Repairing the Field Stone Basement in Veblen Cottage

The 1875 farmhouse we call the Veblen Cottage has been a remarkably patient structure. It has long appeared to be standing forlorn in a forest clearing, but has in fact been getting considerable attention of late. Donated to Mercer County by the Veblens in 1957 as part of Herrontown Woods, it had been Oswald Veblen's study and getaway, a place to spend Saturday afternoons with Einstein and other close friends. Veblen died in 1960, and the cottage has stood empty ever since. After Elizabeth Veblen died in 1974, Mercer County spruced it up for the celebration of the country's 1976 Bicentennial, and in the 1980s, a NY Times article told of plans to make it into a nature center. That initiative was evidently abandoned, and recurrent vandalism eroded any further interest. Before the Friends of Herrontown Woods was able to intervene, the roofs of the kitchen and study had been allowed to collapse. Vines grew up and over the walls. It seemed pretty far gone, and yet appearances were deceiving. The original, 2-story portion of the cottage remained dry and intact. At some point, I pulled the vines away, built serviceable roofs for the kitchen and study, and augmented the 2-story portion's roof with a progression of tarps.

There are several reasons to preserve the Cottage. For one, it appears to have been Oswald Veblen's spiritual center. He asked that his ashes be buried nearby, and Elizabeth's ashes were to join his. The Cottage is also the only remaining, unaltered example of the smallholder farmhouses that dotted the Princeton ridge in the 19th century.

We are thrilled, then, to report that the Friends of Herrontown Woods has made the first substantial investment in the Veblen Cottage's future. In October, FOHW hired the first-rate masonry firm, deGruchy Masonry Restoration, to repair and repoint the field stone walls in the basement. Through his 40 year career, Andy deGruchy has been part of a movement to bring back the tradition of lime mortar, of the sort that was used in cathedrals and other stone buildings before being displaced by Portland cement.

Though the stones in the cottage basement had long since lost their mortar, the walls had nonetheless remained standing. Only a couple stones had to be hammered back into place. Fifty years of neglect and still sturdy and repairable!

The grout bag that Charlie used to refill the crevices with mortar looked a lot like a pastry bag. Turned out he had enjoyed making cakes when he was a kid. 

This photo shows the prepped wall on the left, applied mortar on the right. Before hiring deGruchy, we had gone through a lot of hemming and hawing about whether to use mortar containing Portland cement, and if so, what percentage. Portland cement largely replaced lime mortar in the 1920s and '30s. It's easy to use, sets quickly, and is very strong. But deGruchy made the case that Portland cement's impermeability traps moisture in the walls. Only by using high quality lime mortar could we restore the walls to have both strength and breathability. I found this concise writeup on the history of lime mortar very informative.

DeGruchy's lime is actually sourced in France, of the sort that was used to build cathedrals. Here, the mortar is being brushed in preparation for application of a lime whitewash. 

The whitewash they used is thicker than normal, for durability. 

The high quality and authenticity of deGruchy's work has raised the bar for work to follow, as we rehab  the sills, walls, and floors. Our aim is to preserve the unique features of this smallholder farmhouse while making it useful, as a nature center and museum to tell the story of Herrontown Woods.

Appreciating and Repairing the Stone Horserun at Veblen House

When I tell visitors that the big circle of stones near the Veblen House was a horserun, people frequently say "But it's too small." They just can't imagine a horse running in such a tight circle. Not knowing much about horses, I could only say I'd remembered reading it in an old newspaper article. That article, which I just reread, appeared in the March 17, 1985 Trenton Times. It was a feature on Max Latterman, who by then had served as caretaker of the Veblen House, Cottage and grounds for nearly 60 years. Back in 1927, when the property was probably already owned by Jesse and Mary Whiton-Stuart, Max was told to "build an exercise ring out of rocks for the owners' 22 horses." 

If a news article isn't convincing enough, I can now point to a new source of corroboration. The Cowboy and the Queen is a recently released documentary about a horse trainer in California who developed a non-violent way to train horses. Rejecting the brutal methods traditionally used to break a horse, he studied how mustangs communicate in the wild. The film shows him in a circle much the same size as our horserun, demonstrating how he could saddle an untrained horse in half an hour by using little more than body language. He replaces violence with compassion, trust, and respect. Few adopted his methods until Queen Elizabeth took an interest and transformed his life. My heart was in my throat through the whole film. 

