant[10] who purchased it from Sheriff William Boswell in 1854.[11] Boswell had perhaps seized it, in his role as Sheriff, from an earlier proprietor. The 1860 census shows Hutton living with his wife, Margaret, and children: Henry, Jane, Thomas Joseph, Mary, and Margaret.[12] The next year, their 5-acre tract was sold to Mary Reed for $370,[13] and four years after that, another Irish immigrant named Daniel Campbell purchased it for $500.[14],[15]

Closeup of 1875 West Windsor map. Note "D. Campbell."

In 1880, Campbell sold the property to Valentine Eifert for $400.[16] Eifert, a German immigrant,[16] was also a Civil War veteran who had served in the 29th New Jersey infantry from 1862-63.[17] During his service, the 29th was stationed around Virginia and Washington DC. They joined the Army of the Potomac on January 10, 1863 and fought in the Battle of Chancellorsville. The 29th mustered out later that summer.[18] Four years later, Valentine married Anna Ehl,[19] herself a German immigrant.[20] They had at least four children: John, Matilda, George, and Louisa.[21]

In 1909, Eifert sold his small tract to John and Nettie Wilson.[22] In 1930, it passed to their daughter, Alice, and her husband, Horace,[22],[23] at which time the main crop in the expansive surrounding fields was potatoes.[24] In 1950, the couple lived here with their children Ruth, Robert, and Jean, Horace's father Mercer, Alice's father John, and a hired hand named Charles Dickert.[25] Well before this time (indeed, even before the 1930s), another Reed house had been built directly across the road at 103 Rabbit Hill Road.[26],[27] In the 1960s, Robert built another house directly behind it[28],[29] and, finally, in the 1980s, Kevin and Heather Reed Brakel moved a different residence had been moved from a Perrine family farm on Southfield Road to 101 Rabbit Hill Road.[30]

In 1986, the old Eifert-Reed farm passed again to other owners.[31] A few years later, the surrounding land was sold and turned into suburban developments.[32],[33] At the time of this writing (2024), no farmland remains. However, the old 1800s-era farmhouse, its surrounding barns and outbuildings, and the houses (and small farm-era sheds) across the road still contribute to West Windsor's historical fabric.

Valentine Eifert. Courtesy of Seana Arechaga.

106-108 Rabbit Hill Road, ca. 1940.

---

Bibliography

1. “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
2. Ibid.
3. Otley, J W, and James Keily. “Map of Mercer County, New Jersey.” Map. Camden, New Jersey: L. Van der Veer, 1849.
4. Lake, D J, and S N Beers. Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia and Trenton from Actual Surveys By D.J. Lake and S. N. Beers. Assisted by F. Beers, L. B. Lake and D. G. Beers. Philadelphia, PA: C.K. Stone and A. Pomeroy, 1860. https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/handle/10929/34112?show=full
5. “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
6. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1959.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1959.
7. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1965.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1965.
8. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1980.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1980.
9. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1985.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1985.
10. ​United States Census, 1860 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1860.
11. Hutton, Joseph, Reed, Mary. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1854. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 125 Page 140.
12. ​United States Census, 1860 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1860.
13. Hutton, Joseph, Reed, Mary. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1854. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 125 Page 140.
14. Campbell, Daniel, Reed, Mary. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1861. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 99 Page 151.
15. The National Archives in Washington, DC; Washington, DC, USA; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General's Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110; Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 3 of 3
16. ​United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
17. The National Archives at Washington, D.C.; Washington, D.C.; Special Schedules of the Eleventh Census (1890) Enumerating Union Veterans and Widows of Union Veterans of the Civil War; Series Number: M123; Record Group Title: Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs; Record Group Number: 15; Census Year: 1890.
18. “Battle Unit Details - Union New Jersey Volunteers - 29th Regiment, New Jersey Infantry.” National Parks Service. Accessed March 23, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-battle-units-detail.htm?battleUnitCode=UNJ0029RI. 
19. Ancestry.com. New York, New York, U.S., Extracted Marriage Index, 1866-1937 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2014.
20. ​United States Census, 1870 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1870.
21. ​United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
22. Reed, Alice W., Reed, Horace I., Wilson, John W., Wilson, Nettie. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1930. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 675 Page 187.
23. ​United States Census, 1950 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1950.​
24. “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
25. ​United States Census, 1950 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1950.
26. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1930.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1930.
27. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1959.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1959.
28. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1965.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1965.
29. Ligeti, Paul Thomas Imre, and Kay Tindall Reed and Stuart Reed. Discussion between Kay Reed and Paul Ligeti about Reed Farmhouses on Rabbit Hill Road. Personal, March 23, 2024. Note: At the time of the interview, Kay Reed and Stuart Reed had lived in the West Windsor area for decades and personally remembered the house being moved from the "Perrine Farm on Southfield Road."
30. Ligeti, Paul Thomas Imre, and Kay Tindall Reed and Stuart Reed. Discussion between Kay Reed and Paul Ligeti about Reed Farmhouses on Rabbit Hill Road. Personal, March 23, 2024. Note: At the time of the interview, Kay Reed and Stuart Reed had lived in the West Windsor area for decades and personally remembered the house being moved from the "Perrine Farm on Southfield Road."
31. Reed, Doris W., Reed, Robert H., Reed, Alice W., Reed, Horace I. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1986. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 2179 Page 998.
32. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1985.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1985.
33. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1990.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1990.