120-124 Main Street (Deats Building)

Dating from 1881 (look for the hard-to-find cornerstone), this is a fine example of a large nineteenth century commercial block in the Italianate style. This style was the most commonly used for all buildings in the middle of the 1800’s; local examples such as this featured large cubic forms in red brick, vertical pilasters dividing the exterior walls into many bays of tall arched windows, and a tall cornice with brackets set below a low roof. Note the decorated granite lintels and keystones which bear designs of organizations such as the Masons and the Grand Army of the Republic.

This building was built by Hiram Deats, father to “Mr. Hunterdon” Hiram E Deats. The senior Deats made his fortune through the Deats plow which he patented in 1828 and his son devoted much of his life to establishing and maintaining public records. These form a large part of the collections of the Hunterdon County Historical Society (see 4).

In 1910, Deats senior donated land on the adjacent plot for a public library. One stipulation was that the new building would not block the view from Deats office on the second floor. Even today, the view is unobstructed.