Developer Destroys Historic Slave House in Paramus
Despite a developer's wishes, descendants of slave owners and slaves bonded in an attempt to preserve house steeped in local history.
PARAMUS - A piece of African-American and Bergen County history was turned to rubble after a Paramus developer chose not to preserve the 18th century structure slated to become a museum. The rare Dutch sandstone architecture known as the Zabriskie Tenant House at 273 Dunkerhook Road in Paramus was once home to the prominent Zabriskies; one of Bergen County’s founding families; and the Bennett and the Stewart families, slaves that built the structure in 1790. On Thursday, developer, Quattro 4, LLC, had a backhoe brought onto the property, and by Friday 9am, and without warning, they had most of the classic structure crushed to the ground. Only the staircase that led to the entrance was left standing surrounded by debris. Darryl Harris, …
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John Santaella
2:47 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The particular house was around for over 200 years. If people did not know about it shame on them. more ›