Historic Happenings Blog

Dressed to Kill: From Arsenic in Clothing, Lead in Cosmetics to Blazing Crinolines at Bouman Stickney Farmstead Sunday, March 1, 2020 at 1:00 pm  -  4:00 pm   Free Dressed to Kill From Arsenic in Clothing, Lead in Cosmetics to Blazing Crinolines Readington Township, NJ-   On  Sunday, March 1 from 1:00-4:00 pm,   Dana Bala  will present  Dressed to Kill:  From Arsenic in Clothing, Lead in Cosmetics to Blazing Crinolines.  Throughout history, we have worn deadly clothing and makeup to be the height of fashion even if it kills us! Bala will discuss some of the most lethal fashion practices during history, focusing on the Victorian period, when people were Dressed To Kill. Bala has presented at other historic sites such as the Abraham Staats House, the Miller-Cory Museum, and volunteers at Washington Crossing Park. Her other areas of interest/expertise include embroidery, cooking and genealogy. This Open House Sunday program will b...

Sunday, December 8 - Readington Township, Hunterdon County Dutch Sint-Nikolaas Day to be Celebrated at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead As a way to honor the Dutch heritage of the 1741 Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, the Readington Museums will be hosting Dutch Sint-Nikolaas Day on Sunday. The program runs continuously between 1:00 and 4:00 pm. Sinterklass will be available for pictures and colonial musicians, Anne and Ridley Enslow, will perform historic holiday pieces that showcase a historic violin and hammered dulcimer. In addition, historic cooks, Bev Altrath and Arlene Soong will demonstrate authentic 18th-century Dutch cooking using the Farmstead’s original open hearth.  Visitors may also make an ornament to take home, as well as enjoy cider and homemade Dutch cookies. This program is held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead in the Stanton section of Readington. GPS address: 114 Dreahook Road Lebanon, NJ 08833. Although there is no fee, donations are gladly welcome. In case of inclemen...

Sunday, November 3  -  Readington Township, Hunterdon County "Buckwheat - from the fields to the Table" at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead Buckwheat, an ancient grain, was introduced into Colonial America by the earliest colonists including the Dutch. Susan McLellan Plaisted MS RD CSP LDN will demonstrate how these early farmers, such as the original owners of the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, would have grown and milled buckwheat. This hands-on program involves grinding and sieving buckwheat flour as well as preparing buckwheat cakes for the open hearth. This program will be held from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. This Open House Sunday program will be held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, located at 114 Dreahook Road in the Stanton section Readington Township. For GPS use Lebanon, NJ 08833. This is a free family friendly event, although donations will be gratefully accepted. In case of inclement weather please call the Museums to find out the status of the program. For more information,...

Sunday, October 13 - Readington, Hunterdon County Art Exhibit at the Readington Museums The Readington Museums is pleased to announce an art exhibit at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead’s restored Wade Wycoff Barn featuring local landscape artist Virginia Gifford and a collection of her oil paintings from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. Gifford, born in British Columbia, studied theater arts at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts. After working as a scenic artist on films and television in New York City for twenty years, she has been inspired by the natural beauty of Hunterdon County to return to her first love, oil painting. She is also restoring her 18th-century house on her farm in Delaware Township, NJ, where she raises Shetland sheep. This exhibit will be held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead in the Stanton section of Readington, GPS address: 114 Dreahook Road Lebanon NJ 08833. It is a free, family-friendly event, although donations will be gratefully accepted. For more information, c...

Saturday,  October 12   - Readington Township, Hunterdon County Barn Dance Put on your dancing shoes for a night of family fun as the Readington Museums hosts its bi-annual Barn Dance on Saturday from 7:00 - 9:30 pm. The dance will be held inside the eighteenth-century Wade-Wyckoff Barn at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead located at 114 Dreahook Road in the Stanton section of Readington Township, NJ (for GPS use Lebanon). This family-friendly event is a wonderful way to have fun with the entire family as no experience is necessary. Caller Betsy Gotta will give easy to follow instructions before each dance so even a beginner will be able to dance the night away. There is a suggested donation of $5.00 per adult and $2.00 per child. Refreshments will be available. Groups of six or more please call for a reservation. For more information, call Program Director Margaret Smith at 908-236-2327 or visit  www.readingtonmuseums.org .

Sunday, October 6  -  Readington ,  Hunterdon County Open House at the 1828 Cold Brook School The Readington Museums’ Cold Brook School, originally built in 1828, will be open on Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm for visitors to see what it was like to attend school in the early nineteenth century.  Visitors will have the opportunity to become abecedarians, try their hand at orthography using a quill pen and ink, cipher mathematical problems, and learn a sample of New Jersey history. For recess, visitors can play a variety of nineteenth-century games, such as rolling hoops in the meadow. Apple cider and homemade bread with apple butter will be available. Due to the small size of the schoolhouse, groups of four or more are asked to call for a reservation. It is a free, family-friendly event, although donations will be gratefully accepted. In case of inclement weather please call the Museums to find out the status of the program. To get to the site, use the  address of 1...

