Mendham’s Phoenix House Approved For Historic Grant

MENDHAM, NJ — The Morris County Board of County Commissioners fully approved a construction grant request for preservation of Mendham Borough's “Phoenix House" for $279,410, one of 27 sites within Morris County that was recommended for grant funding in 2021.

At the last meeting, the commissioners approved $2.65 million in grant funding to protect these historic sites.

Phoenix House’s award was the highest grant approved among them, with the second highest for roof restoration for the Morris Museum in Morris Township, for $250,000. The third highest recipient was Pequannock Township’s rehabilitation grant for the Martin Berry House at $240,792. All three had requested more for their projects, with Mendham Borough initially asking for $348,565, the Morris Museum requesting $472,893 and Pequannock Township requesting $321,966.

"We cherish our quality of life in Morris County, and this is just one of the reasons why," said Commissioner Director Stephen H. Shaw. "We take great pride in preserving our rich history, as we do our open spaces and our best-in-New Jersey park system."

"It's also why we ranked again two weeks ago as one of the healthiest places in the nation to live," Shaw added. "But, for all of this, we really must thank our residents - our taxpayers - because they overwhelmingly approved the preservation trust fund that has made protecting our history, greenways and open spaces possible.

The Phoenix House, representative of Federal-style architecture, was built around 1820 as an inn on the Washington Turnpike. The building's portico was built in 1840. The historic building has served as Mendham Borough's municipal offices since 1938.

The building is visible in this video clip below:

In 2003, the borough received $100,000 grant funding to repaint the building, $15,808 for preservation plan updates in 2014 and in 2020, $32,050 for construction documents.
In 2017, the county gave the borough building its historic marker.

"The building was listed as a contributing resource in a Historic District listed on the National and New Jersey Registers in 1985," was part of the commentary from the county about the historic structure.

Since 2003, there have been over 482 grants approved exceeding $43.3 million from the Preservation Trust Fund, to benefit 117 historical properties within Morris County.

RELATED: Historic Phoenix House In Mendham To Get Grant Funds

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