The Sarah-Samuel Nicholson house is most significant architecturally. Built in 1752, the house is one of the great houses of pre-revolutionary New Jersey that did not undergo extensive modernization during the Greek revival or Victorian periods. The only substantive alterations include the frame addition, the sealing off of the hearse door, and the removal of an interior wall to provide a larger living room. Thus, in many respects the house retains much of its original appearance.

In many respects, the Nicholson house typifies the more elegant houses constructed prior to 1776. The Flemish bond brick, the patternwork on the South wall, the large kitchen fireplace, the back-to-back corner fireplace, and the interior floorplan are all characteristic of South Jersey architecture. The Nicholson house vividly illustrates the type of home occupied by the wealthier colonists and the manner and style in which these persons lived. Few other existing homes demonstrate so clearly the lifestyle of the prosperous settlers during the first century of Fenwick's Colony. - NRHP, 21 June 1974