Weekend Historical Happenings: 7/26/14 - 7/27/14
WEEKEND HISTORICAL HAPPENINGS
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Friday - Saturday, July 25 - 26 - Paterson, Passaic County
Shakespeare at the Castle
Visit Lambert Castle on Friday and Saturday and you will find yourself in Elizabethan times. The Passaic County Historical Society will host ATC studio’s Summer Shakespeare Conservatory for two performances at Lambert Castle: Friday, July 25 at 7:00 pm in the Castle Atrium and Saturday, July 26 at 5:00 pm on the Castle lawn. The production features "Selections, Scenes, Music & Mayhem" from a vast assortment of Shakespeare's plays. The performance will last less than an hour and a half.
For the Gallery performance on Friday, tickets are $10 general admission. There is limited seating. Call 862-243-ATCS (2827) for reservations. The Lawn performance on Saturday is FREE; donations gratefully accepted. Royalty Seating (Reserved Prime Lawn Space) is $10.00.
If you are attending the lawn performance, please bring beach chairs, lawn chairs or a blanket.
Lambert Castle, home to the Passaic County Historical Society, is located at 3 Valley Road, Paterson, NJ. For more information, call 973-247-0085 or visit www.lambertcastle.org.
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Friday - Sunday, July 25 - 27 - Wantage, Sussex County
Christmas in July
Children Friendly
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Christmas in July is an annual event to make history come alive in Sussex County at the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum, a little-known treasure in Sussex County! This event is an annual "open house" and also the Chinkchewunska Chapter of the DAR's main fundraiser to help maintain the museum. This historic house, listed on both the State and National Registers, will be decorated for Christmas by the Chapter's members and open for complimentary tours by period-costumed docents. The house is a wonderful example of a Dutch Colonial style home circa 1787, filled with original pieces from the Van Bunschooten and Cooper families, as well as many items of local historical interest. This is the Chinkchewunska Chapter's 43rd year of owning the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum! The event will run from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm all three days.
The weekend features:
* A complimentary tour
* Period costumes and uniforms
* Attic treasures for sale
* Silent auction
* Demonstrations
* Reenactors
* Various Vendors
* Crafters
* Food ...and MORE!
EVERYDAY EVENTS! Complimentary tours of the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum. CAR (Children of the American Revolution) will be present to give tours of the historic Ice House/Milk Room and Privy! Lunch will be available for purchase from the Chapter's "Café Elias"; hot dogs, hamburgers/cheeseburgers, various side salads, chips, drinks, etc. Attic treasures sale will offer bargains galore! Silent auction with many great items to bid on every day! The Museum Gift shop will be open each day to purchase memorabilia, books, and crafts.
The Lost Art Lacers of North Jersey will be making beautiful, intricate designs of bobbin lacing, tatting and more! Woodcarvers will be on hand all weekend carving and selling. Portrait Artist Laurie Harden will be doing a demonstration and selling "10 minute portraits." The Elias Van Bunschooten Museum is located at 1097 Route 23, Wantage, NJ. For more information, visit the Elias Van Bunschooten Museum Web Site.
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Saturday, July 26 - Morristown, Morris County
Soldier's Knapsack
Children FriendlyWhat items would a Continental Army soldier carry to help him to fight, eat, and pass the time? Join a park ranger at the Wick House to discover what things were so important to soldiers that they carried them throughout their service in the American Revolution. Programs runs from 11:00 am - 12:00 noon and 1:30 - 4:00 pm at the Wick House at Jockey Hollow within Morristown National Historical Park, Morristown, NJ. Cost: Free. For more information, call 973-543-4030 or visit www.nps.gov/morr.
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Saturday, July 26 - Hopewell Township, Mercer County
Horse-drawn Hayrides
Children Friendly
The Mercer County Park Commission will offer free Saturday evening hayrides at Howell Living History Farm on Saturday from 5:00 - 8:00 pm. The horse-drawn rides last 20 minutes, carrying visitors over the lanes of the 130 acre working farm, located in Hopewell Township.
During the program, visitors can also take self-guided tours, picnic in the picnic area and join a marshmallow roast.
Rides will leave the barnyard area every 25 minutes beginning at 5:10 pm, with the last ride departing at 8:00 pm. Rides will be given on a first come, first serve basis to the first 200 visitors. Rides are intended for individual and family participation; groups cannot be accommodated.
