NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 8/26/17 - 8/27/17
New Jersey Weekend Historical Happenings
A Weekly Feature on www.thehistorygirl.com
Want to submit an event? Use our event submission form.
Saturday, August 26 - Morristown, Morris County
The Many Faces of George Washington
Children Friendly Event
George Washington was the “poster boy” of the late 18th century. Everyone wanted a copy of his image. Learn how Washington’s image became an icon while viewing busts and paintings of Washington on a gallery tour of the museum.
This program will be held at the Washington Headquarters Museum Building, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ. This program begins at 1:30 pm. Admission to the program is included in the $7 entrance fee. No reservations necessary. For more information, call 973-539-2016 x 204 or visit www.nps.gov/morr.
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The Many Faces of George Washington
Children Friendly Event
George Washington was the “poster boy” of the late 18th century. Everyone wanted a copy of his image. Learn how Washington’s image became an icon while viewing busts and paintings of Washington on a gallery tour of the museum.
This program will be held at the Washington Headquarters Museum Building, 30 Washington Place, Morristown, NJ. This program begins at 1:30 pm. Admission to the program is included in the $7 entrance fee. No reservations necessary. For more information, call 973-539-2016 x 204 or visit www.nps.gov/morr.
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Saturday, August 26 - Byram Township, Sussex County
Waterloo Canal Heritage Day
Children Friendly Event
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Come visit Waterloo Village between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm for a day in this historic Morris Canal town. Enjoy boat rides on the Morris Canal, Smith's Store - a furnished canal-era store with hands-on activities, blacksmithing, see the operating gristmill, seamstress shop, carpenter's shop, take guided tours of 1859 Methodist Church, the Canal Museum - with exhibits and videos, and guided walking tours of the village. Admission is free but there is a $5 per car parking fee. Waterloo Village is located at 525 Waterloo Road, Byram, NJ. For more information, call 973-292-2755 or visit www.canalsocietynj.org.
Waterloo Canal Heritage Day
Children Friendly Event
Come visit Waterloo Village between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm for a day in this historic Morris Canal town. Enjoy boat rides on the Morris Canal, Smith's Store - a furnished canal-era store with hands-on activities, blacksmithing, see the operating gristmill, seamstress shop, carpenter's shop, take guided tours of 1859 Methodist Church, the Canal Museum - with exhibits and videos, and guided walking tours of the village. Admission is free but there is a $5 per car parking fee. Waterloo Village is located at 525 Waterloo Road, Byram, NJ. For more information, call 973-292-2755 or visit www.canalsocietynj.org.
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Saturday, August 26 - Chester, Morris County
Industrial Crafts Day
Children Friendly Site
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On Saturday, from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm, discover early industrial crafts, with demonstrations by a blacksmith, a tinsmith, tin piercers, weavers, and spinners. Crafters have items for sale. Cost: $3/adult, $2/senior (65+), $1/age 4 - 16 and FREE/under age 4. The Cooper Gristmill is located at 66 Route 513, Chester, NJ. For more information, call 908-879-5463 or visit www.morrisparks.net.
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Saturday, August 26 - Chester, Morris County
Industrial Crafts Day
Children Friendly Site
On Saturday, from 12:00 noon - 4:00 pm, discover early industrial crafts, with demonstrations by a blacksmith, a tinsmith, tin piercers, weavers, and spinners. Crafters have items for sale. Cost: $3/adult, $2/senior (65+), $1/age 4 - 16 and FREE/under age 4. The Cooper Gristmill is located at 66 Route 513, Chester, NJ. For more information, call 908-879-5463 or visit www.morrisparks.net.-----------------------------------
Saturday, August 26 - Morristown, Morris County
Tinker, Thinker, Inventor, Innovator
Throughout his life, Stephen Vail was an incessant tinkerer. Everything from the machinery in his factory to the mechanization of the Vail Homestead were things to improve. Join us on Saturday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at Historic Speedwell as we talk about the innovations of the early industrial revolution and how Stephen improved on old designs and blazed new ground on others. From early steam engines to farm equipment, everything is on the table. Admission: $7/adult, $6/senior (65+), $5/child (ages 4 -16). FREE for children under age 4 and Friends members, with a current membership card. Historic Speedwell is located 333 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown, NJ. For more information, call 973-285-6550 or visit www.morrisparks.net.
