Two years ago, we announced we had made the difficult decision to de-accession the Shultz House (a.k.a. Evergreens), 30 North Mountain Avenue, and made public our search for a new partner or buyer for the property. Today we are pleased to announce we have entered into a contract to sell the property, comprising the Shultz House, carriage house, and nearly two acres of land, to a Montclair family who will make it their home. They are excited about the opportunity to become stewards of this beautiful home and are as dedicated to the history, architecture and preservation of the house as we are.
As MHC Board President Elizabeth Hynes noted, “I think Molly found the people she was looking for.”
History of the House
Bequeathed to us in 1996 by Molly Shultz, the house was built by her grandfather, Charles Shultz, and had been occupied by three generations of the Shultz family, with little modification over the years. “Time capsule” has been a term often used to describe the home and its contents. Despite our deep love and respect for the house – which we own with no restrictions – and our efforts to maintain it as a historic house museum, the substantial and escalating maintenance costs made continued ownership financially unsustainable and threatened the future of our entire non-profit organization.
More than five years ago, we began discreetly exploring options for the home’s future that would preserve its integrity. In June 2019, we publicly announced our desire to find a suitable partner or new owner. We have explored programming and fundraising ideas, and we have talked with local, county, state and national governmental entities, the National Park Service, the Smithsonian Institution, universities, other non-profits, and museums to explore options from partnerships to purchase.
Prior to this buyer’s interest, we’d had extended discussion with more than a dozen interested parties – several private individuals as well as well-respected design/development teams who shared preliminary concepts for adaptive re-use of the house and property. The staff and board of the MHC approached due diligence very seriously, evaluating to the best of our ability potential buyers’ capabilities and respect for the preservation of the house, for the neighbors, and for the Montclair community.
We worked hard to find a solution that allowed us to maintain a museum space on the property, but it became clear that such a scenario was not viable. However, we are delighted that the buyers are indeed interested in making the house accessible to us for select events or programs; we will eagerly share more details as they develop.
The preservation of the house has been paramount to us throughout this process. In addition to protection to the home’s exterior conferred by its listing on the local, state and federal registers, the MHC has, at our own initiative, incorporated additional protections. We are working together with the buyers and the New Jersey Historic Trust to finalize easements that will provide the house and various interior features extra layers of protection in perpetuity. These will include, at a minimum, protecting the house from demolition, safeguarding the viewscape of the house from North Mountain Avenue (i.e., no construction in front of the house), and maintaining the woodwork and fireplace surrounds on the first floor. The buyers are receptive to the easements.
What is happening to the contents of the home?
Many items from the home will be retained by the MHC to tell the story of the Shultz family and Montclair history, particularly in the time period of the late 19th century/early 20th century. Other items with sentimental value have been passed along to Shultz family members. MHC has also shared relevant items with other non-profits. The buyers are very interested to incorporate the Shultz family history into their home, and they will also be retaining some items and furniture in the house.
Some objects will be available through Nye Auctions, beginning with some paintings. An estate sale will also be conducted on Thursday, May 27 through Saturday, May 29, from 10 to 4 pm. Click here for more information about the estate sale.
All items de-accessioned will be handled in accordance with the MHC Collections Policy and bylaws and in keeping with museum standards and best practices. Proceeds from the sale of any items will be dedicated to preservation of our collections (the buildings and contents of the Crane House and Historic YWCA, our craft barn, the Nathaniel Crane House, and our archives in the Clark House – all at our Orange Road campus), as dictated by MHC Collections Policy and bylaws and in keeping with museum standards and best practices. We will continue to conduct programming and fundraisers and to pursue donations and grants from individuals and other sources to meet our operating expenses.
It’s a bittersweet time for us at the Montclair History Center, but we share with these new owners great pride in the home’s preservation and excitement for the home’s bright future.