A wheelchair accessible wagon is also available. Individuals who would like to ride on this wagon should call 609-737-3299 in advance and ask for Kathy. The wagon is horse-drawn. On the dates when evening hayrides are offered, the Farm will be closed during the day.
Howell Living History Farm represents typical farm life between 1890 and 1910. The farm is operated by the Mercer County Parks Commission. It is located at 70 Wooden's Lane, Lambertville, NJ. For more information. call 609-737-3299 or visit www.howellfarm.org.
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Saturdays, July 26 and August 2 - Trenton, Mercer County
Summer "Taptoe" Concert Series
Two enchanting evenings of music, refreshments, and living history await you at the Old Barracks Museum's Summer Taptoe Concert Series on Saturdays July 26 and August 2. Be enveloped by the sounds of the Fifes and Drums of the Old Barracks as they signal to the taverns of Trenton to close the taps and send the soldiers back to their barracks while you relax with refreshments on our balconies or spread a blanket in the grass surrounding the parade ground. With the talented musicians of the Fife and Drums of The Old Barracks performing the unforgettable music from "The Last of the Mohicans," this is one musical experience you will not want to miss. The grounds open at 7:00 pm and the music starts at 8:00 pm.
Tickets: Non-member rates: $25 for reserved balcony seating (including refreshments) and $10 for lawn seating. Member rates: $15 for reserved balcony seating (including refreshments) and $5 for lawn seating. The Old Barracks are located at 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 609-396-1776 or visit the Quartermaster's Store. www.barracks.org
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On this guided tour, discover the life of the domestic help at the Foster home, known as The Willows at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm. Help the maid with household chores and see what the cook has prepared using the wood stove. Program runs from 1:00 - 2:00 pm. Admission: $6/adult, $5/senior (65+), $4/child (ages 4 -16), $2/child (2 and 3). FREE for children under age 2 and Friends members, with a current membership card. Fosterfields Living Historical Farm is located at 73 Kahdena Road, Morristown, NJ. For more information, visit www.morrisparks.net.
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This weekend, enjoy an interactive program at the Cooper Grist Mill reminiscent of musical events performed in Milltown over a century ago. Children can play fiddlesticks and animate dancing puppets called limber jacks. Admission is free but donations are gladly accepted. The Cooper Gristmill is located at 66 Route 513, Chester, NJ. For more information, call 908-879-5463 or visit www.morrisparks.net.
In keeping with the tradition of the Roebling Company and fine automobile manufacturing, the Roebling Museum will host its Fifth Annual Car Show on Saturday, from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm. It is open to all cars and trucks. It will be a day full of food and fun for the whole family! Rain date is Sunday, July 27, 2013. Spectator admission: $5.00; Children Under 12 Free. For more information, call 609-499-7200 or visit www.roeblingmuseum.org.
Tickets: Non-member rates: $25 for reserved balcony seating (including refreshments) and $10 for lawn seating. Member rates: $15 for reserved balcony seating (including refreshments) and $5 for lawn seating. The Old Barracks are located at 101 Barrack Street, Trenton, NJ. For more information and to purchase tickets, call 609-396-1776 or visit the Quartermaster's Store. www.barracks.org
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Saturday, July 26 - Morris Township, Morris County
Meet the Irish Servant and Cook at the Willows
Children Friendly
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Saturday, July 26 - Batsto, Burlington County
The Sea Dogs at Batsto Village
Children Friendly
On Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, the Sea Dogs will be coming ashore at Batsto Village. The Sea Dogs are a pirate/privateer reenactment group that speak of adventures on the high seas during the American Revolution. Their encampment will consist of displays and demonstrations, as well as musical performances of the time.
Admission to the event is free but a $5 per vehicle parking fee is in effect. Batsto Village is located in the Pinelands of Burlington County, South Jersey approximately seven miles east of Hammonton on Route 542 and 15 miles west of Exit 50 of the Garden State Parkway. For more information, visit www.batstovillage.org.