Tinker, Thinker, Inventor, Innovator
Throughout his life, Stephen Vail was an incessant tinkerer. Everything from the machinery in his factory to the mechanization of the Vail Homestead were things to improve. Join us on Saturday from 2:00 - 4:00 pm at Historic Speedwell as we talk about the innovations of the early industrial revolution and how Stephen improved on old designs and blazed new ground on others. From early steam engines to farm equipment, everything is on the table. Admission: $7/adult, $6/senior (65+), $5/child (ages 4 -16). FREE for children under age 4 and Friends members, with a current membership card. Historic Speedwell is located 333 Speedwell Avenue, Morristown, NJ. For more information, call 973-285-6550 or visit www.morrisparks.net.
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Saturday, August 26 - Morristown, Morris County
Meet the Irish Servant and the Cook at the Willows
Children Friendly Event & Site
On Saturday at Fosterfields Living Historical Farm, discover the life of domestic help at the Foster home on a guided tour. Assist the maid with household chores and see what the cook has prepared using the wood-burning stove. Two tours times available: 1:00 - 2:00 pm and 2:00 - 3:00 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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Saturday, August 26 - Hopewell Township, Mercer County
Fiddlin’ on the Farm
Children Friendly Event and Site
The Hunterdon Folk Exchange will join with the Friends of Howell Living History Farm to present their 29th annual fiddle contest at the farm on Saturday. The Folk Exchange Fiddle Contest is the largest and longest running traditional fiddle contest in New Jersey, and annually draws some of the best fiddlers from throughout the tri-state region.
Howell Living History Farm, a 19th century farmstead nestled in a lush valley, is the ideal setting for an old time traditional fiddle contest. The farm is maintained by the Mercer County Park Commission using farming practices and technology in existence at the turn of the (last) century. The music of the fiddle finds a natural home here, having been the favorite instrument at rural dances and social gatherings through much of our nation’s early history.
The Friends of Howell Living History Farm is a volunteer organization that exists to support and promote the farm and its programs. The Hunterdon Folk Exchange is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote traditional folk music in the west-central Jersey area.
Fiddlers will be competing for cash prizes. Each fiddler will perform two old-time tunes of varying tempos, and may use up to two accompanists. Also performing at the contest will be the Jugtown Mountain String Band, a traditional old-time acoustic country string band.
Howell Living 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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Saturday, August 26 - Newark, Essex County
Risking Life and Lens: A Photographic Memoir
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Saturday - Sunday, August 26 - 27 - Sandy Hook, Monmouth County
Mortar Battery and Nine Gun Battery Tours
Children Friendly Tours
Experience history at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area with a tour of two historic gun batteries. Tours at each site run throughout the day from 1:30 - 4:30 pm.
Join a ranger guided tour of the Mortar Battery and learn about the battery designed to mount sixteen 12-inch caliber, breech loading, rifled mortars used for the turn-of-the-century coastal defense of New York Harbor.
When construction began in 1897, Nine Gun Battery was originally intended to mount three 10-inch caliber disappearing guns. When construction was completed in 1902, an additional six 12-inch caliber disappearing guns were emplaced creating a nine gun battery that operated until 1944.
Mortar Battery and Nine Gun Battery are located within historic Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. For the tour of Mortar Battery, tours will be across from Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Tours of Nine Gun Battery will meet at Parking Lot M. For more information, call 732-872-5970 or visit www.nps.gov/gate.
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Fiddlin’ on the Farm
Children Friendly Event and Site
The Hunterdon Folk Exchange will join with the Friends of Howell Living History Farm to present their 29th annual fiddle contest at the farm on Saturday. The Folk Exchange Fiddle Contest is the largest and longest running traditional fiddle contest in New Jersey, and annually draws some of the best fiddlers from throughout the tri-state region.Howell Living History Farm, a 19th century farmstead nestled in a lush valley, is the ideal setting for an old time traditional fiddle contest. The farm is maintained by the Mercer County Park Commission using farming practices and technology in existence at the turn of the (last) century. The music of the fiddle finds a natural home here, having been the favorite instrument at rural dances and social gatherings through much of our nation’s early history.
