Heritage Trail Association
Narrated Bus Tour
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Space still available - reservation close 9/26
Mount Tabor House Tour and Gustav Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farm.
Saturday, September 29, 10:00 am to 4:40 pm
Mount Tabor House Tour
+ Gustav Stickley Museum Tour
The bus tour is scheduled to leave the Van Horne House at 10 am and return at 4:30 pm. The tour is $50 per person, which includes transportation and museum fees. Lunch is not included, but may be brought from home or a box lunch may be purchased at Mount Tabor. Call (732) 356-8856 for reservations or sign up online: register. |
During the late 1800s, the New York metropolitan area was experiencing a rapid period of industrialization. Prompted by a need to escape the urban crowding and summer heat, many new communities were established in the rural areas of New Jersey. Some were founded by religious organizations that offered a retreat for both the body and soul.
Originally, Mount Tabor was founded as a Methodist Camp, where participants would gather each summer for ten days of religious services, prayer, and uplifting lectures. But shortly after its founding in 1869, it became clear that the community was not content with spending only ten days at the camp. Mount Tabor was quickly transformed into a summer resort with social and cultural activities complementing religious programs. The summer tents and basic cottages were replace with year-round homes that were built in a charming Victorian style.
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Today, Mount Tabor is a very special, historic community of meticulously maintained Victorian cottages. It is proudly preserved by an active community dedicated neighbors. One day each year, the Mount Tabor Historical Society host a walking tour of their neighborhood with many of their houses open to the public. Please note: some of the streets are steep and the walking tour requires some effort.
Gustav Stickley Museum
A short distance from Mount Tabor is the Stickley Museum and Craftsman Farm, which was the center of Gustav Stickley’s early twentieth-century country estate. Gustav Stickley was a designer, furniture maker, editor, and the leading proselytizer for the craftsman style - an extension of the British Arts and Crafts Movement.
Known today as the creator of American Craftsman furniture, his furniture was constructed from quarter-sawn, white oak in subtle, plain designs. However, Stickley was much more than a furniture maker. He was also a visionary and proponent for the Arts and Crafts philosophy as well as one of the primary tastemaker of his time. Throughout the Progressive Era, these designers worked to steer the American aesthetics and to forge a unique American style.
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During our visit, the museum will be hosting a special exhibit: “Styling an American Family.” This exhibit features fashions from Syracuse University’s Sue Ann Genet Costume Collection that will give visitors a view of how the Stickley family would have dressed when they were in residence. Knowledgeable tour guides will discuss the designers who shaped fashion and drove the development of a unique American style in the early twentieth century.
The bus tour is scheduled to leave the Van Horne House at 10 am and return at 4:30 pm. The tour is $50 per person, which includes transportation and museum fees. Lunch is not included, but may be brought from home; or a box lunch may be purchased at Mount Tabor. Call (732) 356-8856 for reservations or sign up online: register.
Heritage Trail Association creatively celebrates and educates the public about Somerset County its role in New Jersey and our nation’s history.
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Canal Walk
Monday, September 3, (Labor Day) The Delaware and Raritan Canal Watch will hold another in a series free walking tours of the D&R Canal
This walk will be conducted by Canal Watch board member Bob Barth, who will point out historic sites and canal structures along the way.
Canal Walk
Monday , September 3, (Labor Day) 2012,
Meet 10 a.m. at the DandR Canal’s Lock 11, Canal Road in South Bound Brook, across from the 11 Madison St.U.S. Post Office building. Carpools will be arranged to allow one-way walks.
1. from East Millstone toSouth Bound Brook 5.3 miles
or a shorter walk
2. from East Millstone to Zarephath 2,7 miles
For further information and weather-related updates, call Mr. Barth at 201-401-3121 or e-mail barths@att.net.
The nonprofit D and R Canal Watch helps promote, enhance and preserve the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park.
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Blackwells Mill Canal House
JOIN US THIS SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 8th AT
*9:30 *
FOR THE
PLEIN AIR CLUB
SIGN - UP AND INFORMATION
CONTACT LISA@
THIS WEEK'S DESTINATION:
BLACKWELLS MILL
CANAL HOUSE
598 CANAL ROAD
(intersection of Blackwells Mill Rd. and Canal Rd.)
