The Art Museum
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544-1018
(609) 258-3788
Fax: (609) 258-5949
E-Mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.princeton.edu
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 1-5 p.m.
Open to the public.
Admission: Free, donations accepted
Acting Director: Peter Bunnell
The Art Museum, Princeton University, houses collections ranging from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman to impressionist, post-impressionist, and contemporary art. Among the greatest strengths in the museum are the collections of Chinese art, which includes bronzes and tomb figures, pre-Columbian art, with remarkable works by the Mayans, and photography. African tribal art and Northwest Coast Indian art are also represented. Located throughout the campus is the John B. Putnam Jr. Memorial Collection of 20th century sculpture, which includes works by such masters as Louise Nevelson, David Smith, and Pablo Picasso. Call (609) 258-3788 for listings of special exhibitions.
Blackwells Mills Canal House
598 Canal Rd.
Somerset, NJ 08873
(732) 873-2133
Hours: Every second Saturday
Admission: Free, donations accepted
Site Supervisor: Ann Milam
Historian/Public Relations: Jim Moise, (732) 297-2641
Blackwells Mills Canal House Association Secretary:
Doris Denson
14 Thomas Rd.
E. Brunswick, NJ 08816
The Blackwells Mills Canal House was built in 1835 to house the Bridgetender, who operates the swingbridge to allow canal traffic to pass through. The Canal House operated actively until the 1930s. Today the Blackwells Mills Canal House welcomes visitors and invites them to experience a sense of the bygone canal era. The Blackwells Mills Canal House Association presents programs of local and historical interest the second Saturday of every month. Open House every New Year’s Day, 1-4 p.m.
Bowman’s Hill Wildflower Preserve
PO Box 685
New Hope, PA 18938-0685
(215) 862-2924
Location: 2.5 miles south of New Hope on Route 32
Fax: (215) 862-2924
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Closed New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Admission: Free
Director: Paul Teese
Features woods, meadows, ponds, the waters of Pidcock Creek, and special man-made habitats. The Preserve Building houses nature displays, an indoor bird observation area, bird-feeding station and gift ship. Of special interest is the Platt Collection of nests, eggs and birds of the area. Bloom guides are available. The park’s wildflower displays are ourstanding in April and May.
Brandywine Battlefield
PO Box 202
Chadds Ford, PA 19317
(610) 459-3342
Fax: (610) 459-9586
Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon-5 p.m.
Admission: Family, $8.50, youth (6-12) $1.50, adults $3.50, Seniors/AAA, $2.50
Site Supervisor: Connie Stuckert
Brandywine Battlefield is where Washington’s courageous troops battled the British, in the heat of September 1777, for control of strategic territory near Philadelphia. The Brandywine campaign comes alive for today’s visitors as they walk through fascinating exhibits and dioramas in the Visitor Center. Two historic Quaker farmhouses, which housed officers during the battle, stand much as they did in 1777.
Cornelius Low House/
Middlesex County Museum
703 Jersey Ave.
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 745-4177
(732) 745-3888 (TTY)
Location: 1225 River Rd.
Piscataway, NJ
Fax: (732) 745-4507
Web site: www.cultureheritage.org
Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 1-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; Groups by appointment
Free admission.
Built in 1741 by a wealthy merchant of Dutch ancestry, this classic Georgian manor house is now the Middlesex County Museum, offering award-winning exhibitions and programs about New Jersey history. On display through July, 2000, "Somebody to Cheer For: Black Professional Baseball and African American Community Life in New Jersey, 1860 to 1950," about the great Negro League teams and the New Jersey cities where they played.
Cranbury History Center
6 S. Main St.
Cranbury, NJ 08512
(609) 860-1889
Hours: Monday and Thursday, 9:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., or by appointment.
Admission: Donations accepted
Site Supervisor: Betty Wagner
A renovated gristmiller’s house, the Cranbury History Center contains society’s files on the history of Cranbury through vertical files, genealogical records, house research, a large collection of photographs and maps, textile collection, and a collection of books. Cranbury Press issues are indexed from 1900-1987 by subject, name and event.
Drumthwacket
354 Stockton St.
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 683-0057
Fax: (609) 924-4563
Hours: Wednesday, noon-2 p.m., (Groups of 15 or more are accommodated between 10 a.m.-noon and an appointment is required).
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: Daphne A. Pontius
Drumthwacket was built by Gov. Charles Smith Olden in 1835 and enlarged by Moses Taylor Pyne. It is now the official residence of the governor of New Jersey. The house was restored and furnished by the Drumthwacket Foundation. Furnishing are Federal period with an emphasis on New Jersey pieces.
Ellarslie — Trenton City Museum
319 E. State St.
Trenton, NJ 08608
Location: Parkside and Stuyvesant avenues
(609) 989-3632
Fax: (609) 989-3624
Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m.; Sunday, 2-4 p.m.; Closed Monday and holidays.
