Union Square Hotel

The Union Square Hotel at 17-19-21 South Main Street was built in 1811 by John P Roseberry, an early landowner. The first election for Mayor was held in Union Square Hotel on April 8, 1861. Mr. Charles Sitgreaves was elected to be the town's first mayor, and the building served as the town's first city hall for a time. In the eighteen hundreds, the Union Square Hotel housed a saloon, cigar store, barber shop, and drug store. It's thought to be one of the oldest buildings on our tour. The three recessed Federal-style entrances may be unique in all of New Jersey. It's constructed of coursed ashlar stone built using local limestone. Still, the mansard roof on the fourth floor and the iron columns supporting the front porch were added later, with more modern-day changes made to the front porch to reduce the width to widen the road, after a truck damaged the porches. These changes created a shorter setback from the street, representing a significant change to the main street feel, compared to when the porch was used as a community gathering area.