Malprit Hall
A Historical Manor Home Located On Kings Highway.
The property was laid out as lot number 36 in the original 1667 survey of Middletown village. Early owner James Grover Jr. erected the kitchen section of the structure in 1686, making it one of the oldest surviving structures in New Jersey. It was built in a salt-box shape with a large keeping room in front, and one or two smaller rooms behind.
The house was greatly enlarged about 1762 into a center hallway residence with grandly paneled rooms on either side. The original cottage became the kitchen, and its salt-box shape determined the roofline of the new section. Edward Taylor, took possession of Marlpit Hall in 1771. |
Edward was a prosperous landowner and merchant who was active in colonial government and an ardent Loyalist. He did not want the American colony to separate from England and was often at odds with his Middletown neighbors who considered themselves American patriots.
The Taylor’s lost much in their wealth and influence after the Revolutionary War but retained the family farm. It's always been known that Marlpit is a historic site, but Marlpit's ties to slavery are being unearthed and retold. It is believed that the Taylor family owned an estimated 10-12 slaves* up until around the year of 1830.
Edward Taylor died January 18, 1783, nine months before the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War. He is buried, along with his wife Mary and son Colonel George Taylor, at the Throckmorton-Lippit-Taylor Burying Ground.
Edward Taylor died January 18, 1783, nine months before the Treaty of Paris officially ended the Revolutionary War. He is buried, along with his wife Mary and son Colonel George Taylor, at the Throckmorton-Lippit-Taylor Burying Ground.
*A Peek Back At A Darker History.
Through archaeological digging, remains of spiritual rituals were found under the home’s floorboards. They looked like they came from West Africa, things like deliberately placed clam shells, corn cobs arranged in a cross-mark pattern and markings on the wall, plus bones and pieces of glass that were known to be spiritual ‘charms.’
In Northern states, particularly among large farming communities, owning slaves was not uncommon. The enslaved very often resided in the house, as opposed to separate living quarters common in the South. Many times in the Northeast, the living quarters for slaves were located in or above the kitchen, as this was considered their "domain." |
Many may think of slavery as something that only occurred in the American South, but slavery as a cultural and economic institution thrived in New Jersey.
”There were tens of thousands of slaves in New Jersey," explains Joe Zemla, associate curator of the Monmouth County Historical Association. "I believe in the year 1800 it peaked at 12,500 documented slaves in New Jersey. Slavery wasn't just a small or 'quiet' thing here; it flourished. Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York all also had slaves as well, but there's a reason New Jersey was known as 'the slave state of the North' for a very long time. |
Malprit Hall Gifted to Monmouth County Historical Society
Mrs. J. Amery Haskell presented this historic property to the Monmouth County Historical Association. She had purchased, restored and finished it as a historic house museum. Today it is part of the New Jersey Women’s Heritage Trail. The photos below are a courtesy of Mike Stout, October 2022.
Malprit Hall is located at 137 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748.
Malprit Hall is located at 137 Kings Highway, Middletown, NJ 07748.