The Vreeland House

By Ginny Raue
WEST MILFORD — The year was 1867. Andrew Johnson was president, Reconstruction was underway in the south, the United States purchased Alaska from Russia and Jesse James and his gang were busy robbing banks.

That same year, the Vreeland family of West Milford built a home at 1349 Macopin Road. Much of the land around that house, including all the current Highview development, was Vreeland property.

Years passed and eventually the property was sold off in parcels. The Echo Lake Baptist Church, organized in 1874 by Rev. Conrad Vreeland, sits on Vreeland land and may continue to do so as long as it remains a church.

If walls could talk
Seventeen years ago, the old house became the property of Paul and Aileen Bailey. They raised their son, Morgan, in the historic home and have strived over the years to maintain the integrity and essence of the original house.

Except for one room, which holds modern technology, the house has the feel of age with only electric lights giving away the passage of time.

The original white pine floors are adorned with various vintage Oriental-style carpets. The dining room furniture was made in 1900 with the popular carved foot design of the day. Draperies were designed to coordinate with the age and style of the home.

Designated as an historic home by the West Milford Historic Preservation Commission, the Colonial Revival, two and one half story home is a work in progress, Paul Bailey said. Sitting on close to four acres at the highest point of Macopin Road, this parcel was the last section of Vreeland land to be sold.

“We fell in love with historic houses because of the engineering and the construction,” Bailey said and spoke of the solid wood doors and lathe and plaster walls that are all but soundproof.

“I think of the feet that have walked through this house. Wow, if walls could talk,” he said.

The chosen path
Originally Bailey’s house was considered the “summer house” and lacked heating facilities. The Vreeland’s “winter house” was the house that stands next door to Bailey’s home. Eventually, a cellar was excavated and central heat was installed.

At one point in time, between 1890 and 1920, the home was used as a rooming house. Called the “Breezy Point Villa,” it was a convenient stop for horse and carriage traffic on the way to Greenwood Lake. At the time, the Vreeland family lived in the winter house.

Over time, the house has changed. The wrap-around porch is gone, the hatch to the basement is covered over but the maid’s staircase, sealed off when the Baileys bought the house, is in use again.

“The kitchen is finished, the bath is finished, the front rooms are painted primer white. All the other rooms are in some form of getting there. To put it right, you bring it up level by level,” Bailey said.

Before the family moved in, a paint sprayer took care of the garish wall colors and a couple of weeks of sanding and staining brought the floors back to life. The house had no closets.

“They didn’t have a lot of clothes and they used armoires instead,” he said.

A 1910 greenhouse still stands, the former barn was cleared of a lifetime collection, including cow bells and wooden rakes and is now a five car garage. There is a guest house and a former carriage house is now Bailey’s “man cave.”

Bailey lives by the motto “Life is a journey, not a destination” and his home is one of his chosen paths.

“You can’t be afraid to work, to be ready to pick up a paint brush, to learn to work with plaster. If you don’t, it will consume your bank account.”

A labor of love
Bailey, whose professional name is Morgan Paul, is a singer and songwriter by trade. His “man cave” allows him the solitude he needs for the creative process, but when it’s show time, Aileen does the stage directing and Morgan takes care of the lights and videotaping.

With four acres to mow, multiple out-buildings and an old home that springs a leak here and there, it’s fortunate that Morgan also is handy and works around the homestead with his dad.

Maintaining an historic home is not an easy job but rather a labor of love.

“If you like restoring things, if you want to honor an old house and old craftsmanship, then buy an old house,” Bailey said.

A home is an extension of self, a safe harbor, a place where families live, love and grow. An historic home has many secrets and many tales to tell.

Sources: Township of West Milford Historic Preservation Commission

Images of America – West Milford, by Samantha Vaughan