Grovers Mill: Ladyfair

Ladyfair in March of 2019.

Historical Overview

Sitting at 429 Cranbury Road is “Ladyfair” - one of West Windsor's oldest houses (and thus part of the "100 Club") and a contributing structure to the historic community of Grovers Mill. Prevailing research suggests that this structure - which sits directly across Bear Brook from the mill itself - was constructed in the mid-1700s,[1],[2],[3] but other sources claim the 1690s. Regardless, the house was clearly built in at least three sections: the first, nearest to the road (with the cobbled stone chimney) - perhaps originally a Dutch-style one-room house with a sleeping loft above, followed by the two-story middle section, and then the section furthest from the road, possibly in the early 1800s.[4]

This structure may have served as the original millwright's (mill-operator's) house before the (likely late-1700s[5]) construction of 175 Cranbury Road. Indeed, Ladyfair's first known owner was Mahlon Wright[6] - who also owned the mill from the 1760s-70s.[7],[8] Some time prior to 1779 (by which point Ladyfair had certainly been constructed), Wright sold this property – then about 170 acres - to Jacob and Elizabeth Maple.[9] Maple, who lived on the property, in turn sold it to Nicholas Hight Jr. - presumably of the same family that founded nearby Hightstown[10] - and his wife, Bershaba in 1779.[11]

Longtime - but uncorroborated - legend posits that Lafayette once slept overnight in this house. Similarly, Aaron burr is also said to have carved his name, and those of several friends, into an old walnut cupboard.[12] The truth of these tales is up for question, but nevertheless colors the home's identity.

Ladyfair, maybe in the mid-late 1800s. Note the three sections! Photo from the Hightstown-East Windsor Historical Society.

In 1789, Abraham and John Van Nest (the latter an "Overseer of the Highways" from 1798-99[13]) acquired Ladyfair,[14] beginning a long line of Van Nest family ownership. The Van Nests, like the Bergens (another original Grovers Mill family), had emigrated from the Netherlands to New Jersey in the mid-1600s[15],[16] and were one of West Windsor’s original pioneer colonial families.[17],[18]
 
Some other locally-active owners of Ladyfair during this period included John C. Van Nest[19] - Overseer of the Highways in the late 1800s/early 1900s[20] - and Major Voorhees[21] Constable and Township Committeeman of Hamilton in the 1840s and 1850s and West Windsor Poundkeeper from 1892-93.[22],[23] Major also owned a tanning business in the 1820s the historic West Windsor community of Edinburg.[24]
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​In 1894, Ladyfair fully left Van Nest hands.[25] and passed through several owners before Leslie and Ronald R. Rogers bought it in the mid 1930s or early 1940s. Their son - Ronald Jr. - was an avid conservationist, founder of the Friends of West Windsor Open Space, and possibly most widely remembered through the Ronald R. Rogers arboretum across from High School South as well as the Rogers Preserve just next door to Ladyfair itself. The Preserve also used to be a Christmas tree farm managed by Ronald Jr.[26]

Ladyfair in 1909.

The Rogers lived in the house until the 1980s, after which it passed through a few owners, including David and Elizabeth Wright (1985-86). David, a contractor, restored the house to keep many original features. For instance, when the original front door was changed to a window, the wood was used to make a mantle for that room's fireplace, with its latch left in place.[27] Much of the floors are still (in 2023) wide-planked, hand-hewn beams can still be seen in the ceilings, and the initials of at least one former owner can be found carved into its basement foundation.[28]

Several families maintained the property over the next few decades - including Robert and Kathy Self (owners from 1986-90), who dubbed the house "Ladyfair.[29] In the 2010s, the building was stripped of its front porch and other detailing, resulting in the more simple look it features today (see the picture at the top of this article).[30] Nevertheless, Ladyfair, overlooking the Bear Brook, remains one of the oldest landmarks of the historic community of Grovers Mill, which it has called "home" for centuries.

Ladyfair, circa 2010. From Paul Ligeti.

