Beginner Rug Hooking Workshop at Jacobus Vanderveer House - March 26, 2017

Beginner Rug Hooking Workshop at Jacobus Vanderveer House
Sunday, March 26, 2017

If you’ve ever wanted to learn rug hooking, here’s your opportunity to get hooked! Cheryl Halliday, a member of the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild and an award-winning McGown-certified instructor, will introduce participants to the art and tradition of rug hooking, and help them create their own masterpiece. The workshop will be held from 1:00 - 4:00 pm at Bedminster’s historic Jacobus Vanderveer House, 3055 River Road, River Road Park, Bedminster, NJ. The museum will also be open to the public for tours during that time.

Pre-registration for the rug hooking workshop is required. Limited to 14 adults per class (ages 18 and older). $70 per person. Please register directly with Therese Shick, Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild at 908-735-7985 or etshick@gmail.com.

The Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild was founded in April 1977. It currently has over 130 members from nine states. The mission of the Guild is to perpetuate the tradition and art of rug hooking, to encourage creativity, to provide the means for an exchange of ideas and information and to promote educational activities to enhance the interest in rug hooking. Monthly meetings in Flemington, New Jersey offer programs for someone new to rug hooking as well as the seasoned artisan. Members have opportunities to participate in hooking demonstrations, rug exhibits, rug camps and “hook-ins”. A supportive environment is provided for those new to the craft and for those looking to refine their technique. For more information about the Hunterdon County Rug Artisans Guild, visit http://hcrag.com.

About The Jacobus Vanderveer House                                  

For more than two centuries, the Jacobus Vanderveer House, located in River Road Park, has been at the center of Bedminster Township’s rich and colorful history. It is situated on part of the 218 acres that make up River Road Park in Bedminster Township, Somerset County. 

Jacobus Vanderveer, Jr., son of Vanderveer, Sr., a wealthy Dutch miller, built a small Dutch frame-style farmhouse just west of the North Branch of the Raritan River on the northern outskirts of Pluckemin. In 1778, during the War of Independence, Vanderveer lent his home to General Henry Knox, who was to command a new artillery encampment and training academy being established by the Continental Army on a hillside above the village of Pluckemin. General Knox, along with his wife Lucy and family, occupied the house from the winter of 1778 through the summer of 1779.

The Vanderveer house is the only surviving building associated with the Pluckemin encampment, which is considered to be the first installation in America to train officers in engineering and artillery. General Knox established “The Academy” and subsequently created its successor, The United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.  

The Jacobus Vanderveer House and property were purchased by Bedminster Township in 1989 with the help of Green Acres funding. The house was listed in 1995 on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. The Friends of the Jacobus Vanderveer House is a nonprofit organization formed to restore and develop the historic site as an important educational and cultural resource. During the past decade, the Friends have restored the house, created historically accurate period room exhibitions, established historic collections, supported important research, and embarked on a program of education and interpretation to tell the stories of General Henry Knox, the Pluckemin military encampment and the community’s key role in the American Revolution.

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