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Saturday, July 26 - Chester, Morris County
19th Century Music
Children Friendly
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Saturday, July 26 - Roebling, Burlington County
5th Annual Car Show
Children Friendly
Children Friendly
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Saturday - Sunday, July 26 - 27 - Cape May, Cape May County
Railroad Days
Children Friendly
In the Village Welcome Center, under the Friends’ Pavilion and along the Village’s shady lanes, visitors will find presentations and displays from a variety of groups. On display in the Welcome Center will be the Strasburg Model Railroad Club’s display of the Pennsylvania-Reading Seashore Lines HO scale layout. Near the Ice Cream Parlor, guests can see the South Jersey Garden Railroad Society’s G-scale railroad, as well as a display honoring every child’s favorite tank engine. Additional groups, including the Atlantic County 4-H Club and Just for Fun, will exhibit a variety of models and landscapes. At 1:30 pm in the Welcome Center on both Saturday and Sunday, Jim Stephens, HCSV Deputy Director of Education and Interpretation, will present a talk on Richard Trevithick, the little known inventor of the modern steam locomotive. Children can enjoy free toy train rides around the Village on Saturday from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm, departing behind the Welcome Center. The Family Activity Area will feature special event-themed children’s take-home crafts.
Historic Cold Spring Village is a non-profit, open-air living history museum that portrays the daily life of a rural South Jersey community of the Early American period. It features 26 restored historic structures on a 30-acre site. From late June to early September, interpreters and artisans in period clothing preserve the trades, crafts and heritage of “the age of homespun.”
Historic Cold Spring Village is located at 720 Route 9, three miles north of Cape May City and four miles south of Rio Grande. Admission during the season is $10 for adults and $8 for children ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with Village membership. As a member of the national Blue Star Museums program, Historic Cold Spring Village is proud to offer free admission to active duty military personnel and up to 5 family members. The Village Nature Trail at Bradner's Run is open to the public for free self-guided tours. For more information, call 609-898-2300, ext. 18 or visit www.hcsv.org.
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Sunday, July 27 - Lambertville, Hunterdon County
Holcombe-Jimison Festival of Farming
Family Friendly
On Sunday, visit the Holcombe-Jimison Festival of Farming from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. There will be crafters demonstrating the everyday skills of the 1700 - 1800s including blacksmithing, basket-making, colonial cooking, flax breaking, rug hooking, the lost art of lace making, hand quilting, wool spinning at the wheel, chair caning, bee keeping, coopering buckets, rope twisting, and a herb garden display.
Children's Events will include hoops and graces, quill pen writing, a petting zoo, and ice cream making. There will be a draft horse field exhibition, weather permitting, from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm. Watch field mowing, visit the open stable area, and take "Big Pony" Draft Horse Rides. Admission is free to the craft areas. The Holcombe-Jimison Farmstead Museum is located at 1605 Daniel Bray Highway (Route 29), just north of Lambertville, NJ. For more information, call 609-397-2752 or visit www.holcombe-jimison.org.
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Sunday, July 27 - Ho-Ho-Kus, Bergen County
Play Day at the Hermitage
Children Friendly
Children Friendly
On Sunday, the Hermitage National Historic Landmark will be hosting "Play Day at the Hermitage" from 1:00 - 5:00 pm. The event will allow children of all ages to play some games that are not necessarily played by children today. There will be l
ive music from 2:00 - 4:00 pm by "Mountain Laurel"!
A sampling of scheduled activities include badminton, volleyball, miniature golf (new this year!), croquet, sack and spoon races, and a scavenger hunt. There will also be a variety of crafts that children can make, sing-alongs, checkers and chess. Children and family members can all participate!
Refreshments will be available. The Hermitage Museum will also be open for tours. This event will be held rain or shine. Admission is $3 for children twelve and under and $7 for adults thirteen and up. The Hermitage is located at 335 North Franklin Turnpike in Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ. For more information, call 201-445-8311 ext. 103 or visit www.thehermitage.org.
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Sunday, July 27 - Morristown, Morris County
Civilian Conservation Corps. Hike
Children Friendly
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Sunday, July 27 - Morristown, Morris County
Mipso Summer Concert
For the final concert in the series Mipso travels to Morristown to perform their combination of Americana, indie and folk music on Sunday. The renegade traditionalists of Mipso - Jacob Sharp on mandolin, Joseph Terrell on guitar, and Wood Robinson on double bass - are doing their part to take three-part harmony and Appalachian influences into new territory. Formed in Chapel Hill in 2010, the three North Carolina songwriters of Mipso have wandered off the path blazed by Earl Scruggs and Doc Watson to find a new clearing for their southern string band sound. Mipso has become known for sly original lyrics as much as a distinctive sound. Now, after a whirlwind tour through Japan's bustling bluegrass scene and a host of sold-out shows across North Carolina, Jacob, Joseph, and Wood are making the happy adjustment from local favorites to global emissaries for their decidedly new string band sound.
