NJ Weekend Historical Happenings: 1/6/18 - 1/7/18
New Jersey Weekend Historical Happenings
A Weekly Feature on www.thehistorygirl.com
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Every Friday - Sunday through January 7, 2018 - West Orange, Essex County
Holidays at Glenmont
Children Friendly
The sights and sounds of the season will greet visitors when they come to Thomas Edison's home in Llewellyn Park during "Holidays at Glenmont." Glenmont will be decorated much as it was while the Edison family lived there. Greenery and red poinsettias will deck the mantles above the fireplaces. Staircases will be ringed with boughs and red ribbon bows and wreaths will hang in every window. In the den, the majestic ten foot tree will be set and the presents underneath will be waiting as if the Edison children Madeleine, Theodore, and Charles, will soon come running down the stairs from their rooms - after they've checked their stockings in the upstairs living room! Family china will be displayed on the dining room table and the scene will be completed with holiday cards that were received by the family.
The Edison home, Glenmont, is located on a fifteen-acre estate in Llewellyn Park, the country's first private residential community. Built in 1880, the twenty-nine room mansion contains the original furnishings and family items used by the Edisons. The estate grounds include gardens, a greenhouse, barn, and the poured concrete garage containing the family's automobiles. Thomas and Mina Edison are buried on the grounds of the estate.
Car passes and tour tickets must be purchased at the Laboratory Complex Visitor Center at 211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ. Admission is $10.00 and includes the Glenmont Estate and the Laboratory Complex. Children 15 and under are free. For more information, call 973-736-0550 x11 or visit www.nps.gov/edis.
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Saturday, January 6 - Somerville, Somerset County
Twelfth Night Concert at the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage
Family Friendly Event
POSTPONED TO JANUARY 20, 2018
On Saturday beginning at 7:30 pm, balladeer Linda Russell will perform historic holiday music at the Old Dutch Parsonage historic site. Usher the new year in and celebrate like it’s 1778! For most American colonists, Christmas Day was not a major holiday. But over the course of the following twelve days, leading up to Twelfth Night on January 6th, there were great feasts, church services, dances, games and other entertainments. Join balladeer Linda Russell as she explores the tunes and traditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Playing the hammered and mountain dulcimers, penny whistle and guitar, Linda sings and plays the carols, dance tunes and drinking songs of the past, interspersed with Yuletide poems, recipes and stories of the season.
Linda Russell is a balladeer who brings America’s past to life through song. She has served for many years as musical historian for the national park Service at Federal Hall National Memorial and has performed at historic sites throughout New York and New Jersey. There is a $10 per person fee to attend this program. All visitors must register for this program in advance. Call 908-725-1015 or email whouse3@verizon.net to register. Please register early, as seating is limited.
The Wallace House, built in 1776, served as George Washington’s winter headquarters during the Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-1779. The house was the country residence of retired Philadelphia merchant John Wallace; Washington rented the use of half the house for himself and his staff and paid Wallace $1,000 for the use of his house and furniture. During his stay, the General hosted foreign dignitaries and planned strategies for the spring military campaign. The house is fully restored and furnished with period furniture.
The Old Dutch Parsonage was constructed in 1751, by the congregations of three local Dutch Reform Churches. The house was occupied by the Reverend John Frelinghuysen and his family until his death in 1754. His successor, the Reverend Jacob Hardenberg was the principal founder and first president of Queens College in New Brunswick, now Rutgers University.
Both sites are administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, and are open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday. The Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage are both listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The parking lot entrance and interpretive center for the sites is located at 71 Somerset Street, Somerville, NJ. For directions and more information about the sites, visit www.wallacehouseassociation.org or call 908-725-1015.
