On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Burrowes Mansion (June 3rd and 4th 2023), the Matawan Historical Society sponsored a self-guided walking tour of selected homes in the Matawan Historic District. The tour does not include all historic homes and other sites in town; it was designed to be part of the activities related to the Burrowes Mansion celebration. However, there are plans to expand the project to include more locations and information, and to maintain an ongoing database of historic home data. This project will be continued by the Society’s Historic Homes Committee.
A booklet summarizing all tour stops is available from the Historical Society. Titled A Self-Guided Walking Tour of the Matawan Historic District, it includes summary information for each location and QR codes that point to more detailed descriptions on this website. Watch for online ordering information — coming soon!
The following map and table of contents provide information about each location on the tour.
Walking Tour Locations
Click on the location Description for detailed information.
| No. | Address | Description |
| 1 | 74 Main Street | Episcopal Church, A Salute |
| 2 | 76 Main Street | Bray House |
| 3 | 80 Main Street | Longstreet House |
| 4 | 85 Main Street | Reseau Brown House |
| 5 | 91 Main Street | Hendrickson House |
| 6 | 94 Main Street | Burrowes Mansion |
| 7 | 98 Main Street | Eskesen House Site (Gulf Station) |
| 8 | 99 Main Street | Cartan House |
| 9 | 106 Main Street | Dell’s Market Site, Papa Ganache |
| 10 | 109 Main Street | Hayward/Conover House |
| 11 | 110 Main Street | Atlantic Glass |
| 12 | 113 Main Street | Garret Hier House/Jerry Beyers |
| 13 | 114 Main Street | Sandford’s Pharmacy (Original Site) |
| 14 | 116 Main Street | Cork N Bottle |
| 15 | 117-119 Main Street | Maloney’s Pub/Benz Barbershop |
| 16 | 123-127 Main Street | Matawan Hotel |
| 17 | 122-126 Main Street | Arrowsmith/Town Center |
| 18 | 128 Main Street | Sandford’s Pharmacy (Last Location) |
| 19 | 138 Main Street | Maghan Insurance |
| 20 | 147 Main Street | First Methodist Church Site |
| 21 | 154 Main Street | Donnell Store |
| 22 | 155-157 Main Street | Post Office |
| 23 | 166 Main Street | YMCA |
| 24 | 167 Main Street | Longstreet/Lloyd House |
| 25 | 171 Main Street | Griggs House |
| 26 | 177 Main Street | Potter’s Folly |
| 27 | 185 Main Street | Geran House |
| 28 | 192 Main Street | Masonic Lodge |
| 29 | 196 Main Street | Simpson House |
| 30 | 197 Main Street | Methodist Parsonage |
| 31 | 201 Main Street | Fountain House |
| 32 | 204 Main Street | Arrowsmith House |
| 33 | 205 Main Street | Lydia Arrowsmith House |
| 34 | 208 Main Street | Baier House |
| 35 | 209 Main Street | Dr. Jackson House |
| 36 | 210 Main Street | Dr. Knecht House |
| 37 | 211 Main Street | Cherry Hall |
| 38 | 213 Main Street | Terhune House |
| 39 | 222 Main Street | Chapman House |
| 40 | 226 Main Street | Ryer House |
| 41 | 171 Broad Street | Van Wickle House |
| 42 | 10 Church Street | Middletown Pt Academy/Glenwood |
| 43 | 13 Church Street | Middletown Pt Academy (Orig. Location) |
| 44 | 14 Church Street | Toad Hall |
| 45 | 4 Fountain Avenue | Stanley Fisher House |
| 46 | 14 Ravine Drive | Old Hospital |
Gallery of Walking Tour Homes
Broad Street – 171
The Van Wickle House Built c.1900. It served as a dentist office until 1929. Orville Van Wickle was a dentist but also became Postmaster in 1889 prior to his appointment [...]
Church Street – 10
The Middletown Point Academy/Glenwood Institute The Middletown Point Academy was established by William Little in 1834 and located at 13 Church St. It started with only two students: Henry Stafford [...]
