PERTH AMBOY — This undated photo shows a side view of the Parker Castle at Front and Water streets in Perth Amboy. Information from the Library of Congress states that the stone portion of the structure was built by John Parker in 1702; the wooden section was added prior to the start of the Revolutionary War. James Parker II, a...
PERTH AMBOY -- This undated photo shows a side view of the Parker Castle at Front and Water streets in Perth Amboy.
Information from the Library of Congress states that the stone portion of the structure was built by John Parker in 1702; the wooden section was added prior to the start of the Revolutionary War.
James Parker II, a descendant of John, was mayor of Perth Amboy from 1771 to 1774 and was appointed one of the delegates to the provincial congress at the start of the Revolutionary War.
Parker's son, James III, served as mayor of Perth Amboy, in 1815 and again in 1850. James Parker III also was elected to the Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses of the U.S.
The Parker family continued to live in the castle and be influential members of the Perth Amboy community for years to come; succeeding generations occupied the mansion until 1914.
Unoccupied for more than two decades afterward, the building fell into disrepair and was razed as a safety hazard in 1942.
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