Historic Happenings Blog

Sunday, October 20 - Raritan Township, Hunterdon County "The Civil War's Long Shadow in Southern Hunterdon County" The Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers' Market will host a talk on "The Civil War's Long Shadow in Southern Hunterdon County" with Hunterdon County Historical Society Trustee John Allen on Sunday at 10:30 a.m. in the Dvoor Farm wagon house. Allen explores how the Civil War affected several Hunterdon County communities including East Amwell, West Amwell, and Raritan and Delaware townships. Allen's research uncovers some fascinating and tragic snapshots of how the Civil War affected the veterans and their families. Also, join Beatriz Velasquez in the wagon house at 8:00 am for Farmers’ Market yoga. Cost is $15; please bring a mat. Dark Whiskey will perform from 10:00 am to 12:30 pm. The Farmers’ Market, open from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm, features more than 20 local farmers and vendors offering organic produce, all-natural meat, honey, artisan breads,...

Sunday, October 13 - Raritan Township, Hunterdon County "Stories That Shaped the Lives of our Ancestors" The Sunday, Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers’ Market offers a trio of events planned to entertain, educate, and engage. Historic Preservationist Consultant Carla Cielo will share intriguing tales culled from her two decades researching and interviewing in her special presentation "Stories That Shaped the Lives of our Ancestors" to be held in the Dvoor Farmhouse at 11:00 am. The program is free. She’ll tell attendees, for instance, about: * How a poor Italian girl -- who as a baby was sent away to a wet nurse in a mountain town in Southern Italy and nearly died from a "witch doctor" abortion in 1928 -- became independently wealth. * Life on a hardscrabble farm in Hunterdon County. Also, at 11:00 am, noted Nature Photographer Dwight Hiscano will lead a workshop that begins in the Dvoor Farm wagon house on how to take beautiful photos outdoors.  This event is ...

Sunday, September 29 -  Raritan Township, Hunterdon County Prohibition Talk at  Hunterdon Land Trust  Farmers’ Market Toast the centennial anniversary of Prohibition with a free program led by historian, researcher and author Brian Armstrong at the Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers' Market on Sunday at 10:30 am in the Dvoor Farm wagon house. Armstrong will discuss the "noble experiment" that constitutionally banned the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages a century ago. He’ll cover the back story on how Prohibition came to be passed, the problems with enforcement, and how it ultimately was repealed. He also will tell some interesting tales about New Jersey and Hunterdon County during the Prohibition era. Armstrong holds a BAs in history and political science from American University. He's the vice-president, Central Region, for the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey and past president of the South River Historical & Preserv...

Sunday, September 22 - Raritan, Somerset County John Basilone Parade Join the residents of Raritan Township on Sunday for the annual parade in honor of former resident John Basilone. John Basilone (November 4, 1916 – February 19, 1945) was a United States Marine Gunnery Sergeant who received the Medal of Honor for his actions at the Battle of Guadalcanal, where he and two other men held off 3,000 enemy troops after the rest of their unit was killed or wounded. Although he could have lived on his laurels on war bond tours, he chose to go back to the Pacific and was killed on the first day of fighting on Iwo Jima. He would have received a second medal of honor for his actions there, destroying a Japanese blockhouse while his unit was pinned down. However, there was no precedent for a double Medal of Honor recipient, so he posthumously received a Navy Cross. The John Basilone Museum in the Raritan Library will be open on Sunday from 10:00 am - 1:00 pm. The parade will begin at 1:00 pm on ...

Sunday, July 28 -  Raritan Township, Hunterdon County Author Kicks Off Hunterdon Land Trust’s Historic River Series After spending the weekdays working at home, author Hal Taylor loves nothing more than jumping in the car on weekends to explore. He discovered, in time, that his meanderings often took him to the Delaware River. "There's something about a large body of water that stirs me, and probably most people, especially if there's some ship traffic," Taylor notes. "I wonder where the vessels are going and where they've been. The water stirs the same curiosity. There's a history in that river." Discovering that history led Taylor to pen his first book,  The Illustrated Delaware River: The History of a Great American River , an historical travelogue filled with 140 original drawings and paintings. And it will bring him to the Hunterdon Land Trust Farmers' Market on Sunday at 10:30 am. where he will share stories and his illustrations from his m...

Register early: Monday, April 22 – Hunterdon County Hunterdon County Historical Society’s Basic Archival   Care Workshop      The  Hunterdon County Historical Society  announces a spring workshop for institutions in Hunterdon County with archival holdings.  “Collections Care Tips and Tricks”  will be held on Monday, April 22, 2019, at 6:00 pm at the society’s archives at 67 River Road in Raritan Township.      Don Cornelius, HCHS Manuscript Coordinator, will discuss the basics of archival collection care focusing on organizations with limited resources. Mr. Cornelius will demonstrate “tips and tricks” that smaller institutions can use to increase the level of collections care without using large amounts of funds.  The workshop will include many examples for registrants to learn on the spot and will be held in the Society’s state-of-the-art climate-controlled facility where much of the society’s collections are pr...