Celebrate National Historic Preservation Month with Victorian needlecraft.
By: Josh Appelbaum
CRANBURY May promises to be a busy month for the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society.
Not only will it recognize National Historic Preservation Month, but the society will celebrate its 35th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the village’s designation as a National Historic District.
To recognize this bit of Cranbury’s and its own history, the society will start giving tours of Cranbury this week, sponsor a Victorian needlecraft demonstration at the Cranbury Museum on Sunday, host historic re-enactor Jim Downey (who will bring Joseph Borden, a contemporary of Thomas Paine, to life) on May 22 and launch a float for the Lions’ Memorial Day Parade on May 30.
The society also will host a bevy of special events throughout the year in celebration of the anniversaries, including a band concert at Village Park in celebration of Independence Day on July 5, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
On Sept. 10, the society will host a table at Cranbury Day, with homemade ice cream, and will take orders for its Autumn Plant Sale.
On Oct. 1, the society will take patrons on a tour of historic homes throughout Cranbury and on Oct. 22 it will host "Whispers from the Grave," a re-enactment detailing the Civil War’s impact on Cranbury, presented by the 14th Regiment’s Company H re-enactors.
On Nov. 5, the society will host a Gala Anniversary Celebration.
The festivities were expected to begin Thursday when Township Historian Betty Wagner was to lead the fourth-grade classes at Cranbury School on a tour of the village from Town Hall to the First Presbyterian Church, stopping at points of interest along the way.
"We’ll start the tour at the school and head south," Ms. Wagner said Wednesday. "The tour will take about an hour and 15 minutes, and we’ll point out highlights and plaques on historic houses and talk about what they mean. We’ll visit the fountain on (Brainerd) Lake and the History Center."
On Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., the society will man a table at the Drug Free Fair at Cranbury School to inform the public about the society’s activities and events.
"We’ll be there to explain what we do and give out brochures to better acquaint people with the society’s activities," Ms. Wagner said.
For more information on the Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society’s 2005 Calendar of Events, call (609) 860-1889.