SOMERSET , NJ 08873
*we will meet at the Canal Road parking area
@ 9:30 am
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Sunday September 9 from 1-5
Three House Tour "Follow The Middlebush Road"
1. Wyckoff-Garretson House Museum (start here) will be having an open hearth demonstration and tour from 1-2:30.
Apple Pie Contest at Hageman Farm next Sunday, September 9 from 2-4 pm
Judging will take place at 1 pm and we will announce the winners at 2 pm
Apple Pie Contest at Hageman Farm next Sunday, September 9 from 2-4 pm
Judging will take place at 1 pm and we will announce the winners at 2 pm
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Somerset County Historical Society
Monday September 10, 2012 at 7:00PM
at the Hillsborough Library
Free to the public, but Reservations are required call 908-369-2200 x12
or www.sclsnj.org and click programs
Join with the Somerset County Historical Society at the Hillsborough Library for an interesting presentation by historian Donald Peck on the failed 1776 peace conference. Free to the public, but reservations are required: call 908-369-2200 x12, www.sclsnj.org and click Programs.
The Historic Peace Conference of
September 11, 1776
Monday, September 10 at 7PM
On September 11, 1776, Continental Congress representatives Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, and Edward Rutledge met with the King's representative, Lord Richard Howe to negotiate terms of independence. No reconcilliation was reached and both the colonists and the Crown faced the inevitability of war.
Donald Johnstone Peck, author, historian, speaker and long-time preservationist will lead us in unpacking the fascinating dimensions of our rich Revolutionary War history.
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Warren G. Harding Presentation
Thursday, September 13th, 2012, at 6:30 pm
Raritan Public Library 54 East Somerset St, Raritan, NJ 08869
Join Gary Kraidman, a local historian and author, (and member of the East Millstone Historic Society), for a presentation on the "not-so-scandalous side" of Warren G. Harding. Mr. Kraidman will discuss the many accomplishments of Harding before and during his period in Office. A question and answer period will follow. Call the Raritan Public Library at (908) 725-0413, or visit the library at 54 East Somerset St, Raritan, NJ 08869, to reserve a seat.
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Heritage Trail Association
Narrated Bus Tour
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Historic Churches of Southern Somerset County
Two tours available: 10 am and 2 pm
The cost is $20 per person and reservations are required.
Call (732) 356-8856 for reservations or sign up online: register. Please indicate your choice of tours: 10:00 am or 2:00 pm. The buses will leave from the Bottle King parking lot, 626 U.S. 206, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. Directions: from Somerville and points north, proceed south on 206 and turn right into the parking lot just south of the Amwell Road traffic light; or from Montgomery and ponts south, proceed north on Rt. 206 and turn west on Amwell Road, and then turn left into the parking lot. |
As a complement to our spring tour of the northern churches, on September 15th, the Heritage Trail is offering a narrated bus tour that will explore the churches of southern Somerset County. This is a unique opportunity to learn about the role that religion and churches played in the lives of early Somerset County settlers.
This tour will cover a range of architectural styles and will include the late federal style Blawenburg Reformed Church; the Greek Revival Griggstown Reformed Church; and the vernacular style Neshanic Reformed Church, which is the oldest, original church in the county. Narrators will recount the history of these and other churches that we pass along the route.
For the early settlers of Somerset County, religion played a central role in their lives. Their parents and grand-parents had come to America from Europe seeking a refuge from religious intolerance. Embracing the religious freedom offered by the colonies, the settlers, who represented a diverse cross section of English, Irish, French, and Dutch, established new congregations and erected churches that reflected the architectural fashion of the time.
There are two tours scheduled one at 10 am. and one at 2 pm. The cost is $20 per person and reservations are required. Call (732) 356-8856 for reservations or sign up online: register. Please indicate your choice of tours: 10:00 am or 2:00 pm.
The buses will leave from the Bottle King parking lot, 626 U.S. 206, Hillsborough, NJ 08844. Directions: from Somerville and points north, proceed south on 206 and turn right into the parking lot just south of the Amwell Road traffic light; or from Montgomery and ponts south, proceed north on Rt. 206 and turn west on Amwell Road, and then turn left into the parking lot.