The Friends of Howell Living History Farm is a volunteer organization that exists to support and promote the farm and its programs. The Hunterdon Folk Exchange is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote traditional folk music in the west-central Jersey area.
Fiddlers will be competing for cash prizes. Each fiddler will perform two old-time tunes of varying tempos, and may use up to two accompanists. Also performing at the contest will be the Jugtown Mountain String Band, a traditional old-time acoustic country string band.
Howell Living 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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Saturday, August 26 - Newark, Essex County
Risking Life and Lens: A Photographic Memoir
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Saturday - Sunday, August 26 - 27 - Sandy Hook, Monmouth County
Mortar Battery and Nine Gun Battery Tours
Children Friendly Tours
Experience history at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area with a tour of two historic gun batteries. Tours at each site run throughout the day from 1:30 - 4:30 pm.
Join a ranger guided tour of the Mortar Battery and learn about the battery designed to mount sixteen 12-inch caliber, breech loading, rifled mortars used for the turn-of-the-century coastal defense of New York Harbor.
When construction began in 1897, Nine Gun Battery was originally intended to mount three 10-inch caliber disappearing guns. When construction was completed in 1902, an additional six 12-inch caliber disappearing guns were emplaced creating a nine gun battery that operated until 1944.
Mortar Battery and Nine Gun Battery are located within historic Fort Hancock at Sandy Hook, part of Gateway National Recreation Area. For the tour of Mortar Battery, tours will be across from Sandy Hook Lighthouse. Tours of Nine Gun Battery will meet at Parking Lot M. For more information, call 732-872-5970 or visit www.nps.gov/gate.
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Saturday - Sunday, August 26 - 27 - Cape May, Cape May County
Seafarers' Weekend at Historic Cold Spring Village
Children Friendly Event & Site
Ahoy, matey! Historic Cold Spring Village invites you to celebrate the maritime culture and history of the Jersey Cape at Seafarers' Weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:30 pm. The event will feature pirates, music, family fun, and a variety of displays and demonstrations of all things nautical. The Village buildings will also be open, featuring historical interpreters in period clothing who demonstrate the trades, crafts and lifestyles of Early America.
Valhalla's Pirates will join the event, bringing thrilling fight scenes both days at 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm. Captain Black and his crew will also meet with guests throughout the day to take pictures and tell tales of the sea. The Sea Dogs, an authentic maritime reenactment crew, will perform sea shanties on both Saturday and Sunday at the Village Gazebo.
Jersey Devil Productions will be back to dazzle and bewitch our visitors old and young alike with their fire dancing prowess. Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley will be in the Welcome Center spinning yarns about her sea loving ancestors.
Children should be on the lookout for gold coins hidden throughout the Village that can be redeemed for a free treat in the Country Store! Boatswain Laurence needs your help to locate a notorious pirate that was forced into hiding. Join in on the scavenger hunt to victoriously flush and bring the scurvy scoundrel to justice!
Historic Cold Spring Village is a nonprofit, 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." Fun and educational activities for children are featured Tuesday through Sunday, with special events every weekend through mid-September.
Historic Cold Spring Village is located on Route 9, three miles north of Victorian Cape May and a mile and a half west of the southern terminus of the Garden State Parkway. Admission during the season is $12 for adults and $10 for children ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with Village membership. 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. 10, or visit www.hcsv.org.
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Seafarers' Weekend at Historic Cold Spring Village
Children Friendly Event & Site
Ahoy, matey! Historic Cold Spring Village invites you to celebrate the maritime culture and history of the Jersey Cape at Seafarers' Weekend on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:30 pm. The event will feature pirates, music, family fun, and a variety of displays and demonstrations of all things nautical. The Village buildings will also be open, featuring historical interpreters in period clothing who demonstrate the trades, crafts and lifestyles of Early America.Valhalla's Pirates will join the event, bringing thrilling fight scenes both days at 12:00 noon and 3:00 pm. Captain Black and his crew will also meet with guests throughout the day to take pictures and tell tales of the sea. The Sea Dogs, an authentic maritime reenactment crew, will perform sea shanties on both Saturday and Sunday at the Village Gazebo.
