FallPaperturn - Flipbook - Page 33
Even the outhouse at the c. 1840 Nellie Hoffman House, which
was used by Nellie Hoffman until the 1970s, is adorned with a
wreath for the open house. Born in 1910, Nellie was the daughter
of Charles and Fannie Beam Hoffman, who purchased the property and farmhouse in 1892, and added an adjacent log cabin
around 1920, as a seasonal rental for sportsmen who ventured
out to rural Califon to fish and hunt along the South Branch of
the Raritan. One of the sportsmen clubs that rented the cabin reportedly wrangled a long-term lease from Nellie during a legendary poker game.
Nellie lived alone for much of her life at the farmstead and finally installed a rustic bathroom in the cellar that was only accessible by a dark narrow stairway. But the austerity of the Hoffman
House9s stripped-down style and function are the key to its mid19th century charm and allure. A spartan one level, and just tworooms at its inception, a second floor was added as the family9s
fortunes allowed and the simple farmhouse eventually included a
kitchen and parlor on the first floor and three tidy little rooms
upstairs; a landing used as a children9s bedroom, and two small
bedrooms.
To get to her bedroom, Nellie would have climbed the house9s
