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    Joseph Harold Ream - Princeton House - 1946-1952

    Dave Ream writes:

    Here is a bit of history about the Hun House--as I recall it clearly. My parents, Joe and Anita Ream, bought the house from Mrs. Hun in 1946. John Hun, the founder of Hun School, had died a year or two before, and his widow felt/had a need to sell the house. I never heard any story that John Hun may have lost the house in a card game--that's pretty bizarre! I can assure you that my parents did NOT win the house in a card game! Again, I am fairly positive that John Hun was dead when our family bought the house in 1946, and that the sale was done by Mrs. Hun. For some months after the sale and our occupying the house, Mrs. Hun would "visit".

    You may be aware that the architect of the house was one Rolf Bauhan, a favorite of more affluent Princeton residents and university types in the first couple decades of the 20th century. The Hun House was built in 1923 or 1924. I believe that Bauhan also designed the Hun School buildings at the corner of Stockton and Hibben (now owned by the seminary--or at least was in the 1950s). That was the time that the Hun School moved out to its current digs on Edgerstoune Road.

    I do not know how many owners there have been over the decades. I do know for sure that the Ream family bought it from the Hun original owners, and that we sold it to the Morgan family in 1952. Thus, there have been at least five owners. I believe that the Morgans had an especially long period of ownership.

    In "our time," the main front door was rarely used; most traffic was in and out of the back door, next to the kitchen. The kitchen was rather antiquated, even by 1940s standards; I recall the cold storage doors in the wall of the kitchen, which were stocked with ice blocks. There was a butler's pantry and a small family dining room in the kitchen area. The main rooms on the first floor included the spacious entry hall, the formal dining room, the living room, the library, and the glassed-in porch leading to the gardens.

    Upstairs, there were six bedrooms on the second floor, plus the servants' three rooms over the garage. My parents' room (with bath) was at the far end of the hall; three bedrooms (two with the same adjoining bath) on the left side of the hall; one bedroom (with bath) on the right side; and the "guest room" (with bath) at the near end of the hall, next to the (servants') stairs going down to the kitchen. Each of the five children had their own spacious room; brother Steve's was in the attic.

    The Ream family appreciated the grounds (rose garden, etc.), but none of us really had a green thumb. Is the cork tree still there?
    2008 Photos:
        Ream Family Visit, April 2008

    The House in 2008:





    Joe Ream - Family, 1946, 18 Hibben Road, Princeton
    Jack, Joe, Anita, Steve, Chris, Nancy, Dave

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    More Images/History:

    The Hun House, 18 Hibbon Road, Princeton, NJ 08540
       Jo Butler



















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