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Sunday, April 29 - Middlesex County

The Iron Horse in the Garden State:

Railroads in New Jersey, 1812-1930

At the Metlar-Bodine House Museum, Piscataway Township's Historical Museum, guest speaker

Dr. David Fowler will present "The Iron Horse in the Garden State: Railroads in New Jersey, 1812-1930" at 2pm.

The museum is located at 1281 River Road.

Even more so than today, railroads had a pervasive presence and an immense social, economic, cultural, and technological

influence in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Then as now, most people in New Jersey were within earshot,

at least, of the sound of a train. Using a variety of media such as maps, printed works, and graphic images, Dr. Fowler willdiscuss the early phases of railroads in New Jersey, as well as their influence on politics, agriculture, labor, technology, suburbanization, resorts, and immigration.

David J. Fowler received his MA and PhD in American history from Rutgers University. In addition to being a consultant and researcher, he works as a Project Historian with Special Collections and University Archives at Rutgers University Libraries, where he edited the late Donald A. Sinclair's Railroads and New Jersey: A Bibliography of Contemporary Publications,

1812-1901 (2011). Most recently he served as guest curator for the exhibit All Aboard! Railroads and New Jersey, 1812-1930, which was mounted in the Special Collections Gallery.Refreshments served after the program. Seating is limited. Advance reservations and payment are necessary and must be receivedno later than April 27. Tickets: $15 per person. For reservations and directions, call the museum at 732-463-8363.

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