Sharp-Doherty House
Sharp-Doherty house, date unknown.
Historical Overview
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A 2-story, 4-bay clapboard Italianate house once stood at 4105 Quakerbridge Road, between Clarksville Road and the Northeast Corridor train line. This - the Sharp-Doherty house - was a longtime fixture of the West Windsor/Lawrence community of Clarksville.
It's unknown when this house was built or by whom, but it was probably constructed in the mid-1800s.[1] In 1849, a 167-acre property here was purchased by Peter Sharp from John A. S. Crater for $11,000.[2] The 1850 census shows him as a farmer and living here with his wife, Kate, and their children: Jonathan, Valentine, William, Hetty, Elizabeth, and Peter Jr.[3] Seventeen years later, 86 acres, including the land on which the house now stands (if not the house itself as well), was acquired by Valentine for $8,000.[4] |
 Amelia Doherty.
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In 1882, the property passed to James H. Everett,[5] also an owner of the Schenck Farmstead (site of the West Windsor History Museum).[6] James was a West Windsor Commissioner of (Taxation) Appeal, Constable, and Township Committeeman, and Tax Assessor for much of the 1850s-70s.[7] Although it's unknown how long he owned the Sharp-Doherty house, what is certain is that it passed to Emily Doherty in 1905.[8] She lived here with her husband Henry[9] and her daughter Amelia.[10] Amelia is presumed to have inherited the property after Emily's death in 1959.[11] She lived here until her own death in 1994.[12] During that time, she sold her property to American Cyanamid for their long-gone agricultural research & development facility but retained usage rights to live in her longtime family home. She also desired to have her house become a museum to local history after she died.[13] Although that did not happen, much of her furniture can be seen at the West Windsor History Museum. The house sat abandoned for over 25 years following her death, falling into extreme dilapidation. It was demolished around 2021 or 2022, presumably in anticipation of development of some sort.[14]
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 Sharp-Doherty house, 2019.
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Bibliography
- “Mercer County Historic Sites Survey: West Windsor Township, Mercer County, NJ.” Princeton, 1988. Conducted by Kinsey & Hand Associates.
- Crater, John A. S., Sharp, Peter. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1849. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book P Page 145.
- United States Census, 1850 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1850.
- Sharp, Peter, Sharp, Valentine. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1867. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 67 Page 436.
- Everett, James H., Sharp, Valentine. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1882. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 130 Page 560.
- Everett, James H., Young, Elizabeth, Young, George. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1865. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 61 Page 249.
- “West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
- Cook, Hiram, Doherty, Emily. “Indenture.” Windsor, 1905. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Officer, Mercer County Deed Book 300 Page 577.
- United States Census, 1920 - West Windsor Township.” West Windsor Township, 1920.
- Ibid.
- Saint Paul's Parish. (n.d.). Saint Paul's Parish graveyard. West Windsor. Saint Paul's Parish graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there.
- Ibid.
- "Letters." West Windsor and Plainsboro News. November 6, 2009.
- Personal observations of this article's author - Paul Ligeti.
