ABRAHAM & WARREN VREELAND HOUSE
SONS of earliest settlers soon built for themselves modern dwellings. So it was with the son of John M. Vreeland, born in what is now the Woman’s Club. Abraham, in 1838, moved to the new house on what is now the Bank of Nutley corner at Franklin Avenue and Chestnut Street. Here Warren Vreeland, Abraham’s son, lived until his marriage to Jane Elizabeth Perry, Morristown, New Jersey, in 1849.
Heeding the call of the West, Warren Vreeland and his family, two daughters and one son, moved to Wisconsin in 1856. Upon his father’s death in 1864 he returned to take an active part in his father’s affairs. His daughter, Laura Vreeland Tuers, was made Honorary President, when the Woman’s Club was organized in 1912.
His granddaughter, the late Grace M. MacFarland resided in the house nearby at 408 Franklin Avenue. This property is included in that which was sold to the New Jersey Bell Telephone Company by Miss MacFarland. All of the garden apartment land (1946-1947) bordering on Yantacaw Brook is part of the original Vreeland land purchased from Captain Speer.
When the Bank of Nutley in 1924 wished to secure the land on the corner of Chestnut Street and Franklin Avenue, there was much public acclaim to preserve the house which was then reaching toward the century mark. An offer to the Bank of Nutley to buy and move the house to The Enclosure was made by Mrs. Alfred Leaman, Jr., then of North Road.
What seemed a simple solution provided the town with a series of exciting events, well remembered by many in town today.
Attempting to move the house to 51 Enclosure through Chestnut Place, the movers met with objections on part of the Shade Tree Commission who objected to the trees along the way being damaged. ‘Twas only when the decision to saw the house in two pieces and move each piece separately was voiced, that adults and school children of the neighborhood returned to their daily routine.
The house was restored by Mrs. Leaman with few exterior alterations. The house now at 51 Enclosure was purchased in 1936 by Mr. and Mrs. Edgar Dunham, Jr. Mrs. Dunham (Virginia Hill) is the daughter of the late Percival S. Hill, then cashier of the Bank of Nutley which sold the house to Mrs. Leaman.
The Dunhams, while beautifying and modernizing the 122 year old house, point with pride to the brownstone doorstep moved with the Warren Vreeland Homestead. Initials “A.V. 1838” give the date of the building when occupied by Abraham Vreeland; “W.V. 1864,’’ the date when Warren Vreeland returned from Wisconsin.
A hitching post, wrought iron with horse’s head, stands at the entrance to the stone walk which leads to the old brownstone marker. This was secured by Mr. Dunham from the old Stager house on Brookfield Avenue. Lending century old color is a reproduction of an old lantern post, made by Mr. Dunham.
Sold in 1947 to Edwin W. Blodgett from Passaic, the property is now the home of the Blodgett family.
