A home for history

Historical society seeks land agreement to call old house home SPARTA - This old house has seen better days. And while the Sparta Historical Society doesn’t expect the Van Kirk house off Route 517 to suddenly be transformed back to its original late-1700s youthful exuberance, its members believe a fresh coat of paint and a few other minor repairs certainly couldn’t hurt. But before the first wall can be brushed, the historical society would like to have an agreement in place to use the facility in the future so that it can work to preserve the township’s past. Representatives from the society, which has called the Van Kirk house home for the past year, recently asked the board of education for a five-year extension on the building, whish the group currently uses for the organization’s activities. The board of education, which assumed ownership of the building and land about 10 years ago through eminent domain when it began construction of the current middle school next door, said it will consider the request. “The board didn’t want to give us a one-year (agreement),” said Ed Fritsch, president of the historical society. “We had to do a lot of pulling and tugging. The board didn’t know what it wanted to do with the house, but it also didn’t want its hands tied.” Under the housing agreement, which ended in November, the historical society must be given 90 days notice before vacating the premises. “We need a focal point,” said Fritsch. “We found that if we just had a club without a focal point, people wouldn’t connect with the historical society. As soon as we got this building, people started giving us things.” However, Fritsch said, patrons are reluctant to donate money or services for repairs without any long-term commitment on the building and property. “If someone wants to put up work for the building, they want to make sure we’re going to be there,” he said. “We’d like to set up rooms with furniture pieces and display cases according to the period.” Fritsch said the historical society and school board have been good for each other. He said the historical society has been able to save money for the school district by taking over the heating costs of the building since it moved in. “We’ve shown good will and good faith,” he said. “It is our intention to make this a good historical site. We won’t have to build a building to call our own - it’s publicly owned.” This past year, the historical society sponsored a civil war re-enactment in which 325 sixth-graders were able to watch from grounds near the middle school and 30 high school students created a “living documentary” featuring video interviews of local war veterans. The school board keeps some lawn maintenance equipment in the basement of the building, which it once considered for administrative offices, but the project was abandoned when it was determined that the ceilings were too low, according to Fritsch. The Van Kirk house was one of the first homes in Sparta. The family, originally from Holland, settled in Newark in the 1600s and moved to Sparta in 1753. Officials of the historical society, established just three years ago, said the goals of the organization are to keep the community informed and create interest, especially among new residents, in Sparta’s long cultural heritage.