Route 191 Easton Turnpike and Savitz Road In 1801 Joseph and Ann Hollister bought four hundred acres of land two miles south of Hamlinton from Edward Tilgman for 23 pounds, 11 shillings. Joseph ran a distillery and was a Justice of the Peace. Their three bachelor sons, Ebert, Wells, and John, had a large stone house built across the road. It may have been built by Arthur Megargle, stonemason, who with his sons Ruben and James built in 1817 the recently demolished stone house at Hamlin corners The Woodbridge brothers lived out their lives in the house and in 1878 it was sold with ten acres of land to William and Elizabeth Smith. William was locally famous for breaking horses to harness. In 1905 the property was sold to William and Lydia Savitz who had a store in the front room. Later a small store and gas station were built in the back. Robert N. and Jane Bird purchased the property in 1992. The old stone house has foot-thick wall and an unusual doorway with a semicircular fanlight over the six-panel door. There is a large central hall with an open staircase Seven fireplaces with distinctive carved wooden mantels were once used to heat the building. The Woodbridge house is truly a treasured legacy from the early history of Wayne County. Historic Preservation Award given in 2008 to Regina Coyne for the adaptive reuse of this property.

This page was one month of the calendar and was made possible through the Wayne County Commissioners and a Tourism Promotion Committee’s Tourism Grant.