O'Brien-Goreleigh House

O'Brien-Goreleigh house, November 2018.

Historical Overview

A large, 2-story house on an elevated foundation stands at 8-10 Canal Road. This - the O'Brien-Goreleigh House - is a contributing element to the historic West Windsor community of Princeton Basin and was once home to an influential mid-20th century African American artist.

According to tax records, the house was constructed in 1842.[1] At the time, it was on a much-larger tract owned by George and Hannah Olmstead (that also included the land of present-day 14 Canal Road).[2] This larger tract passed through several different owners until being split up in the 1850s/60s.[3],[4],[5] In 1854, a man named Cornelius O'Brien purchased what is now known as 8 Canal Road, upon which the house primarily stands.[6] Cornelius died in XXXX,[7] and in 1917 his son, Cornelius Jr., sold it,[8] after which it passed through several families[9],[10],[11],[12] until Rex and Estelle Gorleigh purchased the house in 1955.[13]

Goreleigh was born in Pennsylvania in 1902 and used art to help him cope with a speech impediment, especially after his mother’s death when he was 15. In 1920, he moved New York to study acting in Harlem. There he was exposed to African American artists amid the Harlem Renaissance. He took courses at the Art Students League, paying for them by waiting tables - including for the legendary Mexican muralist Diego Rivera in 1933, who invited him to observe his work at Rockefeller Center. In 1934, Goreleigh joined the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and began instructing at Harlem’s Utopia House and YMCA, becoming friendly with several more prominent African American artists.

O'Brien-Goreleigh House, August 2000.

After a months-long tour in Europe studying under a variety of influential artists, Goreleigh was one of a handful of Black artists recruited by the WPA to establish and direct community art centers across the country – including in North Carolina and Chicago. He was the first director of Princeton Group Arts (PGA), - founded in 1946 by prominent Quaker, Jewish, and secular locals to bridge racial and religious divisions through art. The PGA also reputedly served as an example for the "Princeton Plan," which integrated schools in 1948.

In 1955 Goreleigh established his “Studio-on-the-Canal” in his newly-purchased house at 8-10 Canal Road (the studio was in the detached garage) and taught art to students of all ages for the next 23 years. During this time, he continued to teach at and direct various institutions across New Jersey. His own works explored Black life, migrant workers, and local landscapes. In 1966 he was named to the State Council of the Arts. He died in 1986 but is still remembered by many locals for his contributions to art, expression, integration, and community.

The house passed out of Goreleigh hands in 1978. It was then owned by Ronald and Mary Orcutt (1978-85), Robin and Thomase Pearse-Drance (1985-89), Robert Henderson and Kerri Ratcliff (1989-92), and others. In the 2000s or 2010s, a 3-bay, two-story addition was made to the north side of the house.

The structure remains one of the few surviving relics of old Princeton Basin.

Demolishing the hotel, from the July 29, 1992 "Town Topics."

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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.
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