The Summer Concerts in the Garden series takes place on Sundays in July at 4:00 pm. Tickets for each concert will go on sale beginning at 1:00 pm on the day of the performance - no advance sales. Concert tickets are $15; $10 for members, seniors, students. Free for children under 12. On concert days the Museum building is open 1:00 - 4:00pm. A special $5 Museum admission ticket can be purchased during the afternoon by concert ticket purchasers. The last guided tour is at 3:00 pm and the galleries remain open until 4:00 pm. Concert goers should bring blankets or chairs as there is no seating is available. Only service animals permitted, so please leave your pets at home. In the case of inclement weather the performance will be moved indoors (limited seating). The announcement will be made on Museum voicemail by 12:00 noon.
Macculloch Hall Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families, the Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd through its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural programs. The Museum is open for house and exhibit tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The last tour leaves at 3:00 pm. Adults $8; Seniors & Students $6; Children 6 - 12 $4. Members and children under 5 are free. For more information, call 973-538-2404 ext. 10 or visit www.maccullochhall.org. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is located at 45 Macculloch Avenue, Morristown, NJ.
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Mipso Summer Concert
The Summer Concerts in the Garden series takes place on Sundays in July at 4:00 pm. Tickets for each concert will go on sale beginning at 1:00 pm on the day of the performance - no advance sales. Concert tickets are $15; $10 for members, seniors, students. Free for children under 12. On concert days the Museum building is open 1:00 - 4:00pm. A special $5 Museum admission ticket can be purchased during the afternoon by concert ticket purchasers. The last guided tour is at 3:00 pm and the galleries remain open until 4:00 pm. Concert goers should bring blankets or chairs as there is no seating is available. Only service animals permitted, so please leave your pets at home. In the case of inclement weather the performance will be moved indoors (limited seating). The announcement will be made on Museum voicemail by 12:00 noon.
Macculloch Hall Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families, the Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd through its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural programs. The Museum is open for house and exhibit tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The last tour leaves at 3:00 pm. Adults $8; Seniors & Students $6; Children 6 - 12 $4. Members and children under 5 are free. For more information, call 973-538-2404 ext. 10 or visit www.maccullochhall.org. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum is located at 45 Macculloch Avenue, Morristown, NJ.
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Sunday, July 27 - Paterson, Passaic County
Blue Valley-Original Music and Acoustic Rock Covers
On Sunday at 5:00 pm, Blue Valley will present Blue Valley-Original Music and Acoustic Rock Covers at Lambert Castle. Blue Valley is a Clifton-based, acoustic rock band that has played in various configurations for the past five years. Their music centers on vocal harmonies, and memorable melodies and lyrics, and draws from the broad range of artists whose music they cover in their live performances. Admission to the concert is $15. Seating is limited and no reservations will be taken. This performance is a part of the 2014 Lambert Castle Concert Series. Featuring local musicians and a variety of musical genres, all concerts are performed in the beautiful atmosphere that is Lambert Castle.
Lambert Castle, home to the Passaic County Historical Society, is located at 3 Valley Road, Paterson, NJ. For more information, call 973-247-0085 or visit www.lambertcastle.org.
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Sunday, July 27 - Bedminster, Somerset County
Can You Dig It? Children's Archaeology Event
Children Friendly
On Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm, children can learn about archaeology and take part in a simulated archaeological dig at the Jacobus Vanderveer House with archaeologists from Hunter Research. Attendees will have an opportunity to tour the house, get an archaeology lesson, participate in a real dig on site at the house, view some of the artifacts already found on the property, and learn about the other buildings that once stood on the Vanderveer homestead. Tailored for 6th - 8th graders, the program will be held rain or shine, and participants are encouraged to bring their own lunch.
Admission to the archaeology dig is $20 per child and space is limited to 15 participants. The Jacobus Vanderveer House is located at 3055 River Road (in Bedminster’s River Road Park), Bedminster, NJ. For more information and to register for the program, call 908-396-6053 or visit www.jvanderveerhouse.org.
