BRICK – In 1873, Ulysses S. Grant was serving his second term as President, the Panic of 1873 set off the first global depression, and William Hall, 25, returned home to Brick after fighting in the Civil War to build a home for himself and his new bride, Rebecca.
The sturdy house still stands at 520 Old Adamston Road and recently won the township’s Historic Preservation Award for the owners’ efforts in preserving the 150-year-old house.
“I think it’s so romantic that he came back from the war and built this for his wife,” said Marissa Dzugan, who, along with her husband David, raised five sons in the house, which includes a sizable edition from the 1980s.
During the 26 years they’ve lived in the house, the Dzugans were mindful of its history and used building materials that kept its historic character.
David and Marissa Dzugan show some artifacts: the original house key, a square nail, and one of the original bricks. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)
For example, the couple used weathered fence posts for the base of their kitchen island. Wood from pallets was used to cover some of the old walls, giving the rooms a rustic and cozy feel.
According to Historic Preservation Commission Chair Christine Schiess, the 11 members try to choose a house every year from different sections of town since Brick is a big area.
The 11-member commission uses a historical home inventory and drives around and makes a decision based on whether the house has been preserved, restored, revitalized or reused, she said.
“We look for whether it has historical significance, so the Hall House in particular had been owned by William Hall, who was a veteran of the Civil War,” Schiess said in a phone interview.
The award is based on the exterior of the home, she added, as commission members don’t typically go inside.
The original two-story house had two fireplaces, one at each end, and the chimneys are still visible on the outside. David said he had them capped because they were causing leaks. The inside fireplaces are long gone, although there is a working fireplace in the newer addition.
“When we were looking for a house, this one was surrounded by cedar trees; you couldn’t even see the house,” he recalled. “There was a little opening by the driveway, and as soon as we pulled in, Marissa saw the heart-shaped shutters and she fell in love,” and their search ended.
The couple tore down wall paneling and ripped up some wall-to-wall carpeting that went all the way up the steps.
“It took away from the beauty of the original house,” Marissa said. “There was just something about this house, I knew right away.”
She said she often thinks about the families who lived there before them. “I’m assuming that where the original fireplace was, it was their hearth and where they did all their cooking.”
The only major change they made when they first bought the house was when Marissa’s father installed sliding glass doors in the original section of the house to open and lighten the space.
Historic photos show how the home used to look. (Photo courtesy Dzugans)
“That was pretty amazing, because when my father-in-law – who was a retired policeman and a very good carpenter – opened it, it was plaster and lathe and balloon framing – everything was notched out by hand – and there were natural cedar trees in there with the bark still on,” David said. “The smell of the cedar just filled the room.”
The original windows and chimney are visible on the walls. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)
The second floor of the older section has the master bedroom and a smaller bedroom that probably served as a baby nursery. The hallway has the original wood plank flooring.
One of their sons, Nick, 26, lives at home and said he has found some treasures in and around the house over the years, like Indian Head pennies, buffalo nickels, and an original house key his grandfather found when he was installing the slider doors.
Marissa said she came across the Hall’s headstones in the graveyard at the Presbyterian Church on Drum Point Road.
The Dzugans used reclaimed wood to continue the historic aesthetic. (Photo by Judy Smestad-Nunn)
“I wonder if she had kids. I wonder how many kids were here,” she said. “But I think that building this house was the most beautiful, loving thing – that he came back from the war and he built this house for her.”
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