Plan of the Centre Square of the Polytechnic Institute of Shrewsbury New Jersey

Periodca. 1829

MediumLithograph on paper, with coloring added

Dimensions7.9 × 22.9 in. (20.1 × 58.2 cm)

InscribedInscribed in lower center margin, "PLAN OF THE CENTRE SQUARE OF THE POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE OF SHREWSBURY NEW JERSEY."

SignedSigned lower left, "A. Martino Del."

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of the Estate of Anne Jackson Riker, 1983

Object number1983.9.12

DescriptionArchitectural rendering of an academic quadrangle with twenty-one square, hip-roofed Greek Revival structures arranged on three sides of a open space landscaped with grass and walkways. A sidewalk in the foreground is accompanied by a fence consisting of posts and chains. Trees can be seen behind the quadrangle. Three figures, a male and two females, stand in one of the walkways right of center, while another couple and a single male walk from right to left on the sidewalk. Two small dogs are running from left to right, also on the sidewalk.
Curatorial RemarksThe lithograph of the Polytechnic Institute of Shrewsbury may well have been intended to accompany the prospectus for the college published in New York in 1829. If built according to plan, it would have been one of the most ambitious architectural accomplishments of its day in Monmouth County.NotesThe Polytechnic Institute of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, was an educational institution proposed in 1829. A single printed source, The Constitution and By-Laws of the Polytechnic Institute of Shrewsbury, Monmouth County, gives some clues as to the elaborate and impressive educational facility envisioned by its founders. Published by Elliot & Palmer of New York in 1829, the small twelve-page booklet opens with a greeting that includes a list of thirty-five staff members, including professors of several languages, an extensive science faculty, instructors in literature and the arts, and such skilled craftsmen as a cabinetmaker, wheelright, blacksmith, tailor, and boot and shoe maker. According to the booklet, a scenic tract of 100 acres had been acquired that was bounded by the North Shrewsbury or Navesink River, the ocean on the east, and the South Shrewsbury River. This area, known then as Black Point, now forms the eastern part of Rumson, Monmouth County. Formerly a farm, the property contained woodland and ocean vistas, as well as peach and apple orchards. The booklet made clear that the Institute was meant for the education of young men only. The lengthy prospectus was signed by three resident directors: George Washington Hall, Seth T. Barstow, and Solyman Brown. The latter was apparently a dentist, poet, and entrepreneur who was instrumental in founding the Baltimore College of Dental Surgery in 1839, and the American Society of Dental Surgeons in 1840. Brown spent the winter of 1829 and 1830 in Monmouth County promoting the educational vision of the founders. To fund the Institute, a stock plan was proposed that, with additional contributions, would raise $100,000 for the land, necessary buildings, farming utensils, philosophical apparatus, and tools of art. While the booklet claims that construction had commenced on the first building, nothing came of this ambitious educational endeavor.

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