I recently attended the Annual ‘Pathways Tour’ in Morris County, NJ to visit some of the historical sites. It was a very interesting visit to some of these sites that were over 250 years old. With the anniversary of our country coming up in two months, I can see that these sites will be getting more attention.
Having toured most of the sites in Morris County, which has a treasure trove of historical homes, parks and museums, I concentrated on the sites that are rarely open, like the Doremus House and the Florham Park Schoolhouse for my blog, VisitingaMuseum.com.
Readers reach out to me asking about these sites but no one seems to man them outside the Pathways tours. So you have to race to see them then. These small historical sites offer a glimpse into New Jersey’s rural past and the history of how our state developed.
The Henry Doremus House during the Pathway’s tour
I visited the Henry Doremus House first during the Morris County Pathways Tour in May of 2026 and it is good look at the early farming communities of New Jersey under the Dutch and then the English. The house was used by General George Washington while he was passing through this section of New Jersey during the Revolutionary War.
The sign for the Henry Doremus House
The historic sign for the house
Montville Township Historical Society:
(from the Museum website)
Established in 1963, the Montville Township Historical Society is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of Montville Township. Our unwavering commitment to meticulous archival work, interactive educational programs, and community outreach initiatives is aimed safeguarding the rich history of our town. Our ultimate objective is to ensure that the stories and traditions of Montville Township are cherished and celebrated for years to come.
The farm and harvest equipment
General Washington’s payment to the Doremus family for use of their home during the Revolutionary War. I thought this was really cool.
The farming equipment
The farm and household equipment room
The farm equipment from the time of the Revolutionary War
Henry Doremus House History:
(from the Museum’s website)
The Henry Doremus House is a Dutch American stone farmhouse that has been remarkably preserved since the time the first portion was built, circa 1760. The house has never been modernized with heating, plumbing, electricity, or wiring, and is one of only seven left in New Jersey without modern electricity. What is now Route 202 was one of the main military routes during the Revolutionary War through Montville and Towaco, (then part of Pequannock Township). The Henry Doremus house was located in a small community often referred to as Doremus Town.
The main room of the original house during the tour
The kitchen and cooking equipment by the open hearth fireplace
The open hearth fireplace for cooking and heat for the home
Cooking items
I visited Diane’s Dairy at 446 Main Road Suite 8 after my tour of the Henry Doremus House, a local ice cream store just around the corner from the historic home. What started as a place to turn around my car, I had to stop on this historical looking strip mall. When I saw the words ‘homemade ice cream’ I of course had to stop. Ice cream is one of my weaknesses.
Diane’s Dairy at 446 Main Road Suite 8
The menu of the selection of flavors
What was nice was I got to meet Diane herself that morning and she explained to me that they create and make over 92 flavors inside the store. I could tell by the quality and taste of the ice cream that a lot of care was taken in the making of her ice creams.
The section of ice cream
Diane has created many unique flavors so it was hard for me to choose but I wanted to try something different and settled on Bubble Gum flavored ice cream. It was delicious.
The Bubble Gum ice cream
The ice cream was rich and dense and had such an intense flavor of cream and cherry flavored gum. What I also liked was her prices were very fair and the portion size for a small ice cream is the size of most mediums sizes at the commercial ice cream stores. Plus I like to support local businesses. Diane has created a wonderful product and could not have been nicer.
The ice cream is do good
This ice cream was the best. Funny enough though I was her first review on TripAdvisor. I would have thought more people would have been singing her praises. After my snack, it was off to the second site on my list, the Florham Park Little Red Schoolhouse.
I visited the “Little Red Schoolhouse” Museum at 203 Ridgedale Avenue in Florham Park, which is also rarely opened. This interesting little museum showcases the town’s historical collection of items from the 1800’s and 1900’s dealing with all aspects of town life.
Schooling at the “little red frame building” prospered and so by the 1850’s, the building was “in condition of dilapidation rendering it unfit to be occupied” due to overcrowding.
The schoolhouse from the front
The inside of the museum schoolhouse display
The inside of the old classroom
The schoolhouse setting
In the back there is a small classroom set up keeping with the theme of the building. This lets students, who are visiting the building of their counterpart’s early education with desks, ink wells and chalk boards that have not changed that much over the years.
Not much has changed in the modern classroom over the years
The old schoolhouse desks
There is early century clothing, farming equipment from the town’s farming past and even Native American objects found in the town and in private collections.
The town artifacts and school items
The hitching post
Other items included decorative items from the home including dishware, home products and furnishings.
Each section of the museum is divided up by lifestyle.
The museum’s historic plaque
The docents that day explained that the items were reflect the town’s past and some came from families that have been in town for years. The museum reflects the community spirit of town’s past. It explains that times have progressed but not changed too much over the years.
The Veteran’s Monument outside the museum
History of the Little Red Schoolhouse Museum:
(From the Museum Website)
By Kat Kurylko, Research Assistant
In 1830, the residents of Columbia, now Florham Park, sought to improve their thriving farming and broom-making community by establishing a public school for the local children. Therefore, a small schoolhouse, Columbia School #5, was built on the corner of Columbia Turnpike and Ridgedale Avenue and dedicated it on February 17th, 1831.
The schoolroom display
Schooling at the “little red frame building” prospered and so by the 1850’s, the building was “in condition of dilapidation rendering it unfit to be occupied” due to overcrowding. It just showed me one thing as an educator, that the concept of modern education has not changed that much in 150 years.
I next visited the Tunis-Ellicks House 16 Village Road in New Vernon and enjoyed the self-guided tour of this well maintained and displayed home. Unlike many sites I have visited over the years where things are left out and jumbled on tables, the Tunis-Ellicks House offers a look at small family farms from before the Civil War. The displays depict and discuss the life of a farming family in Central New Jersey.
The Tunis-Ellicks House in New Vernon, NJ
The house sign
The house is located in the New Vernon Historic District
The house was located in one of the oldest sections of the community, facing other structures in the historical district of New Vernon, NJ.
The house and front garden from the road
The vegetable garden in the front of house
In front of the house was a large vegetable and fruit garden with a grape arbor for spirits on the side of the house. These items would be jarred and pickled for the winter months or sold at market.
I liked the way the volunteers maintained the gardens with fruits and vegetables that would have been used in Colonial times mixed in with a modern twist.
Mission Statement:
(From the Museum website)
The Harding Township Historical Society is a private, not-for-profit corporation founded in 1977 to stimulate interest in the history of Harding Township. The Society shall support, assist in and seek to achieve the preservation of documents, buildings and sites related to Harding Township. It shall also collect, preserve, maintain and interpret original cultural material, which illuminates this history. In addition, The Society is responsible for preserving and maintaining the Tunis-Ellicks House and environs. Through use of its historic site, collections and programs, the society endeavors to document and illustrate the history of Harding Township for present and future generations (Tunis-Ellicks website).
You enter the museum from the back of the house. In the backyard of the home, there were all sorts of activities going on while you could start a self-guided tour of the house.
The back of the Tunis-Ellick’s House
The beautiful view from the back door of the home
The inside of the main part of the museum
The main part of the museum was the newer extension of the home where the living room and dining rooms were located. There were displays on the walls discussing farm life in New Jersey during the late 1700’s and early 1800’s.
The Dining Room section of the house
The workings of the Dining Room
The story of ‘Country Life’ and the gentleman farmer
Pieces of the decor on display
The kitchen area of the older part of the home offers a homey fireplace for cooking and summer storage for jarred and pickled food stuffs for the winter.
The kitchen and storage areas of the home
Pottery collection in the museum
The pottery collection
The kitchen dining and cooking area of the home
The fireplace for cooking, roasting and stewing of foods
The oven for baking breads, cookies and pies and the baking equipment
The Summer storage area for canned and jarred provisions for the winter months and for cooking.
History of the Harding Township Historical Society:
(From the Museum website)
The Harding Township Historical Society was formed in 1977 to save the circa 1795 Tunis-Ellicks House and restore it as it appeared in the early 19th century. The society discovered an original 18th century hearth and Federal-style mantel and a water-fed cooling room besides the well. Areas of the house were left exposed to showcase the post-and-beam construction. A permanent exhibit on 19th century farming was created as well as space for temporary exhibits.
The Society saved a circa 1870 Tramp House from destruction when the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge was created by having the building moved the Tunis-Ellicks House property. The Harding Township Historical Society maintains an extensive archive containing records, maps, and objects since the colonial era pertaining to the town. The archive is open to researchers, genealogists and the public. Each year we provide an award to a student at the Harding Township School that excels in the subject of history. The Society produces exhibits, lectures, tours, and interactive events to bring history to the public.
When I drove to the Tunis-Ellicks House, I was really hungry and it was lunch time. I had passed the Green Village Deli at 536 Green Village Road and I read the reviews online while in their parking lot and they were excellent so I decided to give it a try. The food and the service were excellent.
The Green Village Deli at 536 Green Village Road
The sign that welcomes you to this local breakfast and lunch establishment
The Village Green Deli is a popular local sandwich shop, where the staff seems to know all the customers by name (with the exception of me) and is located in this small downtown area facing the Village Green.
I really liked the vibe of this small town deli where the owners knew everyone by name and I felt like an interloper at a private party.
The inside of the Village Green Deli
The deli has that small town feel to it, with local art and sports paraphernalia in the walls. The woman who worked the register was greeting everyone by name and the guys that worked the grill seemed happy to see me.
Looking at the menu at the grill
I looked at the extensive lunch menu of popular sandwiches and some wonderful combos. You could even still get breakfast as I saw some of the guys at the counter devouring as I decided on what I wanted to order.
The deli has a wonderful selection of sandwiches, hero’s and other delicious sounding items.
There were so many things I wanted to try that day that it was hard to choose. Was it a breakfast sandwich with local sausage? The Thanksgiving ‘Gobbler’ sandwich with turkey, stuffing and cranberry relish, that sounded so good? I decided on an Italian hero sandwich with a selection of deli meats with fresh lettuce, tomato and onion. The hero was excellent!
The Italian hero with a pickle
The sandwiches here are huge! One half of a sandwich a normal person could eat for lunch and save the rest for another meal. The sandwich was loaded with salami, bologna, ham, Swiss Cheese and fresh veggies. I could barely fit it in my mouth.
The sandwich was excellent
The food was excellent. The bread was so fresh and the cooks did not skimp on one ingredient. The vegetables were so fresh and crispy and I loved the combination of flavors of the cold cuts. I really enjoyed my lunch and would like to make a special trip back just to try more of their sandwiches. I was very happy with my lunch.
One of the last places I visited was the Historical Society of Boonton Township, which is located in the former Oscar Kincaid Farm Homestead 591 Powerville Road. The house and what was left of the acreage of the farm was part of the current museum. The museum was an example of early New Jersey farming that dated from the 1800’s to the Twenty-First century.
There was not much in the way of period furniture or farm equipment (items of the home were sold off since Mr. Kincaid’s passing), but the new historical society is buying artifacts and bringing them back to the farm. This includes one of Mr. Kincaid’s tractors. His roll up desk is also still in the display room which was once the Living Room of the home.
The Kincaid Homestead at 591 Powerville Road
History of Oscar Kincaid and Homestead:
(From the Morris County Historical Society website)
Originally a part of the extensive tract belonging to William Penn, the earliest portion of the home was constructed in 1785 by Adam Miller and Anna DeMouth Miller. Just over a decade later, they sold the property to Adam’s cousin, Sarah Miller Parlimen (of the Miller/Dixon homestead) and her husband, John, who built a sawmill there. After a brief ownership by William Scott of Powerville, a Miller relative, the land was sold to John Decker in 1828. An industrious man, Decker operated both a farm and successful forge, shipping his goods to New York via the Morris Canal. By 1837, he expanded the home, adding a distinctive folk-art painting of a face and unique plasterwork that can still be seen today (MCHS website).
