The New Squire house, which preserves part of the old.
The South Orange Historical and Preservation Society (SOHPS) was formed in 1986 to further the study of the history and architecture in the Village of South Orange.
Bryn Douds has been president since 2018. Formerly from Manhattan and Summit, Douds and his wife moved to South Orange in 2001. Being passionate about the town, they started attending SOHPS meetings right away.
They live in a house built in 1928. Douds says it’s one of the newer houses in the neighborhood in the Montrose Park Historic District.
“The history defines the character of a place,” said Douds. “People come into our house, and they think how they are going to renovate. We’re along the lines of how we’re going to protect it. A town with a historical element will be more valuable than a town that doesn’t have that.”
A recent accomplishment was saving the George Washington-era Squire House overlooking Flood’s Hill from complete demolition by developers. The house sits on a large lot. A developer had brought it and was going to split the lot in half and put up two houses.
“Word got around,” said Douds. “There were a lot of people who did a lot of work to save the oldest portion of the house including a local architect who came up with the plan to divide the lot into three. It was one of these old farm houses. The stone portion is from 1774.”
Historic Village Hall was also saved and restored. It started out as a firehouse and police station and eventually became the Village Hall. It’s currently running as Felina Steak.
“They have a big bar and a beer hall,” said Douds. “We’re very happy with how that turned out.”
There’s also the Orange Lawn Tennis Club, which had grass courts and had been around since 1880. “All tennis greats played here,” said Douds.
With financial problems and the possibility of having portions of the property sold to put up condos, SOHPS along with others helped avoid that plan.
“Ultimately, they ended up not selling. They were able to put a bubble over the tennis court so they could play year-round,” said Douds.
Saving the Old Stone House was a long-running project, said Douds. When the historical society was founded in 1986, one of its early main purposes was saving the Old Stone House. It’s listed in both the New Jersey Register of Historic Places, as well as the National Register of Historic Places. It’s New Jersey’s third oldest extant structure. Unfortunately, a lack of funding has prevented further work and it’s no longer safe to enter the building.
“We’re looking for an angel to save the Old Stone House,” said Douds. “They can contact us if interested. Being on the Register doesn’t come with money. It’s owned by the town, and the town is not interested in investing in the property at all. We’re a little organization with a small budget. The Old Stone House could be demolished due to neglect or become a police department parking lot.”
Currently SOHPS is seeking someone to run the House Tours, which were successful in the past before the pandemic.
And what Douds would like to see in town are more historic markers. He said, “That’s something I would like to pursue. We have this marvelous history. Having the markers lets people know about it.”
SOHPS has meetings once a month. They are free, and open to everyone. The next meeting is Jan. 7.
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