The horses were gone by the time the Veblens bought the house from the Whiton-Stuarts in 1941, but the wall remains. (This photo was likely taken by Veblen in the 1950s.)

Much of the wall is still in good shape -- a testament to Max Latterman's skill and strength.

But a few areas have collapsed, perhaps disturbed in past years as we freed the wall from smothering wisteria vines. Recently, one of the participants in the weekly Gratitude yoga sessions, Artem Grebennik, approached me, offering his services to repair the wall. He had studied with a master wall builder in California, Skip Schuckman.

By the time we gave approval, he was about to return to California, but he came for one day to test the concept that one man could move such heavy stones into position. He explained the logic of the wall, with two rows of big stones running along the top edges,  firmly keeping the stones below in place. The big stones lining the top are in turn held in place by smaller filler stones in the interior of the wall. 

Artem, who goes by the name Tyoma, was surprised at how heavy and dense the stones are, but the result of his day's work was impressive. One more positive step for the Veblen House grounds.

"Super-Stabilization" of Veblen House Complete

Thanks to donations large and small, and a good deal of coordination, the Friends of Herrontown Woods has completed what could be called a "super-stabilization" of Veblen House. I call it super-stabilization because the house has always been a sturdy and stable structure, even back when those wishing to demolish it were alleging otherwise. 

Still, there was some buttressing of the foundation to do, and so our architects drew up detailed plans, and we were fortunate to find a mason and carpenters to do the work.

A desire to hold public events in the house required adding girders in the basement. These, too, were designed by our architects with input from a structural engineer and much internal discussion to get it right. Volunteers have since spread a plastic liner over the crawlspace dirt, to reduce humidity.  

We also moved the basement stairway to better utilize space on the first floor.

Though the basement doesn't flood, even in heavy rains, the hot, humid summer air was still getting in through various openings, causing condensation on the new girders. Fortunately, carpenter Robb Geores has returned to install basement windows. 

With new windows and tightly sealing vents, we now can control when and if outside air enters the basement. 

Thanks to our supporters, mason Jerry Ganz, carpenters Chris Farr and Robb Geores, architects Ahmed Azmy and Sigmund Lerner, and volunteers Scott Sillars and Robert Chong. 

 

Historical Clues on an Old Tin Roof

When we successfully fought off attempts by Mercer County in 2017 to demolish the Veblen House and Cottage, we had a lot of allies. Community support was crucial, as was support from members of town council. Largely unsung, however, was the quiet work of the Veblen House roof to keep the structure dry since 1941. Mischaracterized in a 2011 study as consisting of cedar shingles, the roof is in fact made of two different materials. On top is a metal roof, and along each side are shingles made, surprisingly, of asbestos cement. Asbestos cement? It sounds dangerous, but we've been reassured that the shingles are "non-friable", and could be taken off by any licensed roofer. Back in 1941, asbestos cement shingles were considered more durable than cedar shingles, and less costly than slate. This combination of ultra-durable roofing materials has protected the house since the Veblens had it installed 82 years ago, with only a couple minor patches required in recent years. 

The roof fooled the professional firm back in 2011, and it fooled us for many years, until we finally got a ladder long enough to climb up and discover that the top portion of the roof is metal. 

A stamp on the metal reveals its maker: Fable and Company. The stamp says:

COLONIAL

OLD METHOD

401 B

OPEN HEARTH

COPPER BEARING

FABLE and COMPANY

When we first found this stamp six years ago, I assumed the roof had been part of the prefab moved to Princeton from Morristown by the Whiton-Stuarts, I sent an email to the Morris County Historical Society, hoping that they'd recognize the company name. 

A quick response came from historian Sara Weissman.

"The enclosed indicate that Fable and Co launched in Philadelphia in January 1921. The news item is from Sheet Metal Worker issue of Jan. 7, 1921, p 474. "

Sounds like sheet metal was a big deal back then, if a publication dedicated to the subject is 500 pages long.

Her email continued, "The box ad with slogan is from the Swarthmore College yearbook of 1936. Firm principal Frederick A. Fable died in 1944, age 81, still president of Fable & Co, per his death certificate."