The homestead passed through generations of Decker’s family, ultimately being inherited by Oscar Kincaid Sr. in the early 20th century. Kincaid ran a popular ice cream stand and dairy business throughout the 1920s and 30s. Following World War II, the family opened Valley Farm on the site, which continued until the death of Oscar Kincaid Jr. in 2000. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the Decker-Kincaid Homestead today operates as a museum and headquarters of the Historical Society of Boonton Township (MCHS website).
The Kincaid House
The historical marker for the house
The front yard
The entrance to the house
The main foyer of the house
The house is a small farmhouse built in two sections. The original part of the house dates back to the late 1700’s and the newer part in the early 1800’s. The once furnished rooms now hold displays of Morris County and the farming industry of the time plus community artifacts.
The former Living Room
Oscar Kincaid’s desk
There were not much left in the way of family furnishings and heirlooms but this desk was Oscar Kinkaid’s.
The back bedroom
The Flag display for the ‘250th Anniversary’
Story of Oscar Kincaid’s life: Oscar Kincaid was a farmer/businessman, a politician and a conservationist.
After the short tour around the house, I walked around the farm grounds. The house was set on a beautiful piece of land that sloped down to the old farmstand. There was also a swimming pond which was once part of the farm which is now private property.
The farm property from the side with the barn
The barn across the street
The property was about ten acres at the time of his death and parts have been developed. It still has some of the most wonderful views of the area.
The view of the old farm from the front porch
The farm land stretches over different sections of the road and the property is very picturesque. It is a very beautiful homestead.
The view of the farm from the lawn
The swimming pond on the edge of the property
The old farm stand that had been used for eighty years
One of the last places I visited in the 2026 Pathways tour of Morris County was the Historical Society of Boonton Township which is located in the former Oscar Kincaid Farm Homestead. The house and what was left of the acreage of the farm was part of the current museum. The museum was an example of early New Jersey farming that dated from the 1800’s to the Twenty-First century. There was not much in the way of period furniture or farm equipment (items of the home were sold off since Mr. Kincaid’s passing), but the new historical society is buying artifacts and bringing them back to the farm. This includes one of Mr. Kincaid’s tractors. His roll up desk is also still in the display room which was once the Living Room of the home.
The Kincaid Homestead
History of Oscar Kincaid and Homestead:
(From the Morris County Historical Society website)
Originally a part of the extensive tract belonging to William Penn, the earliest portion of the home was constructed in 1785 by Adam Miller and Anna DeMouth Miller. Just over a decade later, they sold the property to Adam’s cousin, Sarah Miller Parlimen (of the Miller/Dixon homestead) and her husband, John, who built a sawmill there. After a brief ownership by William Scott of Powerville, a Miller relative, the land was sold to John Decker in 1828. An industrious man, Decker operated both a farm and successful forge, shipping his goods to New York via the Morris Canal. By 1837, he expanded the home, adding a distinctive folk-art painting of a face and unique plasterwork that can still be seen today (MCHS website).
The homestead passed through generations of Decker’s family, ultimately being inherited by Oscar Kincaid Sr. in the early 20th century. Kincaid ran a popular ice cream stand and dairy business throughout the 1920s and 30s. Following World War II, the family opened Valley Farm on the site, which continued until the death of Oscar Kincaid Jr. in 2000. Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, the Decker-Kincaid Homestead today operates as a museum and headquarters of the Historical Society of Boonton Township (MCHS website).
The Kincaid House
The historical marker for the house
The front yard
The entrance to the house
The main foyer of the house
The house is a small farmhouse built in two sections. The original part of the house dates back to the late 1700’s and the newer part in the early 1800’s. The once furnished rooms now hold displays of Morris County and the farming industry of the time plus community artifacts.
The former Living Room
Oscar Kincaid’s desk
There were not much left in the way of family furnishings and heirlooms but this desk was Oscar Kinkaid’s.
The back bedroom
The Flag display for the ‘250th Anniversary’
Story of Oscar Kincaid’s life: Oscar Kincaid was a farmer/businessman, a politician and a conservationist.
On Community:
(From the museum website)
Oscar’s commitment to his community transcended farming. He served as a member of the Boonton Township Committee for 30 years and was mayor for two terms. He was also a founding member of the Morris County Agricultural Development Board, on which he served for 17 years, six as board chairman. Oscar led the charge for farmland preservation in Morris County. His efforts resulted in the preservation of 41 farms covering 3,100 acres spanning several municipalities throughout the county. As one person put it: “Oscar had more impact on preserving the character of Boonton than any single individual.”
But to Oscar: “Farming and being active in local politics was simply a way of life.” Oscar passed away November 11, 2000
The contractor’s face on the wall
The face came about when Oscar Kincaid did not want to pay a contractor for his work. He created this face so that he would have to live with it for the rest of his life. It can not be planted over.
The ‘Mr. Face’ in Weird NJ
On Farming:
(From the Museum website)
Oscar Kincaid, Jr., was born into farm life. It was 1824 when the Kincaid family purchased 30 acres in Boonton Township, Morris County and began farming. More than a century later, a young Oscar took over the operation, working alongside his father as they raised dairy cows, grew vegetables and developed a poultry business. For years, they delivered eggs to retail establishments and sold vegetables from their roadside stand. Over time, Oscar moved away from the dairy and poultry business and focused his efforts on vegetable and hay production.
The Kincaid house from the side
After the short tour around the house, I walked around the farm grounds. The house was set on a beautiful piece of land that sloped down to the old farmstand. There was also a swimming pond which was once part of the farm which is now private property.
The farm property from the side with the barn
The barn across the street
The property was about ten acres at the time of his death and parts have been developed. It still has some of the most wonderful views of the area.
The view of the old farm from the front porch
The farm land stretches over different sections of the road and the property is very picturesque. It is a very beautiful homestead.
The view of the farm from the lawn
The swimming pond on the edge of the property
The old farm stand that had been used for eighty years
The old Farm stand was used into the mid 2000’s
The full view of the farm
Since the house was just recently bought, there is still some design and artifacts that need to be collected to complete the look of a Jersey farm.
The Historical Society of Boonton Township is still expanding the collection of farm equipment for property and finding furniture for the home. The property is a beautiful and picturesque and shows how the traditional farm has adapted to modern times. Mr. Kincaid only passed a few years ago but kept the farm traditional and that worked for him. He left a legacy for us to appreciate the independent Jersey farmer.
The sign that welcomes you to this local breakfast and lunch establishment
I was visiting New Vernon, NJ for the annual ‘Pathways Tour’ that the Morris County Historical Board sponsor’s twice a year. While visiting the Tunis-Eckllis House around the corner, I passed the Village Green Deli, a popular local sandwich shop while driving through this small downtown area facing the Village Green. I made note of it as it was getting closer to lunch time.
After the tour, I stopped by the deli, read the wonderful TripAdvisor reviews online in the parking lot and headed inside for lunch. I really liked the vibe of this small town deli where the owners knew everyone by name and I felt like an interloper at a private party.
The inside of the Village Green Deli
The deli has that small town feel to it, with local art and sports paraphernalia in the walls. The woman who worked the register was greeting everyone by name and the guys that worked the grill seemed happy to see me.
Looking at the menu at the grill
I looked at the extensive lunch menu of popular sandwiches and some wonderful combos. You could even still get breakfast as I saw some of the guys at the counter devouring as I decided on what I wanted to order.
The deli has a wonderful selection of sandwiches, hero’s and other delicious sounding items.
There were so many things I wanted to try that day that it was hard to choose. Was it a breakfast sandwich with local sausage? The Thanksgiving ‘Gobbler’ sandwich with turkey, stuffing and cranberry relish, that sounded so good? I decided on an Italian hero sandwich with a selection of deli meats with fresh lettuce, tomato and onion. The hero was excellent!
The Italian hero with a pickle
The sandwiches here are huge! One half of a sandwich a normal person could eat for lunch and save the rest for another meal. The sandwich was loaded with salami, bologna, ham, Swiss Cheese and fresh veggies. I could barely fit it in my mouth.
The sandwich was excellent
I was able to eat about half of the sandwich before I told myself I was finished and not to push anymore. I wrapped the rest up to go and went back to study the menu before I left. I definitely want to come back and try more. The food and the service were both excellent.
After lunch was over, it was such a beautiful sunny day and I walked over to the historic Green across the street and looked over the artifacts in the park. New Vernon is a very picturesque and beautiful little town.
The New Vernon Village Green in the early Spring
It was nice to have a place to walk and digest after that wonderful meal. It is worth the trip to visit this wonderful little deli in the small town. I really enjoyed my meal and the afternoon that followed.
The New Milford Village Green
I have to come back. There are so many sandwiches to try and I want to visit the Great Swamp which is a mile away. Until the next time.
My logo for “Smile! You’re Visiting New Jersey!” created my very creative nephew, Artist Kyle McFarlane
I have found that the way we market the State of New Jersey boring. Most of the tourism books created by the state tourism board and the local county tourism boards just don’t capture all the wonderful things to do and see in the State of New Jersey. From our quirky beach communities to our unique small downtown based towns, each section of the state is so different.
When most tourists think of New Jersey, they think of the opening scene of “The Soprano’s”, with the glimpses of Newark Bay and the skyline of lower Manhattan or the more urban sections of the state that have their share of problems. What we miss about our great state is that every part of the state has so much to offer. We even run into the paradox of North and South Jersey, where part of our state roots for New York teams and the other for Philadelphia teams and never the two should meet (except over the summer when I was in Cape May when Philly played the Mets to a very mixed crowd of fans).
We range from big cities, university towns and commuter townships to historical small towns and Revolutionary War era villages that rival anything in Vermont or New Hampshire with their town squares and “Greens” to the 18th century architecture with signs that read “Washington Slept here”. Don’t write off communities such as Newark or Paterson, which have a host of great things to do and experience. We have so much to offer.
So from this point, I have created this site to mirror the work I am doing on blog “MywalkinManhattan.com, which is walking every inch of the Island of Manhattan and surrounding parts of New York City, to creating this site to do the same with every corner of the State of New Jersey.
I have recategorized all my New Jersey based blogs from museums and cultural sites to festivals and special events that I have experienced and walking tours that I have enjoyed that I want to share with readers. This also includes great restaurants, delis and bakeries that dot our great state. If you have not been to New Jersey then you are missing a lot.
So join me as we explore the great State of New Jersey and say “Smile! You’re Visiting New Jersey!”
I thought this was an interesting video to describe the state. I hope you enjoy it.
In the Spring of 2022, I had been sent the notice that the County of Morris, New Jersey was having a two-day Open House of many of their historical sites for touring and for special events for a program entitled “The Pathways of History: Museum and Site Tours of Morris County, NJ”.
The “Pathways to History” event takes place every May
The weekend event spread to small museums, historical homes and cemeteries all over the County with walking tours and lectures at various sites. Having never been or even heard of many of these sites, I was interested in visiting as many as I could for my blog, “VisitingaMuseum.com” which is here on WordPress.com as well.
I plotted my two days of the event and tried to organize the trip so that we could see as many sites as we could. The event asked the sites to open one of the two days as most of these sites are small and have a tough time getting volunteers. So, I tried to coordinate the sites I had wanted to visit with visiting other places along the way such as farm stands I wanted to visit and restaurants I wanted to try.
