The oldest house no one knew about

THE OLDEST house in Bellmawr, Camden County, sat in the back corner of a sprawling cemetery, mostly unnoticed, for centuries.

The Hugg/Harrison/Glover house, as one local historian called the brick home, had additions tacked on over time, paint splattered over paint and covered in wallpaper. The date "1764" painted across the bricks of its west wall were hidden by trees and vegetation.

Now the home's age is visible to thousands, day and night, unveiled atop a hill of dirt where South Jersey's busiest highways meet thanks to a Department of Transportation project that could turn it into rubble. The project cleared out trees that hid the home and awoke an interest in at least a few people in a town that's short on history.

"Most people were totally unaware of it and when they found out what could happen, they were indignant," said Vince Kovlak, a longtime resident who serves as pastor of the Bellmawr Baptist Church.

There's not much to set Bellmawr apart from surrounding towns. There are athletic fields and schools and a handful of pizza parlors and convenience stores wedged among the Cape Cods and split-level homes built mostly during and after World War II.

When a visitor clicks on the history section of the borough's website, it links to a Wikipedia page with almost no history.

Kovlak said that New St. Mary's Cemetery, which was built around the house, might be Bellmawr's most defining feature. He's started a petition, which now has a few hundred signatures, to urge the DOT to spare the home and make it a centerpiece of the town's history or try to move it.

"The original part of the building dates back to 1720," he said.

The house is owned by the Diocese of Camden, which is currently in litigation with the DOT over the I-295/I-76/Route 42 interchange overhaul that's now in full swing next to the cemetery. Neither the diocese nor its lawyer would comment yesterday.

A DOT spokesman said that the department was re-evaluating the eligibility of the home as a historic structure and working with the state's historic preservation office.

Kovlak said he hasn't had much luck getting answers, either, and as he walked through its narrow doorways yesterday, ducking his head in the musty basement and playing with the handcrafted door latches, he couldn't believe it could soon be gone.

"It would be such a shame," he said.

Bellmawr Mayor Frank Filipek said the house was a "mess" but that a decision won't be made about its future until next year. One problem with getting a historic status attached to the home, he said, is the years of alterations and additions.

"It is something the people are fighting for, though," he said.

Filipek suggested saving some pieces of the home, if it's demolished, for a museum.

Across the street from the cemetery, Elsie McCormick, 77, admitted that she'd rarely noticed the house, but signed the petition on principle.

"We have to have old things preserved, for history," she said. "It's made it this long, so let it stay."