A historic stone house in Midland Park built decades before the American Revolution has been demolished, despite preservation efforts.

The Van Zile House was built in 1736. It was one of Bergen County’s original Dutch stone houses, part of a trio of historic stone homes in Midland Park and Wyckoff that were once all on the same farm. The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 but fell into disrepair.

New York City-based owner 714 Godwin Avenue LLC, associated with Manhattan Property Partners, applied for and was awarded a demolition permit April 16, according to municipal records. The house was brought down about three weeks later. Demolishing the Van Zile House and capping the sewer line cost an estimated $12,800.

“It’s really discouraging,” said H. Gelfand, chairman of the volunteer-led Bergen County Historic Preservation Committee. “If we were anywhere else in the United States, probably other than Bergen County, a house that’s almost 300 years old would be the centerpiece of a town.”

Manhattan Property Partners has yet to file paperwork with Midland Park for the construction of a new structure as of May. Chief Executive Officer George Theodorou did not return calls seeking comment.

Plans to demolish the house last summer prompted an outcry from historic preservationists who wanted to see it saved. A local resident was unsuccessful in bidding on the home.

The property is within an R-1 zone limited to single-family homes, so any proposed change in use or density, or a subdivision, would require variances.

The four remaining homes in Midland Park on the National Register of Historic Places are the David Baldwin House on Lake Avenue, the Lozier House and Van Riper Mill at Goffle Road and Paterson Avenue, the Myers-Masker House on Park Avenue and the Wortendyke-Demund House on Demund Lane.

Bergen County is home to about 200 historic stone houses, but development pressure and aging threaten many of them.

“We do not have in our county any widespread desire to protect our physical landscapes or built environment, because we are adjacent to Manhattan and the desire to make money is so strong in each of these towns, they give in to developer’s demands,” Gelfand said.

The Zabriskie Tenant House in Paramus, the Crim-Tice House in Woodcliff Lake, the Thomas Demarest House in Englewood, the White Tenant House in Waldwick, the Jacob Wortendyke House in Woodcliff Lake, and the Van Gelder House in Wyckoff have already been demolished.

Some homes have been saved by being purchased by the municipality and turned into museums.

With partial funding from grants, Oakland recently hired a contractor to perform $255,000 in external renovations for the historic Hendrick Van Allen House. The house is believed to have hosted Gen. George Washington for three days in July 1777 while he was moving his troops north from Morristown to Sussex.

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Inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places does not protect buildings from being demolished or substantially changed. Only measures such as a deed restriction or a historic preservation ordinance approved by a municipality can offer such protection.

Midland Park does have a Historic Sites Committee on the books, but does not have a historic preservation ordinance.

“It’s a private owner looking to do work on their private property,” Midland Park Administrator Marc Seemon, said of the Van Zile House.

“Since I’ve started working here in October, I’ve never been petitioned by a resident to introduce a historical preservation ordinance,” Seemon said.

Gelfand believes the silver lining of Van Zile’s destruction is that officials in the other 71 towns without ordinances protecting historic homes may be inspired to draft them.