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Sunday, July 27 - West Orange, Essex County
Reimagined Kinetoscopes
Working in the same way that Edison did in the late 1800s, we will capture short sequences on black and white reversal film stock. Capture your sneeze, perform a dance, or simply wave at the camera. All the films will be processed on-site and presented at a special screening that will take place at 4:00 pm. After the screening, the films will be scanned and transferred to HD by DiJiFi for you to share with friends and family online. During the workshop cinema arts non-profit MONO NO AWARE will introduce the celluloid film format created in 1889 by George Eastman that allowed Thomas Alva Edison to develop the motion picture camera in 1891. Their partnership gave way to the birth of motion pictures in America.
MONO NO AWARE is a cinema arts non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, New York. The group organizes an annual festival presenting films on celluloid film only. Throughout the year they host traveling filmmakers in a screenings series CONNECTIVITY THROUGH CINEMA with the presenting filmmakers in person for conversation with the audience. MONO NO AWARE rents traditional filmmaking equipment to the public, and leads educational initiatives year round that teach analogue filmmaking techniques with the support of other local film organizations.
The program is included with regular admission, but reservations are required. To place a reservation, call 973-736-0550 ext. 89. Tickets for admission to the park must be purchased at the Thomas Edison National Historical Park Laboratory Complex Visitor Center at 211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ. Admission is $7.00, and includes the Glenmont Estate and the Laboratory Complex. Children under age 16 are free. For more information, call 973-736-0550 x11 or visit www.nps.gov/edis.
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Grounds and Garden Tour
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Saturdays and Sundays through July 27, 2014 - Ridgewood, Bergen County
A Community's Journey: Our Place in New Jersey History
The Liberty collection highlights uniforms and other war-time memorabilia while the Innovation collection chronicles the history of performing arts in the village including items from the Ridgewood Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company, such as a silk wedding kimono worn by Yum Yum in the "Mikado." Also on display are items owned by Ridgewood magician Harry Rouclere. Especially noteworthy is the Diversity collection which tells the story of the African American, Jewish, Irish, and Korean communities through personal artifacts.
The museum is open Thursdays and Saturdays from 1:00 - 3:00 and Sundays 2:00 - 4:00. The Schoolhouse Museum is located at 650 East Glen Avenue in Ridgewood, NJ. For more information, call 201-447-3242 or visit www.ridgewoodhistoricalsociety.org.
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Sundays through August 30, 2014 - Cranbury, Middlesex County
"At Long Last...Summer" Exhibit
The Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society is bringing a bit of the seashore to its museum in Cranbury. After a harsh winter, the society is happy to present a new exhibit at the Cranbury Museum, entitled, "At Long Last...Summer." Featuring treasures of the sea and seashore, the exhibit includes oil paintings, watercolors, a rare sea glass collection, antique whale bone, shells, Sailor valentines, ephemera, and vintage toys and souvenirs. The exhibit will continue through August 30, 2014. Celebrate summer and join us on Sunday afternoons from 1:00 - 4:00 pm, to view the exhibit! The Cranbury Museum is located at 4 Park Place East, Cranbury. For more information, visit www.cranburyhistory.org.
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Through August 23, 2014 - Haledon, Passaic County
"The Mill Girls" Exhibit
The American Labor Museum/Botto House National Landmark in Haledon, NJ proudly opens the exhibit "The Mill Girls," a unique three-dimensional display that showcases images of three mill girls on large-scale replicas of the wooden bobbins used in early textile mills, by visual artist Donna Berger. The exhibit will be on view through August 23, 2014.
The Botto House National Landmark, home of the American Labor Museum, is located at 83 Norwood Street, Haledon, NJ. It was the meeting place for over 20,000 silk mill workers during the 1913 Paterson Silk Strike. The Museum's hours of operation are Monday through Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm. Tours are offered Wednesday through Saturday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm and by appointment. For more information, call 973-595-7953, visit www.labormuseum.net, or e-mail labormuseum@aol.com.
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Through August, 2014 - Lyndhurst, Bergen County
Let's Play! An Exhibit of Beloved Toys
Children Friendly
The exhibit is free and open to the public, though a small donation to the Society would be appreciated. The Little Red Schoolhouse Museum is open on the second and fourth Sundays of every month from 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. The Lyndhurst Historical Society was established in 1984 in an effort to preserve the 1893 schoolhouse, located at 400 Riverside Avenue, Lyndhurst, NJ. For more information, call 201-804-2513 (leave a message) or visit www.lyndhursthistoricalsociety.org.
