Abel and Mary Nicholson House
- Address: South Side Hancocks Bridge - Fort Elfsborg Rd
- Vicinity: 5000 feet S of Hancocks Bridge - Fort Elfsborg Rd, just W of Abbotts Farm Rd, Elfinsboro Township
The 1722 Abel and Mary Nicholson House is located in Elsinboro Township, Salem County, New Jersey. Built in 1722, the main two-and-a-half story, three-bay structure is an outstanding example of a Delaware Valley, brick, patterned-end house whose integrity allows it to stand alone as the only known, pristine survivor of an Anglo-American building tradition that existed for three-quarters of a century. When constructed, it was at a scale and with a level of detail that made it a mansion in relation to other dwellings of the period in the area; the crowning touch was the diaper pattern on the east end, culminating in the construction date. The 1722 block of the structure has existed for over 275 years in an unaltered state, enhanced by a patina of age, with only routine maintenance, no major remodeling or restoration, and without the intrusion of electricity or a central heating system. The 1859 addition, with a comparable level of architectural integrity enhances the significance of the property.
Originally accessed from the Alloway Creek, the structure today is reached down a half-mile dirt lane through a culturally intact landscape of farm fields, wetlands, and forest. In 1859, a frame kitchen was replaced by a longitudinally placed two-and-a-half story, brick addition. - NRHP, 28 July 1999