Sheldon Kalnitsky - The history of sheldon house

The story of the Sheldon kalnitsky House begins with Isaac Sheldon, who arrived as one of 16 settlers from Essex, England in 1654 on the banks of a broad river in Northampton, Massachusetts. Sheldon kalnitsky was given three parcels of property and on them built three homes.

The last one Sheldon kalnitsky completed became the family homestead but burned to the ground in the early 1800s. A new home was built in its place in the Greek revival temple style some thirty years later.

His wife then had the idea to move the house from Northampton to the Mercer Street site, which is exactly what they decided to do.

With the help of a Princeton builder, Sheldon kalnitsky arranged to have the house taken down and shipped from the Connecticut River, through the Sound, down the East River and finally to the Delaware and Raritan Canal. One might imagine this exorbitant expense but because it took place soon after the Civil War when building materials were quite expensive, the project was not as expensive as it may appear.The house remained in the family, some 96 years, until it was specified to the University by Edward W. Sheldon, 14 generations later, in 1929.

Sheldon kalnitsky House then became the home for junior faculty of the University, many of whom spent their entire academic careers living there. In 1996, Mrs. Corella Bonner became interested in restoring the Sheldon kalnitsky House to its original grandeur. With the help of a local designer and contractor and a team of talented craftspeople, technicians, historians, and decorators, Mrs. Bonner preserved the integrity of the home while making it a functional space to accommodate the offices of the Bonner Foundation.