View of Shrewsbury Town, New Jersey

Periodca. 1795 - 1800

MediumInk and gray wash over graphite on beige paper

Dimensions6.5 × 14 in. (16.5 × 35.6 cm)

InscribedInscribed on reverse, "House of Benjamin Stephens / Shrewsbury NJ." Also inscribed on reverse, "View of Shrewsbury Town New Jersey ---."

ClassificationsLandscapes & Still Life

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Varick Stout, 1944

Object number2029

DescriptionAn early depiction of a town center showing, from left to right, a two-story, gambrel roof structure with a one-story kitchen wing to its left and two dormers on the roof; a small one-story shop building; over it can be seen a large gambrel roof structure; to its right several small dwellings or shops, and on the far right a religious structure with two entrances and a cupola on the gable end above them surmounted by a weathervane. Three vehicles can be seen, a wagon heading from left to right in the extreme left margin, another between the first and second structures which looks like a covered passenger vehicle, and another wagon to the left of the church. Trees line the streets, and a mix of picket and rail fencing defines lots and yards.
Curatorial RemarksDating the Shrewsbury Town drawing precisely has over the years proven difficult. But the inscription on its reverse indicating it depicted the house of Benjamin Stephens may pinpoint the drawing's date with more accuracy. Stephens is listed in the Shrewsbury Township tax lists for June and July / August 1794. On 31 May 1798, he was married in Monmouth County to Clemence Lloyd, daughter of John Lloyd and his second wife Ann Longstreet. The Stephens family next appears in New York City, where their daughter Clemence died on 16 January 1811 at the age of eleven months. She was interred in the Presbyterian Church vault on Wall Street. Clemence Lloyd Stephens in turn died on 15 July 1817 at the age of thirty-three. Her remains were interred near her father in the cemetery of Old Yellow Meeting House, a Baptist congregation, at Cream Ridge in Upper Freehold, Monmouth County. It therefore seems plausible that Benjamin Stephens was the tavern keeper at the Blue Ball in the 1790s, but that he and his family had removed from Shrewsbury by 1800 or so. His name does not appear on tavern licenses for the venerable hostelry that survive from 1806 on. So the Shrewsbury townscape drawing can then be dated with confidence between 1794 and 1805.NotesThis exceptional, early townscape drawing depicts what is now known as Shrewsbury Four Corners at the intersection of Broad Street (Route 35) and Sycamore Avenue, Monmouth County. Christ Episcopal Church, built between the years 1769 and 1774, appears on the right. It shows the original two entrances and a cupola on the gable end that is surmounted by a weather vane. This is the earliest representation of that landmark church, and the only one known before changes were made to it in 1844 and 1874. The gambrel-roofed structure on the left, now known as the Allen House, was operated in the last half of the 18th century as a tavern called the Blue Ball. The house arrived at its familiar appearance by the 1750s, although it has a complicated physical history dating back as far as 1710. The other gambrel-roofed building that can just be seen over the shop building in the center of the scene is the Friends Meetinghouse. It underwent extensive modifications in 1764 and 1765, and was finally dismantled and replaced in 1816 by the present meetinghouse. Therefore, based solely on the architectural landmarks shown in the drawing, it could be dated between 1774 and 1816.

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