We are open every Sunday 1-4 for free public tours!
About Us
What We Do
Julia Parker, an eighth-generation descendant of Parker homesteaders and the last to live on the property, died without an heir in 1995. She had gifted the original house, outbuildings, and remaining land from the Monmouth Patent grant to Little Silver and then willed all of the contents of the buildings to the town of Little Silver with the stipulation that the property only is used as a historic site known as The Parker Homestead - 1665. Conditions of the gift require that the town "never allow the subject property to be used, either actively or passively, in any manner or fashion other than as a historic site ... never remove or change the character of any of the buildings and/or structures situated on the property ... improvements which must be made to restore or maintain the integrity of the buildings must be made in accordance with the standards established by the National Trust for Historic Preservation." historic site.
Since that time, the borough has stabilized the farmhouse, painting the exterior and rebuilding the porch and barns. The contents of the house have been removed and ADA and HVAC improvements made. Historic studies have been made allowing the property to be placed on both the National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey State Registry.
A community committee worked with the borough on obtaining grants for interior work on the house and rebuilding the barns. This restoration work in the main house uncovered the original cooking fireplace in the original section of the home and removed plaster from ceiling beams in the parlor in the first addition to the homestead.
Friends of the Parker Homestead-1665 is a 501c3 organization and is run by a volunteer Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees along with local volunteers and help from the Borough of Little Silver, take care of the Homestead, barns, and 4.5 acres of land.
Meet our board of trustees
Keith Wells | President & Treasurer
Keith Wells | President & Treasurer
Keith Wells | President & Treasurer
Keith is a founding Trustee and President of The Parker Homestead-1665 Inc. He is a 40-year resident of Little Silver, able to trace his Monmouth County roots to the late 17th century. His professional career included serving as a consulting project director on a number of multi-year, multi-million dollar technical projects for internati
Keith is a founding Trustee and President of The Parker Homestead-1665 Inc. He is a 40-year resident of Little Silver, able to trace his Monmouth County roots to the late 17th century. His professional career included serving as a consulting project director on a number of multi-year, multi-million dollar technical projects for international corporations and government organizations including Bell Labs, AT&T, U.S. Homeland Security, and the State of New Jersey.
Russ McIver | Vice President
Keith Wells | President & Treasurer
Keith Wells | President & Treasurer
Russ is an active Monmouth County Public Historian. He was introduced to the Parker Homestead-1665 by helping with the curation of Stanley Parker’s collection of 1909 Philadelphia Carmel (E95) Baseball Cards. He was drawn in further by getting involved with cleanup and archival efforts and was honored to be asked to the Board of Trustee
Russ is an active Monmouth County Public Historian. He was introduced to the Parker Homestead-1665 by helping with the curation of Stanley Parker’s collection of 1909 Philadelphia Carmel (E95) Baseball Cards. He was drawn in further by getting involved with cleanup and archival efforts and was honored to be asked to the Board of Trustees of PH-1665. Russ is also on the Board of Trustees of Allaire Village and has assisted in other regional historical efforts, including activity in Asbury Park, Longstreet Farm, and others. In his “spare” time, Russ owns and operates Connections Un_TD, a computer networking consulting and services firm. Russ graduated from Rutgers College, Rutgers University, in 1986.
Stephanie DeLaat | Secretary & Educational Coordinator
Stephanie DeLaat | Secretary & Educational Coordinator
Stephanie DeLaat | Secretary & Educational Coordinator
Stephanie is currently a History/Special Education teacher at Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls, NJ. Stephanie has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Ocean County College and a Bachelor’s Degree in History/Political Science and Secondary Education with Public History and Special Education minors from Monmouth Universit
Stephanie is currently a History/Special Education teacher at Monmouth Regional High School in Tinton Falls, NJ. Stephanie has an Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts from Ocean County College and a Bachelor’s Degree in History/Political Science and Secondary Education with Public History and Special Education minors from Monmouth University. Stephanie started out as a regular volunteer in 2016. She is currently the Educational Coordinator, Social Media Director, Secretary, and Trustee at the Parker Homestead-1665 Inc. Stephanie is the primary point of contact for education related to internships and Federal Work Study for the Parker Homestead-1665 Inc. She has managed a variety of students, at both the high school and university levels. Stephanie works regularly with Monmouth University and public history organizations such as the Bruce Springsteen Archive and Center for American Music, National Guard Militia Museum of NJ, Oral History in the Mid-Atlantic Region, Monmouth County Historical Association, and Ocean County Historical Society.
Laura Clark | Trustee
Stephanie DeLaat | Secretary & Educational Coordinator
Stephanie DeLaat | Secretary & Educational Coordinator
Laura Clark is a proud lifelong resident of Little Silver. She is a graduate of Markham Place School and Red Bank Regional High School. Laura has her undergraduate degree in History from Rutgers University with a focus on United States History during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Additionally, she completed coursework in Public Histo
Laura Clark is a proud lifelong resident of Little Silver. She is a graduate of Markham Place School and Red Bank Regional High School. Laura has her undergraduate degree in History from Rutgers University with a focus on United States History during the 18th and early 19th centuries. Additionally, she completed coursework in Public History from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She previously worked at the Historic Village at Allaire in Farmingdale, NJ. During her undergraduate studies, Laura worked in various positions at Allaire, including docent and tour guide. During her time there, she rose through the organization, eventually serving as Manager of Museum Education; which included running all public historical programming for one of New Jersey's largest living history museums. Laura has also served as Curator of Collections at the Historical Society of Princeton, NJ. She is very excited to bring her expertise in history and museum studies along with her love for public history and Little Silver as a member of the trustees at the Parker Homestead-1665.