SOUTH COUNTY: Rep. Lance salutes Hunterdon’s 300th in House floor speech

   Congressman Leonard Lance, a Republican from Clinton Township, celebrated the tricentennial of Hunterdon County in remarks on the floor of the House of Representatives at about noon March 27. The remarks were carried on CSPAN.
   Here is what Mr. Lance said:
   ”Mr. Speaker,
   I rise today to celebrate the tricentennial of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the county I have proudly called home my entire life and where my family has lived since 1739. The celebration this year is led by former state Senator Marcia Karrow and a hard-working committee of exemplary county residents.
   "The 300-year history of Hunterdon County is a fine example of the journey in the advancement of the English Colonies in North America to the present-day status of the United States of America throughout the world. To this day Hunterdon County maintains its natural beauty and rural charm, as has been the case throughout its history.
   ”The county is proud to be named for Robert Hunter, the distinguished Royal Governor of New York and New Jersey, who sailed to America with 3,000 Palatinate German refugees in 1710. They and thousands of others like them yearned for religious freedom and a better life for themselves and their descendants. Hunterdon County was formed when it separated from Burlington County 300 years ago this month, in March of 1714.
   ”From the first reading of the Declaration of Independence on the steps of what was then the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Trenton, to General Washington’s historic Delaware River crossing and decisive victory at the Battle of Trenton, Hunterdon’s link to the 1776 birth of the United States is significant.
   ”I was personally inspired as a child by the tales of Captain Daniel Bray and the Hunterdon County militia, who collected the boats on our western border that were used in Washington’s crossing on Christmas night in that fateful year of our nation’s birth. The county boasts several sites associated with the Revolution, including the 1759 Vought House in Clinton Township, a Loyalist homestead that still exists with its architecturally distinguished serpentine ceiling.
   ”The county is also proud of its agricultural heritage: the county seal originally included a hay wagon and now features a bountiful sheaf of wheat. Farming was the story of most county residents from Native Americans through the earliest colonial settlers to those who lived here at the beginning of the twentieth century. Many barns dot the county landscape and this heritage is celebrated annually at the Hunterdon County 4-H and Agricultural Fair.
   ”A century and a half ago, general stores and hotels, including several owned by my ancestors, were common in the towns that sprouted across the 400 square miles of the county. From Clinton in the north, to Lambertville in the south, to Frenchtown in the west, to Flemington, the county seat in the middle, they were the centers of life where Hunterdon families came to market, to socialize and to worship.
   ”The nature of Hunterdon has changed as the population increased from the mid-20th century forward. The large, agricultural townships have become more heavily populated as farmland has been transformed to houses for new residents, who demanded improvements, including establishment of a system of regional schools and construction of the Hunterdon County Medical Center. After World War II, Hunterdon was the only county in the state still without a hospital. County leaders, including the Board of Agriculture, were responsible for the building of the Medical Center that opened in 1953. Since then, this healthcare facility has become one of the premier medical institutions in New Jersey. Public-spirited men and women created five distinguished regional high schools that would become leaders in the state in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities.
   ”The 300-year history of Hunterdon County has been captured in writings, photographs and memories telling the compelling story of its sheer natural beauty, its people and the larger community of churches, non-profit groups and civic organizations, with neighbor helping neighbor.
   ”Our ancestors have striven for 300 years to make Hunterdon what it is today, a 21st-century exemplar of the United States as a whole: free, self-governed, prosperous and dedicated to the advancement of the nation. We, the 130,000 current residents, have a responsibility to those who will come after us to preserve and improve the county we love.
   ”Truly, Hunterdon County has always been, and will always be, in my heart.”