KINGWOOD TWP. — Historic preservation consultant Carla Cielo of Raritan Township has found intriguing markings etched into the foundation of an old house. The house is being dismantled because it's on a Green Acres parkland site between Horseshoe Bend Road and Route 29 near Frenchtown.

She said it is a frame house that is built into an embankment. Because the beams were hand-hewn and the floor joists were hand-planed, she believes the house was built no later than about 1800. The markings were engraved into the stone using some kind of tool, she said. They consist of initials framed by semi-circles, parentheses and underlinings. She has written an article about it for Preservation New Jersey.

Cielo posted a description on an online historical forum asking, “Has anyone seen anything like this before? What were they trying to tell us?” She said most of the respondents suggested it was a genealogical record, but some think it was just children playfully etching their initials into the stone.

Take a look at the accompanying photo and comment below to tell us what you think.

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