This small white clapboard house was an eyewitness to history. Built in the early 1700s, both British and Continental troops marched past its front door during the Revolutionary War while the Swift-Sure stage raced past on its way from New York to Philadelphia in the early 1800s. The house takes its name from the cannonball that struck it during a Revolutionary War skirmish.

The original owners, Jonathan and Abagail Osborn, raised thirteen children in this snug home. Jonathan was an inn-keeper, farmer and tailor. His tavern was farther west on Front Street near Terrill Road.

While the house has a certain “Williamsburg” feel, with its arbor and formal gardens, inside, four furnished rooms appointed with colonial and early 19th-century furnishings will delight the visitor. A parlor reflects Victorian tastes. The careful construction of the house is typical of the early period-wooden pegs rather than iron nails, plaster made of crushed oyster shells strengthened with animal hair, low ceilings and doors, and brick filled walls.

Operated by the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood

Featuring:
• Formal gardens
• Newly renovated building with rooms painted in period colors
• Picture rail in the Victorian Room displays antique paintings, hair wreaths and samplers
• Changing exhibits of period clothing

For Hours: historicalsocietyspfnj.org or call weekdays (908) 322-6700 (Ext. 230) and weekends (908) 757-1885.