117-119 Main Street (Reading/Large House)

Dating from 1847, this very elaborate house is an outstanding example of the mature Greek Revival style. The house features a low pitch hipped roof, a bold cornice line emphasized with a wide band of trim, and a monumental front portico dominated by two story fluted Ionic columns. Also note the elaborate front door surrounded by narrow sidelights, the rosettes in the portico ceiling and the servants access corridor below the portico.

This building was designed and constructed by local architect and builder Mahlon Fisher for James N Reading who graduated from Princeton in 1829 and practiced law in Flemington before moving to Illinois in 1853 where he became a judge. Subsequent owners included John Grandin Reading, John N Voorhees and then in 1900, George H Large.

Large is a name of historic note locally. George H Large was a state senator and Rutgers graduate, having the honor of playing in the first ever college football game in 1869. His son George K Large was a prosecutor and attorney general during the Lindbergh trial. He also was instrumental as agent of the County Bank (see 5) during the tax haven boom of the 1930s when over 140 corporations chose Flemington as their home.