NJ's 10 Best-Funded Historic Sites Since 2000

1. $1.58 million, Bivalve Shipping Sheds and Wharves, Commercial Township, Cumberland County

The shipping sheds and wharves built in 1904 were erected by the Central Railroad in New Jersey and employed thousands of workers as a centerpiece of the Maurice River Cove oyster industry, which was important in shaping the region’s economy. Today, it is owned by the Bayshore Discovery Project and serves at the base of operations for the A.J. Meerwald, New Jersey’s official tall ship, as well as a museum and educational facility and Bayshore Discovery’s headquarters. Grants have funded interior and exterior restorations, interpretive materials, and a marketing campaign.

2. $1.55 million, Castle at Felician College, Rutherford, Bergen County

The original two-story stone structure was built in 1869 by a New York newspaper man and land developer who called it Hill House because it was on one of the highest hills in the borough. In 1887, publisher David Brinkerhoff Ivison bought the house and remade it into a castle-like structure, naming it Iviswold. It was part of Fairleigh Dickinson University for a half-century and Felician bought it as part of the 10.5-acre former FDU-Rutherford campus in 1997. The college has removed paneled walls and drop ceilings to restore the castle to its original beauty. Grants have funded interior and exterior restorations and a preservation plan.

3. $1.5 million, New Milford Plant/Hackensack Waterworks, Oradell, Bergen County

The waterworks was a state-of-the-art facility for purifying water and making it safe to drink when it began operations more than 100 years ago. In 1906, its rapid sand filtration method became a national and international standard for water treatment. It was expanded and updated through between 1912 and 1955 to provide clean water to North Jersey. It is the only one of the three sites in the country that initiated the use of rapid sand filtration that survives. The complex closed in the 1980s. Grants helped fund a preservation plan for stabilizing the treatment building and pump house and pay for site and safety improvements.

See the full list of the state's top 10 best-funded historic sites at NJ Spotlight

NJ Spotlight is an issue-driven news website that provides critical insight to New Jersey’s communities and businesses. It is non-partisan, independent, policy-centered and community-minded.