Uhl-Keith House

4273 Quakerbridge Road, date unknown.

Historical Overview

A 2-story house stands at 4273 Quakerbridge Road. This structure - the Uhl-Keith house - is a member of West Windsor's "100 Club" and a contributing element to the historic Lawrence/West Windsor community of Port Mercer.

The house was likely built between the mid-1830s[1] and 1850.[2],[3] It was once part of a larger property that also contained the adjacent Port Mercer inn at 4271 Quakerbridge Road.[4] Thus, its ownership was the same as the inn - for a complete history of ownership prior to 1959, read about the inn's history by clicking here. It's unknown who lived in the house at 4273 Quakerbridge Road during this time; it may have been rented to various tenants - perhaps the Stout and Fagan families[5] - or lived in by the property owner.

 In 1951, the joint tract was sold to Elizabeth Harlow,[6] and was eventually split it into its constituent properties of 4271, 4273, and 4275 Quakerbridge Road.[7],[8],[9] Harrison and Palmer Uhl acquired the Uhl-Keith house in 1959.[10] Harrison, an architect, also built the nearby house at 4277 Quakerbridge Road in the mid-century.[11] In 1962, he became a partner in a new architectural practice eventually called CUH2A. The firm won a design competition for the New Jersey Pavilion at the 1964 World's Fair.[12] Palmer herself taught at the All Saints Nursery School in Princeton for over 10 years.[13]

Backyard, date unknown, with NJ's largest green ash tree.[19]

In 1981, the Uhls sold their property to Thomas and Lisa Paine.[14] They, in turn, sold it to Edward "Gordon" Keith and Joan Keith.[15] Keith was a local historian who lectured on Port Mercer and the Delaware and Raritan Canal.[16] He was also a spokesperson for the Port Mercer Civic Association[17] and a historical advocate. When the adjacent Nassau Park Pavilion shopping center was constructed, Keith advocated for design changes to help reduce the impacts of traffic and more on historic Port Mercer.[18]

For generations, the largest green ash tree in the state loomed over the backyard.[19] Possibly decades-old when Washington marched towards his fateful battle, it witnessed Port Mercer's birth, rise, and decline. While the tree fell in 2024,[20] the house still remains, although it has of course long since passed to other families. At the time of this writing (2025) it still stands as one of Port Mercer's original mid-1800s houses.

Uhl-Keith house, 1875 (note the arrow).

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Bibliography

1. "Delaware and Raritan Canal." Princeton Whig. August 29, 1834.
2. Joseph Gillingham. (1840, October 2). For Sale Or Rent. Emporium and True American. Trenton, NJ.
3. "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.​
4. Cook, Richard, Hutchinson, Robert L. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1862. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 51 Page 316.
5. Updike, Elmer M. Sr. “West Windsor Was Sued for Poor Roads.” Princeton Recollector 4, no. 10, September 1979. https://theprince.princeton.edu/princetonperiodicals/?a=d&d=princetonrecollector19790901.2.3&srpos=1&e=-------en-20--1-byDA-txt-txIN-%22sued+for+poor+roads%22------. 
6. Harlow, Elizabeth Lane, Uhl, Harrison J. Jr., Uhl, Palmer B. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1959. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1494 Page 479.
7. Van Doreh, Elizabeth. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1959. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1494 Page 479.
8. Powers, Cheryl Coyner, Powers, Joseph Patrick, Harlow, Elizabeth Lane. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1977. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 2052 Page 448.
9. Uhl, Harrison J. Jr., Uhl, Palmer B. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1962. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1635 Page 32.
10. Harlow, Elizabeth Lane, Uhl, Harrison J. Jr., Uhl, Palmer B. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1959. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 1494 Page 479.
11. ​Ligeti, Paul T. I., and Uhl, Harrison. Phone call with Harrison Uhl. Personal, 2023. Note: Harrison has lived here since the mid-1900s.
12. “Harrison Jerome Uhl Jr. (1929-2018).” Find a Grave. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/222657766/harrison-jerome-uhl. 
13. "Palmer Beverly Uhl." The Times. August 19, 2008.
14. Paine, Lisa Burdette, Paine, Thomas H., Uhl, Harrison J., Uhl, Palmer B. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1981. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 2614 Page 488.
15. Keith, Edward G., Keith, Joan K., Paine, Lisa Burdette, Paine, Thomas H. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1981. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 2376 Page 179.
16. "History of D&R Canal Topic of a Slide Talk." Town Topics. October 7, 1992.
17. "Savoring a Rowdy Past." Trenton Times. May 19, 1991.
18. Ibid.​
19. ​"Identify Biggest Tree Growing In Township." The Times. December 15, 1991.
20. Based on conversations between the homeowner at the time and the author of this article (Paul Ligeti, President of the Historical Society of West Windsor).