HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
An 1722 Dutch colonial farmhouse on the Raritan River in Somerset, saved from demolition in the 1970s and said to be haunted by a member of the Van Wickle family whose unexplained death left a presence in the kitchen.
1289 Easton Avenue, Somerset, NJ 08873
Research updated August 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free to visit grounds; interior tour availability varies — check with the Meadows Foundation.
Access
Limited Access
Historic farmhouse with uneven grounds; period interior with low doorways.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1722 · National Register of Historic Places (December 4, 1973) · New Jersey Register of Historic Places (September 18, 1973) · One of the oldest surviving Dutch colonial farmhouses in Somerset County · Preserved through community fundraising and Green Acres grant in the 1970s
The Van Wickle House at 1289 Easton Avenue in the Somerset section of Franklin Township was built in 1722 by Symen Van Wickle (c. 1700–1754), also known as Symen Van Wicklin. The land — nearly 800 acres along the Raritan River — had been purchased by Symen's father, Evert Van Wickle, a Dutch carpenter who emigrated to what is now Brooklyn and then moved to Somerset County around 1700. Symen built the house facing the Raritan River at what was called the 'upper fording place,' on a road connecting Middlebush and Raritan Landing.
The house remained in or near the Van Wickle family's sphere for generations. The Delaware and Raritan Canal was constructed around 1835, passing between the river and the house and dramatically changing the landscape of the property. The house survived the canal era, multiple ownership transfers, and the pressures of suburban development around Franklin Township through the twentieth century.
In 1976 the house was put up for sale and faced potential demolition from developers who had marked the land for other uses. A community grassroots organization formed specifically to save the building, naming itself the Meadows Foundation after the property's long-standing local name. Through fundraising and a New Jersey Green Acres grant, the Foundation acquired the house and grounds. The Meadows Foundation has operated the site since then, maintaining the house and its roughly 5.8 acres as a historical and educational resource.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 4, 1973, and to the New Jersey Register of Historic Places in September 1973.
Sources
The paranormal tradition at the Van Wickle House centers on a spirit identified as a member of the Van Wickle family — most commonly identified in ghost-tourism sources as Evert Van Wickle — who makes himself known primarily in the kitchen through unexplained noises. Witnesses have reported knocking, footsteps, and objects that seem to move without apparent cause, concentrated in the domestic work areas of the house rather than formal rooms.
Some regional ghost-lore accounts attach a dramatic death narrative to this haunting, involving a double death on the occasion of the house being presented as a gift. This specific story does not match the documented historical record, which shows the house was built in 1722 by Symen Van Wickle and that the Van Wickle family members associated with this property — Evert (Symen's father) and Symen's various children — died at dates and circumstances not recorded in connection with any particular day the house changed hands.
This is a common pattern in historic house ghost-lore: a tragic-death story attaches to a real family and a real building, but the details cannot be confirmed from genealogical or property records. The underlying haunting reports — noises in the kitchen, unexplained presences — are consistent across the New Jersey paranormal community's accounts of this property, but HauntBound notes the origin story should be treated as tradition rather than documented fact (newjerseyhauntedhouses.com; visitsomersetnj.org).
Notable Entities
The Meadows Foundation offers tours of this 1722 Dutch colonial farmhouse, covering three centuries of Van Wickle family history, the Delaware and Raritan Canal era, and the 1970s community preservation campaign that saved the building from demolition.
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