The Naugle House is a historic house of the

American colonial architecture American colonial architecture includes several building design styles associated with the colonial period of the United States, including First Period English (late-medieval), French Colonial, Spanish Colonial, Dutch Colonial, and Georgian. T ...

style called Dutch Colonial on Dunkerhook Road in Fair Lawn,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, adjacent to the

Saddle River County Park Saddle River County Park is a county park in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, stretching from Ridgewood to Rochelle Park, and extends out to Glen Rock. The park is located along the Saddle River and consists of five sections, all o ...

. It was constructed in the 1740s or 1750s on a small hillside along the

Saddle River (Passaic River) The Saddle River flows south through much of Bergen County, New Jersey. The river runs through densely populated suburban areas for much of its course. The river takes its name from the river near Saddell in Argyll and Bute in Scotland. The hea ...

and is approached from Dunkerhook Road via a roadway that permits access to the park. The

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Heritage Documentation Programs Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

Historic American Buildings Survey took photographs and made architectural drawings of the house in 1938, and the

added the Naugle House to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on January 9, 1983. Since its construction, the Naugle House has been a neighbor to the Jacob Vanderbeck Jr. House; Jacob Vanderbeck Sr. constructed both houses. It is typical of the Dutch Colonial architecture of the region in featuring coursed ashlar

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

block walls, but is unique in having been built into the side of a hill, giving it two and a half stories. The lowest level was a kitchen, and its top floor is wooden frame construction. Its plan and appearance are remarkably similar to the now-demolished

Zabriskie Tenant House The Zabriskie Tenant House was a historic house of the American colonial architecture style called Dutch Colonial on Dunkerhook Road in Paramus, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, adjacent to the Saddle River County Park. The Zabriskie ...

, which sat a short distance away from the Naugle House across the Saddle River in

Paramus Paramus ( Waggoner, Walter H ''The New York Times'', February 16, 1966. Accessed October 16, 2018. "Paramus – pronounced puh-RAHM-us, with the accent on the second syllable – may have taken its name from 'perremus' or 'perymus,' Indian for ...

. Its small size, unique appearance, and configuration near one of the entrances to the

have made it a recognizable and beloved landmark building in Fair Lawn. The Naugle House may have a further historical link, having possibly been visited by the

Marquis de Lafayette Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...

, a close associate of

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of th ...

, in 1784. In 2010, Fair Lawn purchased the Naugle House for $1,700,000, a combination of borough funds and monies from the

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.State of New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware Ri ...

Open Space and Green Acres funding programs, in order to protect the house and to create a greenspace of trees and lawns around the house in perpetuity. That purchase followed plans for the construction of town houses on the Naugle House's property. Although Fair Lawn and

Bergen County Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.historic preservation Historic preservation (US), built heritage preservation or built heritage conservation (UK), is an endeavor that seeks to preserve, conserve and protect buildings, objects, landscapes or other artifacts of historical significance. It is a philos ...

organization Preservation New Jersey placed the house on its "Ten Most Endangered" List, the Naugle House has come under pressure of demolition or neglect by nature of development plans for the Jacob Vanderbeck Jr. House that involve the construction of parking lots and driveways completely around the Naugle House, thereby endangering its structural and historic landscape integrity. A group of preservationists and concerned citizens continue to fight for its preservation for future generations.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Fair Lawn, New Jersey Houses in Bergen County, New Jersey Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Bergen County, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Stone houses in New Jersey