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July 6, 2009

Renovation work proposed for Raritan Borough Public Library

By KARA L. RICHARDSON • STAFF WRITER • July 6, 2009

BOROUGH — The Raritan Public Library's historic building is set to get a new roof and other exterior upgrades in an upcoming renovation.

The borough will hold a public hearing 8 p.m. July 14 in the municipal building's Council Chambers about the restoration project.

The project includes a new roof, window glazing and some masonry work, Administrator Dan Jaxel said. The project is being paid for by a $136,800 Somerset County Historic Preservation Grant and a $264,000 New Jersey Historic Grant.

The library closed for six months in 2006 to complete a $500,000 renovation. The 2006 project was funded by a bequest from Elizabeth Santora, a patron who visited the library once a week.
Before it was a library, the building at 54 E. Somerset St. was a jail, a tavern and then home to one of New Jersey's most prominent families.

The library's west wing may have been built in the early 1700s, according to www.raritanlibrary.org. It may have been used as a tavern, as well as a public meeting hall and jail for the then-governing Township of Bridgewater, according to the Web site.

The library building still is known as the General John Frelinghuysen House, though the first member of the Frelinghuysen family to buy the house was Col. Frederick Frelinghuysen, Gen. John Frelinghuysen's father, in the late 1700s, according to www.raritanlibrary.org.
Peter Frelinghuysen donated the home to the Borough of Raritan in 1970.

The library is listed on the National Register and New Jersey Register of Historic Places.
Kara L. Richardson: 908-243-6621; krichardson@mycentraljersey.com.

Posted by tumulty at July 6, 2009 9:38 AM

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