No boat travel.
"A Weekend in Old Monmouth" Tour
I do not usually include non-boat related entries in the Sunset Delight blog. However, our very long-time, non-boating friends invited us to come along with them on a tour of "Old Monmouth" to explore some of the rich history this state and Monmouth County in particular have to offer. I decided to incorporate our day's travels into a blog entry.
We had a choice of several routes to follow and chose the Orange Route which took us to the western-most part of the county. From there we worked our way back towards the Jersey coast and home. Our friend, Rich, drove his wife's van so all six of us could travel together.
We started in Allentown, New Jersey at the Allentown Presbyterian Church founded in 1720. In 1744 members of the congregation bought a plot of land for 5 shillings and a meeting house was built in 1756. In 1837, the original church was torn down and the current, standing church was constructed to accommodate the now, much larger, congregation.
 |
| Allentown, NJ Presbyterian Church c. 1837 |
 |
| Pews at Balcony Level |
 |
| 18th Century Cemetery |
 |
| Bricks from original church engraved "Robert Debow 1756" |
Governor William Newell, founder of the U.S. Life Saving Service, is buried here. The U.S. Life Saving Service later merged with the Revenue Cutter Service to become the U.S. Coast Guard.
A short drive took us to Cream Ridge, New Jersey and Historic Walnford -- the former mill village of the Waln family. The village began with just a grist mill in 1734. When Richard Waln purchased the property in 1772, he added a sawmill, blacksmith, cooper's shop, a two-family home and other buildings. The village remained within the family until it was sold in 1973.
The property's purpose / use changed over the centuries. In the 18th century, it was a country house. In the 19th century it became a family farmhouse, and by the 20th century, it turned into a rural retreat from work in Philadelphia for the family.
The property is now operated by the Monmouth County Park System. A lot of research and work has been done to restore the buildings to their original appearance. The color of the various buildings depicts when it was added to the property.
 |
Historic Walnford |
As we entered the property, we passed under an unusual shaped structure. Our friend, Darlene who was raised on a farm, said, "That looks like a corn crib!" Sure enough we found corn in the corn crib! Darlene explained that the upside-down U shape of the structure allowed farm equipment to be brought in under the building.
 |
| Corn Crib! |
 |
| Blue building at rear of photo - Corn Crib Building in foreground - Carriage House |
In the carriage house, we found ...
 |
| Old Buggy |
 |
| A sleigh |
 |
| Well-used Side Saddle |
On the tour of the family's home we saw (among other things) ...
 |
| Preserved Original Kitchen |
 |
| Ice Cream Maker (huge in size) |
 |
| Side-to-side Butter Churn |
 |
Cheese Press |
 |
Weather vane |
The most interesting part of the tour was the tour of the grist mill including a demonstration of the mill in operation.
 |
| Grist Mill - blue depicts correct color of when it was constructed |
 |
| Turbine for grist mill |
 |
| Stones to grind the grains |
 |
| Showing different grades of coarseness of ground corn |
 |
| Complex, multi-level system to grind and sort grains |
 |
| "Silk as Sieve" - expensive but excellent method to sort grades of ground grain |
From Historic Walnford, Rich drove us to Roosevelt, New Jersey where we could gawk at the bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt located there. The idea for the town of Roosevelt was conceived in 1934 during the Great Depression as a New Deal settlement for Jewish garment workers. The first residents moved here, many from New York, in 1936. A local artist sculpted the head of Roosevelt which sits behind the local elementary school.
 |
| Bust of Franklin D. Roosevelt |
It took longer to walk to the sculpture than it took to look at it, and very quickly we were back in the car and on our way to our next stop - the Thomas Baird Homestead in Millstone Township, New Jersey. The Bairds planted orchards and a tree nursery for fruit and ornamental trees. They were among the first in the county to do this on a grand scale. Trees were brought in by train from Maryland and Delaware.
 |
| Baird House c. 1830 |
The house dates to 1830, and we found many interesting antique items to view on the property.
 |
| Huge Spinning Wheel |
 |
| Grandfather Clock - like the one in Clark's grandparents' home |
 |
| Fun organ |
 |
| Doll House - sign above says that this is a model home to show a buyer what the house would look like when constructed. Not until much more recent years and mass production did model houses become toys. |
 |
| "Pop Goes the Weasel" Spinner's Wheel, or Spinner's Weasel, goes POP when the desired length of material has been reached. |
 |
| Baby Carriage and Cradle |
The Clarksburg Allen Hay Barn and the Wagon House located on the property were recently moved here. Scheduled for demolition, they would have gone for landfill if not for the "friends" of the historical society who disassembled them and rebuilt them on this land in 2010. The women we met talked about working every day for a month to deconstruct the barn.
We departed the Baird Homestead and headed for Englishtown, New Jersey. The places we visited first on our tour resided in more rural parts of Monmouth County, New Jersey. As we approached Englishtown, we found "civilization" and a place to eat lunch. Being ravenous, we quickly decided on "Romeo's Gourmet Pizza" as the perfect place to chow down.
