The Van Buskirk home, the first home EVER built in Saddle River, New Jersey, has been listed by Christie’s International Real Estate Northern New Jersey

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

SADDLE RIVER NJ,  Across Bergen County, historic homes bring a bit of old-world charm and an air of modern opulence to residential living. This is the case with the Van Buskirk Home in Saddle River, recently listed by Christie’s International Real Estate Northern New Jersey, an exclusive affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate, voted Christie’s Affiliate of the Year in 2017 and 2018, and the fastest growing real estate brokerage in northern New Jersey. Located at 164 East Saddle River Road, Saddle River, the home is listed for $2.1 million.

“This is a really special home, and historically significant as the very first home ever built in Saddle River in and around 1707.  With its historical legacy, it has been impeccably maintained and restored with an array of period-specific architectural details,” said Maureen Kuntz, the Christie’s agent representing the property on the market. “The history and stories attached to the home are riveting and the home and property could never be reproduced in Saddle River today.”

Incredible wide plank floors, exposed hand-hewn beams and architecturally distinct fireplaces fill the five-bedroom, four-bath home, which is situated on over two acres of property in the central portion of Saddle River. The renovated kitchen is the heart of the home, incorporating a number of modern amenities and an open-plan solarium that brings natural beauty inside the home. The master suite is conveniently located on the first floor, and the massive great room boasts a 13-foot cathedral ceiling and wood burning stove with exposed brick chimney. An exterior patio leads to a pool and tennis court, waterfall, and a footbridge (spanning the stream that transects the property) to another grassy area. The heated, detached barn accommodates two cars, and is equipped with two horse stalls, a workshop, and ample second floor space to use as an office, gym, art studio, or game room.

Saddle River is a bucolic, suburban borough in Bergen County, NJ offering a unique mix of modern majestic mansions and stately, historic homes on vast tracts of land. Despite its close proximity to Manhattan, the town offers a rural countryside atmosphere with the perfect mix of luxury residential living and pastoral natural beauty. This is all within a short drive of the region’s prime shopping, dining and entertainment locations. Saddle River has some of the highest ranked schools and lowest taxes in the county, making property in the town highly sought after.

Earliest records show that the property is a portion of a large, 1000+-acre land purchase by Albert Zabriskie in 1675 from the local Algonquin Indian tribe. In the early 1700’s, Thomas Van Buskirk would become the owner of this tract of land, and he would move his family here from Greenville (now a section of modern Jersey City) to become the very first settlers to live in the Saddle River Valley. A log cabin was initially built to house the family, until construction began on the final Red Sandstone Dutch Colonial that occupies the property. The home would then house nine generations of the Van Buskirk family.

Rocks from the surrounding hills were used to build the foundation of the home and over the years, the home was expanded twice to accommodate a growing family. As the Van Buskirk children became adults, each was given 100 acre tracts of land to build homes and start their own families. The original home stayed in the family until 1922, when it was sold to William Bond, a Canadian-born artist.
Bond restored the home, but chose not to add modern amenities. He felt the exposed steam pipes and radiators would ruin the authenticity and charm of the home, and he preferred the ambiance of the fireplaces for warmth. In 1979, James and Patricia Hall purchased the home, and were faced with local pressure to raze the dilapidated barn complex on the property. The Halls fought to save the barns and eventually received permission to restore them.

Since 1993, Rosalind and Ed Zipfel have owned the property and have meticulously restored the home over the years with a focus on the irreplaceable architecture. Their thoughtful renovations seamlessly blend modern amenities with the home’s original features, and take advantage of the private oasis created by the natural water features and lush landscaping. The Zipfel’s painstaking adherence to the original construction processes and the magnificent stone foundation are integral elements of their modern expansions.

“We have loved sharing the heritage of the house with family and friends, as well as hosting holiday parties and entertaining guests on the grounds in the warmer weather. We even loved the front row seats to the municipal holiday tree lighting and seasonal fireworks,” said the Zipfels of their time in the home. “But, it’s the end of an era and time to hand over the opportunity of a lifetime to care for this very special piece of history.”

For more information on the property, call Maureen Kuntz at 201-401-4398.