Historic home on a full acre of land is for sale in this sought-after N.J. town

A home that’s part of Montclair’s history has been listed for sale for the first time in 50 years.

Known as the Harrison Homestead, the clapboard-sided home has six bedrooms, three full and one half bathrooms. It’s listed for $1.8 million.

“This one is so iconic,” said Athie Daniskas of Prominent Properties Sotheby’s International Realty. “The one comment we keep getting is that people always wondered what this house looked like on the inside.”

The home was built in 1840 and had an addition put on in 1885.

Moses Harrison bought 60 acres of land in 1804 for $2,053.75, according to documents from the Montclair Historical Society. Moses’ son Jared Erwin Harrison, who in 1856 served on the first board of directors for the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company, built the house.

To the west, what is now Edgemont Park, was a cow pasture. To the east were apple orchards and a natural forest. The Harrison apple was famous for the cider that it made, according to Montclair Historical Society documents.

The home remained in the Harrison family until 1967.

It is located in the Erwin Park section of Montclair, a collection of 50 homes built between 1840 and 1927. The Harrison home is the oldest. The Harrison Corporation developed Erwin Park in 1897 as an upper-class enclave for prosperous commuters, according to Montclair Historical Society documents, because of its picturesque setting and proximity to the Watchung Avenue train station.

The home’s property currently spans the entire block from Valley Road to Erwin Park Road — or nearly a full acre — in a sought-after town where the typical lot size is half that.

“This is a phenomenal lot,” Daniskas said.

The house is a center-hall colonial with Victorian flair, she said. It has a three-sided wrap around porch with gingerbread railings that overlooks Edgemont Park, hardwood floors, six fireplaces, built-ins, a servants’ quarters and Palladium windows.

When you enter the home, a staircase with a Mahogany railing is in front of you. To the the left is the formal living room with a marble mantle, a parlor or den, a library with built-in bookcases, a powder room, an office, a family room, an updated kitchen and a dining room.

The second floor has four bedrooms, including the primary. Down two steps there are another two bedrooms and a full bathroom, which has a set of stairs leading to the kitchen.

“It would be a great nanny’s or guest’s quarters,” Daniskas said.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription.

Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.