After eating a quick lunch, we made our way to the Village Inn also in Englishtown, New Jersey. The original portion of the building dates to 1726. In 1766 it became a tavern and continued in use by the public until 1963. During the time of Prohibition, the owner found uses of the property as a ice cream parlor. To bring in clientele, she spread the word that Washington had slept there - a blatant falsehood that worked to keep the business open and preserve the building as an historical site.
 |
| Village Inn in Englishtown, New Jersey |
Broken items and garbage were thrown out behind the tavern throughout the years of its use. Through excavation, many period items, albeit broken, were found. As they dug up artifacts, they discovered many oyster shells, so they know oysters were served here.
 |
| Oyster Shells and No-frills playing cards on dinner table in tavern |
I learned the origin of the word "Bar" from a very knowledgeable docent who talked way too long but did know a lot of history of the inn. The word "bar" comes from the fact that the tavern had many uses such as for town meetings and such. The alcohol stored behind the bars, shown in the picture, could be locked up during non-business hours.
 |
| A tavern bar with bars! |
Tavern rates for beverages and food were set by the government and posted for all to see.
 |
| Model of the Village Inn |
We saw some interesting antiques and period clothing on display here.
 |
| Square Piano |
 |
| Period Dress - Fancy! |
 |
| Lady's swim suit |
 |
| Teeny Tiny Sewing Machine |
The size of the congregation grew rapidly and in 1751, the church expanded in size to accommodate the growth. The structure has changed little since then and continues to be used today as a place of worship.
 |
| Old Tennent Presbyterian Church |
 |
| Restored gilt weather vane replaced original damaged by Hurricane Sandy in 2012 |
Family members paid a yearly rent for their pews. More affluent members sat up front and prominently displayed seating.
 |
| Pews at Old Tennent Church |
The less wealthy folks sat up in the balcony seats. The church had no heat or air conditioning for many, many years, so the only heat source consisted of foot warmers containing hot coals brought in by the members to serve their own family.
 |
| View from the balcony |
During the Battle of Monmouth in the fight for independence from British rule, the church served as a hospital. When the docent appeared to be concluding her comments on the church, Janet, who had been here before, asked her about the blood-stained bench and the cannon balls. The docent then took us to see these items.
One of the pews contains a blood stain believed to date back to the time the church was used as a hospital during the Battle of Monmouth in 1778. Testing has been performed on the blood stain. It is too old to reveal anything other than the fact that it is indeed human blood.
 |
| A rather macabre viewing of the blood-stained pew |
 |
| Hefting a 7-pound cannon ball to see how very heavy that feels |
 |
| Viewing two different-sized examples of grape shot |
The Battle of Monmouth took place on June 28, 1778. A reenactment is held every year at Monmouth Battlefield State Park. This year it will take place June 14 to 16.
Many soldiers died near here. Common graves on the church property contain the remains of both rebel and British soldiers.
 |
| Spooky old tree in graveyard |
Our next stop took us to the Oakley Farm House in Freehold Township, New Jersey. We were told to rush by the person who greeted us as, although today's event was scheduled until 5:00, they planned to shut down in just 15 minutes at 4:10. This annoyed Janet very much.
 |
| Tollhouse on property |
 |
| Toll: 2.5 cents - one horse / buggy 5 cents - team of horses / wagon |
Though not as old as items we saw in some of the other houses today, the antiques here brought back a few memories for some of us.
 |
| Old Stove |
 |
| Old Washer with Ringer |
 |
| Stroller / Pram |
 |
| Loom |
 |
| Graphophone |
When we left the Oakley Farmhouse, we had time for just one more stop before the advertised closing time. We decided to see Covenhoven House as our final stop of the day. This house, built circa 1752 by a successful Dutch farmer, shows the owner's affluence by the size and decor of the home. Unlike the last place we visited where we were essentially told to "hurry up and get out", we were greeted by a very knowledgeable docent who enthusiastically told us about the home's history.
 |
| Picture of Covenhoven House (taken from Wikipedia) |
Inside the house we saw ...
 |
| Clark loves grandfather clocks because they remind him of his grandparents' home. |
 |
| Dutch-style, Sparsely-furnished tea room |
 |
| Preserved, historic kitchen (Modern kitchen is hidden in the original pantry) |
The docent told us that although men stayed in the inn. Women visiting a town generally stayed in someone's home. The guest house at Covenhoven would tell anyone visiting "these people have money"!
 |
| Guest room at Covenhoven House ... Printed cotton bedding shows the affluence of these owners. |
Restoration procedures removed many layers of paints from the walls of the master bedroom to reveal the original walls. Decorated with a solution made from eggs, the original design soaked into the wood to be preserved for future generations to enjoy.
We walked out of Covenhoven House at precisely 5:00. Having seen so many places in one day, we were all ready to call it quits. With the every day hustle and bustle of a very busy Monmouth County, it is easy to forget that this area is rich in history. It was fun to travel back in time for a day.
Thanks to our friend Rich for driving. Thanks to Clark for taking 250 or so pictures to choose from covering today's exploration.