The map of historical sites that I wanted to visit
I recruited my aunt to help me take pictures of the sites and travel with me to get her opinions on each of the sites. She also wanted to get out of the house and travel with me so off we went. We started the day with a good breakfast at the Blue Cafe at 273 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaSheStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). I like the hometown atmosphere and service of the restaurant.
The Blue Cafe at 273 Valley Boulevard in Wood Ridge, NJ
Not wanting to snack along the way, both my aunt and I had a large breakfast. She had an Egg White Omelet with bacon and tomatoes with a side of hashbrowns and toast ($8.95). I had the Pancake Platter which came with two pancakes and two scrambled eggs with a side of link sausage ($8.95). I have to say that everything came to the table promptly and was delicious. The portion sizes were very fair, and the service could not have been nicer.
We needed a good breakfast at Blue Cafe for the long journey
My pancakes were perfectly cooked and had that nice, malted taste and the scrambled eggs had a nice taste of clarified butter. The sausage had a nice spicy sage taste to it. My aunt could not finish her eggs and asked me to take some. They were delicious as well. The flavors of the bacon and the tomatoes had a nice complexity to them and the hashbrowns were well seasoned and crisp.
My pancakes and eggs that morning was delicious
With a nice breakfast behind us and a warm sunny day, we both looked forward to visiting the sites without stopping much. We travelled down Route 80 and then down Route 206, which once upon a time was one of the only highways to travel through the State of New Jersey. It took us down to Route 24 through the rolling hills of Chester, NJ and to our first stop, the Obadiah La Tourette Grist & Mill at 12 East Mill Road in Long Valley, NJ.
East Mill Road lead into a quaint little town that looked like something out of the early 1800’s with older clapboard homes and historic churches with old cemeteries surround them in a highly wooded spot. It reminded me of my trips through the Hudson River Valley.
The Obadiah La Tourette Grist & Mill at 12 East Mill Road
The Grist Mill was fascinating. The mill has been a working mill from the early 1800’s until about the late 1930’s, during the Depression when they needed to expand operations. The place had pretty much been abandoned until the 1980’s when it had been falling apart by the side of the road and concerned citizens got together to save it. It is now going through a renovation.
What the mill looked like in 1993
When I toured both the upstairs and the downstairs, upstairs was all the equipment to move the wheat and bundle it for processing and for milling. I even saw amongst the equipment the old portion size bagging attachment where the final packaging took place.
On the lower level of the mill, you could see the stream under the building and the turbine wheels of the old mill still placed in the stream and along the side of the mill. You could view from the deck the workings of the equipment and how the stream powered the mill itself. You could also see the flow of the stream and how it is now affecting the structure of the building.
It is amazing how we survived with just Mother Nature at one time
The staff takes immense pride in the building structure and how the renovation is coming along as well as its unique history. The tour guides could not have been more enthusiastic about explaining to myself, my aunt and the other visitors about the history of the mill, the way they milled the flour and the ongoing structure improvements. It was also so picturesque with the small flowing stream and woods that surrounded it.
We walked along the property back to the car and please to all readers, watch yourself on the road because for some reason everyone was speeding that morning and there is no sidewalk. Remember to walk to the back of the buildings to view the stream, the woods and all the historical homes in this little hamlet.
Our next stop was on the other side of the stream and around the corner from the mill. We visited the Union Schoolhouse & Union Church and Burial Ground at 6 Fairview Avenue in Long Valley, NJ. The Union Schoolhouse has been converted into Washington Township Historical Society building housing its collection. The Union Church burned down years earlier and was left is a stone structure that you can view inside and out. The church is surrounded by the old cemetery where prominent members of the community are buried.
The Washington Township Historical Society at 6 Fairview Avenue
The Union Schoolhouse/Washington Township Historical Society is a well-organized two-story building, that houses a collection of antique objects from the community. There was a set up a school room, selection of quilts, old dishware, antique furniture and on the first floor a complete display of the Welsh Farms Ice Cream Company and Dairy.
The second-floor school room reflects the buildings past as a schoolhouse
The original ice cream factory (no longer exists) used to be right down the road from the old schoolhouse and members of the Welsh family are buried in the cemetery. I thought that was fascinating as I never knew it had been started here.
The local Welsh family started the Welsh Farm Dairy and Ice Cream factory down the road
The Welsh Family cemetery plot
I toured through the old church with another patron and the tour guide while my aunt, who did not want to walk on the uneven ground of the cemetery got her own verbal tour with one of the members of the historical society. We got to walk through the cemetery and see the graves of the prominent families that were once members of the church. We also got to see how the staff used tombstone cleaner to make the tombstones brighter.
The Union Church and Cemetery
What was also impressive about the building was the beautiful flower garden that lined the stone wall between the schoolhouse and the cemetery. One of the local Garden Clubs must have planted and taken care of the gardens because they were so well pruned and planted. It was so colorful with an array of flowers line with blooming tulips along the path.
The old Washington Township Schoolhouse is now the museum
On the way back down Route 24, my aunt and I decided to stop for a snack. We stopped at an old favorite mine that I have been visiting since the early 1970’s, the Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill at 104 State Park Road which is right outside Hacklebarney State Park, which I had also visited many times as a child for walks and barbecues.
Hacklebarney Farm is always busy especially on the weekends
The Hacklebarney Cider Mill Farm at 104 State Park Road
I love coming to Hacklebarney Farm Cider Mill at all times of the year. It is especially best in the late Spring and in the Fall months when the leaves are changing, and all the Halloween events are happening. The farm had opened their hot dog stand early on customer demand the owner explained to us as well as made sure the bakery was well-stocked for visitors on the tours.
The hot dog stand and the work buildings remind you that this is a working farm and not a tourist trap
The Apple Cider Doughnuts are delicious here
We toured through the bakery, and I ordered a Cider doughnut and a Fruit Dumpling for dessert, and we shared a Chicken and Cheese Quesadilla and two Cokes for our lunch (See my reviews on TripAdvisor and DiningonaShoeStringinNYC@Wordpress.com). It was so nice to just sit and relax and enjoy the weather.
The wonderful baked goods at the Hacklebarney Farm bakery
The Quesadilla was well made and stuffed with lots of chicken and cheese and the salsa had a nice spicy flavor to it. I love the crispiness of their Cider doughnuts with lots of cinnamon sugar on top of them. The Fruit Dumpling was filled with fresh blueberries and strawberries and had nice buttery sweetness to it. We devoured everything in record time, and I could not believe how hungry we both were that afternoon. Maybe it was all the driving or maybe it was just looking over all the rolling hills and the soft breezes from the field.
Enjoying the farm on a warm day
We got a chance to talk to the owner again when she came over with an old picture of the farmhouse that her great-grandparents had built and the pride that they took in all their baked goods. She told us that everything is made from scratch in their kitchen and all the fruits are hand peeled for their desserts. In the Fall, I have watched them make their apple cider on property and you can watch the steps to make the cider you will buy inside (when it is in season, make the trip out here for it. It is well worth the trip).
The Hacklebarney Farm family farmhouse
The gourmet items in the farm shop are always a treat
After a relaxing afternoon of relaxing, playing with their dogs and walking around the farm, we left for Downtown Chester, which is located right down Route 24 and on the other side of Route 206. We passed the old shell of a building that was once Larison’s Turkey Farm Inn which closed in 2009.
The old Larison’s Turkey Farm building is a reminder of changing times
Closed for 15 years the buildings are beginning to rot and fall down
I had eaten here a few times with my family over the years and you used to be able to get a full turkey dinner for a reasonable price. Forget trying to visit the place at Thanksgiving. The place is now falling apart, and I read online that they want to knock down this historic landmark for a strip mall. It would not be a bad thing as the building looks like it is going to fall down on its own. Notice the roof is rotting.
Our next site on the listing was the Chester Historical Society or otherwise known as the Chester’s Rockefeller Center at 137 Main Street. Main Street Chester was a madhouse on Saturday as there was a food truck festival going on in the park downtown and traffic was all over the place. We must have circled the downtown three times looking for the Historical Society.
The soon to be Chester Historical Society at 137 Main Street
We finally found the empty building that was falling apart right next to the park. All that the historical society was an empty building that had been moved to the park and a kiosk that was closed off by the food truck festival. When we were able to stop and talk to the members who were there, they were closing up shop for the afternoon.
They said they were showing the plans for the renovation of the building and how they wanted to store the collection. That is what amounted to their current historical society. It was a work in progress. The little building was built in 1897 and was ordered from the Sears & Roebuck Company.
The Chester Historical Society is just beginning to be established
We quickly got out of downtown Chester and headed back up Route 206 North and took some back roads to our final destination that afternoon, the Silas Riggs Saltbox House/The Roxbury Township Historical Society at 213 Main Street in Ledgewood, NJ and the King Canal Store and the King Victorian Home at 209 and 211 Main Street right next store to the house. The sites were closing up shop for the afternoon, but they were nice enough to stay open so that we could have a long visit.
I am so happy that we could visit the sites as the people running them were so interesting and they took such good care of the sites. A few of the volunteers said that this always happens that someone comes late, and they were hoping to close on time, but they take such pride in all these sites that they did not mind staying for us.
Our first stop was the King Canal Store. The store had been sealed off after the death of Albert King by his wife, Emma. After his passing, she followed his wishes and closed the store down only opening it during the Great Depression when locals needed supplies.
After Mrs. King’s death in 1975, the store and her home, the King Homestead were bought by the Rotary Club of Roxbury, NJ and they set out to renovate and restore the site. The King Canal Store was left untouched and is a step back in time when the Morris Canal was a major form of transportation in the state. The store had been open since the Civil War and closed on the eve of the Great Depression even though the family had been seeing declining sales since the closing of the canal to traffic.
The King Canal Store is a step back in time when this was the neighborhood gathering place
Next to the King Canal Store at 211 Main Street is the King Homestead built in the Queen Ann style by Albert King for his family. The house was closed by that point, but I was able to walk the grounds and on the porch. It is a spectacular home.
The last place on the tour before we ended the first day of touring sites was the Silas Riggs Saltbox House at 213 Main Street. The home had been Emma Riggs King’s parents and it had been moved to this site when it was threatened with demolition. The home is a perfect example of the “Saltbox” architectural style.
The Silas Riggs Saltbox House/The Roxbury Historical Society at 213 Main Street
I loved touring this smart little house. Talk about well taken care of and well appointed. The home is well decorated with vintage antiques and artifacts and when you walk in the door you have this welcoming feeling. The house is so warm and cosey that volunteers have commented that people feel that they could move in here.
The front room of the Silas Riggs Saltbox House
What I enjoyed about the Silas Riggs Saltbox house is that the home was decorated in period furnishings that all worked to welcome you into the home. It was almost like the people who lived there just left for the afternoon.
What I really liked about the house was the back-room kitchen with the open hearth. Not only was it a perfect place to cook but it must have been the gathering place for the family and also heated the house. One of the volunteers told me that they had a successful “Soup Dinner” fundraiser during the holidays where they made homemade soup from scratch and homemade cornbread as well. It must be nice to eat a hearty meal in this period home during Christmas as the family once did.
The rustic kitchen at the Silas Riggs Saltbox House
After the house closed for the after, all the other sites had closed at 4:00pm as well and we made our way down Route 10 just off the old main street and then back on to Route 46 East to head home. It had been getting warmer all day and we both needed a snack before dinner. It was by coincidence that we just happened to pass the Dover Dairy Maid Ice Cream store at 240 East Route 46 and stopped for a cone.