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Bibliography

1. “Grover’s Mills.” Essay. In Old Princeton’s Neighbors. Princeton, NJ: Graphic Arts Press , 1939. Written by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project.
2. "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. For this specific citation, look at 429 Clarksville Road.
3. “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
4. “The Mill Wright - ‘1690 Country Classic’ - 429 Clarksville Road - Princeton Junction, NJ.” West Windsor, n.d. House tour pamphlet found in the West Windsor History Museum’s archives.
5. “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
6. Hight, Bershaba, Hight, Nicholas, Maple, Jacob, Maple, Elizabeth. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1779. Deed from Jacob and Elizabeth Maple to Nicholas and Bershaba Hight for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 1 Page 137
7. Wright, Mahlon. “Notice.” Pennsylvania Gazette. October 25, 1764. Mahlon Wright listing the Joint Tract at Grovers Mill for sale - October 25, 1764
8. MacCrellish & Quigley Co. (1931). 1771. Wright, Mahlon. In Archives of the State of New Jersey: Documents Relating to the Colonial and Revolutionary History of the State of New Jersey (Vol. XXVII - 1770-1771, Extracts from American Newspapers, Relating to New Jersey, pp. 410).
9. Hight, Bershaba, Hight, Nicholas, Maple, Jacob, Maple, Elizabeth. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1779. Deed from Jacob and Elizabeth Maple to Nicholas and Bershaba Hight for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 1 Page 137
10. “Hightstown History.” Hightstown Borough. Accessed January 7, 2023. https://www.hightstownborough.com/town-history/#1601496415419-b597b660-de9d. 
11. Hight, Bershaba, Hight, Nicholas, Maple, Jacob, Maple, Elizabeth. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1779. Deed from Jacob and Elizabeth Maple to Nicholas and Bershaba Hight for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 1 Page 137
12. ​​“Grover’s Mills.” Essay. In Old Princeton’s Neighbors. Princeton, NJ: Graphic Arts Press , 1939. Written by the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Writers’ Project.
13. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
14. ​Hight, Bershaba, Hight, Nicholas, VanNest, Abraham, VanNest, Jonathan. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1789. Deed from Nicholas and Bershaba Hight to Abraham and Jonathan VanNest for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 1 Page 656
15. Laura Carolina Jennings Fafeita #398A. “Peter Van Nest.” Descendants of Founders of New Jersey. Descendants of Founders of New Jersey. Accessed January 7, 2023. http://www.njfounders.org/node/209. 
16. Bergen, Teunis G. The Bergen Family; or, the Descendants of Hans Hansen Bergen, One of the Early Settlers of New York and Brooklyn, L.I. Albany: J. Munsell, 1876. 
17. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard. West Windsor. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there - including those of many of West Windsor's oldest families.
18. ​“Windsor Township Tax Ratables, June 1778.” Windsor, 1778. Lists families that lived in Windsor Township in June of 1778. Digital copy donated to the Historical Society of West Windsor from the the New Jersey State Archives; listed in their archives as being in Book 1073, Box 50, Item 4, GMNJ 51:124-133, Reel 13. Also located in the Historical Society of West Windsor's West Windsor History Museum digital archives.
19. VanNest, Jonathan C., Voorhees, Sallie E., Voorhees, Major. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1879. Deed from Jonathan C. Vannest to Major Voorhees and his wife, Sallie E. (Vannest) Voorhees for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Mercer County Deed Book 124 Page 455.
20. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
21. VanNest, Jonathan C., Voorhees, Sallie E., Voorhees, Major. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1879. Deed from Jonathan C. Vannest to Major Voorhees and his wife, Sallie E. (Vannest) Voorhees for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Mercer County Deed Book 124 Page 455.
22. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
23. Woodward, Evan Morrison, and John Frelinghuysen Hageman. History of Burlington and Mercer Counties with Biographical Sketches of Many of Their Pioneers and Prominent Men. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Everts & Peck, 1883.
24. ​“West Windsor Township Tax Ratables, June 1802.” West Windsor Township, 1802. Lists individuals that lived in West Windsor Township in 1802 - including their occupations. Digital copy donated to the Historical Society of West Windsor from the the New Jersey State Archives; listed in their archives as being in Book 1065, Box 49, Item 11, Reel 14. Also located in the Historical Society of West Windsor's West Windsor History Museum digital archives.
25. ​Vannest, Lyorah, Wyckoff, Lydia C.. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1894. Deed from Lyorah Vannest to Lydia C. Wyckoff for the property now now called "Ladyfair" (at 429 Clarksville Road). Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Mercer County Deed Book 199 Page 296.
26. Sanservino, Bill. “WW Environmental & Open Space Champion Ron Rogers Dead at 69.” News Eagle. October 1, 1999.
27. Bruno, Elise, Robert W Craig, Mrs. Charles Lawrence Dey, Luci DiPolvere, Edward DiPolvere, Cynthia Koch, Vivian MacPherson, Ronald Rogers, Ralph Vierno, and David O Wright. “A Brief History of Grover’s Mill: Part II,” 1995. Spring 1995 “Broadside” newsletter, published by the Historical Society of West Windsor.
28. Personal firsthand observations of the author of this article (Paul Ligeti) during a tour of the property given to him by the owner, Marc S. Rubenstein, in 2020.
29. “Handwritten Note Detailing the History of Ladyfair in the Mid-Late 1900s.” West Windsor, NJ: Historical Society of West Windsor's Archives at the West Windsor History Museum/Schenck Farmstead, n.d. 
30. Personal firsthand observations of the author of this article (Paul Ligeti).

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