Dr. John Vermeule House circa 1799

The Dr. John Vermeule House is one of the more interesting houses in Green Brook. A 1823 Mortgage document between John J. Vermeule (the great-grandson of Cornelius Vermeule) and James Vail (the grandson of John Vail of Green Brook), provides insights into its early history. The document states that the property on which the house is located was purchased  by Cornelius Vermeule (1716-1784) from John Laing in 1768. It also indicates that John J. inherited the house from his father, Dr. John Vermeule (1768-1813). 

The house was built by Dr. Vermeule who likely started construction in 1799, as evidenced by an etching in the stairs leading to the cellar.  His father was Adrian,  the eldest son of Cornelius Vermeule.   Adrian was an express rider for the Somerset militia who was wounded and captured near Quibbletown.  He died in 1777 while being held a prisoner by the British at the notorious "sugar house" in New York. (See C. C. Vermeule, "The Revolutionary Camp Ground at Plainfield, New Jersey." )  When his son John came of age, he inherited the property that was to be Adrian's.

The property originally encompassed 116 acres, running from just North of Green Brook to the foot of the mountains, and from Rock Avenue to Jefferson Avenue. In 1832, the property passed from the Vermeules' to James Vail and his wife Maria, and then in 1872, to Theodore F. Hay. This fact is confirmed by a 1872 mortgage document signed by Maria Vail and Theodore F. Hay. A 1850 Somerset County map shows that the house was owned by J. Vail, and a 1872 Warren map shows that it was owned by G. Hay. The relationship between G. Hay and Theodore F. Hay has not been determined.

The house is unique in that neither the interior nor exterior has been modified. The changes that have been made to the original design are a hot water furnace and a bathroom. The slate roof has also been replaced. There are nine rooms in the house along with many storage spaces. The house has both a front and back stairway, and in the attic you can see the hand-hewn oak beams butted together to form the ridge of the roof. There floors are made of wide, random-width planks. 

The house has four fireplaces. The one in the living room is Hessian carved and is exceptionally beautiful. The one above it on the second floor is also carved, but with a different design.

The cellar has hand-hewn oak beams which are butted together to form first-floor supports.  It is partitioned into many small areas perhaps to be used for storage.