A new day for 101 Lippincott

It’s April, 1897, and Charles and Hetty Miller must have been delighted with their gracious new house, built in the newly-popular Georgian style, distinctly up-to-date … and NOT Victorian like their family homes nearby!

In the course of 127 years, it’s inevitable that any house will go through a rough patch or two. This one is no exception – but it’s coming back!

Charles C. Miller married Hetty C. Lippincott in 1892 and four years later they built this grand Georgian Revival home at the corner of Lippincott Avenue and Carriage House Lane. They kept it in fine style for the next 59 years.

The home had a difficult time in recent years, but happiness is returning.

Christmas, 1933 was a warm day. 101 Lippincott is in the background. Christmas parties here were legendary, with half the town being relatives of some sort. Parties were shared with their cousins, the Skipwith Coale family, whose grand Mansard roof home still stands across the street at number 100. This group is posing on the Coales’ front lawn. HSR is indebted to Hank Hackett for this fine scan of 41 of his relatives.

John and Danielle Casparro had long admired its grace and fine workmanship (and worried over its obvious decline) but it took a number of years to buy it and set about bringing it back to life.

In just NINE MONTHS (!) since John and Danielle bought it, they’ve gone at the project with great energy and yet careful dedication to its historic materials and beautiful original design. Riverton is very lucky to have folks with so much care, vision, and expertise.

Have a look …

A failing roof caused major leaks from the built-in gutters, rotting the gorgeous cornice and attracting animals to move in with their extended families.
The Casparros’ contractor, All American Artisan, carefully measured and recreated this entire cornice.

Bossen Architectural Millwork in East Riverton reproduced the moldings, just like in 1896.

The Casparros’ contractor, All American Artisan, has made it like the bad things never happened.

Then, because this house was intended to be painted in colors (see the top photo), John and Danielle consulted with the indispensable A Century of Color by Roger Moss and created this combination, which softly brings out the depth of all the trim elements:

Kevin O’Shea, of Affordable Image Painting, tackled the job of applying the attractive, and historically-appropriate, color selection to replace the unending white.

There’s much more to come, but look at what they have accomplished just in the first nine months. They …

  • Removed carpet, refinished all original pine hardwoods (1st and 2nd floor)
  • Removed all remaining knob and tube wiring. 
  • Repointed 25% of the stone foundation
  • Brick pointed, new caps and crowns on 2 of 3 chimneys.
  • Replaced 10 windows matching to the original style from 1896 (all windows had been replaced by a previous owner with vinyl, other than the Palladian facing Carriage House Lane)
  • Jetted clear all french drains to restore and use original storm water system
  • Replaced flat roofs on both porches
  • Extensive repair/restoration/painting of exterior including matching original 1896 trim work
  • Painting and plaster restoration throughout 1st and 2nd floor

Tired yet?

And who were Charles and Hetty Lippincott Miller?

Though he didn’t have a Riverton childhood, Charles Cooper Miller (1865-1954) was the nephew of no fewer than five of the original households of Riverton: Daniel Leeds Miller, Jr., Elizabeth Miller (married to William Parrish), Anna Miller (married to Robert Biddle), Rachel Miller (married to William Biddle), and Charles C. Miller (not considered a “founder” but a very early owner of Chalkley Gillingham’s house at 100 Main).

Charles Cooper Miller (1865-1954), photo from 1933. Courtesy of Hank Hackett, great nephew of Hetty Lippincott Miller.

A Hicksite Quaker like his wife, Charles graduated from Swarthmore College (founded by several of his aunts and uncles) and became a very successful importer and wholesaler of groceries. He ran his business for decades near the Philadelphia docks on South Front Street. In Riverton, he was one of the founders of the Riverton Country Club.

Hetty Coale Lippincott Miller (1869-1955) was a lifelong Rivertonian, residing in just two houses about 100 yards apart. The daughter of Ezra Lippincott (1836-1906) and Anna Sutton Lippincott (1840-1890), she grew up in 303 Bank Avenue (which everyone has known for many years as the Baptist Home or Riverview Estates) and then after marrying Charles, moved into this house at 101 Lippincott Avenue, where she lived the remaining 59 years of her life.

The Millers raised two daughters in this home, Anna and Elizabeth. Their granddaughter, Nancy Hall, is still a Riverton resident and proud member of the Historical Society of Riverton board. Nancy has many fond memories of her grandparents, and especially their bountiful Christmas feasts.

HSR wishes the Casparros great success in their wonderful effort and our heartfelt congratulations on bringing back this important part of Riverton’s history to brighter days ahead.

The Historical Society of Riverton is a 501(c)3 charitable educational organization founded in 1970 to bring together people interested in history, especially the history of the Borough of Riverton, New Jersey.

It’s easy to join us. Dues are very affordable and an active membership amplifies our voice in the community. Larger donations leverage strong volunteerism to make many of our more significant educational and outreach efforts happen. Please click here to join or donate!

Tell us what you like and what you’d like to see more of. Please leave comments below. Thank you and please spread the word about Historic Riverton, Everyone’s Home

Published by

Roger Prichard

Roger is a board member of the Historical Society of Riverton, the Borough Historian, and the researcher and author of most of HSR's historical interpretive markers.

7 thoughts on “A new day for 101 Lippincott”

  5. So exciting! Congratulations and good luck to you and your family! Your home looks beautiful!

    Reply

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