HISTORIC PRESERVATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Meetings are the 1st Wednesday at 7:30 PM at Town Hall

email questions to lht.hpac@gmail.com

The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee has the responsibility for developing ordinances for historic preservation, advising other government planning bodies about historic elements involved in proposed projects, and updating the Township's historic sites survey with an eye toward designating specific districts and sites as suitable for historic registration. The Committee was created by a Township Resolution in 1997. The Historical Preservation Advisory Committee is modeled on Historical Preservation Commissions already functioning in neighboring towns.

Long Hill Township has among the highest density of historic structures of any location in Morris County owing to the combination of our isolated geography and low impact development. This historic heritage is a resource which should be encouraged in a way that protects and enhances real estate values and quality of life issues, all of which lead to a more desirable community. By viewing our living history as another valuable asset, the Committee can advise the Planning Board and work alongside the Environmental Commission, Shade Tree Committee, and other local guardians to make sure that our homes and properties remain unspoiled by thoughtless and destructive actions.

There are other advantages. When the Township is able to designate historic districts and individual historic sites, low cost state renovation loans become available for those properties. To put owners of older homes at ease, none of this means that "big brother" government can tell you what you can and cannot do with your house. All it means it that local government can help you protect your historic property from rampant development that might devalue your home.

2010 Goals

Complete the Historic Element for inclusion in the 2010 Long Hill Master Plan.
Complete Millington School House / Old Town Hall Preservation Plan (2009 draft now available!)
Submit registration of Millington Schoolhouse / Old Town Hall to the National Register of Historic Places
Begin exterior rehabilitation of the Millington Schoolhouse / Old Town Hall
Install or upgrade fire, smoke and air conditioning systems for Millington Schoolhouse / Old Town Hall
Apply for and receive various grants for Historic preservation projects
Complete and maintain the Long Hill Historic Sites survey
Develop a brochure helping to raise public awareness to the importance of Historic preservation activities.

2010 HISTORIC PRESERVATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Guy Roshto, Chairman

Larry Scala, Vice-Chairman

Lillian O'Brien, Secretary

Carol Prasa

Fred Schaan

Mary Lou Weller

Nick Ferrara

Bonnie Robustelli

Kathy O'Neil

Above image of 30 Students and Miss Ella C. Bloom taken in 1908 at the Millington Schoolhouse. Student family names include Burns, Corielle, D'Agostina, Fennimore, Gray, Harmon, Hicks, Kocisha, Larsen, Mertz, Moore, Thomas, Wells, and Wendell.

The Valley Inn - 1947 Ice Storm

Valley Road Stirling, Owned by "ma" Schmidt.

Currently the La Primivera Restaurant, courtesy Mary Lou Weller, 2010

Notable Historic Resources

THE ELM STREET SCHOOL

photo of historic Elm Streel School Pictured is the Elm Street School, constructed 1908-1910. It is an example of a local historic asset which has been saved from demolition. This building replaced an even earlier wooden schoolhouse which stood on the same property from 1888 until 1910. The construction of the brick Elm Street School was the largest and most expensive project the township had undertaken to date. It was a civic anchor in the growing Village of Stirling. The building served as a public school and later as administrative office space for the Board of Education until 1996. The Board of Education's plan to demolish the building and sell the property was reevaluated at the urging of the Committee members. Instead, in late 2002 the building was sold to a private developer who reconfigured the interior space of the building to meet modern office needs while preserving and restoring the exterior look of the local landmark as it approaches the beginning of its second century.

THE TORREY HOUSE

The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee was active in preventing the destruction of the Torrey homestead, once called "Hilltop", on Long Hill Road in Stirling. From the late 1870s until the mid 1920s, the edifice was home to the family of one of Stirling's founders, Herbert G. Torrey, who was also known nationally because of his expertise as a scientist, metallurgist, mineralogist, and who served as Chief Assayer of the US Mint. Torrey's father was the internationally renowned botanist John Torrey MD, LLD, the founder of the Torrey Botanical Society in New York and a founding member of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Torrey is buried in the family plot in Stirling. The home remains a mecca for latter day fans of these two pioneering generations of American science.

photo of the Torrey Mansion Since 1924 the building had been home to the Blessed Trinity Missionary Retreat Cenacle.

A contractor had been planning a small development of new luxury homes on the 27 acre Torrey estate. His original plan called for the demolition of the historic homestead and its replacement with a new house. With cooperation between the Planning Board and the developer, an alternative plan was formulated in which the developer agreed to separate the historic building from the rest of his development.

The old homestead with historic preservation deed easements and several acres of surrounding land were put on the market in hopes of attracting a buyer interested in restoring the house to its Victorian grandeur. At the eleventh hour, in October 2001 after several extensions from the developer and in spite of the 9/11 disruptions, a buyer came forward and bought the house. It is now undergoing a long-term restoration as a private home. The historic easements permit updating the interior, but will preserve the exterior streetscape as it appears from Long Hill Road.

For more about the Torrey family and the house (with more photos), visit Larry Fast's Torrey Mansion webpage.
Read more about the relationship between the Torrey family and Stirling on the NY-NJ-CT Botany website.

THE HISTORIC SITES SURVEY

The committee maintains an inventory Long Hill's historic assets. Some public buildings are well-known. Many historic township homes were documented in a 1986 Township survey. A copy of this report may be viewed at the Township Library. The 1986 survey will be updated to include missing historic resources.

The 1986 survey's authors attempted to include individual reports on all of the older buildings in town. Acroterion, the company contracted to perform the survey also tried to report on all of the buildings built prior to 1900, although they also included some buildings that were built as late as the outbreak of World War II. But there are errors and omissions in the report. The Historic Preservation Advisory Committee is working to correct and update this report.

If you note that your historic house is not included, please inform the Advisory Committee. If you have more information about your site, we'd like to include that in the revised report. If you have an historic period photo or a more recent photo that we could borrow and scan, we can include that in our update.

A preliminary version of this interim report in web-viewable electronic form has been shared with the Morris County Planning Department. Morris County is currently in the process of re-surveying all 39 Morris County municiplaities for a completely updated and expanded, interactive GIS-based historic sites survey. Begun in 2007, the new survey is expected to be competed in 2011.