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Raritan Millstone Heritage Alliance
Sunday September 16, 2012, 1 p.m.
| On Sunday, September 16 the Raritan-Millstone Heritage Alliance will welcome Frank McGinley to our Sunday Luncheon and Lecture Series. A celebrated author and artist from central New Jersey, Mr. McGinley will show several of the one hundred original paintings from his new book, Let Us Never Forget, an illustrated history of World War II and the Holocaust. Copies of the book will be available for sale ($35) at the book signing following the luncheon. McGinley has received more than three dozen "Merit" and "Best in Show" awards. He was elected to the New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame and serves as president of the New Jersey Chapter, American Artists Professional League, Inc. His art is displayed at the West Point Military Academy and the British War Museum. He is widely known for his historic paintings of many of our RMHA sites, including the Proprietary House, the Simpson United Methodist Church, the Perth Amboy City Hall, the Ferry Slip Museum, the Conference House, the Cross Keys Tavern, Buccleuch Mansion, the Wallace House, Rockingham, and Nassau Hall. The event begins at 1:00 pm at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, 2 Albany Street, New Brunswick, making it convenient for members to visit other nearby RHMA sites, including the Poile Zedek Synagogue, 145 Neilson Street. Other nearby guidebook sites include Rutgers University, the New Brunswick Theological Seminary, the Hungarian Heritage Center, Christ Church, the Presbyterian Church, and the First Reformed Church, all in New Brunswick. To register, please mail your $35 check, payable to RHMA and marked "September Luncheon," to Mrs. Elyce Jennings, 851 River Road, Piscataway, NJ 08854-5550. All checks must be received by September 10. You may also call Mrs. Jennings to reserve at 732-463-0767. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ |
Rutger's University Special Collections
The genealogy section of the reading room at Rutgers University Libraries' Special Collections and University Archives in New Brunswick.Early September can only mean one thing: Back to school. So for this month, Tracing Your Roots will be visiting one of the premier genealogical research spots in New Jersey.
One of the really great places to get some genealogy research done is atRutgers University’s Special Collections and University Archives, located on the lower level of the Alexander Library on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick. Located within Special Collections is a treasure trove of genealogical possibilities, especially if you’re one of those people lucky enough to be doing colonial New Jersey research.
In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll admit that I had the pleasure of interning at Special Collections during the last semester of my library science master’s program. It was a great place to work and if I seem a little biased, well, I probably won’t argue with that. The collection’s focus is on New Jersey History and there are excellent genealogical materials available, but more on that in a moment.
Parking is a little tough on the Rutgers campus. Be sure to visit the Rutgers visitor parking web site in order to get a parking pass for the College Avenue deck before you visit.
Before you begin, you should, of course, be sure that they have what you seek. As with any research trip, make a plan before even leaving the house, and bring along some of your own materials for reference. Consult Genealogical Resources, the Genealogy collection finding aid. This is an invaluable tool to help find the documents you need for your research.
Once you get there, you’ll have to sign in at the information desk and then leave your belongings (coat, jacket, bookbag, laptop case) in an adjacent locker room. Lockers are free. No food or drinks are allowed in the New Jersey Room nor are pens – pencils only, please.
As for the collections themselves, chief among them is the library of the New Jersey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the collections of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Both organizations have placed their collections here, in central New Jersey, so they can be open for researchers throughout the state. If you’re seeking that ever-elusive Revolutionary era ancestor, this is the place to find them.
As for the collections themselves, chief among them is the library of the New Jersey Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the collections of the Genealogical Society of New Jersey. Both organizations have placed their collections here, in central New Jersey, so they can be open for researchers throughout the state. If you’re seeking that ever-elusive Revolutionary era ancestor, this is the place to find them.
The genealogy area sits off to the left in the back of the room, a large study table surrounded by filing cabinets to one side, and bookshelves to the other. A small card catalog (yes, they do still exist!) holds the keys to accessing the DAR collection. In the file cabinets are cards from various collections showing the locations of documents.
And let’s not forget the University Archives aspect of Special Collections. If anyone in your family ever attended or taught at Rutgers – even from way back when the university was founded in 1766 – you’ll be able to dig up some info about them using the University Archives collection, which contains yearbooks for the various colleges within Rutgers, biography files, issues of the student newspapers (including the Daily Targum, the second oldest daily college newspaper in the United States). If you need to know about Rutgers history, University Archives is the place for you.
If any of this is confusing, there’s no need to get excited. The reference desk is always staffed so if you have any questions on where or what something is, or how to get it, a librarian or archivist is on hand to answer.
Danny Klein is a librarian at the Jersey City Free Public Library’s New Jersey Room and a past president of the Hudson County Genealogical and Historical Society. He can be reached at hudsongenealogy@gmail.com.
If you go:
Special Collections and University Archives
Rutgers University Libraries
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
169 College Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1163
(848) 932-7006
Special Collections and University Archives
Rutgers University Libraries
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
169 College Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1163
(848) 932-7006
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The Raritan River is already benefitting from dam removal
The Nevious dam might go next year opening more of the Raritan to migrating fish.
On the Millstone river the Weston dam has to be notched to return it to a spawning stream.
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