Our home was constructed in 1860 by the architect Terry Golda who patterned it after the first White House of the South in Montgomery, Alabama. She is Italianate in style due to her high cubic mass and plain lines contrasted by a low segmented arch pediment, complete with a decorative center frieze and a circular railing pattern on both porches. The roof is almost flat with wide overhanging eaves. The windows at this time were normally rounded on top, however in Flemington, they were typically rectangularly headed and topped with stone lintels. The property was occupied as a residence by multiple families until it became the Raggedy Ann Antique and Toy Museum in 1968. This business was founded by Robert Bach and his wife Jean, a doll collector and author. Her curated assortment of 19th and 20th century dolls filled the house with toy trains, tin toys and various automations completing the museum. Robert worked in the basement repairing dolls and stuffed animals. Hazel Smith, a Flemington Fur seamstress, repaired the doll outfits in this space as well throughout the 1970’s. Jean also had a shop right up Church Street at the bustling Turntable Junction and would often travel to Europe on buying trips bringing back incredible finds. When the museum closed in 1983, the content was auctioned at Christie’s in NYC. We find enormous comfort knowing that such a vibrant entrepreneurial energy once occupied this corner lot and it is clear that visitors and locals alike enjoyed the unique ambience created here by the Bach family. The property then became a bank for nearly 5 years and following that came a law firm, eventually known as Watts, Tice and Skowronek. These partners moved in and stayed for over 20 years - eventually adding our current Fleur de Lys Room as an addition.  In 2023, the attorneys retired and Teaberry’s purchased the house after a thorough search throughout Hunterdon County that lasted the better part of a year.

 

We invite you into our nineteenth century world to enjoy a bygone era with friends & family.