Museum Tour: The Schenck Farmhouse
Overview
The farmhouse, originally constructed c. 1790, has expanded through a series of additions added over numerous decades. It occasionally housed multiple families at a time, and possibly served as the quarters for both owners and servants. The original portion of the house was entered to the leftmost door shown in the picture above. It likely consisted of only a kitchen, hearth, and loft. This section exhibits brick architecture - rare for any surviving 1700s houses in West Windsor. Two additions were constructed going to the right of the photograph between 1790 and the 1830s/40s, ending with the 1830s/40s wing on the easternmost side of the building. After c. 1905, around which time the attic of the older wing was raised to a full-height second floor, the house contained a kitchen, a dining room, a parlor, three bedrooms, a nursery, a sewing room, and (possibly) servant's quarters.
Before Max Zaitz acquired the property in 1971, the farmhouse had been in the Schenck Family for three generations. John Schenck rented the farm from 1888 until 1899, when he purchased the property. When he retired, Schenck sold the farm to his son, Walter. Between 1947 and 1951, Walter's younger son, Warren, lived a 3-room apartment on the second floor of the house. Walter's widow sold the farm to their son, Wilton, in 1963. In 1971, Max Zaitz purchased the farm.
The farmhouse is the showcase building of the museum. Most of the rooms inside have been decorated to memorialize the interior's design and functionality. In addition to a double parlor, dining room, kitchen, and entrance room on the first floor, as well as a sewing room, 2 bedrooms, lavatory, and research room on the upper floor, there is also an exhibit room that showcases an in-depth analysis of the history of West Windsor.
Much of the furniture in the house was donated to the Historical Society of West Windsor after Amelia Doherty's passing in 1998. Amelia lived in a house off of Quakerbridge Road in the now-disappeared village of Clarksville, one of West Windsor's numerous small historic villages. Along with her furniture are hundreds of artifacts donated by residents of the township and surrounding municipalities over the decades. Some of these items belonged to owners of now-disappeared properties, such as an electric iron from the Coward Farmstead (where High School South now stands)!
The farmstead was originally dilapidated when it was donated by Max Zaitz to the Historical Society in 1991. However, over the years, numerous restorations to this structure and the buildings surrounding it have transformed it into a permanent memorial to West Windsor's heritage.
To tour the house and immerse yourself in the memories of centuries past, please contact us or visit us during our open house days!
The farmhouse, originally constructed c. 1790, has expanded through a series of additions added over numerous decades. It occasionally housed multiple families at a time, and possibly served as the quarters for both owners and servants. The original portion of the house was entered to the leftmost door shown in the picture above. It likely consisted of only a kitchen, hearth, and loft. This section exhibits brick architecture - rare for any surviving 1700s houses in West Windsor. Two additions were constructed going to the right of the photograph between 1790 and the 1830s/40s, ending with the 1830s/40s wing on the easternmost side of the building. After c. 1905, around which time the attic of the older wing was raised to a full-height second floor, the house contained a kitchen, a dining room, a parlor, three bedrooms, a nursery, a sewing room, and (possibly) servant's quarters.
Before Max Zaitz acquired the property in 1971, the farmhouse had been in the Schenck Family for three generations. John Schenck rented the farm from 1888 until 1899, when he purchased the property. When he retired, Schenck sold the farm to his son, Walter. Between 1947 and 1951, Walter's younger son, Warren, lived a 3-room apartment on the second floor of the house. Walter's widow sold the farm to their son, Wilton, in 1963. In 1971, Max Zaitz purchased the farm.
The farmhouse is the showcase building of the museum. Most of the rooms inside have been decorated to memorialize the interior's design and functionality. In addition to a double parlor, dining room, kitchen, and entrance room on the first floor, as well as a sewing room, 2 bedrooms, lavatory, and research room on the upper floor, there is also an exhibit room that showcases an in-depth analysis of the history of West Windsor.
Much of the furniture in the house was donated to the Historical Society of West Windsor after Amelia Doherty's passing in 1998. Amelia lived in a house off of Quakerbridge Road in the now-disappeared village of Clarksville, one of West Windsor's numerous small historic villages. Along with her furniture are hundreds of artifacts donated by residents of the township and surrounding municipalities over the decades. Some of these items belonged to owners of now-disappeared properties, such as an electric iron from the Coward Farmstead (where High School South now stands)!
The farmstead was originally dilapidated when it was donated by Max Zaitz to the Historical Society in 1991. However, over the years, numerous restorations to this structure and the buildings surrounding it have transformed it into a permanent memorial to West Windsor's heritage.
To tour the house and immerse yourself in the memories of centuries past, please contact us or visit us during our open house days!
