the Center for Historic American Building Arts
Preservation for the People !
CHABA
Preserving our past is the foundation for building a vibrant and sustainable future. At Chaba, we honor Bridgeton’s heritage while fostering a community united by history, culture, and progress.
CHABA is assisting the City of Bridgeton in preserving the 'Nail House'--surviving home of the former Cumberland Nail & Iron Works. Set directly at the entrance to Bridgeton City Park, it is one of the most storied places in South Jersey.
Through a combination of grants--City, County and State--our nearly-completed repairs have already enabled this little building to be a hub of social and cultural activity again and return to life as the
ceremonial entrance to one of the largest urban
parks in the state.
We also promote the Nail House's educational use, providing tours for school children of every grade, and for history and environmental programs at the college level.
Look for our heavily-illustrated intergenerational children's book, "This little building is huge." Already a local classic, it tells the 200-year "grunge to green" story of the Nail House in colorful down-to-earth language, and is available in both English and Spanish!
"CHABA brings people together and makes our community stronger AND more beautiful!
I'm proud to support their mission" - Nadia Albizu
Named for the tiny bridge that has straddled the Cohansey River here since 1716, Bridgeton has been
the seat of New Jersey’s rural Cumberland County and the hub of its commercial activity
since before the Revolution. It is steeped in a marinade of pre-colonial, colonial and postcolonial histories and cultures that--layer on layer--have flavored the South Jersey region for centuries.
A premier example of an Arts & Crafts home on Bridgeton's west side.
Scenic view of the Cohansey River flowing through Bridgeton, NJ.
With over 2,000 inividual properties,
the district’s architectural range is encyclopedic--from cabin to castle, high Victorian to classical revival to modernist.
It also includes an amazing number of
individual architectural gems, many designed by noted architects.
CHABA has been collaborating with the City of Bridgeton
and the New Jersey Historic Trust to make essential
repairs to the 1815 first home to the Cumberland Nail & Iron Works, a 'founder site' that helped launch Bridgeton as an industrial powerhouse. Now--In this post-industrial era, we are not only making it accessible and usable again, but telling its stories--of ironmasters and ironworkers, of course--but also of its 'grunge to green' transformation in the 20th century into a resource for recreation and culture at the very entrance to Bridgeton City Park.
We know we can reclaim and 'adaptively reuse' historic places in the social and cultural life of our communities, and not just keep them alive but make them beacons of environmental practice for the future.
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A flyer for a 'maker' event at the Nail House, is conveniently located on the edge of the Downtown, at the entrance to Bridgeton City Park--
both popular community destinations
