William Walton House

The William Walton House

The Hutchinson-Terhune House in August 2021.

Historical Overview

Standing at 574 Village Road West, at that road's intersection with Penn-Lyle Road, is an old, 2-story Greek Revival house with a Colonial Revival wrap-around porch. This building, on the outskirts of the historic community of Dutch Neck, is a contributing structure to said community and a member of West Windsor's "100 Club."

Various records suggest this property was constructed between 1849 and 1860.[1],[2] At the time, this was part of a 123-acre farm owned by William Walton, who had purchased it from William and Jane Welling in 1839.[3] Walton served West Windsor's municipal government in a variety of positions in the 1850s and 1860s: as Commissioner of Taxation Appeal, School Committeeman, Township Committeeman, Superintendent of Schools, and Overseer of the Highways.[4]

In 1874, Walton sold the property to Elijah V. Perrine.[5] From the 1860s-80s, Elijah, too, played multiple roles in the town: as Tax Assessor, Township Committeeman, Poundkeeper (animal control), Freeholder, and Inspector of Elections.[6]

It is not certain how long Elijah kept this property, or who the immediate next owner was. by the early 1900s, the property had passed to S. Judson Allen.[7] Judson, too, was West Windsor's Tax Assessor and Freeholder, in the 1880s-90s.[8] In 1896, he was hired as the warden of the Mercer County Workhouse, a prison quarry along River Road in Hopewell Township.[9]

After S. Judson Allen, the property at 574 Village Road West - then part of a farm of a few dozen acres - passed through a few owners, ending with George and Catherine Groendyke in 1937.[10] This was directly to the east of another, much larger tract owned by the Groendyke family.[11] In the mid-1960s, a Jell-o commercial was filmed on the larger adjacent tract - click here to watch it and see the local farmers who starred in the ad![12]

In 1962, the old William Walton house was sold to Michael and Ruth Greshak, who kept it until the 1970s or 1980s. Following them were other owners, the most recent of whom maintains the house as a longtime staple of the Dutch Neck community.

S. Judson Allen from the Trenton Evening Times - March 12, 1918.

Go to Dutch Neck

Bibliography

Otley, J W, and James Keily. “Map of Mercer County, New Jersey.” Map. Camden, New Jersey: L. Van der Veer, 1849. Shows the Dutch Neck inn sitting at the crossroads.
Lake, D J, and S N Beers. Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia and Trenton from Actual Surveys By D.J. Lake and S. N. Beers. Assisted by F. Beers, L. B. Lake and D. G. Beers. Philadelphia, PA: C.K. Stone and A. Pomeroy, 1860. https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/handle/10929/34112?show=full
Walton, William, Welling, Jane, Welling, William. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1839. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deed Book B Page 532.
“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
Perrine, Elijah V., Walton, William. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1874. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deed Book 101 Page 447.
“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
Adams, Frank R., Adams, Kate M., Allen, S. Judson, Mount, Hiram, Mount, Lizzie, Tindall, Mary J., Tindall, Warren W. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1901. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deed Book 245 Page 353. Frank, Kate, Lizzie, Hiram, Mary, and Warren were heirs at law of the estate of Ezra Adams, then deceased.
“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
"The New Warden.” Trenton Sunday Advertiser. July 12, 1896.
Chamberlin, Jennie May, Chamberlin, Raymond F., Groendyke, Catherine S., Groendyke, George A. “Deed.” West Windsor, 1937. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office - Mercer County Deed Book 761 Page 171.
Fryer, H L. “Tax Maps of West Windsor Township.” Map. Trenton, New Jersey: H. L. Fryer, C.S., 1938. Revised by C. S. Sincerbeaux, 1938.
C. 1964 Jell-O Commercial at Groendyke Farm. Youtube. Historical Society of West Windsor, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5lKeKlbt_U&list=PLsUaWA2ReEJVHehjogUUff2kR7aY3uptb.
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