Never having travelled down this part of Route 46 East before, I had never seen this popular place for ice cream and all of a sudden, I turned the car and needed some ice cream. There are times in life that you take a different bend in the road, and this was one of the more popular ones. Their homemade ice cream was amazing.
The Dover Dairy Maid at 240 East Route 46 is the best
While my aunt tried the Mint Chocolate ice cream, I had a yearning for something more fun and I got a bowl of Cotton Candy ice cream and at $5.45 for two large scoops, it was a reasonable trip. It is nice that a business not only does not gouge a customer but offers that personal service was reflective of when I was a kid in the 1970’s when this business opened. I felt like it was a step back in time when things were simpler. We even at our ice cream out on the benches in the back of the store. Talk about 70’s! Between here and Hacklebarney Farm I felt like a kid again.
In 2024, I indulged in a Butterscotch Sundae at Dover Dairy Maid
There was no traffic on Route 46 East that evening and got home in record time. My aunt and I needed some recovery time, so I dropped her off and met her for dinner later that evening. We finished off the evening at Napoli Pizzeria at 25 Washington Street #2 in Lodi, NJ for dinner. Napoli’s food is consistently excellent, and I love their pizza. The best part is that the parking is always plentiful and never have to travel far to go.
Napoli Pizzeria at 25 Washington Street #2 is wonderful for lunch and dinner (Closed December 2025)
It was a nice evening chatting over a cheese pizza ($10.95) and a glass of wine. We talked about all the sites we had visited and the ones that we could not and made plans to revisit some of the sites in the future. There was a lot more to see and do in Morris County. It was a nice way to end the first day of touring and it had been such a perfect sunny day that it was a pleasure to stop and really enjoy each site.
The historical marker at the Ayres-Knuth Farm at 25 Cooper Street
On the second day of the “Pathways’ tour, my aunt was busy, so I started early with a quick breakfast at home and was on my way back to Morris County for a second day of adventure. My first stop on the tour was the Ayres/Knuth Farm (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc.), a former working farm just off Route 10.
The main farmhouse on the Ayres/Knuth Farm
Not only was the site open for touring but they also had a mini car show with antique cars and fire trucks owned by some of the members. Seeing some of these Model T Ford’s and Steam Engine Fire Trucks in perfect condition shows American quality motorship at its finest.
What interested me about the farm is that it had been a working farm up until the last fifty years and showed the progression that the farm took in its almost 100 years in the county. The farm itself dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days with the farm being purchase in either 1735 or maybe 1759 by Obadiah Lum. The property itself was settled and developed by Daniel Ayres, who was born in New Jersey in 1778 (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
The Ayres-Knuth Farm and the outer buildings
105 acres of land was given to him by his father-in-law, David Garrigus upon the marriage of his daughter, Hanna in 1803. His son, William took over the farm in 1856 upon the death of his father in 1856, changing the farm to add husbandry and fruit cultivation. When William retired in 1896, none of his children wanted the farm and it was sold. Changing hands many times, it was bought by Martin and Anna Knuth in 1906. The farm was taken over by two of their children and it remained in the family until the 1990’s upon both of their passings. In 1996, the Township of Denville purchased 52 acres of the original farm and it is now managed by the Ayres/Knuth Foundation Inc. (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
On this clear and sunny Sunday morning, it was fun to walk around the former working farm to see how it developed. Both families learned to modernize and add to the operation. I was able to tour the smaller tenet farmhouse (built in 1895), the barn (built in 1895 (and the various outer buildings like the chicken coops (built in 1895), outhouse (built in 1930) and the Smokehouse (built in 1825). The small well was built in 1797 and was the oldest structure left on the property.
What got my attention is that there still are tenant farmers on another tract on the property still working the land and the property is protected by grants from Morris County. So, it still is technically a working farm. A lot of care was taken to preserve the farm as is and the volunteers told me that there were plans to fix up the other buildings. The Tenant House needed a lot of work and was run down but the main Farmhouse had been renovated and was closed that day.
After having a nice conversation with many of the volunteers about the development on the farm, I was off to the next site, The Whippany Railway Museum at 1 Railroad Plaza in Whippany, NJ. I usually don’t get excited by railway museums one looking like another but the care and dedication of the volunteers of this museum is just mesmerizing. They really care about the detail and condition of every railcar and artifact that comes into possession of this museum, and it shows by the way its displayed.
The Museum was so well organized and told the story of the rail systems not just in New Jersey but their development all over the country.
The inside of the museum
Unlike some rail museums that I have been to where they put dishes, lanterns and tickets all the same shelves, the Whippany Railway Museum took a lot of pride in setting up their displays more as a progression to how the railways evolved over time starting with coal, then to steam and then electric.
The Whippany Railway Museum
Not only that it was the way people traveled and how dining and then First Class tried to rival the growing Jet Age travel to keep customers. Each case line told a story. The cases show a progression in communication, ticketing, uniform, dining and equipment used on the trains. Take time to look over the information supplied in the cases as well. They also have a nice gift shop inside the museum.
The history of the Pullman Car
It was the hour-long walking tour that really blew me away. This volunteer named Mike walked around the museum asking people if they would like to take a tour at noon and then for the next hour and a half, we toured all the train cars.
The Whippany Railway Museum grounds
Each of the train cars were at different stages of renovation and some were fully restored. Mike explained to our small tour group that different members of the museum had special skills, and everyone had a hand in restoring the cars. The volunteers all dressed like period conductors and would be stationed at each car to describe the railcar to us.
The Whippany Railway Museum grounds
Where the museum really shines and where I saw the most pride is in the rail cars that have come to the yard over the years and have been carefully restored. The Southern Railway No. 385 built in 1907 for faster freight service, the Texaco Fireless Cooker No. 7240 built in 1937 for industrial switching duty and one of the newest steam locomotives still surviving, the U.S. Army No. 4039 built in 1942 for WWII service are just some of the cars on display (Whippany Railway Museum pamphlet).
The inside of the luxury car
The railcar that most impressed me was the Lackawanna Railroad Subscription Club Car No. 2454 that was once known as the “Millionaires Express” (Whippany Railway Museum). The mahogany paneled car carried businessmen from New York City through towns in the middle of New Jersey.
The inside of the car
What I thought was interesting was the people who rode it (Christie Todd Whitman’s father was a member) and the fact that you had to ‘buy’ the seat, which meant that no one could ever sit in ‘your chair’ if you were not there. This car ran for 72 years finally retiring out in 1984 (probably due to the recession and changing times).
The outside of the Lackawanna luxury car
After the extensive tour was over, I visited the model trains that were riding around the outside of the rail cars and talking with other volunteers on what the future plans of a new railcar that just arrived. I also walked up to their snack shop that is at entrance of the museum site and was bummed when they did not have any of the large pretzels in stock.
The snack shop at the museum
The woman said that they are their most popular item and had not arrived for the tour day. I then moved on to my third site, The Whippany Burying Yard at 325 Route 10 East.
The Whippany Burying Yard historic marker
The Whippany Burying Yard was also having a tour that I just made when I arrived. It was given by a retired college professor who had lived in town all of his life and knew the history of the cemetery quite well. The old cemetery is steeped in history as one of the oldest cemeteries in New Jersey and home to many Revolutionary and Civil War veterans. As we learned on the tour later on, the only people that can be buried there now are former Mayors of the Town of Whippany who have died.
The entrance to the cemetery
Two of the founding families of the town have many family members buried here, the Tuttle’s who still have relatives living in the area and the Kitchel’s. The guide for the afternoon took us on an hour tour of the cemetery, pointing out prominent members of the war years including Timothy Tuttle (died 1754), a founding judge of Morris County, Keturah Tuttle Platt (died 1850), who was a Charter member of the First Presbyterian Church, Captain Timothy Tuttle (II of III-died in 1816), who was a member of George Washington’s First Regiment in the Continental Army, Samuel Tuttle (died in 1762) and Colonel Joseph Tuttle, a blacksmith and Deacon at the Presbyterian Church who served in the French & Indian War.
The entrance to the Whippany Burial Yard
The Kitchel family was prominently represented as well with Abraham Kitchel (died in 1741), who was one of the six original judges of Morris County and his wife Sarah, whose family was claimed to date back to Charlemagne, Emperor of France, Abigal Kitchel (died in 1768), Uzal Kitchel (died in 1813), a Militiaman in the American Revolution and his wife, Anna (died in 1815). Many of these people as well as their ancestors made major contributions to the growth of the surrounding community.
The Tuttle Family burial plot
We were also given a lesson in the construction and care of the old tombstones, some of which were beyond repair. Some of the original grave sites were made from sandstone, marble and granite with granite becoming the popular choice later on. Here and there some of the tombstones were decorated with winged skulls or cherubs. These show morality images of the dead (Whippany Burial Yard pamphlet).
The Post Family cemetery plot
We were also walking by the river that the graveyard sits on and were told that current erosion is affecting some of the grave sites. These might have to be moved in the future and the tour guide was not sure if any have been lost over the years. The old Presbyterian Church that sat on the site (built in 1718 and removed in 1755) has since disappeared and there is no trace of it now.
The Whippany Burial Yard has many different types of tombstones
At the end of the tour, the guide explained to us that the old Tuttle House, dating back from the late 18th Century was just left to the town by its last owner to be preserved as a museum for the community. The Tuttle house will need a lot of work in the future.
The Tuttle House at 341 Route 10 will be a future museum for the Historical Society
It was getting late in the day after my last tour, and I figured I had time to see one more site before the day was over. I wished they did not end the day so early at 4:00pm. It does not give people much time to visit all these sites in one day, but the museum tour guides made them so interesting that you did not want to leave so quick.
One last look at the historic cemetery with the Tuttle House in the background
My last stop on the tour day was the Florham Park’ Historic Preservation Commission’s Little Red Schoolhouse and Hancock Cemetery at 203 Ridgedale Avenue. On the map it looked so far away but it was only ten minutes down the road from the cemetery and I got there in plenty of time to spend the last half hour of the day at the museum.
The Little Red Schoolhouse Museum at 203 Ridgedale Avenue
I was the only one there with two members who said that they were surprised on how busy the day was for them. They told me that almost every person who visited said the same things: either they passed the place a million times and never knew it was a museum or they lived here for about twenty years and never knew the town had a museum. I said I was from another area of the state, and this was my first time as well. The little museum is nicely set up.
The inside of the classroom portion of the museum
In the back there is a small classroom set up keeping with the theme of the building. This lets students who are visiting the building of their counterpart’s early education with desks, ink wells and chalk boards that have not changed that much over the years. There are old desks and chalkboards and items that date either from the late 1880’s to about the 1930’s.
Not much has changed in the modern classroom over the years
There is early century clothing, farming equipment from the town’s farming past and event Native American objects found in the town and in private collections. Other items included decorative items from the home including dishware, home products and furnishings. Each section of the museum is divided up by lifestyle.
Artifacts from the community of Florham Park, NJ
The docents that day explained that the items were reflect the town’s past and some came from families that have been in town for years. The museum reflects the community spirit of town’s past. It explains that times have progressed but not changed too much over the years. They also told me how hard they work to promote the museum.
The historic organ
I asked where the Hancock Cemetery was, and they told me down the road from the museum, so I left after about a half hour to let them close and looked for the cemetery. I never found it “down the road” so I was not too sure what direction they were talking about. By the time I got back to the museum, it was shut, and all the cars were gone. It was now 4:30pm. I decided to head off to dinner.
