Historic Happenings Blog

Saturday, February 8 – Somerset County Unraveling History: Quilts in the 18 th  & 19 th  Centuries     The Somerset County Society is pleased to announce the first of this year’s History Talks on Saturday, February 8, 2020. Dana Bala, an expert in historic quilts, will present a program on Textiles and Quilts in the 18 th  and 19 th  Centuries from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at the Somerset County Historical Society headquarters in the Van Veghten House, 9 Van Veghten Drive, Bridgewater NJ, 08807.    Ms. Bala will discuss textiles—their cost and production—from the time of the American Revolution, up to the time of the American Civil War, when quilting became a truly American tradition and format for expression. Her program is hands-on: she will bring quilts, fabrics and clothing so that participants can touch the materials, including clothing of the period. Ms. Bala has been quilting for 15 years. She combines her love of hi...

Sunday, September 29 – Somerset County       Somerset County Historical Society Explores Local Spy Story  The Somerset County Historical Society is pleased to announce the last in the 2019 series of History Talks: “John Honeyman, Washington’s Patriot Spy?” by filmmaker Tim Stollery on Sunday, September 29, 2019 for a suggested donation of $5.   The program will be at the society’s headquarters in the Historic Van Veghten house, located on the dead end of 9 Van Veghten Drive, Bridgewater.   Come and discover the story of Somerset County’s John Honeyman, a Griggstown NJ businessman, who according to legend became a spy for General George Washington. His home still stands along the D&R canal. And the story is still being written!  Tim Stollery is an Emmy-award winning filmmaker, who researched a two-part TV feature series for NJN News in 2000 called “The General and the Spy.”  Doors at the Van Veghten ...

Saturday, August 17 – Somerset County     Members and Friends of the Somerset County Historical Society! It's almost time to celebrate!   It's almost time for our  2nd annual Hungry for Heritage picnic.  Please join us from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 17, rain or shine at the Van Veghten House, 9 Van Veghten Drive, Bridgewater.    Feel free to bring guests. The program includes a "show and tell" of a personal/family treasure. The picnic is a potluck format, so if you would like, bring a dish to share. We hope to see you there!

Sunday, April 28 – Somerset County    The next  walking tour sponsored by the Somerset County Historical Society will be held on April 28th . If you've missed the other three tours, we tour the protected property behind the Van Veghten House. During the tour, we will mainly be enjoying the beauty that lies behind the house and then also talking about how the land was used over the past 400 years. The tour will start at 2, but if you'd like to join us for some coffee and donuts at 1:30 before we start, we'd love to have you. Sunday, April 28th 1:30-3:00pm Meet at the front of The Van Veghten House, 9 Van Veghten Drive, Bridgewater

Sunday,  February 17  - Bridgewater, Somerset County Five Generals Bus Tour of Washington's Middlebrook Cantonment Visit and discover all five existing houses where George Washington, Henry Knox, Baron Von Steuben, Nathaniel Greene, and Lord Alexander were headquartered during the Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-1779.  The tour will begin at the Van Horne House where guests will enjoy an overview of Middlebrook . Once guests are properly 'schooled' in the importance of the Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-1779, we will board the buses and head off to:  The Abraham Staats House, The Jacobus Vanderveer House, The Wallace House and the Van Veghten House, ending at the Van Horne House for refreshments in the tavern. Tours are limited to 22 people each tour.  Tours at 10:00 am, 12:00 noon,  1:00 pm, 2:00 pm, and 3:00 pm and last approximately 2.5 hours. Tours may be consolidated to fill available seating.  Bottled water will be provided upon check in.  Ti...