Kiernan-Butler House

The Kiernan-Butler House

Kiernan-Butler house, December 2018. From Paul Ligeti.

Historical Overview

Standing at 397 North Post Road is a 2-story T-shaped house with 1-story wraparound rear extension and detached garage. This structure - the "Kiernan-Butler" house - is a contributing element to the historic West Windsor community of Princeton Junction as well as a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

The date of construction is unknown; while tax records assert that this building was constructed in 1808,[1] no structure appears in this location on maps until 1875.[1] The first known owners of this property were Abraham and Mary Vanhise (namesake family of the hamlet of Vanhiseville), who, in 1854, sold it to Joseph Vanhise.[3] The property then passed to James Legett in 1855,[4] Benjamin Thomas later that year,[5] Arthur and Mary Hanlon in 1857,[6] John Voorhees in 1863,[7] and finally Milton and Annie Wade in 1871.[8]

The Wades owned this property for the next twelve years until Amos Sickel, Sheriff of Mercer County, seized it via writ of "Fieri Facias" (presumably due to unpaid debts) and sold it to James Grover.[9] Grover, in turn, in 1883, sold a little over 17 acres to an Irish immigrant[10] named Thomas Kiernan - the first namesake family of this property. This deed is the first to definitively refer to a "premises" - possibly suggesting the house.[11]

This property passed through the Kiernan family until 1964 when, after around 81 years of ownership, it was purchased by Frank and Louis Quinby as well as Martin and Maureen Cummins.[12] Four years later, it was bought by Kenneth and Judith Butler.[13] They owned the property until the year 2000.[14] It has long since passed to other owners.

Kiernan-Butler house, June 2023.

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Bibliography

"West Windsor Tax Assessor Address List, 2019.” West Windsor, 2019. List of all residences in West Windsor with dates of construction, according to tax assessor. Sent to the Historical Society by Lorraine Jones and Dawn Moretti
“West Windsor Township.” Map. 1875 Historical Atlas of Mercer County, New Jersey - Map of West Windsor. Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Stuart, 1875. https://www. loc.gov/item/2010587333/.
Vanhise, Abraham, Vanhise, Joseph, Vanhise, Mary. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1854. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 27 Page 366.
Vanhise, Joeph, Legett, James. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1855. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 32 Page 343.
Legett, James, Thomas, Benjamin. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1855. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 32 Page 402.
Hanlon, Arthur, Hanlon, Mary, Thomas, Benjamin. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1857. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 38 Page 138.
Hanlon, Arthur, Hanlon, Mary, Voorhees, John. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1863. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 56 Page 158.
Voorhees, John, Wade, Annie E., Wade, Milton C. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1871. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 87 Page 105.
Grover, James, Sickel, Amos. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1883. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 139 Page 61.
Grover, James, Kiernan, Thomas. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1883. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 139 Page 64.
United States Census, 1880 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1880.
Cummins, Martin J. Jr., Cummins, Maureen, Kiernan, Anna L., Quinby, Frank J., Quinby, Louis B. “Deed.” West Windsor, 1964. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1704 Page 124.
Butler, Judith Ann, Butler, Kenneth, Cummins, Martin J. Jr., Cummins, Maureen. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1968. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1808 Page 10.
Butler, Judith Ann, Butler, Kenneth, Strong, Steven. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 2000. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 3908 Page 98.