June, 2011 Raritan Millstone Programs

Bound Brook: Its History and Archaeology
Tuesday June 28, 2011; 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Bound Brook Borough Hall
230 Hamilton Street
Bound Brook, NJ
(On-street parking is available on Hamilton and Somerset Streets)

Lynn Rakos of the Army Corps of Engineers and Robert Hunter of Hunter Research will host an open public meeting on the history and archaeology of Bound Brook based on their research undertaken as part of the Green Brook Flood Control Project.

The construction of levees, flood walls, and pump stations in Bound Brook is the most visible part of the Green Brook Flood Damage Reduction Project. Less visible have been the results of years of historical and archaeological research and fieldwork that have taken place ahead of that construction. This talk will share with the community some of those findings including a discussion of the archaeological features uncovered at the King/Voorhees House Site and the fascinating history of the area surrounding the confluence of the Green Brook with the Raritan River. The results of the research will be published latter this later year by the US Army Corps of Engineers and made available to the public.

Bound Brook is the oldest community in Somerset County. First settled by Europeans in the late seventeenth century, the village had thirty-five houses by the outbreak of the Revolutionary War. Located at the intersection of the east-west, Old York Road and a north-south road crossing the Queen's Bridge over the Raritan River, it developed into a locally important center of commerce. During the war, both British and American troops marched through the town on numerous occasions, and George Washington twice selected the area for his army’s winter encampment. On April 13, 1777, a British and Hessian force of 4,000 defeated a garrison of 500 Continental and militia troops defending the town. The old stone-arched bridge over Bound Brook, which was the site of the initial skirmish of the battle, still exists near the Queen's Bridge.



Lynn Rakos, Senior Archaeologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers, New York District, has over twenty-five years experience in archaeology in the northeast. She has been involved in archaeology in Bound Brook on-and-off since 1988. Richard Hunter, President of Hunter Research, Inc. in Trenton, NJ has extensive experience with the history and archaeology of this region and has a particular research interest in the Raritan Valley.

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[From the Princeton Public Library website.]

“Author Clifford Zink - "The Roebling Legacy"

[Princeton Public Library] Community Room
Monday, Jun. 13, 7:30 p.m.

This local historian spent years researching his book about the family who designed and built the Brooklyn Bridge with wire rope manufactured in their Trenton mills. The Roebling operation employed generations of immigrants in Trenton and in Roebling, a company town. The book begins with the family’s beginnings in Germany and ends with the adaptive re-use of the Roebling factories today.

Books will be available for purchase.”

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Dear Friends of Perth Amboy and history,

If you can possibly arrange your time to join us this Sunday, June 12 at 2 PM at the Ferry Slip Museum of Perth Amboy, you will enjoy an outstanding speaker who will inform and entertain you and you will enjoy the cool breezes and lovely views of Raritan Bay from the deck of the Ferry Slip Museum !

Please see the attachment for all details!

Don Peck

Program Chair

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June 12 (Sunday)

Walk the Canal South Bound Brook to East Millstone: Join the D&R Canal Watch as they continue an end-to-end hiking challenge along the length of the canal path. This 5.8 mile walk is the second leg of this challenge that will continue throughout the year. Plan to join just one or all of the walks in the series. Each program will provide information about both canal and local history For this leg, participants are asked to meet at Lock 11 in South Bound Brook on Canal Road across from the post office at 10 am. For further details contact Bob and Linda Barth (201) 401-3121 (or email: barths@att.net).

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From Kathie Gibson
Blackwell Mills Dam Discussion, June 9th, 2.00-3.30 p.m.
At: East Millstone, Antiques and cafe, 3 Market Street

Please RSVP by Tuesday, June 7, 2011 , Kathie Gibson 609-439-1655
Katie Gibson: kgibson@thewatershed.org

The Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association, central New Jersey's first environmental group, is hosting an event to discuss how the planned removal of the Blackwells Mills Dam on the Millstone River will benefit the community and wildlife. Removal of the dam will open over 14 miles of the Millstone to migratory fish for spawning, improve recreation, eliminate a hazardous obstacle, and more. The Blackwells Mills Dam does, however, hold historical significance for its use in milling, a major component in the economic growth of the town in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. The goal of this event is to provide you with information about how we plan to preserve the dam's history, explain the importance of its removal, and address any concerns you may having relating to the removal of the dam.

Please see the attached document for more information concerning the event the Stony Brook Millstone Watershed Association is hosting on June 9th to discuss the removal of the Blackwells Mills Dam

SBMWA Invite_Blackwells Mills Dam.pdf 2946K View Download

Comment from Jan ten Broeke:
It seems to me that the remnants of the Blackwell Mills mill dam would not be any impediment to migratory fish such as shad (they are used to turbulent waters), and I would like to preserve it for its value as a reminder of the past.
The weir across the Raritan river downstream of the Millstone Raritan confluence is an obstacle orders of magnitude greater.
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Saturday, June 4 – Somerset County
from 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m
Van Harlingen Historical Society, Montgomery Township, presents "A Taste of the Sourlands":
$45/person
a Sampling of Wine, Music, Food and History". at a magnificent home in the Sourland
Mountains with lovely vistas, gardens and barn.
A sure-to-be enjoyable event including stories of moonshine in the mountains, the event will benefit the
17th-century Gulick House Cedar Shake Roof Fund.
Visit www.vanharlingen.org or call 609-466-8009 for more information about ordering tickets.

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SATURDAY, JUNE 4, 2011
THE LEAGUE OF HISTORICAL SOCIETIES SPRING MEETING
HOSTED BY THE METLAR-BODINE HOUSE MUSEUM
AT THE CHRIST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH,
485 HOES LANE, PISCATAWAY, MIDDLESEX COUNTY

9:00 am Registration & continental breakfast

9:30 am Welcome and introductions
9:40 am League business meeting; presentation of the Kevin M. Hale Publication Awards
10:25 am Sharon Nutter, Development Research Consultant, will discuss the importance of donor profiling and how to conduct basic research on your own for free. An assortment of websites will be highlighted along with tips on how the professionals build a donor profile.
10:55 am Break
11:10 am Historical Projects in Piscataway: Gerald Gargiullo, Revolutionary War markers in Quibbletown.
11:20 am Presentation by Junelynn Sadlowski, executive director of the Metlar-Bodine House Museum, on the success of the museum’s “Rebuilding Our Past” campaign.
11:50 pm Lunch
1-3:00 pm Tours: Metlar/Bodine House Museum. Guided Tour of East Jersey Olde Towne, time of tour to be announced. Drive by sites include: River Road Historic District; Fitzrandolph Family Cemetery, Behmer Road; and Runyon Family Cemetery, Centennial Avenue and Possumtown Road. Rutgers University Old Queens campus is located across the Raritan River from Metlar House in nearby New Brunswick.
REGISTRATION FORM – PLEASE RETURN BY MAY 26, 2011
Please include a check for $25.00 per person, payable to the Fellowship for Metlar House and mail it to the Metlar-Bodine House Museum, 1281 River Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854.

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Questions before June 4: Call 732-463-8363
Questions on the morning of June 4: Call 732-648-4935