Mary Wilkins Freeman House

The Mary Wilkins Freeman House is a historic house located at 207 Lake Avenue in the Borough of Metuchen in Middlesex County, New Jersey. It was the home of the author, Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman (1852–1930). Built c. 1868, the house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 17, 2020, for its significance in literature from 1902 to 1907.^[4]

Mary Wilkins Freeman House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
New Jersey Register of Historic Places
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Location	207 Lake Avenue Metuchen, New Jersey
Coordinates	40°32′12″N 74°21′50″W
Built	1868 (1868)
Architectural style	Italianate
NRHP reference No.	100004886[1][2]
NJRHP No.	5594[3]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 17, 2020
Designated NJRHP	October 7, 2019

History and description

The house is a two and one-half story frame building with Italianate style, built c. 1868. While renting the house, Mary Wilkins Freeman described it in humor as:

I have a home in Metuchen with twenty-eight doors and five pairs of stairs, otherwise it is quite pretty. I suppose I shall spend most of my time, being naturally of a somewhat undecided turn, trying to decide which door to go in or out of, and what stairs to descend.

She married Dr. Charles Manning Freeman here on January 1, 1902. The couple stayed here until 1907, when they moved into a new house nearby. While here, she wrote about 47 of her works.^[4]

See also

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, New Jersey

References

1. "National Register Information System – (#100004886)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
2. "Weekly List 20200117". National Park Service. January 17, 2020.
3. "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Middlesex County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection - Historic Preservation Office. July 15, 2022. p. 4.
4. Zerbe, Nancy L.; Seely, Rebeccah (April 2019). National Register of Historic Places Registration: Mary Wilkins Freeman House (Draft) (PDF). National Park Service. With accompanying 33 photos.