I got lost trying to take the back roads from Route 10 to Route 46 (later on when I got home, I found I was in the right direction but did not know it). I passed the Parsippany Historical Museum at the Bowlsby-DeGelleke House at 320 Baldwin Avenue on the way but at 5:00pm I could see one of the costumed docents was desperately trying to close up for the day, so I did not stop.
I finally made it to Downtown Boonton, NJ for dinner. The town was really quiet on an early Sunday evening. I passed the Boonton Historical Society and Museum at 210 Main Street that was closed for the evening. They had a full day of activities that day and must have closed early.
Boonton Historical Society and Museum at 210 Main Street
Inside the Boonton Historical Society in the main gallery
Ever since I got involved in the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association, I have been visiting this interesting little museum. They have the most intriguing walking tours on the history of the town’s development and on the ruins of the local iron works. They also have nice inhouse tours of the museum and very inviting Holiday Open House (pre-COVID).
Dinner that evening was a restaurant I had wanted to try several times but it either was not open or did not look open because there was no one in it. I2I at 408 Main Street just up the hill from the museum.
I had been looking forward to eating here for some time and even though the food and the service were quite good, the owner did something that really irked me, and I will not be returning anytime soon. (Please read my TripAdvisor review above for details on my experience) (The restaurant closed in May 2024 and is being renovated).
After dinner, I walked around Downtown Boonton for a bit, looking over stores that had opened since the pandemic. The downtown is getting more and more hipster businesses and you can tell that an ‘artsy’ crowd is starting to move into the area. All the neighborhoods around the downtown are having a lot of home improvements from new paint jobs and windows to new landscaping meaning the artists from the City are starting to move in.
Downtown Boonton, NJ
Please read my blog on Exploring Downtown Boonton, NJ-Day Two Hundred and Two:
Downtown Boonton, NJ has a lot of interesting stores and restaurants
I drove home later that evening. It had been an interesting two-day exploration to Morris County, NJ and I did not realize the rich history that it had. There are many more places that will be visiting in the future on their list as they open up for the summer months.
In 2024, I was able to visit other sites on the Pathways listing. The original sites I had visited were on the first day of touring so I was able to visit a whole other roster of sites in Morris County on a gloomy rainy afternoon. Since I had a late start and the weather was rainy and gloomy, I only got to visit five sites but there were different from the previous year’s visit. I also visited some museums at other times as well since they are only open at certain times of the month.
I got so lost getting to the Butler Museum that it took over twenty minutes to find. It was different from the Google Maps that I followed. I finally reached the museum which was located on the other side of the Butler downtown in the old town train station.
The Butler Museum 221 Main Street
The Butler Museum is housed in the former New York Susquehanna and Western Railroad station. Constructed in 1888, it was remodeled in the 1890’s and in 1907, when a freight room was added to the northwestern end of the building. A major restoration took place from 2011 to 2015. Purchased by the Borough of Butler for a museum just in time for the Bicentennial Celebration in 1976, the museum houses a large collection of artifacts of local and regional significance.
The Butler Fire and Police Department artifacts.
Exhibits highlight the social, educational, fraternal, political, and business life of the community. Unique to the Butler Museum are artifacts pertaining to the Statue of Liberty, statue designer Frederic Bartholdi, and his friend Richard Butler, for whom the town is named. Mr. Butler was an important member of the committee that raised the funds to construct the statue’s pedestal (Pathways to History of Morris County website).
The Statue of Liberty exhibition.
Displays also include products manufactured by the American Hard Rubber Company, the area’s largest employer from the 1880’s to the late 1950’s. Development of items such as Ace Bowling Balls and Ace Combs can be traced from blueprints and salesman samples to the finished products.
The Ace Company exhibit
The resource center presents the opportunity to view past copies of local newspapers, almost a century of Butler High School yearbooks, and a pictorial history of Main Street, Butler.
The Butler Museum main gallery with the Ace Rubber exhibition as well as the Butler Fire and Police departments. The displays represent years of tradition in the town. The displays contain many of the items from former businesses of the town.
The next two historical sites I visited were the Pompton Plains Railroad Station and the Martin Barry House which were located down the road from each other. The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum was just off the downtown and is a small compact museum on the history of the rail system in this part of the county.
The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum at 33 Evans Place.
I was visiting Morris County for the “Pathways to History” tour, I visited the Pompton Lakes Railroad Museum. This tiny museum served once as the depot for the local railroad but now houses its history. Piled all over the building is the history of the rail service in this area. Small displays are located all around a pot belly stove that serves as the center point of the museum. The memorabilia includes a series of pictures, maps and schedules.
(From the Pathways to History tour pamphlet 2024):
Pompton Plains Station, home to the Pequannock Township Museum, was erected in 1877 by the Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway as a replacement for an earlier structure built when passenger service began in 1872. After closing in 1966, the station remained in private hands until 2006 when it was purchased by Pequannock Township with Morris County and Township Open Space funds, as well as, funds from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust. It was listed on the NJ and National Registers of Historic Places in 2008 and was restored to its “Turn of the 20th Century” appearance in 2010 (PPHS website).
The Historic Marker at the station.
The building’s simple wood construction is characterized by its late 19th Century American “Stick style” architecture, with its notable exterior embellishments being the distinctive “Dutch cap” trim over each window and door and its decoratively patterned slate roof. The museum supports an extensive collection of photographs and artifacts illustrating the Township’s 300 years of recorded history. Featured is a collection of over two dozen models of historic buildings, as well as, exhibits about Civil War veteran, Medal of Honor recipient, station agent and prior owner of the nearby Martin Berry House, James R. Evans (PPHS website).
The Pompton Plains Railroad Station Museum gallery.
Other exhibits cover the history of the station, and the pioneering 1940’s rocket engine factory Reaction Motors. Plans for 2023 construction, which will include restoration of the decorative 19th century slate roof and chimney, will be on display.
The Conductor’s Office is part of the display at the museum.
The next site I visited was the Martin Barry House, which is located just behind the strip mall on the highway. You need to make the right once you get off the highway on the street behind the mall and make a sharp right at the top of the street to find the house.
The Martin Berry House from the top of the hill at 581 Route 23 South. It is on a road hidden from the highway.
When I went to visit the Martin Berry House for the “Pathways to History” tour, I found it impossible to find. The Google Map has it in the middle of a parking lot in front of the strip mall along the highway and there is no pathway to the home from the parking lot. What you have to do is go the street behind the mall, head up the hill and make a right down a gravel road and there is the house at the end of the street.
There is not much parking here but with an isolated home like this, the Historical Society needs to put some things in place before they start having events here. The Society had bought the house not too long ago and there is still some renovation work that is being done, so the Society is in its first stages of opening the house to the public. It has some nice revolving displays and an interesting Colonial kitchen. The gardens are also beautiful when in bloom. Visiting the house in the future will offer many surprises.
(From the website of the Martin Berry House and the Pequannock Township Historical Society):
The Martin Berry House, or MBH, was built on this spot in about 1720. The original house was smaller than what you see here. This is the the result of the second major enlargement or renovation of the original construction as well as later renovations and remodeling.
The Martin Berry House from the gardens.
The MBH is owned by the Township of Pequannock and operated in partnership with the Pequannock Township Historical Society (PTHS). PTHS was formed in 2015 out of a movement that was original called the Friends of the Martin Berry House that had itself been initiated in 2014 to support the Township in its efforts to acquire the MBH.
The Martin Berry House Furniture display in May 2024.
Since a lot of these sites are far from each other I could only visit four this time. Since the Glenburn Estate was closed that day (with no notice), the last place I visited was the Lincoln Park History Museum at 141 Main Street.
Lincoln Park History Museum at 141 Main Street
The entrance of the Museum off the Main Street.
This colorful and well lit little museum is packed with information on the development of the town. The transformation took place with the form of transportation that changed the area starting with the Morris Canal running through then the railroad system and then the advent of the automobile. This area is still quite sleepy even though its located just an hour outside of New York City.
Lincoln Park History Museum, located at the original 1922 Library building. Lincoln Park, or as once known, Beavertown, is small in geographic nature but has a rich and diverse history. The museum’s goal is to rediscover the town’s past and celebrate / preserve the history, which sadly, at times, is lost and forgotten.
The history of the town’s police and fire departments
Join us and discover our past which includes: dinosaurs, native American artifacts, revolutionary roads /houses, civil war hometown hero, part of the Morris Canal path, part of the Boonton Line Railroad branch, airport, major flood events, some Hollywood film locations and of course our townsfolks who sacrificed in war, volunteers (fire department, police, first aid, pal, scouting etc.), all who made Lincoln Park a wonderful town to grow up in and formed pride and sense of community (Pathways Tour website).
The history of the Morris Canal that ran through the town before the railroads.
The Morris Canal was an important part of the town’s development.
Learn how the town transformed from a small crossroad in the American revolution to a canal stopping point with incline plane, lock and hotel. Learn how it progressed from farming to resort area to commuting town and transform to what it is today. The town keeps growing.
The day the Railroad came to town and it changed everything! On December 14, 1870 the first passenger train stopped at Beavertown. School was closed that day so the students could witness this momentous occasion. The following year Beavertown’s name was changed to Lincoln Park. This event, started a large and long transformation of the town. Prior to this, the town was all farmland and the few businesses in town centered on support of the Morris Canal. Once the railroad came, the transformation started (Pathways Tour website).
On a different day, I came back to Morris County and visited the Chatham Township Historical Society/Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum at 24 Southern Boulevard in Chatham, NJ. I had not been able to get there on the last trip and it is only open one Sunday a month and by appointment only. So I drove out to see it. What a delightful little museum.
The front of the Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum/Chatham Township Historical Society at 24 Southern Boulevard
The historical sign of the Mount Vernon School
The museum sign that welcomes you to the museum
The Mission Statement of the Museum:
(from the museum website)
The Historical Society of the Township of Chatham was established to increase the knowledge, awareness and preservation of the Township of Chatham history.
I visiting the Red Schoolhouse Museum on the first Sunday of the month and found a delightful little museum filled with artifacts that represent life in Chatham during various times in the town’s history. The museum has two floors with displays telling the history of the Township of Chatham from the beginnings with the Lenape Tribe living in the area to modern times.
The Museum gallery
On the first floor there is the special exhibitions that rotate in the museum. Some of the themes of the exhibitions were Children’s Toys and Playthings through the ages, Wedding gowns and formal wear and Revolutionary War items. The museum also has an interesting exhibition on the Lenape Indians who lived in this region before the Dutch arrived.
Wedding Gowns and Formal Wear exhibition on the first floor
Dressmaking and Sewing in the home and in business
Children’s Toys and Playthings through the ages
Children’s dolls and stuffed animals
The Train display of electric antique items
Revolutionary War and Trade items on the top shelf and historical cameras
The second floor has displays that tell different stories. The display cases have Native American artifacts, farming equipment, household items, pictures of the town at different stages of development, the community changes from a farming to business with the advent of the railroad. Here you see the changes in household items as time goes on.
The Lenape Display
Native American stone objects
The Arrowhead collection
Each display tells an interesting story of the Township of Chatham. Looking over how the towns in the area developed I didn’t even know there was a Village of Chatham and a Township of Chatham. I was also impressed with their toy collection which should be a conversation piece to any group of elementary school students. I think this would be interesting to seniors as well on times have changed since they were children. The museum really has something for everyone. All different stories are being told at this museum and the collection continues to grow when residents pasts become part of the museum’s future.
