The posted coordinates take you to the street next to the Smock House. Everything you need to obtain the posted coordinates can be done from your car at the posted coordinates. As the House is not open to the public, please be respectful of the area.
The final is on a public park near a school. There is a fence between the school and the public park, but please make sure not to go anywhere near the school.
Welcome to the Matthias Smock House. Built in 1720, it is the oldest residence still standing in Middlesex County.
Smock moved from New Utrecht in 1718 and bought 130 acres in Piscataway. Taxes were paid on the land in 1718 and 1719, and in 1720, taxes were paid on the house as well. Matthias lived in the house until his death in 1727, when his second son, John Smock, inherited it and lived there until his death in 1791, adding the East wing in 1750.
The Reparations List on record in Trenton shows that British troops pillaged the farm during the Revolution and the losses amounted to 140 pounds. The House remained in the Smock family until 1910.
Smock House from the East, 1938
There is at least one record of fighting during the Revolutionary War taking place on what was then Smock's property. On January 23, 1777, colonial militia attacked a British foraging party at Chaeles Suydam's and Hendrick Smock's property on what was then called the Road Up Raritan. Another skirmish may have taken place here on February 22, 1777. Fifteen British soldiers were captured in the area, although the only details available point to the location as "beyond Raritan Landing." We do, however, know that the colonial efforts to harass the British were enough of an impediment that on April 13, General Cornwallis led 4,000 British regulars to Bound Brook, some of whom went down this road and past the Smock House, on a surprise raid of a 500 person colonial garrison, forcing the colonials to temporarly retreat into the mountains (see here at page 68).
Continental Infantry, 1779-1783, General Orders, by Henry Alexander Ogden
The house is not available to the public, but it is a rare surviving example of early Dutch colonial architecture. As with most houses built in the period, it faces south without regard to the location of the road.
To obtain the final coordinates, choose the coordinate below that corresponds to the correct answer:
There is a detached structure north and west of the house that you can see from Mitchell Ave. What color is it?
A. Yellow N 40 31.325
B. White N 40 31.574
C. Light Green N 40 31.002
D. Beige N 40 31.376
There are a nuber of stone steps going from the street on Mitchell Ave. to the property. How many are there?
A. Three W 74 29.534
B. Four W 74 29.595
C. Five W 74 29.263
D. Six W 74 29.295