Church Street – 13
Middletown Point Academy (Original Location) This was the original location of the Middletown Point Academy in 1834. It moved to 10 Church St. in 1857. Around 1900, the original 13 [...]
Church Street – 14
Toad Hall The first owner and resident was Charles Jefferson Wright. He was Lieutenant Colonel of 27th Regiment of the colored troops in the Civil War. He commanded the troops [...]
Main Street – 106
Dell's Market This location was originally a hat store owned by Mr. Hawkins who made hats to order. It was known for decades as Dell’s Meats. Francis (Frank) A. Dell [...]
Main Street – 109
Hayward - Conover House This house was purchased in the 1860s by Mr. and Mrs. Francis W. Hayward. Mr. Hayward operated a slaughterhouse a short distance from this house, on [...]
Main Street – 110
Atlantic Glass This building housed several car dealerships over sixty years beginning in 1915. From 1915 to 1919, it was Bushnell’s Garage and then renamed to Bushnell Motors. From 1922 [...]
Main Street – 113
Garrett Hier - Beyers This home was occupied by Capt. Garrett Hier (1797 -1856). He married Sarah and built his home using stone and wood from his schooner days. He [...]
Main Street – 114
Sandfords Pharmacy (Original Site) This was the site of Sandford’s Pharmacy, but by the 1920s Sandford had moved to 128 Main Street. The upstairs portion was the location of the [...]
Main Street – 116
Wooley Hardware / Cork N Bottle In the 1920s this was the home of the Monmouth Fruit and Vegetable Market. By the early 1930s it was Mazzie Shoemakers. In 1936 [...]
Main Street – 117-119
Maloney's Pub - Benz's Barbershop - Ryan Brothers Stationery Thomas Tassini, an Italian immigrant, came to Matawan in 1900. He operated a business at this location as a cigar, fruit, [...]
Main Street – 122-126
Arrowsmith/Bell's Market/Town Center This property was originally owned by William E. Arrowsmith. Later, it was the Bell Beef Company originally started by Abraham Belafsky as Bell Meat Company. Other accounts [...]
Main Street – 123-125-127
Matawan Hotel The Matawan Hotel was purchased by Tunis Ten Eyck from Cornelius Weldon in 1836. The vast property (4.5 acres) reached from Main St to Gravelly Brook, well before [...]
Main Street – 128
Sandford's Pharmacy (Last Location) The very first movie theater in Matawan was at this location showing silent films movies such as “the Perils of Pauline.” Mrs. Leary masterfully played the [...]
Main Street – 138
Maghan Insurance This store was erected by Fred Schock, a tobacconist. (b. 1853). A number of the buildings here were used for storage for carriages. The Reid & Craig carriage [...]
Main Street – 147
First Methodist Episcopal Church Site In 1836, the Methodist Church was initially incorporated as First United Methodist Church of Matawan, NJ. It was built on Jackson Street at the current [...]
Main Street – 154
Mrs. Donnell's Store The first proprietor, Asbury Fountain, was a prominent local merchant and president of the Farmers and Merchants Bank in 1860. This building was known as the Fountain, [...]
Main Street – 155-157
The Many Post Office Buildings of Matawan The first US Postmaster appointed to Middletown Point (Matawan) was Jonathan Forman (circa 1795). The US Post Office was renamed Matawan in 1865. [...]
Main Street – 166
The Community YMCA According to 1873 and 1889 maps, this was originally the location of M. Bissell and Son Furniture. Above the store was Thomas E. Clark’s Millinery and Fancy [...]
Main Street – 167
The Longstreet/Lloyd House This house was owned by D. S. Stillwell between 1850-1870. Aaron Longstreet moved to this address in 1873. Longstreet previously owned the house at 80 Main street. [...]
Main Street – 171
The Griggs House This was the home Benjamin Griggs (1811-1886), a local grocer. At the age of 60, he became a tax assessor, and his son was listed as a [...]