The display on resident Reverend Samuel Tuttle
The Statement of Purpose:
(from the museum website)
The Historical Society of the Township of Chatham, a volunteer, not-for-profit organization founded in 1975, is dedicated to increasing knowledge, awareness and preservation of our town’s unique historical heritage. We maintain the Red Brick Schoolhouse Museum where we coordinate our educational programs, research, and preservation advocacy as well as manage the discovery, collection, and conservation of materials that illustrate the history of the area prior to and after European settlement.
Artifacts from one of the museum’s historic digs
The audience served by the Society’s programs includes members of the Society, residents, students and visitors to the community, scholars, the public in general as well as businesses and governmental agencies in the area.
The display of the history of the Red Brick Schoolhouse
It was a lot of running around on a gloomy rainy day but it was a perfect time to visit all these sites and maybe revisit when they are reopen again. For now, there is more of Morris County that I want to explore when these small sites are open again.
Please look at their link for more details and happy exploring!
On the second day of the Morris County, NJ “Pathways to History’ tour, I was on my way back to Morris County for a second day of adventure. My first stop on the tour was the Ayres/Knuth Farm (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc.), a former working farm just off Route 10.
The main farmhouse on the Ayres/Knuth Farm
Not only was the site open for touring but they also had a mini car show with antique cars and fire trucks owned by some of the members. Seeing some of these Model T Ford’s and Steam Engine Fire Trucks in perfect condition shows American quality motorship at its finest.
What I liked about the farm is that it had been a…
Exploring Boonton, NJ is an ongoing Downtown project that I enjoy. As current President of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association, I go out to the home at least six times a year for meetings. Before I head to the home, I always like to stop in the Downtown and explore all the new businesses, restaurants and shops and see the changes going on. The first wave of art galleries that I had visited in 2017 has given way to a collection of unique boutiques and spas, new art galleries and a collection of interesting street art. Like most of the downtowns featured on this blog, Boonton just seems to be growing and changing all the time.
Working with the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association at the NJ State Firemen’s Home in Boonton, NJ:
In August of 2021, it had been a tough summer. I pulled a muscle and it has been hard to do long walks around Manhattan so I kept it to short walks around my neighborhood. As I have improved, I have been able to get more done and have started to drive again. I was able to make the trip to Boonton, NJ for the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association Barbecue.
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association at their June 2024 barbecue.
So off I went adjusting the car seat higher with a pillow and an ice pack. It was a short trip with no traffic and the pain has now subsided with more walking. When I arrived at the home for the barbecue, I had to walk around the property to loosen up a bit. When I came back in 2023, 2024 and 2025 for our two barbecues, I felt so much better and was ready to go.
Still it was a marvelous day and the most beautiful weather sunny and clear and 72 degrees. The residents loved being outside to enjoy the fresh air, music and food and the members liked that we still could socially distance and converse with the residents outside as long as there were not too many gathering (we want to keep our retired firefighting brothers safe too). Please check out my blog on the August BCFHA Barbecue:
Me finally sitting down to lunch after serving everyone else
The Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association August Barbecue at the NJ Firemen’s Home August 15th, 2021:
After the barbecues were over, I decided to head back to Downtown Boonton to explore the downtown on a weekend and get some stretching for my legs and back in before the long ride home. Downtown Boonton, which has been discovered by the artists and hipsters is going through a major change as we speak. There is so much to see and do.
Since then, I have visited the downtown and watched it grow from a rather sleepy downtown to a destination with galleries, coffee shops, music venues, upscale stores and eclectic restaurants.
The barbecue feast was amazing at the June 2024 Barbecue
The members of the Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association at the 2025 Picnic with member George Steiger on his 102nd birthday
Our blog on the 2025 barbecues:
It started off as a gloomy and misty day for the Bergen County Fireman’s Association June Barbecue. The weather forecast for the week was for rain but we lucked out with conditions. There was a light rain with breaks between so that residents could come outside and enjoy lunch under the tents.
The grounds of the NJ State Firemen’s Home during the late Spring
With all the rain we had been having the grounds of the home looked so beautiful and lush. The flowers were all in full bloom and the gardens looked amazing.
The gardens and fountains the day of the barbecue. I thought the fire hydrant fountain was pretty good.
Under the direction of Chef Prince of the NJ State Firemen’s Home and our member, NJ Firemen’s Association President Bob Ordway, they cooked up a feast for the residents, their guests and members and families.
NJ State Firemen’s Association President and Bergen County Firemen’s Home Association member Bob Ordway manning the grill.
Chef Prince of the NJ State Firemen’s Home cooking up a storm.
The wonderful lunch that everyone enjoyed
Our entertainment that afternoon was singer Kelly Carpenter, who had entertained at many of our functions in the past. She sang popular show tunes, rock hits and country tunes.
Touring Downtown Boonton, NJ after events and on my own time:
Downtown Boonton, New Jersey is showing a new rebirth from the local shops of the past to new restaurants, galleries and shops popping up all over the downtown. Known for the local ironworks that once made this a company town, somehow this small hamlet was discovered by artists and galleries have been popping up on the main street.
Downtown Boonton in Fall 2022
Downtown Boonton in the Summer of 2025
What I like about Boonton’s downtown is the diversity of old and new mixed together and that the main street is a sloped and curving so that you can see the remains of the iron works and the park below. The views of the mountains and trees lined valley’s are spectacular in the summer with swaths of green trees all over.
The entrance to the main part of Downtown Boonton and the historical district of downtown
Plank Road in Downtown Boonton leads to the historic district of the old Morris Canal and ironworks
I discovered Downtown Boonton by accident when I decided to drive around when I had time to spare before an event in 2021. I had read something about the Boonton Historical Society in a magazine (See my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com). So I visited the Historical Society after our April meeting in 2019 and attending their Open House for Christmas. That was a nice event with docent tours, light refreshments and musical performances. Since then I have been back a few more times to explore the shopping district.
I have started many trips at the Boonton Historical Society located at 210 Main Street. This interesting little museum is a treasure trove of local history with displays on the history of the local Iron Works, the Trolley Car industry and its role in the development of transportation in the area and displays on the history of the local police, fire and local schools. There are also some interesting pictures of the changes in the downtown area. They also run great walking tours.
Boonton Historical Society at 210 Main Street at the Christmas Open House in 2022
The Boonton Historical Society is the old Taylor House
I have visited the museum during both the 2019 and 2022 Christmas Open House which was an interesting afternoon of Docent tours of the museum’s Trolley and Railroad exhibition memorabilia and then a wonderful concert from a local musician with refreshments following. COVID had stopped this for two years and people were glad that it came back
Santa arrived at the Boonton Historical Society
One of the Board members performed at the Christmas Open House in 2022
In the Summer of 2021, I took a walking tour of the old Iron Works factory with a local historian. We toured all the spots in Grace Lord Park that had been built up to support the factory along with ruins of the old structures of the complex. It was sad that these will be knocked down for a new condo complex (see my review on TripAdvisor and VisitingaMuseum.com).
The inside of the Boonton Historical Society “Say Yes to the Dress” exhibition
The inside of the Boonton Historical Society “Small Business” exhibition
The historical section of the museum
Walking the Downtown in all seasons:
On my last three trips exploring the downtown, I have been admiring the statues of dogs and cats that line the street and flank all the buildings. The Boonton Arts Creative Placemaking Initiative organization in partnership with Boonton Main Street Inc. has been showcasing artists who have created these works.
Dog sculpture in Downtown Boonton, NJ
The Boonton Post Office is flanked by dog statues
The Dog Days of Summer & Some Cool Cats’ is a public art exhibition showcasing artist’s customer designs on life sized statues displayed on the main street. Artists are sponsored by the public.
“Dog Days of Summer & some Cool Cats” exhibition downtown
The Dog Days of Summer sculptures in 2025:
The sculptures in 2025
The sculptures in 2025
The sculptures in 2025
Once the artist received a sponsor, they get the opportunity to bring their design to life. For the duration of the summer, the sculptures will be available for adoption on the Boonton Arts Etsy page. The project has now raised $70,000 for local animal shelters and over $6,000 for local schools (Boonton Arts).
“Dog Days of Summer & Some Cool Cats” outside one of the coffee shops downtown
Across the street from the Historical Society at 309 Main Street is Eric’s Jamaican Cuisine which serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. It specializes in roasts, stews, fish dishes and the patties look amazing. The smells of food cooking and spices from the background grill will make your mouth water.
I stopped in on a recent visit and had a Beef and Cheese Jamaican patty ($2.50) and it was delicious. The crust was so light and flaky and had a nice portion of filling inside. The Chicken and Jerk Chicken patties were sold out so I tried one of the Fried Dumplings ($1.00). It was a round deep fried crisp dough that was perfect with a little jam.
The service could not have been nicer and the woman working the counter went over the menu with me. I love the smell of the spices when you enter the restaurant.
The downtown shopping district has an eclectic mix of the restaurants and shops. One of the first places I ate lunch at when I was touring the downtown on my first trip was Pasquale’s Pizza at 307 Main Street #1. I stopped in for a slice of pizza and a Coke and the pizza here is really good. The slice was full of flavor with a nice gooey consistency.
The cheese pizza here is excellent!
The service was very pleasant and on a cool Sunday afternoon was one of the few places that was open. The service is very friendly.
I recently dined at Pasquale’s Pizza for lunch and decided I did not want any pizza even though it looked really good and was in the mood for a deli sandwich. I ordered a half of an Italian hero and was floored when the sandwich came out. It was a half a sandwich that most people would have considered a whole. It was so huge that I had to take half of it home and it made two other meals. It was delicious.
The ‘half’ Italian hero sandwich at Pasquale’s Pizza
It was delicious and everything was so fresh on the sandwich. This is a great place for lunch.
Walking up the hill from the train tracks, you will look up at the winding main street at an interesting mix of historical buildings that are in the process of renovation or have been brought back to their original beauty.
Street art tucked here and there
For lunch one afternoon, I ate at Wah Yan Kitchen at 601 Main Street. This little hole in the wall take out restaurant services delicious Cantonese food at very reasonable prices for lunch. The afternoon I was there I had a Shrimp Lo Mein with a side of Pork Fried Rice and an egg roll.
The one thing that differed Wah Yan Kitchen from many of the take out places I have eaten at is the entree was very large and the dish did not skip on the ingredients. There was lots of chopped roast pork in both the fried rice and in the egg roll. Everything was wonderful that I have ordered here in the past. The family who runs the restaurant could not have been nicer to me.
On my recent trip to the restaurant I had the sudden craving for Sweet and Sour Pork and had that for lunch which I thoroughly enjoyed.
The Sweet and Sour Pork combination lunch
The Sweet and Sour Pork was wonderful
The restaurant’s lunch specials are really good and I enjoy coming here when I am in town. Their prices and portion sizes are very fair and the food is really good.
I like their painting against their wall. It is very clever!
I made two trips to Egg’s City for breakfast ordering the same meal and the food and service are consistently excellent.
Egg City at 605 Main Street and Wah Yah Kitchen at 601 Main Street
The fresh chips and homemade hot sauce to start your meal. They are good!
On a recent trip to Boonton, I stopped at Egg City at 605 Main Street for a late breakfast. It was a beautiful sunny day and I sat by the widows watching the world go by. I ordered the Eggs with Chorizo which came with a side of potatoes and wheat toast. The scrambled eggs came in a hard scramble with plenty of spicy Chorizo sausage chopped inside the eggs. Adding some of the hot sauce provided on the table, it added an extra zing to the dish.
My breakfast on both trips to Egg’s City. The food is wonderful
The Scrambled eggs with Chorizo Sausage makes a nice combination
Boonton at one time must have been a very cultural center for the arts in the region having a theater, opera house and a well established library all located within the downtown area. With the Morris Canal cutting through the town and the Ironworks at the bottom of the hill, the traffic in the downtown at the turn of the last century was extremely busy being a place of trade and shipping.