Admission: Free, donations accepted
Director: Brian O. Hill
Ellarslie, is a fine example of an Italianate revival style villa designed by noted architect, John Norman. Located in the middle of Cadwalader Park, designed by Frederick Law Olmstead, Ellarslie was built for Henry McCall Sr. of Philadelphia as a summer residence in 1848. The Museum, included in the National Register of Historic Places, opened in 1978.
Fonthill Museum
Mailing Address: 84 S. Pine St.
Doylestown, PA 18901
Location: East Court Street and Swamp Road (Route 313), Doylestown, PA
(215) 348-9461
Fax: (215) 348-9462
Web site: www.mercermuseum.org/Fonthill.htm
Administrator: David April
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, noon- 5 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $5; over age 60, $4.50; youth, $1.50; children under 6, free.
Mercer’s home stands as a grand castle-like building with 44 rooms filled with decorative tiles and prints collected from around the world. Open all year except New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas. Guided tours only, reservations suggested.
Franklin Inn Used Book Store
538 Elizabeth Ave.
Somerset, NJ 08873
Location: 2371 Amwell Rd.
East Millstone, NJ
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 1-4 p.m.; Wednesday, noon-3 p.m.
Dutch-built in 1734, the Inn featured a dining room and taproom on the groundfloor and lodging upstairs. When the American Revolution erupted, the Inn became a hotbed of rebel inrigue and Tory plot. In June, 1777 British General Cornwallis headquartered at the Inn with his top officers. The Inn turned 100 when the D&R Canal came by in 1834, and train travelers in 1870 still found accommodation there. Now visitors are invited to browse five rooms of used books and contemplate the old structure’s rich history.
Historical Society Of Princeton
158 Nassau St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
(609) 921-6748
Fax: (609) 921-6939
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, noon- 4 p.m.; weekends only in January and February.
Open to the public.
Admission: Free.
Site Supervisor: Gail F. Stern, Director
Historical Society of Princeton’s headquarters, Bainbridge House, serves as a museum with changing exhibitions, a research library and photo archive, and a museum shop. Built in 1766 by Job Stockton, a wealthy tanner, the property remained in the Stockton family for more than 100 years. Commodore William Bainbridge, a hero of the War of 1812, was born in the house on May 7, 1774. The Society offers two-hour guided walking tours of the town every Sunday at 2 p.m. The cost is $5 per person and there are discounts for senior citizens and children.
Hopewell Museum
28 E. Broad St.
Hopewell, NJ 08525
(609) 466-0103
Hours: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday 2-5 p.m. for 45-minute tours; (Groups by appointment only).
Open to the public.
Admission: Donation
Site Supervisor: Beverly Weidl
The Hopewell Museum contains period rooms, toys and clothes, an Indian wing, and changing exhibits. Research on Monday and Wednesday only.
Howell Living History Farm
101 Hunter Road
Titusville, NJ 08560
(609) 737-3299
Fax: (609) 737-6524
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday; noon-4 p.m. Sunday, noon-4 p.m., April through November
Admission/Parking: Free, donations accepted
Children’s Saturday Crafts: Nominal Fee
Inez Howell donated 126 acres of land in memory of her husband, Congressman Charles Howell, and asked the Mercer County Park Commission to develop these acres as a living history farm. Special Saturday programs such as ice harvesting, maple sugar harvesting, sheep shearing, spring gardening demonstrations, horsedrawn planting, and hayrides for children are scehduled at appropriate times throughout the season. Annual special events include Sled Day, the Plowing Match, Fall Festival, and Christmas Celebration. Call for calendar of events and to schedule tours for school groups and interested organizations. Also, the Amazing Barn Raising Maize, August 5-October 31. Free for maize.
Jane Voorhees Zimmerli Art Museum
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Location: 71 Hamilton Street
(732) 932-7237
Fax: (732) 932-8201
Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; weekends, noon to 5 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $3; 18 and under, free; students with ID, free; alumni, free.
Director: Phillip Dennis Cate
The museum’s collections total more than 50,000 works in a wide range of media. With the addition of more than 10,000 works of art from the Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union, along with the Riabov Collection of Russian Art, the museum houses the largest collection of Russian and Soviet art outside of Russia. Special collections include graphic arts (particularly French turn-of-the-century prints, posters, rare books and ephemera, and Belgian turn-of-the-century Art Nouveau posters), 29th century American prints from the Rutgers Archives for Printmaking Studios, Japonisme (Western art infuenced by Japan), as well as illustrations from the Rutgers Collection of Children’s Literature.
John Abbott II House
Location: 2200 Kuser Rd.
