Joseph Mount House

Mount house and barn, December 2018.

Historical Overview

A 5-bay, 2-story house with lare barn to its southeast stands at 1309 Windsor Road. This building - hereafter called the "Mount House" - is a contributing element to the historic community of Edinburg and a member of West Windsor's"100 Club."

The exact date of construction is unknown, but a house appears in this location on a map from 1849, with a "J. Mount" labeled as the owner and/or tenant.[1] This is very likely Joseph Mount, who purchased the property - then part of a much-larger 127-acre tract that also included the Hiram Mount house nearby at 1777 Old Trenton Road - from Elijah Tindall.[2] This was likely the same Joseph Mount who was a West Windsor Constable in the late 1820s/early 1830s. Elijah Tindall, for his part, was one of the first township Overseers of the Highways, in the late 1790s/early 1800s.[3]

Two years after Joseph's death in 1859,[4] the property passed to his son, Hiram Mount Sr. By this point, the property was about 62 acres, and no longer contained 1777 Old Trenton Road.[5] Eventually, Hiram Sr. bequeathed the property to his son, Hiram Jr[6] - one of West Windsor's longest-ever serving Township Committeemen, from 1896-1930.[7]

Edinburg, 1849. Note "J. Mount."

In 1940, Hiram's wife, Vera, sold the property. The house passed through several short-term owners:

• Alois J. Rottkamp, et. al. (1940-41)[8],[9]
• Federal Land Bank of Springfield (1941-42)[10],[11]
• Peter & Mary Szelwack (1942-45)[12],[13]
• Egnatz & Elizabeth Schwartz (1945-50)[14],[15]
• Frank & Anna Schwartz (1950-52)[16],[17]
• Max and Phoebe Herman (1952-2003)[18] - the couple also ran "Herman's Sweater Barn" in the brick-facade strip mall across the street (1302 Windsor-Edinburg Road).[19]

​The Joseph Mount house passed to new ownership in 2003. Yet it remains a contributing element to historic Edinburg.

Joseph Mount house, possibly 1890s. From Trevor LePrevost.

Go to Edinburg

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Bibliography

1. ​Otley, J W, and James Keily. “Map of Mercer County, New Jersey.” Map. Camden, New Jersey: L. Van der Veer, 1849.
2. Mount, Joseph, Tindall, Elijah. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1817. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 13 Page 341.
3. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
4. Hightstown Cedar Hill Cemetery. (n.d.). Hightstown Cedar Hill Cemetery. Hightstown, NJ. Hightstown Cedar Hill Cemetery gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there - including those of many of Mercer County's oldest families.
5. Mount, Hiram, Mount, Joseph. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1861. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 51 Page 55.
6. Mount, Hiram, Mount, Vera. “Deed.” Windsor, 1940. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 801 Page 478.
7. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
8. Mount, Vera, Rottkamp, Alois J. “Deed.” Windsor, 1940. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 801 Page 497.
9. Federal Land Bank of Springfield, Rottkamp, Alois J. “Deed.” Windsor, 1941. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 820 Page 98.
10. Ibid.
11. Federal Land Bank of Springfield, Szelwack, Mary, Szelwack, Peter. “Deed.” Windsor, 1942. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 839 Page 562.
12. Ibid.
13. Schwartz, Egnatz, Schwartz, Elizabeth, Szelwack, Mary. “Deed.” Windsor, 1945. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 887 Page 345
14. Ibid.
15. Schwartz, Anna, Schwartz, Egnatz, Schwartz, Elizabeth, Schwartz, Frank. “Deed.” Windsor, 1950. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 1088 Page 230.
16. Ibid.
17. Herman, Max, Herman, Phoebe, Schwartz, Anna, Schwartz, Frank. “Deed.” Windsor, 1950. Deed for the property of 1309 Windsor Road. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 1177 Page 409.
18. Ibid.
19. ​“Max Herman Obituary (2011) - Trenton, NJ - ‘the Times, Trenton,".” Legacy.com. The Times, 2011. https://obits.nj.com/us/obituaries/trenton/name/max-herman-obituary?id=22810713.