The Darress Theater at 615 Main Street has been closed during the COVID pandemic but was still open in late 2019 when it was showing some classic films. It was closed when I visited the town over the last year and a half though.
The theater was opened in 1919 as a vaudeville house with many famous names on the circuit visiting the town like Burns & Allen and Abbott & Costello. After WWII, the theater became a movie house showing first run movies until the local malls took that business away in the 1980’s. Before it closed due to COVID, it had been showing classic films and live shows (NJ Daily Record).
As you make your way up the hill, you will pass the picturesque Boonton Library at 621 Main Street. The library opened in this building in 1894 in a small section of the structure. The property was bought from the Iron Company in 1849 by Eliza Scott and was used for stores. Then the building was bought by local resident James Holmes in 1856 and in 1870 and was converted into the family homes. Upon his death in 1893, he willed the building and a sum of money so that the building could be used as a town library (Best Public Libraries/History of Boonton Library).
The Boonton Public Library at 621 Main Street (next to the Darress Theater)
The impressive old building holds a periodical area, a Children’s and Teen Library and a sitting area for patrons. You can still see from of the impressive details of the old building when walking around the library.
The library does a nice job decorating for the holidays. Halloween seems to be a favorite.
The library Halloween weekend in 2025
The pumpkins and ghosts
The ghosts and ghouls and things that go bump in the night
This little creature protected the front of the library
Another wonderful restaurant that I tried one afternoon after a long walking tour of Grace Lord Park was Roma Pizzeria & Restaurant at 709 Main Street. They have the most delicious cheese pizza and their garlic knots are really good. The pizza has the most amazing sauce that tastes of fresh tomatoes, garlic, a bit of hot pepper and olive oil. It really gave each bit a rich flavor. The family that runs the pizzeria is really nice too and I was able to eat at one of the outdoor tables and admire the view of the area.
Right down the road is the old Engine/Hose Company One firehouse at 713 Main Street. This original firehouse of the Boonton Fire Department was built in the 1890’s. It was renovated in 2012 and was formerly Maxfield’s Restaurant. The building is currently empty but you can still admire the stonework of the old building and the details that showed its once fire fighting past (LoopNet.com).
The old Engine/Hose Company One at 713 Main Street
Next to the firehouse is another reminder of Boonton’s cultural past is the Boonton Opera House at 715 Main Street. This architectural gem was built in 1850 as Independence Hall which was used for various functions. Then in 1890, the owner added a third floor and christened it “Mrs. Green’s Opera House”. The building was fully renovated in 2016 by business owners in the area and now houses offices and retail space (Daily Record). Check out the buildings details on the other side of the street.
The Boonton Opera House at 715 Main Street (next to the firehouse)
After my walking tour of the Iron Works Company with the Historical Society and a nice lunch at Roma Pizzeria & Restaurant, I sampled Scoop House at 813 Main Street. Scoop House is an old fashioned ice cream parlor with homemade ice cream and unusual flavors. The menu includes all sorts of sundaes, shakes, ice cream sandwiches and waffle & ice cream combos.
I had an unusual flavor called “Cookie Monster”, which was a purple ice cream with cookie dough batter in it and crushed chocolate chip cookies. Talk about different and delicious! The prices are also very fair at a time when other ice cream shops are charging premium prices.
The Scoop House in 2025 changed owners and names and is now known as Meli’s Sweet Shop.
Meli’s Sweet Shop at 813 Main Street
The inside of the shop and the delicious ice creams
The inside of the shop
The artwork inside
I loved the dog outside the shop
What I loved about Meli’s Sweet Shop is that they kept everything that was best about Scoops and added onto it.
Then I had to walk it all off and decided to explore the park.
I passed other businesses that were closed on most weekends and made my way to Grace Lord Park which is located at the top part of Downtown Boonton. From the sidewalks you can see the river path through the park and as you get closer to the bend, the waterfall near the bridge. This relaxing little park was once part of the Iron Works Company and where we started our walking tour of the area with the Boonton Historical Society.
Grace Lord Park in Boonton, NJ and the great playground they have in the park.
The front part of the park as you enter from the downtown is lined with paths, a children’s playground, a wooded area, historical signs of the site, the gazebo where concerts take place and our meeting ground for the tours and the falls.
The Falls of Grace Lord Park in Boonton, NJ
The waterfall in the Spring of 2024
On a perfect sunny day, a group of us joined the Historical Society of Boonton, NJ on a tour of the former Iron Works Company and of a section of the Morris Canal that ran through the town during the turn of the last century.
The street art on the walls of the park is interesting
On my more recent trips to the park, I just enjoy walking around the Falls area and taking a short hike down the paths into the woods and admire the river. On a nice day, there are plenty of families running around the park.
The Gazebo at Grace Lord Park
The lake and fountain in the park in the Fall
The park in the summer of 2025
The playground in 2025
The car in the playground
Whether it is Spring, Summer, Winter or Fall, Grace Lord Park is really beautiful at any season. I just love walking down the paths along the river and then watching the waterfall by the paths.
The beauty of the park in the Summer
The pathway to the ironworks in the Summer 2025
The pond in the Spring of 2026
The pond in the Spring of 2026
The waterfall
The video of the waterfall
It’s really beautiful in this park in the summer
In the summer months, there are all sorts of concerts in the park and on the weekends there is the Farmer’s Market.
The Farmer’s Market in Boonton has a nice selection of vendors.
I visited the Farmers Market on the Saturday on Labor Day weekend but the town cancelled the market at the last minute. Still there were a few vendors that had set up and I was able to sample their wares. The Schieferstein Farm from Clark, NJ had all of their fruits and vegetable lined up in bins and they had the most flavorful white peaches for a dollar. It was juicy and sweet and there is nothing like a Jersey Peach when it is in season.
Don’t miss the Schieferstein Farm stand for the sweetest Jersey Peaches
The selection of farm produce at the Farmer’s Market
The wares at the Farmers Market change with every season
I returned the next week and there were many more vendors selling all sorts of wares at the Farmers Market. I visited Gizmo’s Pet Products for gourmet pet treats, Race Farms out of Blairstown, NJ for another sweet juicy yellow Jersey Peach ($1.00) and Urban Gypsy Arts by artist Vicki Stafford who sells handmade knit and crocheted hats and scarves, handmade earrings and pins.
A Crocheted Voodoo doll by artist Vicki Stafford, the perfect gift for Halloween
Along the way there were other vendors selling Empanadas, Italian dinners, gourmet cheese, homemade pickles and freshly baked breads and pastries. There really is something for everyone at this Farmer’s Market. There was guitar band performing that morning for the patrons with original songs and a small play area with a Cornhole set up for the kids. The Boonton Farmers Market is a nice way to spend an early Saturday morning.
I visited the Boonton Farmers Market in August of 2026 on a beautiful sunny morning before a function at the NJ State Firemen’s Home. This is the time of year when the produce is at its peak for the Summer and the variety was immense. They also had a very interesting band playing that morning.
The Boonton Farmers Market
The Farmers Market on a sunny Sunday morning
The wonderful selection of booths
The delicious produce at the peak of the season from local farms
Jersey Corn in abundance
Fresh Polish foods at the Zabka Polish Deli booth
The entertainment that morning
On my way back up the hill through the downtown area, there are several bakery and gift shops you have to explore and have a quick dessert before you leave town.
Heavenly Temptations at 712 Main Street is a perfect place to duck into when it rains as it did on two afternoons when visiting Boonton. It has a extensive bakery section with cupcakes, muffins, scones, cookies and croissants. The shop also has an extensive collection of gift baskets, books, local art products and other assorted gifts. It is also a big meeting place for locals (Heavenly Temptations website).
There are several places to get desserts in the downtown area. Another is Creations by Sabrina that adds a touch of elegance to their dessert selections.
Creations by Sabrina is located at 706 Main Street
Creations by Sabrina is like walking into a bakery that treats their bakes goods like displayed jewels in a the case with beautiful and elegant looking cupcakes and cookies for sale. Each cupcake has its own unique look and flavor.
The business has now changed its name and direction of the business to Bagels and Crumbs
Bagels and Crumbs
Another establishment to enjoy pastries with a Spanish flair is Pergamino’s Bakery & Café at 720 Main Street.
As of 2024, Pergamino’s closed and this new Columbian Bakery, Tentaciones Bakery, opened in its place. The pastries are still very similar.
I had ducked into Pergaminos during a rainy afternoon when they were closing down for the afternoon and the people working there no only let me walk through while they were cleaning up but I could buy what I liked and they would not rush me out.
What attracted me to Pergamino’s was the Columbian pastries and hot foods that the bakery restaurant carried. On my first trip, I tried a Guava Plate, which was a flaky pastry split into two and filled with cream cheese and guava jelly. It was flaky and sweet but I was not crazy about the cream cheese in the dessert.
I was also able to try their Beef and Cheese Empanadas, which I ended up taking home with me. They warmed up in the oven perfectly and I liked the spiciness of the beef which was accented by the home made hot sauce they gave me.
On the second trip, I tried one of their Apple Turnovers, which from what the staff said were really popular and I could see why. Surrounded by a sugary puff pastry, these sweet apples are rolled in cinnamon sugar and butter and baked until a golden brown.
When you reach the middle of the downtown area, you can see the remnants of the old Morris Canal that used to run through town.
Where the old canal was located
When I was taking my tour of the Boonton Iron Works, this section of the canal was filled in years ago but at the turn of the last century, the canal was busy taking iron and other raw materials from the area to market. This is what made Boonton Boonton.
The sign for the Morris Canal
This section of the canal was called Morris Canal Inclined Plane 7 East for the machine that allowed the boats to navigate the canal to overcome changes in the elevation (Boonton Historical Marker).
Morris Canal Inclined Plane 7 East that parallels the downtown
As I made my way down the hill, back to the car, I passed the popular Don’s Sandwich Shop and music store. I stopped in one morning after visiting the Farmer’s Market and had a Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwich on a soft chewy roll. It was the perfect breakfast on a cool morning.
They made the sandwich with provolone cheese instead of the the traditional American cheese and with a little mayo added the perfect zing to the sandwich. The couple that runs the shop could not have been nicer to me.
The Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a roll is really good here
There is even a music shop within the store, Drummer’s Corner, which is located in the corner of the sandwich shop.
Adding to the many historical sites in Downtown Boonton is the Boonton Civil War monument located in the middle of the shopping district.
The beautiful historic buildings by the Civil War Memorial
This interesting piece of town history was erected in 1876 and was “In grateful remembrance of their fellow citizens who volunteered in defense of The Union of the War of 1861-1865 Honor to the Brave 1876” (Monument). This touching monument is a tribute for those who were lost in the Battle of the States.
As I walked back to my car, I took time to glance at the scenic views from the main street of the foliage and mountains that make the backdrop of the downtown area. I can see why the artists are starting to move into town and the amount of art galleries that are starting to open (most were closed on the weekends on my last two visits).
Downtown Boonton, NJ in Fall 2022
The edge of Downtown Boonton to the north during the Fall 2022
Take time to walk east of the downtown to visit the historic homes of former factory workers of the Iron Works which are now being snatched up and renovated. When I drove through the downtown one last time and made my way up the hill, I drove past Grace Lord Park.
Up the hill through the Essex Street neighborhood above downtown were blocks of old Victorian homes and mansions line the streets overlooking the park.
