The Frazee House is a Revolutionary War period farmstead built in the typical and rare style of eighteenth-century Anglo-Dutch architecture. It sits in Scotch Plains at Two Bridges, near the intersection of Raritan and Terrill Roads, west of Ash Swamp. It is a Union County landmark due to its sheer survival for more than 230 years, and due to the tale of Elizabeth “Aunt Betty” Frazee’s legendary confrontation with British General Cornwallis during the Battle of the Short Hills in June of 1777.
“Aunt Betty” was baking bread for the Continental Army when the British approached from Ash Swamp, smelled the delicious aroma of baking bread and demanded the loaves. “Aunt Betty” refused, stating she would only give the bread in fear, not love. The British general and his troops marched on, but not before plundering the farm and taking tools and supplies.
The most modern use of the house was as the business operation of the Terry-Lou Zoo on the 6-acre property from the 1970s through 1996. The Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Club committed to the restoration of the Historic Frazee House in 2004. The Rotary Club, along with the Township of Scotch Plains, hopes to turn the house and adjoining acres into a resource for the community, further distinguishing New Jersey as a key site in the American Revolution.
Listed on the National and State Registers of Historic Places
Operated by the Fanwood-Scotch Plains Rotary Frazee House Inc.
For Hours: Frazeehouse.org. Closed for renovations.