602 West Front Street
Plainfield, NJ, USA

Nathaniel Drake House

Built in 1746, for Nathaniel Drake (1726-1801) and his first wife, Dorothy Rutan (1726-1786). Standing at the corner of West Front Street and Washington Avenue, it is the oldest house in Plainfield. The original 4-room, 1.5-story structure "in the English vernacular" was a wedding gift built by Nathaniel's father, his elder brothers, and slaves. Nathaniel prospered, building a grist and cider mill. He was town Deacon and with his cousin, Colonel Jacob Drake (1730-1823), he was a prominent and active Patriot. George Washington stayed here more than once while mapping the plains east of the town before the Battle of Short Hills in 1777. It was given its grand Victorian extension of a tower, turret, library and ballroom in 1865 by John S. Harberger, future President of the Manhattan Banking Company in New York City, who bought it as a summer home.

Harberger bought the house and its 6.4-acres from Daniel Drake for $5,000. It remained in the extended Harberger family until shortly before the end of the First World War. In 1917, they sold up to Siegmund and Rosa Frucht. Rumors quickly began to circulate that the Fruchts were using the house as a meeting place for those against the allied cause. The house was duly raided and the rumors were proved true. The Fruchts were arrested and the house sat empty until 1920. That year, it was bought by Bertram F. Tallamy who immediately sold it on to the West End Civic Association of Plainfield. From 1921, it took on its present purpose, becoming both the headquarters of the Plainfield Historical Society and opening its doors and artefacts to the public as the Drake House Museum.