WHIRLPOOL HOUSE

Architect Name:
Architectural Style:
Builder Name: ANDREW RORBACK
Designated: Yes - 2/6/1978

Historical Notes

BUILT BY ANDREW RORBACK (1774-1843), A LOYALIST FROM NEW JERSEY, IT WAS FIRST A SADDLERY BEFORE BECOMING RORBACK'S TAVERN. IN ITS EARLY DAYS, IT WAS A SOCIAL VENUE AND A POPULAR PLACE FOR POLITICAL AND BUSINESS MEETINGS. IT WAS LATER PURCHASED BY JAMES OSWALD CIRCA 1835 AND BECAME KNOWN AS WHIRLPOOL INN.

Architectural Notes

THE BUILDING IS ONE OF A VERY FEW SURVIVING EXAMPLES OF LATH AND PLASTER CONSTRUCTION OF THE LATE 18TH AND EARLY 19TH CENTURIES. THE GROUND FLOOR, ONCE A BALLROOM, HAS A BARREL VAULT TYPE CEILING WITH OAK BEAMS, AND THE EAST FACADE AT ONE TIME HAD A LONG WOODEN VERANDAH. IT UNDERWENT MAJOR RENOVATIONS IN THE 1940'S