The Veblens added the roof to the house in 1941, and if the roofing tin truly is "of unexcelled quality," as its 82 years of service attest, that fits with the reputation of the Veblens, and the Matthews Construction Company, which built many buildings on Princeton University campus, along with Veblen's roof.

Interestingly, in my inquiry, I had misspelled the name as "Fabel," but Sara found that I was not the only one to misspell the business owner's name. "He was recorded as Fabel in the 1900 Census."

The steeper portion of the gambrel roof are covered with asbestos cement shingles. It should be said right off the bat that the shingles are "non-friable", not considered a hazard in their current state, and can be safely removed by any licensed roofer. (Small amounts of asbestos inside the house have already been removed, thanks to support from the municipality.)

We found some labeling on a few extra shingles left in the attic. They were Granada Red, No. 7 M, manufactured by Johns Manville. Asbestos composite shingles were produced to replace not only wood shingle siding, but also slate roofing shingles.

As most people know, asbestos was at first highly touted for myriad uses in buildings, ships, and elsewhere, but its embrace in manufacturing did not end well. As asbestos.com tells the story:

In the 1970s and ‘80s, thousands of people began developing serious illnesses as a result of exposure to the company’s asbestos products. Many instituted legal actions against Johns Manville, and the company filed for bankruptcy in 1982.

After decades of bankruptcy proceedings and changes in ownership, Johns Manville still manufactures construction materials, but now they are asbestos-free.

Now, in 2024, the Veblen House roof has begun to develop small leaks here and there. We will likely need to replace it rather than do repairs, but it speaks to the quality of the house that the roof has served well for 82 years. 

Long-Awaited Foundation Repairs Now Complete

As 2023 draws to a close, it's time to celebrate a big step forward in the repair of Veblen House. A mason and his crew arrived last week to pour footings and underpin eroded areas of the house's foundation in the basement. 

Back in 2011, a detailed assessment of the Veblen House was conducted by a local architectural firm that noted, among other things, erosion beneath the chimney's foundation. Repair was characterized as "urgent." A cynic might say that the report, with its high calculated pricetag for restoring the house, was meant less to spur repair than to intimidate anyone wishing to take the project on. The report detailed all of the house's flaws, and none of its assets. Seeing promise where others saw only expense, we remained undaunted.

The sense of urgency was lessened slightly when I took a closer look under the chimney, and found that only a third of it had been undermined. 

Still, it was a great relief this past week to see the chimney, and a couple other spots in the house's foundation, at last properly underpinned with concrete. 

The cement arrived in a miniature cement truck, which promptly got stuck on ground softened by a heavy rain earlier in the week. Herrontown Woods was created by the Veblens specifically as a place to get away from motorized vehicles, so it's amusing to see how the land itself enforces their decree. 

The crew quickly adapted, carting the concrete down to the house in wheelbarrows.

Bucket after very heavy bucket of cement was handed down through the trapdoor in the kitchen to waiting hands in the basement,

where it was poured into moulds to form footings. Our desire to use Veblen House for events requires reinforcement of the already sturdy floors. 

The masons had to get creative where the footings intersected with existing structures.

Cutting into the basement floor for one of the footings revealed a drainage pipe running beneath the floor. This pipe may well connect to a series of wells outside. The Whiton-Stuarts, who built the house and lived in it for the first ten years before selling to the Veblens, had many horses. It's possible that seepage underneath the basement flows into wells that may at one time have provided drinking water for the horses

The masons reconnected the severed drainage pipe so that it can continue to help keep the basement dry.

Thanks goes to FOHW board member Scott Sillars, who was able to find a mason to do the work (we had been searching on and off for years), and to our supporters whose donations fund repairs.

Asbestos Removed From Veblen House

Over the past few weeks, asbestos was successfully removed from Veblen House. This critical step in repurposing the house was financed by Princeton municipality. Princeton's open space manager, Cindy Taylor, was our contact person throughout the process. A crew from the Lilich firm showed up Monday, April 10, to start prepping the house for the removal. They built an extended entryway for changing in and out of protective gear, 

and covered the wood floors and paneling with plastic. FOHW had worked over the course of many months prior to prepare the house so that none of the oak trim and paneling would be damaged. In particular, volunteer Scott Sillars put many hours into removing trim and covering the wood floors with RamBoard. The contractor could then come in and strip the walls and ceilings of the asbestos-containing fiberboard. We also identified six heat ducts wrapped with asbestos, and made them accessible for the contractors to remove. 

