Dennis to Hold On-Site Americana Auction at Historic 1750 Farmhouse

 Stewartsville, NJ – At the time Anne Stefanel’s house was built George Washington was a teenager, wampum was a common form of currency, and the United States of America was a still a dream in the hearts of the early colonists. The house stands today much as it did then.  The original two rooms were built in 1750 as a hired hand quarters with an open-hearth keeping room on the ground floor and a sleeping loft above.  In 1800, it was enlarged to include two more downstairs rooms and two above.  Except for a kitchen that was added15 years ago the house is a relic of the early 18^th century.   The 18” thick walls have horsehair plaster, windows have hand-blown glass, heavy paneled doors are hung with hand forged strap hinges, and wide plank pine floors lead to narrow staircases that wind behind fieldstone fireplaces. 

Antique store proprietors Paul and Anne Stefanel put the soul back in the old house when they purchased it for their home and furnished it with antiques classic to the period and appointments that in every way characterize life in the 18^th century.  Stepping through the front door of the stucco and stone house is like stepping back into the early 18^th century; all sense of modern day living disappears.  Period clothing is appropriately hung on a peg by the door, candles and baskets hang from the hand-hewn open beams, iron pots are in the Dutch oven fireplace, the farm table is set with early dishware, stoneware jugs sit on a bucket bench, and an old red pull sled is stationed “at the ready” near the back door.