Community Corner

Historic Levi Cory House Move Rescheduled for Nov. 2

'Minor structural issues' prevented planned Oct. 5 move.

After two postponements, Mountainside's historic Levi Cory House will be moved on Nov. 2.

Some "minor structural issues" were discovered before the last scheduled move date of Oct. 5, said Carol Goggi, publicity chairperson of the Mountainside Restoration Committee.

"These issues will be repaired before Nov. 2, and the house will be safe to tolerate the 1/2-mile journey. Currently, the house is on 'cribbing,' suspending it 8 feet in the air. The next step is to lower the house onto a trailer positioned underneath it," Goggi said.

The property is slated to be the site of a commercial building. The historic structure (circa 1810-1818), which was most recently the home of Patterson Interiors, preceded by Barrett & Crain Realtors, was originally owned by the Woodruff family, who were prominent members of the “West Fields” of Elizabethtown and Mountainside communities. 

Levi Cory once owned the house and rented it (in 1892) to the founders of the “Children’s Country Home” as a summer retreat for inner city children. In 1962, the Children’s Country Home was renamed the Children’s Specialized Hospital.

Because of its significance in the history of the Mountainside/Westfield area, the Mountainside Restoration Committee has undertaken to move the house and save it from destruction.  

The Borough of Mountainside has allowed the committee to use borough-owned property located on Constitution Plaza between the Mountainside Fire Department and Mountainside Library to situate the Levi Cory house, placing it next door to Mountainside’s Deacon Andrew Hetfield House.

To view hourly progress on the move, visit www.mountainsidehistory.org and click on the “Watch Time-Elapsed Photo Progress" link. 


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