It's hard to imagine how New Jersey looked in 1775. That is the year the story of "The Trees" begins.
What began as just a humble farmhouse would go on to be one of the most elegant homes in the region when Edward Cone and his family left NYC for the wide open spaces of a town once known as Houghtenville.
Cone began developing the area along with two other prominent former NYC businessmen. They built a golf course complete with its own clubhouse and several modest dwellings, telling all their old NYC associates about their new colony.
The group of men would go on to petition the name of the town be changed to Colonia, and in 1897 that request was granted. Local legend has it the idea to rename the boro Colonia was made in this very house.
By 2014 the home was vacant, and the new owners of the property had applied to subdivide their property, with the intent of demolishing the historic home. Despite explicit opposition from over 1000 concerned citizens, the subdivision was granted.
The home wasn't demolished right away however. The owner, knowing it was a valuable historic property, left it vacant with utilities shut off for nearly a decade. This, often in conjunction with intentionally leaving open doors and windows, allows animals, water, and vandals to get into the structure.
These intrusions often accelerate the decay of a building, all but ensuring the owner can eventually claim the property is a burden and cannot remain standing. It happens so often preservationists have even coined the term "demolition by neglect" to describe the phenomenon.
Eventually the owners got their way, and Colonia lost a valuable piece of their history. Satellite imagery in 2022 shows the home has been demolished and the land it once stood on is now bare. Another incident of short sighted foolishness from a state that continues to disgrace their historic buildings.