Sunday, September 8  -  Readington , Hunterdon County Beer and Punch Making From teas to toddies and tankards to teacups, domestic historians, Bev Altrath and Arlene Soong, will discuss typical colonial drinks. In addition, historic brewer, Rich Wagner, will show the step-by-step process of turning water and grain into beer. For hundreds of years, folks in Europe knew better than to drink the water, as it could make you deathly ill. Instead, people, including children, brewed and drank beer. This was a natural jump for immigrants arriving in the New World to bring their tradition of brewing and drinking beer with them. Much of the beer was brewed at home until breweries could be established in larger towns and cities. Today, there is a resurgence in interest in home brewing. Although today you will find exotic flavors or seasonal brews, the basic method of beer production has not changed. This program will be held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead in the Stanton section of Read...

Sunday, May 5  - Readington, Hunterdon County 18th Century Shoe Making Demonstration Come visit the Eversole Hall House on Sunday from 1:00-4:00 pm as Shaun Pekar, Professional cordwainer and accouterments maker, demonstrates the trade and skills of historic shoemaking. Pekar is known for his detail-oriented, top quality reproductions of 18th-Century shoes and military accouterments for living historians and museums, and his work can be seen at multiple National Park Service sites, Michilimackinac State Historic Site, Fort Ticonderoga, The Old Barracks Museum, and The Museum of the American Revolution. He is currently the proprietor of “S. Pekar, Shoe and Accoutrement Maker”. This program will be held at the Eversole-Hall House, located on 511 County Road 523, Whitehouse Station, NJ (blue house next to the Readington Twp. municipal building -where parking can be found). This house was originally built by Charles Eversole, a German immigrant and weaver by trade, ...

Sunday, April 7  - Readington, Hunterdon County Colonial Toys and Games at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead People through the ages have enjoyed games and played with toys for recreational and educational purposes. Come on Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. as colonial interpreters, Bev Altrath and Arlene Soong, present Colonial Toys and Games. There will be some toys on display as well as games on hand for both adults and children to play. Come roll hoops, toss rings, and play games such as skittles, draughts, graces, and more.  This Open House Sunday program will be held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, located at 114 Dreahook Road in the Stanton section Readington Township. For GPS use Lebanon, NJ 08833. This is a free family-friendly event, although donations will be gratefully accepted. In case of inclement weather please call the Museums to find out the status of the program. For more information,  call 908-236-2327 or visit   https://www.readingtontwpnj.gov/visiting/mu...

Sunday, March 3 - Readington Township, Hunterdon County A Stitch In Time: 17th And 18th Century Textiles And Quilts On Sunday from 1:00-4:00 pm, Dana Bala will present 17th and 18th-century quilts, textiles, and embroidery. She will discuss how legislation influenced the price and production of cloth and how fabric related to domestic life. Bala will include the evolution of quilting and embroidery throughout textile history. Dana Bala has been quilting for over 12 years. She combines her love of history and fabric by researching historic quilts, patterns, techniques, and the textile industry. Bala has presented at other historic sites such as the Abraham Staats House, the Miller-Corey Museum, and volunteers at Washington Crossing Park. Her other areas of interest/expertise include embroidery, cooking, and genealogy. This Open House Sunday program will be held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, located at 114 Dreahook Road in the Stanton section Readington Township. For GPS use Leba...

Sunday, December 2 - Readington Township, Hunterdon County Dutch Sint-Nikolaas Day to be Celebrated at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead As a way to honor the Dutch heritage of the 1741 Bouman-Stickney Farmstead, the Readington Museums will be hosting Dutch Sint-Nikolaas Day on Sunday. The program runs continuously between 1:00 and 4:00 pm. Dutch Sinterklass will be available for pictures and colonial musicians, Anne and Ridley Enslow, will perform historic holiday pieces that showcase an historic violin and hammered dulcimer. In addition, historic cooks, Bev Altrath and Arlene Soong will demonstrate authentic 18th century Dutch cooking using the Farmstead’s original open hearth. They plan to make waffles and gingerbread over the open flame. Visitors may also make a pomander ornament to take home, as well as enjoy cider and homemade Dutch cookies. This program is held at the Bouman-Stickney Farmstead in the Stanton section of Readington, GPS address: 114 Dreahook Road Lebanon NJ 08833. Alt...