Main Street – 177
Potter's Folly S. Potter purchased the residence in 1836. He was a lumber merchant from New York. He tried to establish a boarding school in the building but was unsuccessful. [...]
Main Street – 185
The Geran House In the 1860s, Gordon D. White lived and operated a stove and tin emporium here. White was born about 1823 in New Jersey. He was living with [...]
Main Street – 192
Masonic Hall In 1853, Francis P Simpson built the Washington Hall playhouse. There were several stores downstairs, such as William Spader’s lumber business and a drug store. There were five [...]
Main Street – 196
The Simpson House This home was owned by Francis Peterson Simpson (d. 1861) and his wife Charlotte (nee Vanderbilt). He was born in England came to this country and became [...]
Main Street – 197
THE Methodist Parsonage In 1867 this land was owned by Asbury Fountain. He sold this lot to the “Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church of the Village of Matawan.” The [...]
Main Street – 201
The Fountain House This land was originally owned by the Capt. John Schanck family and was purchased from William Parker. He came from a prominent New England family and was [...]
Main Street – 204
The Arrowsmith House Some references state that this house was built in the 1850s. This house was owned by the Arrowsmiths. The Arrowsmith brothers (William and Henry) handled funeral arrangements [...]
Main Street – 205
The Lydia Arrowsmith House The 1851 map shows the Daniel B. Strong (1810-1886) tailor shop at this house. He expanded to cloth manufacturing and selling sewing machines “on time”. He [...]
Main Street – 208
The Baier House The Arrowsmith family owned a great deal of property in Matawan. Simon lived here in his younger years, but another Arrowsmith -- Thomas Henry (1803-1895) -- might [...]
Main Street – 209
Dr. Jackson House The 1851 map shown below indicates that was the site of Conover’s General Store and G. P. Conover lived next door at 211 Main Street. The current [...]
Main Street – 210
The Dr. Knecht House As shown in the 1873 map of Matawan below, this was the home of Dr. Judson Shackelton (1836-1883). He was a beloved Matawan doctor and a [...]
Main Street – 211
Cherry Hall Cherry Hall was named for the cherry orchard located behind the house at the time of its construction. This house is believed to have been built with bricks [...]
Main Street – 213
The Terhune House This land was once a cow pasture and was owned by Dayton and Crawford until purchased by Judge Henry Stafford Terhune. The land extended to Broad Street [...]
Main Street – 222
The Chapman House Research indicates that Dr. David C. English lived here in the 1820s. Miss O. Atherton rented this home while employed as an educator at the Middletown Point [...]
Main Street – 226
The Ryer House Built by David Ryer, a prosperous New York merchant. This house is referred to as Second Empire French style Victorian. David C. Ryer was a highly successful [...]
Main Street – 74
Trinity Episcopal Church This Episcopal Church was founded by their congregation in 1850. The construction of this building was sponsored by Colonel John Travers who lived on Cheesequake Creek. It [...]
Main Street – 76
The Bray House One of the first people to live here was Sydney Bray, b. May 25, 1822. The 1851 map indicates the structure belongs to S Bray. He was [...]
Main Street – 85
Reseau Brown House This home was owned by Reseau Brown in 1851. He was born Jan. 15, 1826, and became a master carpenter. His carpentry abilities are evident from this [...]
Main Street – 91
Hendrickson House This Home was owned by Garret D. Hendrickson and then purchased by Aaron Horner for his mother’s use (stated in the 1831 deed for Rebecca Demarest). This home [...]
Main Street – 98
Eskesen House This lot was once a lumberyard owned by Longstreet and Bray. Later, it became known as the Eskesen property. Bennett K. Eskesen, a Danish sea captain lived here. [...]
Main Street – 99
Cartan House This home originally belonged to Andrew Cartan. He was a well-known and a lifelong resident of Matawan. He worked as a Telegraph operator, in both Matawan & South [...]
Ravine Drive – 14
The Old Hospital This home was used as a hospital during the Revolutionary War. It was the site of a bloody skirmish on May 23, 1779 between the Patriots and [...]