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Through Sunday, September 14, 2014 - Princeton, Mercer County
Micah Williams: Portrait Artist Exhibition
The exhibition will also debut Morven's newest acquisition: a pastel portrait of Commodore Robert Field Stockton (1795-1866) completed by Micah Williams around 1821. Stockton was a third-generation resident of Morven, head the Pacific Fleet and a U.S. Senator. With this exhibition, the portrait makes its return to the walls at Morven. "Micah Williams: Portrait Artist" exhibition will be on display at Morven through September 14, 2014.
Morven Museum & Garden is a museum and public garden located at 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, NJ. A National Historic Landmark, Morven was the home to Richard Stockton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, as well as the former Governor's mansion of New Jersey. Public Hours: Wednesday - Friday 11:00 am - 3:00 pm; Saturday and Sunday 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm. For more information, call 609-924-8144 or visit www.morven.org.
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Through Sunday, October 12, 2014 - Trenton, Mercer County
"Before There Was Trenton" Exhibit
This year New Jersey observes the 350th Anniversary of its political establishment in 1664. To commemorate the event, the Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie in Cadwalader Park is hosting a display of items related to the mid-1600s - before there was a place called Trent's-town. "Before There Was Trenton," on view through October 12, 2014 is curated by Trenton Museum Society Trustee David Bosted and son Nicholas Bosted. A formal lecture, "Before There Was Trenton" will be given by the curators on Sunday October 12, at 2:00 pm, on the last day of the display.
Prior to 1664, New Netherland was a colony founded by the Dutch on the east coast of North America. The Dutch colony extended from Hartford, CT in the east to Albany, New York, in the north to Delaware in the south, encompassing parts of what are now the states of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut and Delaware. The New Netherland colony included three major Rivers: Nord (North River, now the Hudson River), Sud (South River, now the Delaware River) and the Versche (Fresh) River (now the Connecticut River). The English wrested control of the colony from the Dutch in 1664, turning its capital, New Amsterdam, into New York City.
The Dutch colonial efforts were mostly directed toward trade with Native Americans. However, their permanent settlements in some cases caused conflict with native peoples as well as with several other European powers, especially England, Sweden and France.
Beaver pelts were especially sought after for the fur trade. Marten, fox, otter and mink were also bartered. In 1624 (the year New Amsterdam was first settled), Dutch settlers shipped 1,500 beaver and 500 otter skins to Europe. Thereafter, the fur trade grew enormously under the Dutch. Fort Orange (now Albany) and New Amsterdam (now New York City) were the centers of the fur trade, reaching deep into the Lenni Lenape and Mohawk tribal territory, and promoting contact between the Dutch and the Native peoples.
"Before There Was Trenton" recalls that early period of exploration, contact and settlement. Among the items on display are items highly valued in the fur trade: hand-forged trade axes, knives and other metal tools; easily transportable and popular trading commodities like the red "white heart" glass trade beads made in Venice; objects reflecting Dutch nautical exploration and the fur trade; and Lenni Lenape stone tools from the Delaware Valley as well as early agricultural items. Tobacco, another highly desirable trade commodity, is represented in the display by early tobacco pipes. Because tobacco was so expensive, the 17th century pipe bowls were small, holding only a pinch of tobacco.
The Trenton City Museum at Ellarslie is located in Cadwalader Park in Trenton, NJ. For more information about the exhibit or the talk, call 609-989-1191, e-mail tms@ellarslie.org, or visit www.ellarslie.org.
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Through October 31, 2014 - Trenton, Mercer County
Trenton's Old Barracks Museum Shows Iron Art
The Old Barracks Museum will feature the sculpture of AbOminOg Intl. Arts Collective in an exhibit entitled "Founding the Future: A Continuum of Iron Casting in Trenton with AbOminOg Intl. Arts Collective." The exhibit will run from April 26 to October 31, 2014.The Old Barracks Museum is pleased to feature the metal sculpture of members of one of Trenton's illustrious artist collectives in an exhibit entitled, "Founding the Future: A Continuum of Iron Casting in Trenton with AbOminOg Intl. Arts Collective." Exhibiting artists include Kate Graves, Aylin Green, Bruce Lindsay, Rory Mahon, Steve Morse, Joanna Platt, Matt Reiley, David Robinson and Scot Thompson.
This outdoor exhibit is part of the statewide celebrations of the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Jersey by representing the connection between the history that the Old Barracks Museum interprets and AbOminOg Intl.'s focus on the revolutionary industrial material of iron. As the first art installation at the Old Barracks, it will allow the visiting public a new perspective on the relationship between the past and the present in the formation of the future.