Jersey Devil Productions will be back to dazzle and bewitch our visitors old and young alike with their fire dancing prowess. Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley will be in the Welcome Center spinning yarns about her sea loving ancestors.
Children should be on the lookout for gold coins hidden throughout the Village that can be redeemed for a free treat in the Country Store! Boatswain Laurence needs your help to locate a notorious pirate that was forced into hiding. Join in on the scavenger hunt to victoriously flush and bring the scurvy scoundrel to justice!
Historic Cold Spring Village is a nonprofit, 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." Fun and educational activities for children are featured Tuesday through Sunday, with special events every weekend through mid-September.
Historic Cold Spring Village is located on Route 9, three miles north of Victorian Cape May and a mile and a half west of the southern terminus of the Garden State Parkway. Admission during the season is $12 for adults and $10 for children ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with Village membership. 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. 10, or visit www.hcsv.org.
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Every Sunday through September 3 - Walpack Center, Sussex County
Rosenkrans House and Museum and Van Campen Inn - Open House
Visit the Rosenkrans House & Museum, one of the oldest buildings in Walpack Center. Volunteers from the Walpack Historical Society will be present to answer any questions you may have about the area and its history. The grounds at Walpack Center are open from dawn to dusk.
The open houses are made possible by volunteers from the Walpack Historical Society, and may be subject to their volunteer schedule. Call 973-948-4903 for any updates on their scheduled Sunday open hours. The Rosenkrans House & Museum and the Van Campen Inn are part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/dewa.
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Stroll at your leisure through Millbrook Village on Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. Several buildings will be open and staffed with rangers and volunteers demonstrating traditional skills and reminiscing about 1800's life in the village. By 1875, Millbrook had reached a peak of 75 inhabitants and about nineteen major buildings. Today's Millbrook Village does not replicate the Millbrook of 1832 or 1900. Rather, it evokes the feeling of countryside hamlets where most of the nation's people lived until the end of the 19th century. Please take a step back in time and see how things have (or haven't) changed! Millbrook Village is free to tour. Millbrook Village is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. Millbrook Village is located in Hardwick Township, NJ at the intersection of Old Mine Road and Millbrook Road, County Route 602N. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/dewa.
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Rosenkrans House and Museum and Van Campen Inn - Open House
Visit the Rosenkrans House & Museum, one of the oldest buildings in Walpack Center. Volunteers from the Walpack Historical Society will be present to answer any questions you may have about the area and its history. The grounds at Walpack Center are open from dawn to dusk.
The open houses are made possible by volunteers from the Walpack Historical Society, and may be subject to their volunteer schedule. Call 973-948-4903 for any updates on their scheduled Sunday open hours. The Rosenkrans House & Museum and the Van Campen Inn are part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/dewa.
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Every Sunday through September 3 - Hardwick, Warren County
1800's Village Life at Millbrook Village
1800's Village Life at Millbrook Village
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Sunday, August 27 - Fair Lawn, Bergen County
Garretson Forge and Farm Open House
Garretson Forge and Farm will hold an open house on Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The Gerretson, one of the oldest historic sites in Bergen County, was home to six generations of the Garretson family and remains a rare surviving example of simple farming life that was prevalent in the 1700s and 1800s. Admission is free but donations are welcome. The Forge and Farm are located at 4-02 River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ. For more information, call 551-206-4380 or 201-797-7545 or visit www.garretsonfarm.org.
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Garretson Forge and Farm Open House
Garretson Forge and Farm will hold an open house on Sunday from 1:00 - 4:00 pm. The Gerretson, one of the oldest historic sites in Bergen County, was home to six generations of the Garretson family and remains a rare surviving example of simple farming life that was prevalent in the 1700s and 1800s. Admission is free but donations are welcome. The Forge and Farm are located at 4-02 River Road, Fair Lawn, NJ. For more information, call 551-206-4380 or 201-797-7545 or visit www.garretsonfarm.org.
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