During removal, these long tubes extended out from the house--part of the ventilator system. The aim, apparently, was to release filtered air some distance away from the house, through holes cut in the ends of the tubes. 

Many bags of asbestos-containing material emerged from the house during the week. Most of the asbestos was in a "skin coat" on the walls and ceilings, requiring the removal of the old fiberboard. Between the studs was lots of an early form of insulation called Balsam Wool. Unfortunately, that, too, needed to be removed, even though it didn't contain asbestos, due to a risk of contamination from asbestos in the air during the operation.

During breakdown one week later, a crew member stuffed that last few bags into the back of the dumpster, to be taken to a special disposal site that accepts asbestos-containing materials.

The project was aided by dry weather.

We weren't supposed to go in until the town had signed off on some documents, so here's a peek from outside through the plexiglass windows. Clean is the scene.

The last step in asbestos removal is usually to paint all exposed wood with white paint, but FOHW convinced the town to have clear sealant applied instead, the better to see any writing or other clues to the house's history inside the walls. 

Three members of the crew posed for a photo. Lasko, in the middle, is the supervisor.

Thanks to the town and Cindy Taylor for all their work and support in bringing this important step to fruition.

Filling Veblen House With Natural Light

Until this year, Veblen House had been boarded up for nearly 25 years. As our carpenter Robb Geores continued to work inside, and as the pandemic began to ease, we got a bright idea. Businesses were starting to take their Covid shields down. Why not get the word out that we could use any big pieces of plexiglass people were otherwise going to throw away. Mayor Freda sent notice out to the community, and we started getting phone calls and emails. End result? After the last three pieces of plexi go up, we'll have natural light streaming into every room in the house. 

Board member Scott Sillars, whose steady work on the house has been indispensable, helped me lift and install the latest piece of plexi--

a piece so long that it straddles two windows. That gets light into the stairway and the second floor vintage 1930s bathroom.

Robb cut an opening in a temporary plywood wall.

Up went another piece of plexi to allow light into the kitchen.

Meanwhile, the finely crafted windows are getting fixed up, one by one, by a skilled and generous friend of Veblen House. This one is missing some mullions from the many years of abandonment the house patiently endured until our Friends of Herrontown Woods was able to lease the house two years ago. Some of the custom windows are crafted from white oak, others from chestnut.

The Distinctive Windows of Veblen House

Veblen House has beautifully crafted windows, with oak woodwork and little details that add up.

The living room windows, looking out on the expansive garden, create almost a cathedral effect.

Outside, the windows have distinctive hoods. Only one other house in Princeton has been found with this feature.

One window, located under a balcony that had channeled rainwater towards the wall, was removed to repair the rotted framework.

First step was to jack up the ceiling and install a header. 

The windows still function, but some have lost some wooden muntins due to break-ins during the long period of neglect. 

Fortunately, architectural historian Clifford Zink has offered to repair them with wood he has collected over the years.

The windows slide open on hardware designed out west by Vincent Whitney Co. 

Meanwhile, Robb is cleaning up any rot on the sills and applying epoxy. 

As an example of how much thought and craft went into building the windows, most of the muntins are beveled, but a few are not. It might look like a defect or oversight until one notices that the unbeveled muntins are strategically located around two panes, at the top left and right of each window that faces south or west. I theorized that they were left with straight edges so that ornamental glass, e.g. stained glass windows, could be inserted from the inside and held in place. 

Then I happened to go up in the attic. I was showing a Princeton University architecture student around, and his intense curiosity about the house got me looking more closely. The house has been stripped of most everything from the Veblen days, but in a corner of the attic was a pile of glass windows that looked about the right size to fit in the big windows downstairs. 

Sure enough, these are what originally slid into those specially cut spots in the south- and west-facing windows. Though all dusty now, slipping them in place would have creating a space with a clear window on front and back. What would they have put in there? I could imagine dried flowers, or shadow puppets, or stained glass. A nifty idea.

Below is a photo of the living room of Veblen House from the 1950s, when the Veblens were living there. No sign these display panels were in use back then. The view of Elizabeth's garden through the windows probably created its own stained glass effect.