The Old Barracks Museum is adjacent to Petty's Run, site of the only excavated Colonial steel furnace in America. Trenton's history of industry, manufacturing and self-reliance is reflected in the AbOminOg Intl. model of collaboration through sweat equity, upcycling crushed iron scrap into sculpture. The essence of the artist collective's cause- to teach and facilitate artists of diverse backgrounds, age groups and skill levels in the creation of cast-metal sculptural artworks within an inspiring, supportive and sustainable setting while positively affecting the community and the art world at large- has remained the same since their inaugural iron pour in a Trenton backyard on December 31, 1999. The Old Barracks Museum is located at 101 Barracks Street, Trenton, NJ. For more information, call 609-396-1776 or visit www.barracks.org.
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Through December 29, 2014 - Woodbury, Gloucester County
Be Prepared: Scouts of Yesteryear
Children Friendly
The Gloucester County Historical Society Museum hours are Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays from 1:00 - 4:00 pm and the last Sunday of the month from 2:00 - 5:00 pm. Adult admission $5; children 6-18 years $1; children under 6 free. The Gloucester County Historical Society Museum is located at 58 North Broad Street, Woodbury, NJ. For more information, call 856-848-8531 or visit www.rootsweb.com/~njgchs.
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Through February 13, 2015 - Madison, Morris County
The American Revolution in New Jersey
Children Friendly
Regular Museum admission is $5.00 for adults, $3.00 for seniors, students & children (ages 6 and older), and free for members and children under 6. Family maximum admission $13.00. The Museum is open Tuesday - Saturday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm and Sunday from 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm. The Museum of Early Trades & Crafts is located at 9 Main Street in Madison, NJ just two blocks from the Madison train station. For more information, please call 973-377-2982 x10 or visit www.metc.org.
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1st and 2nd Sundays through June 2015 - Ocean Township, Monmouth County
The History of Houses and the Things That Make Them Home
The exhibit examines the influences on the design and content of the American home - from the traditions early settlers brought with them, to the availability of materials, to the transforming power of technology. It takes guests on a virtual house tour, revealing room by room how things have changed and how those changes have shaped our lives.
What is home? It's where the heart is and there's no place like it. Beyond shelter, our homes express our tastes, values, and social status. Our neighborhoods abound with homes that illustrate the point, and the new exhibit asks us to see our familiar surroundings in a new light. It reveals the lineage of familiar house styles--colonial, neoclassical, Victorian, and modern, for example. It explains that the colonists of the new world built houses in the style of the old. That the founding fathers, all men of the Enlightenment, adapted the designs of Greeks and Romans whose rationality they admired. That the clutter and ornamentation of the Victorians expressed their fascination with goods made possible by the Industrial Revolution and made available by the railroads. And that twentieth century architects rejected Victorian fussiness in favor of designs that challenged old assumptions and took advantage of new technologies and building techniques.
House design is just the beginning. The exhibit takes us inside, room by room. For all but the rich, our earliest homes were one-room dwellings. The very concept of a single-purpose room (living, dining, bathing, etc.) is relatively new. And even in early multiple-room houses, people moved from room to room more in pursuit of sunlight and warmth than specific activity. In effect, all rooms were "living rooms."
Revolutionary new technologies - indoor plumbing, central heating, and electric light, in particular - made room specialization practical. The bathroom, bedchamber, dining room, library, and parlor emerged as distinct spaces in ways that both reflect and influence life style.
Take the living room (aka parlor, drawing room, sitting room, and salon). It has come full circle. As parlor, it was a room often reserved to receive visitors. In time, it became the place where the family "withdrew" to gather around the piano - later the radio and then television. Today, the "great room" has assumed that role and in many homes, the living room is again a more formal space reserved for entertaining guests.
The exhibit makes that case that every house has a story, every room has a history. "The History of Houses and the Things that Make Them Home" will be up through June 2015. The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is open to the public on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays (1:00 - 4:00 pm), Thursday evenings (7:00 - 9:00 pm) and the first and second Sundays of each month (1:00 - 4:00 pm). The Township of Ocean Historical Museum is located at 703 Deal Road, Ocean, NJ. For more information, please call 732-531-2136 or visit www.oceanmuseum.org.
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Some event listings courtesy of the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey
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