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Preservation effort falls short as Zabriskie house demolition begins
Preservation effort falls short as Zabriskie house demolition begins
FRIDAY, JULY 13, 2012
BY JOHN C. ENSSLIN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
An irreplaceable link to Bergen’s County’s early history, particularly for African-Americans, vanished in a cloud of dust on Friday as a backhoe clawed at the splintered wood and brownstone remains of the Zabriskie Tenant House, a 1780s building that later became home to generations of former slaves and their descendents.
The unexpected demolition dashed the hopes of county officials and historic preservationists who had been struggling to find funds to move the oldest part of the Colonial-era Dutch-style house at 273 Dunkerhook Road in Paramus to a site a short distance away at Bergen Community College. The campus is on land that was once part of the Zabriskie farm.
“I feel like I’m at a funeral,” Freeholder Chairman John Mitchell said as the rat-a-tat sounds of metal smashing wood shattered the normally quiet neighborhood. “It’s a very, very sad day for all of Bergen County.”
http://www.northjersey.com/news/071312_Demolition_of_historic_Zabriskie_house_in_Paramus_begins.html
