SP Frazee House Gets Generous Donation from PSE&G

This information was provided courtesy of the Frazee House.

Marking recent progress toward a revitalized Aunt Betty Frazee House, Public Service Electric and Gas has made a donation of $32,500 to the organization spearheading the Frazee project.

The Aunt Betty Frazee House is a colonial-era farmstead in southwest Scotch Plains embodying rare architectural evidence of methods used in simple structures in those times.  

“The rarity of the structure, coupled with the strong anecdote about Aunt Betty Frazee’s encounter with British generals during the American Revolution, has inspired diverse donors including the New Jersey Historic Trust to make grants of funds to support a restoration of the house where Aunt Betty made herself famous,” said Andrew Calamaras, president of the restoration organization, Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Frazee House Inc.  

“The donation is a requirement of a recent Freshwater Wetland permit issued to Public Service Electric and Gas for an electric reliability project,” said Karen Johnson, a PSE&G spokesperson.  “PSE&G hopes that these funds will assist in the effort to preserve this unique New Jersey historic site.”

“We’re grateful for the donation,” noted Calamaras, who sees it as mark of the value of the restoration project and its rise in public awareness.

“There’s every reason to think that spunky Aunt Betty, who confronted powerful British leaders, will become as famous as Molly Pitcher and bring additional pride to the people of New Jersey.  

Preserving Aunt Betty Frazee’s house will tend to assure that her heroic story lives on.”

The restoration organization has completed an extensive planning study that would in stages revitalize both the land surrounding the Frazee House as a public amenity and make use of the house for public and educational purposes.  

The Aunt Betty Frazee House is located at 1451 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, where it has stood for nearly 280 years and is today listed on the New Jersey and United States registries of historic sites.

The Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Frazee House Inc. is a registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Donations are tax deductible.