Lawrence history comes to life on Saturday

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Before there was an Interstate Highway 95 in Lawrence to move people and products, there was the Delaware & Raritan Canal to serve that purpose.
   And while Lawrenceville, N.J. should not be confused with Lawrenceville, Ga., the two communities do have something in common — residents in both towns owned slaves.
   Township residents who want to learn more about the Delaware & Raritan Canal, the history of slavery in Lawrence, and what the historic village of Lawrenceville looked like can attend “People, Places and Periods” Saturday afternoon at Lawrence High School.
   The event, which begins at noon and runs until 4 p.m., is a joint venture between the Lawrence Historical Society and the Lawrence Township Community Foundation to celebrate Lawrence Township’s history during History Month.
   A series of discussions and exhibits are planned for the event, ranging from presentations on how to preserve old photographs to the history of the Delaware & Raritan Canal, the Johnson Trolley, the AT&T Pole Farm and Route 206. Each discussion lasts for 30 minutes.
   Laura Nawrocik, president of the Lawrence Historical Society, is excited about the event.
   She said she hopes township residents will feel welcome to share what they know about Lawrence’s history, as well as to listen to the presentations.
   Volunteers from the Lawrence Historical Society will be on hand to show pieces from their collections and to discuss various facets of the township’s history.
   Local businesses and community groups, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., the Educational Testing Service and Rider University, will share the history of their institutions in Lawrence.
   And current and former residents who want to share their memories of Lawrence Township can do so with an oral history videographer.
   Their memories and recollections are an important part of Lawrence Township’s history.
   The event kicks off at 12:30 p.m., when longtime resident Gary Hullfish will share old photographs of the village of Lawrenceville.
   He has collected and catalogued many old photographs, and he will discuss the village’s history through the eyes of a camera lens.
   At 1 p.m., slavery and abolition in Lawrence Township will be discussed by Rider University history professor Brooke Hunter.
   Although slavery was not as entrenched in New Jersey as it was in Georgia, at its height there were about 100 slaves in the township.
   Fred Vereen, who grew up in the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood on the Lawrence-Ewing border, will talk about the neighborhood’s history and its role in Lawrence Township at 1:30 p.m.
   He was one of the backers of the Eggerts Crossing Village affordable housing development.
   Gary Saretzky, who is the Monmouth County archivist and a photographer, plans to offer tips on how to preserve old photographs at 2 p.m.
   Preserving photographs and keeping them in good condition is not as easy as it would appear.
   At 2:30 p.m., Barbara Ross, a historian of the Delaware & Raritan Canal, will take visitors on a virtual trip along the canal.
   Douglas Sargent, a longtime member of the township’s Historic Preservation Advisory Committee, can talk about the historic houses and landmarks that dot Lawrence Township’s landscape at 3 p.m.
   And wrapping up the event is Lawrence Township Historian Dennis Waters, whose 3:30 p.m. presentation is about the history of the Johnson Trolley line, the AT&T Pole Farm — better known as the Mercer County owned Mercer Meadows Park on Cold Soil Road and Keefe Road — and Route 206, which began its life as a muddy trail known as the King’s Highway.