Historic Phoenix House In Mendham To Get Grant Funds

MENDHAM, NJ — Mendham Borough’s Phoenix House - which serves as its municipal building - was one of 27 sites within Morris County that's been recommended for grant funding; and is expected to receive $279,410 for structural upgrades from the county’s Preservation Trust Fund.

The borough applied for $348,565 and was allocated just over $279,000, to restore the building’s interior and make structural repairs to it.

"We are very grateful and we look forward to final approval by the County Commissioners," said Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner.

The Phoenix House, representative of Federal-style architecture, was built around 1820 as an inn on the Washington Turnpike. The building’s portico was built in 1840. The historic building has served as Mendham Borough’s municipal offices since 1938.

In 2003, the borough received $100,000 grant funding to repaint the building, $15,808 for preservation plan updates in 2014 and in 2020, $32,050 for construction documents.

In 2017, the county gave the borough building its historic marker.

“The building was listed as a contributing resource in a Historic District listed on the National and New Jersey Registers in 1985,” was part of the commentary from the county about the historic structure.

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners plans to approve $2.65 million in grants from the trust fund at its July 14 meeting.

Since 2003, there have been over 454 grants approved exceeding $40.6 million from the Preservation Trust Fund to benefit 113 historical properties within Morris County.

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