Whitehouse, New Jersey

Whitehouse, also spelled White House, is an unincorporated community located within Readington Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey.[2] The community lies along the former Jersey Turnpike (now U.S. Route 22), just west of Mechanicsville. The Whitehouse–Mechanicsville Historic District, which includes historic places in both Whitehouse and Mechanicsville, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 17, 2015.[3]

Not to be confused with Whitehouse Station, New Jersey.
Whitehouse, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
Whitehouse United Methodist Church
Whitehouse United Methodist Church
Whitehouse is located in Hunterdon County, New Jersey
Whitehouse
Whitehouse
Whitehouse is located in New Jersey
Whitehouse
Whitehouse
Whitehouse is located in the United States
Whitehouse
Whitehouse
Coordinates: 40°37′06″N 74°44′40″W
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountyHunterdon
TownshipReadington
Elevation
210 ft (64 m)
ZIP Code
08888
Area code908
GNIS feature ID0881798[1]

History

In 1722, Abraham Van Horne purchased 490 acres (2.0 km2) in Readington along the Rockaway Creek. There, he built a grist mill and saw mill. Around 1750, he built a white plastered wall tavern on the creek where the Jersey Turnpike crossed (this is now the corner of Washington Street and U.S. Route 22). The tavern began to be referred to as the "White House" by travellers. The village, which sprang up to the east of the tavern also carried this name. Stones from the original tavern can be seen along the retaining wall of the Daughters of the American Revolution cemetery, where the tavern once stood.[4] The community of White House stretched along the Jersey Turnpike (now Route 22 and Old Route 28), which was the main street. The settlement included taverns, stores, grist mills, an academy, a Dutch Reformed Church and numerous houses.[5]

Nearby Whitehouse Station, which also indirectly took the name from the tavern, was not built up until 1848 when an extension of the Somerville and Easton Railroad was built.

  • Entrance to Memorial Park Cemetery
    Entrance to Memorial Park Cemetery
  • Monument to Abraham Van Horne and his son Abraham
    Monument to Abraham Van Horne and his son Abraham

References
  1. "Whitehouse". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
  2. Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed June 9, 2016.
  3. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places - Hunterdon County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. August 22, 2016. p. 13.
  4. Van Horn, Paul E. "Abraham Van Horn, Owner, White House Tavern" Accessed December 10, 2009.
  5. Barber, John Warner and Henry Howe. "Historical collections of the state of New Jersey: containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical descriptions of every township in the state". Indiana University Press, 1868.
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