The Hill section of Downtown Boonton in the Fall
The Hill section of Downtown Boonton in the Fall
The Hill section of Downtown Boonton in the Fall
The Hill section of Downtown Boonton
The Hill section is also beautiful in the summer when everything is in bloom
The Victorian homes in the summer months
The Hill section in the Summer
The Hill section in the summer
There is so much to see and visit when walking Downtown Boonton and with the influx of new residents and the energy of the present ones, it is making Boonton, NJ a vibrant and interesting town to visit.
On the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, I stayed to watch the Boonton Fire Department Labor Day Parade and that was a lot of fun. The Department marched in the parade and fire departments from all over the County joined in with their fire apparatus. It was a beautiful day for the parade.
The Boonton Fire Department had their classic apparatus in the parade
I also visited right before Halloween in 2022 and there was a lot going on in the downtown area. There was a festival going on in the park during the weekend and the park was decorated with all sorts of ghouls and goblins.
The “Trick or Treat Trail” event in Grace Lord Park
The Goblins in the park
the Goblins in the park
The Ghouls of the park
The beauty of Grace Lord Park in the Fall
The beauty of Grace Lord Park in the Fall
Halloween decorations in 2023 that were all over the downtown for the holidays:
Space Alien
Characters by the library.
More characters by the library.
Odd little creature in the downtown.
“Deadhead” in Downtown Boonton, NJ.
In honor of “Friday the 13th”
Mr. Pumpkin Head in Downtown Boonton
Guarding the library steps during a recent Mariachi concert at the library.
I also visited again in 2025, right before Halloween and the town was decorated for the start of the holiday celebration.
The horrible ghoul in the center of downtown
The town was not decked out for the Halloween and Fall holidays. It was not just the Halloween holidays but the beauty of the change of seasons and the Fall foliage.
The Hill section of Boonton
The Hill section of the town in October
The beauty of the Victorian homes
Each street was so beautiful
The homes were the colors of gold, red and copper
The businesses did a nice job with the scarecrows this year. The ghosts and ghouls dotted the downtown.
The Annabelle doll
The ghouls are out
The cat in the hat
Pumpkin head
Mars Attacts outside a restaurant
This strange Teddy was outside the library
Boonton does a wonderful job of decorating during both the Halloween and Christmas holidays. The downtown is decorated with all sorts of interesting and creative artwork and beautiful lights. I recently walked around the Downtown at the start of the holiday season and it was really festive.
During Christmas time, Downtown Boonton is also beautifully decorated.
The Municipal Building decked out for Christmas
There is something for everyone in Downtown Boonton, NJ. Santaland in Grace Lord Park seems to be very popular.
The entrance to Santaland
The reindeer decorations in Santaland
The set up for Santaland
The Christmas decorations in Santaland
The entrance to Santaland and to visit Santa
Leaving a message with Santa
Leaving Santaland after a walk through
I walked around Downtown Boonton during the very start of the holiday season and admired the decorations.
Downtown Boonton is becoming quite the arts community
The wreaths were adorning all the lampposts and buildings
The beautiful wreaths that adorn the lampposts
I never noticed this sign in the post office parking lot
When I doubled back to leave that afternoon, I noticed the lights coming on in the gazebo. It was quite the sight at dusk.
Grace Lord Park at dusk
The beauty of the gazebo at the holidays
Grace Lord Park as well as the rest of Downtown is brilliant at the holidays. Don’t miss the beauty of Downtown Boonton at any season.
The town has attracted a sizable LGBT community of artists, residents and business owners who show their pride in the downtown
There’s always something happening and changing in Boonton, NJ!
Don’t miss this New Jersey institution tucked in the corner near the entrance of Hacklebarney State Park, one of the most beautiful and underrated parks in New Jersey. Just driving down State Park Road brings me back in time to the mid-1970’s when we used to stop at the farm for apple cider. My mom always liked to have it in the house to serve with dinner when we were growing up. The best part is that they still press their own.
The Hacklebarney Park Cider Mill bakeshop and cider mill
The old fashioned signs from the late 1980’s
Coming to Hacklebarney Cider Mill Farm is a step back into the rural era of New Jersey and the family that runs the farm respects its history and does not treat it like a theme park like the farms up the road from it on Route 206. The Pitney family is now into their 7th generation of running the farm and over the years have continued to add to the business.
The family farmhouse in the early Spring 2022
The family added a fence to the front of the house in the Summer of 2026
I got to meet one of the daughter’s running the farm with her husband at the end of the day of business and got into an interesting conversation about the farm. They are really a nice couple, and it was good to hear their perspective on farming in New Jersey today. It is not so easy, but I told them I like that it isn’t so commercial as the farm up the road. It is quaint and family oriented and looks more like the working farm that it is today.
The farm is very family oriented and not some sort of Disneyland farm
The produce and flowers in front of the farm entrance
When you drive up to the parking lot you still see the old family homestead of the Pitney family who runs the farm. Still used by the family, they have built around the property a prosperous retail business that includes the farmland itself, a retail bakery and cider business and a food stand.
The farm in the Summer of 2026
Their baked goods are amazing!
Gourmet Products line the shelves
Don’t miss their retail bakery which is amazing. Their apple and fruit dumplings may be on the pricey side but are bursting with fresh fruit and are normally sold so fast that they are still hot fresh out of the oven.
The selection of powered and glazed doughnuts
There are doughnuts and dumplings both of which are excellent
Their cider doughnuts are the most popular items in the bakery and are sometimes sold by the dozens. When they are hot out of the fryer, there is nothing like them especially with a little powdered sugar or cinnamon.
The Cinnamon Powered Apple Cider Doughnuts
People were walking out with bags of them that day. They have different versions of the doughnut as well. The pumpkin doughnut has a nice flavor to it and with lots of cinnamon topping on it gives it a hint of the fall. They also have a maple glazed version of it and one with bacon as well. They are crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.
Hacklebarney Farm Cinnamon Apple Cider doughnuts are light and delicious
The Powered Sugar Doughnut
They are so good
Yum!
They also have the most luscious looking Apple and Pumpkin pies on display as well as they were cooking fresh turkey stew for customers to sample. There are all sorts of delightful smells when you enter and exit the farm stand.
The farm pies look amazing
Try to get to the farm early and see the demonstration of them making their fresh apple cider and pick up a half gallon or two for the road when it is in season. It is delicious, sweet and tart and reflects a different variety of apples. After two days, the complexity of the juicy becomes more pronounced and delicious.
The farm’s sweet and juicy apples in the Fall of 2024
The pumpkin and gourd display on the Fall of 2024
The late Summer bounty in 2026
Visiting a small New Jersey farm stand is a Jersey tradition in the Fall months. With the sprawl of development in the Garden State, these farms are trying hard to adapt to the times. There are still many left though and Hacklebarney Cider Hill Farm is a treat to anyone who wants to ‘go out to the country’. Also, don’t miss walking through their corn maze. That looks like an experience if you have the time in the afternoon.
I made a special trip to the farm in the late Summer of 2026 and there had been some changes on the farm. The house added a fence to give them more privacy with the growing crowds of people visiting the farm. More landscaping with beautiful flowers and vines were planted around all the buildings and they nicely merchandised the chicken coops in the back of the farm. They really do make a lot of noise. They also added Corn Hole games to the lawn.
The farm in the late Summer of 2026
The Apple trees in the Summer of 2026
Seeing the fields lush with Apple trees and Corn fields was a complete change from the end of the Fall when everything seemed so dried out. The apples are just starting to come in and the farm started the ‘pick your own apples’ program. People were really buying that day.
The Apple orchards in the late Summer of 2026
The farm was growing two different varieties of apples
The Apple harvest is just beginning
The picking of your own apples was just starting
The crop was really coming in
You have to have lunch on the farm while you are here and make a picnic out of it on a nice day. The hot dogs are really good and with the right toppings make a nice meal along with some Apple Cider and a doughnut.
The hot dog stand on the farm
The hot dogs are cooked in cider and served hot in a soft bun. Their hot fresh apple cider, pressed on the property is perfect on a cold Fall day or refreshing cool on a hot day.
You have to check out the stand for lunch. The hot dogs are cooked in fresh apple cider
Nothing like a hot dog and Coke on a hot day
The hog dogs are delicious
The hot dog stand has an old fashioned feel to it
After Thanksgiving, the farm will be open on weekends only until Christmas and then closed for the season. Please check their website and call first before you visit. On a recent post-Christmas trip in 2020, I found that the farm closed for the season already. Wait until the Spring when they reopen for business but call the above number first or check their website.
The farm during pumpkin season
In the Spring of 2022, the farm opened early and the family by request of their customers have opened the farm stand earlier than usual and they also are selling hot dogs and sides on the weekends to people visiting the farm at the stand near their fields.
The farm is so welcoming to visitors
The afternoon that I came out for the “Pathways of History” tour of historical sites, we came for lunch and had a delicious quesadilla with a side of salsa that we ate at the picnic tables outside the stand.
The Apple Fruit Dumplings with fresh Jersey Apples
For dessert, we had one of the Cider Doughnuts and a Fruit Pocket, which is made with fresh fruit. All of their baked goods are made from scratch and by hand in the bakery on premise. They also have a nice selection of gourmet goods.
The gourmet items and gifts at the farm store
It’s nice to just relax in the sun and watch the family work on the farm, admire their dogs who are so friendly with visitors and walk around the bakery admiring the desserts and other delicious baked goods.
The family dogs are so friendly
When I visited in the Summer of 2026, I was able to walk through the Apple Orchards and take pictures. The farm has this fun Corn Maze, which people really looked like they were enjoying. The corn plants were at full height before harvesting.
In the Summer of 2026, the Corn Maze was in full swing and people were paying to get in
The corn fields in the Summer of 2026
The back fields facing the farm stand
Just behind the hot dog stand and garage is the Chicken Coop with its cackling chickens and hens. The chickens came right up to me and were so friendly.
I love their sign for the coops
The silver chicken greets you
The Chicken Coop
The chickens in their coop
The family has done a beautiful job landscaping the property. There are some nice places to relax and people watch. All the buildings looked like they had been scraped and repainted since the last time I visited in 2024.
The doughnut making building smelled like fresh fried dough
I loved the vines cradling up the building
The garden in Summer bloom
The potted plants
The flowers and bushes by the building
The vines by the old wheel
The vines growing up the water pipe
At the end of your visit, you can’t leave without getting some of their delicious doughnuts and apple cider to take home. The apple cider is just coming into season. The apple cider is best in October at the end of Apple Harvesting time but this was just as delicious and is perfect in the morning to start breakfast.
Their cider and doughnuts are really good
Their baked good are so good!
All good things have to come to an end but the farm is open weekends especially before Thanksgiving. Until the next time.
The farm in the Summer of 2026
The farmhouse from the 1800’s in the Summer of 2026
Leaving the farm for the day
While you are there remember to take time to spend at Hacklebarney State Park, one of New Jersey’s great natural park systems. So don’t miss visiting the park when you exit the farm or vice-versa. You will see some of the most spectacular views. It is worth the trip out and while you are there, stop by Hacklebarney Park. It has amazing trails.
Don’t miss this New Jersey institution tucked in the corner near the entrance of Hacklebarney State Park, one of the most beautiful and underrated parks in New Jersey. Just driving down State Park Road brings me back in time to the mid-1970’s when we used to stop at the farm for apple cider. My mom always liked to have it in the house to serve with dinner when we were growing up. The best part is that they still press their own.
Coming to Hacklebarney Cider Mill Farm is a step back into the rural era of New Jersey and the family that runs the farm respects its history and does not treat it like a theme park like the…
