On The Market: Secluded South Jersey riverfront estate full of family memories
The historic estate was built in the 1850s and retains much of its period charm, even as the family has made updates along the way.
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Rebecca Fergosi was six in 1957 when her parents moved her from Media to Taylor's Farm, N.J., a small community along the Delaware River. She grew up there, and after a few years on a horse farm in Pemberton with her husband, returned in 1992 when she inherited the property.
"This is really the only home that I have known," she said.
The historic estate was built in the 1850s and retains much of its period charm, even as the family has made updates along the way.
The home features a newer heating and cooling system and its own private generator, and the family has made updates in the kitchen, bathrooms, bedrooms and living room.
"Through the years, we have tried to keep the house maintained," Fergosi said. "It's a work in progress."
The five-bedroom property is surrounded by deed-restricted and protected land on three sides and the Delaware River on the fourth.
"I love the private seclusion, surrounded by State Green Acres, a wildlife refuge and the river," she said. "If you asked me for one word to describe this house it would be 'peaceful.' "
Fergosi said much of the family life "on the farm" revolves around nature and the home's two screened-in porches.
"Dinner on the river porch is always a delight," she said. "Enjoying family as we watch the river traffic – freighters, tug boats, sailboats and motor boats – go by."
The family is used to seeing wild turkeys and deer visit in the spring and fall, and relies on the wood-burning stoves to keep the enclosed porch warm in winter.
"In the wintertime I love looking out of our windows, watching the farm become a winter wonder," she said. "It is so incredibly quiet when the ground is snow covered."
Fergosi said it's time to downsize, and so the family has listed the home with Keller Williams' Mike Rosania for $499,900.
"It will break my heart as we drive out the lane for the last time, but it will help knowing that the house will be ready and waiting to make some other family happy memories and adventures," she said.