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Holidays at Glenmont
Children Friendly
The sights and sounds of the season will greet visitors when they come to Thomas Edison's home in Llewellyn Park during "Holidays at Glenmont." Glenmont will be decorated much as it was while the Edison family lived there. Greenery and red poinsettias will deck the mantles above the fireplaces. Staircases will be ringed with boughs and red ribbon bows and wreaths will hang in every window. In the den, the majestic ten foot tree will be set and the presents underneath will be waiting as if the Edison children Madeleine, Theodore, and Charles, will soon come running down the stairs from their rooms - after they've checked their stockings in the upstairs living room! Family china will be displayed on the dining room table and the scene will be completed with holiday cards that were received by the family.The Edison home, Glenmont, is located on a fifteen-acre estate in Llewellyn Park, the country's first private residential community. Built in 1880, the twenty-nine room mansion contains the original furnishings and family items used by the Edisons. The estate grounds include gardens, a greenhouse, barn, and the poured concrete garage containing the family's automobiles. Thomas and Mina Edison are buried on the grounds of the estate.
Car passes and tour tickets must be purchased at the Laboratory Complex Visitor Center at 211 Main Street, West Orange, NJ. Admission is $10.00 and includes the Glenmont Estate and the Laboratory Complex. Children 15 and under are free. For more information, call 973-736-0550 x11 or visit www.nps.gov/edis.
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Saturday, January 6 - Sandy Hook, Monmouth County
Battery Gunnison/New Peck Restoration
Children Friendly Event
The Army Ground Forces Association volunteer group will be dressed in WWII era uniform performing restorations projects and interpreting Battery Gunnison/New Peck at Sandy Hook, a unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Learn more about the restoration and the historic time of January 1943 at Fort Hancock. This free event will be held from 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm at Battery Gunnison, Lot G Beach Plaza. For more information, call 718-354-4606 or visit www.nps.gov/gate.
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Battery Gunnison/New Peck Restoration
Children Friendly Event
The Army Ground Forces Association volunteer group will be dressed in WWII era uniform performing restorations projects and interpreting Battery Gunnison/New Peck at Sandy Hook, a unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Learn more about the restoration and the historic time of January 1943 at Fort Hancock. This free event will be held from 12:00 noon - 5:00 pm at Battery Gunnison, Lot G Beach Plaza. For more information, call 718-354-4606 or visit www.nps.gov/gate.
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Twelfth Night Concert at the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage
Family Friendly Event
POSTPONED TO JANUARY 20, 2018
On Saturday beginning at 7:30 pm, balladeer Linda Russell will perform historic holiday music at the Old Dutch Parsonage historic site. Usher the new year in and celebrate like it’s 1778! For most American colonists, Christmas Day was not a major holiday. But over the course of the following twelve days, leading up to Twelfth Night on January 6th, there were great feasts, church services, dances, games and other entertainments. Join balladeer Linda Russell as she explores the tunes and traditions of the Twelve Days of Christmas. Playing the hammered and mountain dulcimers, penny whistle and guitar, Linda sings and plays the carols, dance tunes and drinking songs of the past, interspersed with Yuletide poems, recipes and stories of the season.Linda Russell is a balladeer who brings America’s past to life through song. She has served for many years as musical historian for the national park Service at Federal Hall National Memorial and has performed at historic sites throughout New York and New Jersey. There is a $10 per person fee to attend this program. All visitors must register for this program in advance. Call 908-725-1015 or email whouse3@verizon.net to register. Please register early, as seating is limited.
The Wallace House, built in 1776, served as George Washington’s winter headquarters during the Middlebrook Cantonment of 1778-1779. The house was the country residence of retired Philadelphia merchant John Wallace; Washington rented the use of half the house for himself and his staff and paid Wallace $1,000 for the use of his house and furniture. During his stay, the General hosted foreign dignitaries and planned strategies for the spring military campaign. The house is fully restored and furnished with period furniture.
The Old Dutch Parsonage was constructed in 1751, by the congregations of three local Dutch Reform Churches. The house was occupied by the Reverend John Frelinghuysen and his family until his death in 1754. His successor, the Reverend Jacob Hardenberg was the principal founder and first president of Queens College in New Brunswick, now Rutgers University.
Both sites are administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry, and are open to visitors Wednesday through Sunday. The Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage are both listed on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The parking lot entrance and interpretive center for the sites is located at 71 Somerset Street, Somerville, NJ. For directions and more information about the sites, visit www.wallacehouseassociation.org or call 908-725-1015.
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