Hamiton, NJ
Mailing address: PO Box 1776
Yardville, NJ 08620
(609) 585-1686
Hours: noon to 5 p.m., Saturday and Sunday
Johnson Ferry House
Washington Crossing State Park
355 Washington Crossing-Pennington Rd.
Titusville, NJ 08560
(609) 737-2515
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: Nancy Carter Ceperley
Built in 1740 by Rutger Jansen, later anglicized to Johnson, the house is best known for the Christmas night crossing of the Delaware River by Gen. George Washington and the Continental Army preceding the Battle of Trenton. Today it is furnished with local period pieces appropriate to the keeping room, bed chamber and textile room when the Johnson family lived there from 1740-1770. The taproom is furnished and interpreted with the American Revolution in view. The site also includes an 18th century kitchen garden and out buildings. Monthly special events include military encampments and demonstrations, foodways, textiles, woodworking and other domestic and farmstead activities.
Kuser Farm Mansion
Mailing address: 2090 Greenwood Ave.
CN00150
Hamilton, NJ 08650-0150
Location: 390 Newkirk Ave.
(609) 890-3630
Fax: (609) 890-3632
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: hamtwp.net
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, February to April, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., last full tour at 2 p.m.; same hours Th., Fri., Sat., and Sun., May-November.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: Denise Dale Zemlansky
This 1892 summer country home of Fred Kuser and his family can be enjoyed during a guided tour of two furnished floors. Visitors will see magnificent wood paneling and heavily carved fireplaces. The 45-foot dining room contains an 18-foot carved CinemaScope movie screen and there is a separate Projection Room.
Next to the butler’s pantry is a large country kitchen with a mammoth coal/wood stove. The second floor rooms give a glimpse back into the past of this prominent business family. One of the halls contains Mercer Motor car memorabilia. The mansion has 32 "free" educational lectures, video evenings and programs a year in addition to it’s magnificent Holiday House. Tours of two floors decorated for a turn-of-the-century Christmas with more than 30 trees, antiques, dolls and toys. Each year a wonderous display of lights and events complete our four-day holiday event called, "Winter Wonderland." The Jersey Valley Model railroad is housed in the cellar of the mansion for it’s annual holiday open house featuring our unique and exciting H.O. railroad display. Telephone for schedules and information.
Mercer Museum
Mailing address: 84 S. Pine St.
Doylestown, PA 18901
Location: Pine and Ashland streets
Doylestown, PA
(215) 345-0210
Fax: (215) 230-0823
Web site: www.mercermuseum.org/MMuseum.htm
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Tuesday, 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m.
Admission: $5, adults; $4.50 over age 62; $1.50 youth and free to children under 6; Group rates are available.
Curator: Cory Amsler
This towering castle-like museum houses dramatic displays of the furnishings, folk art and implements of Early America. Open all year except New Year’s, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The Morris Museum
6 Normandy Heights Road
Morristown, NJ 07960
(973) 538-0454
Fax: (973) 538-0154
Web site: www.morrismuseum.org
Hours: Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m. Closed on major holidays.
Admission: Members, free. Children, students, seniors: $3. Adults, $5.
Executive director: Steven Klindt
The Morris Museum, the third largest general museum in New Jersey and professionally accredited by the American Association of Museums, is recognized by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts as a "Major Arts Institution." The Museum offers a diverse selection of permanent and changing exhibitions, performing arts presentations in its 312-seat John H. Bickford Theatre and on-site and outreach education programs for children and adults. Exhibitions from The Museum’s permanent collection include fine and decorative arts, Native American objects , antique dolls and toys, rocks and minerals, dinosaurs, fossils and natural science, including a mini-zoo. In 1998, Mexican masks, works by Henri Matisse and more. The Morris Museum Shop offers exhibition-related items.
Morven
55 Stockton St.
Princeton, NJ 08542
(609) 683-4495
Fax: (609) 497-6390
Hours: Call for information about open hours and tours.
Admission: Free
Morven is the former home of N.J. governors. Built in 1758 by Richard Stockton, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and his wife, Annis Boudinet Stockton, an early American poet.
Mule Tenders Barracks Museum
4 Griggstown Causeway
Griggstown, NJ 08542
(908) 873-3050
E-mail: [email protected]
Hours: Saturday, Sunday, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.; weekdays during summer, staffing permitting
Admission: Free, donations accepted.
Curator: Linda Barth
(908) 722-7428
Sponsored by the Griggstown Historical Society, the Mule Tenders Barracks Museum contains D & R Canal models (two swingbridges and a canal boat), artifacts and historic photographs. Bikers and walkers are invited to sit down, relax, and talk at the round table provided for them. A fireplace is lit during the winter. A 30-minute video on the history of the canal may be viewed in the video room. Canoe rental is available nearby.
New Jersey State House
125 West State Street
Tour Office
P.O. Box 068
Trenton, NJ 08625
(609) 633-2709
Web site: www.njleg.state.nj.us
Hours: Tours: Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday, noon-3 p.m.. Groups over 10 require advanced reservation.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: Philip Hayden
The seat of State government since 1792, the New Jersey State House is the second oldest state capitol in continuous use in the United States.
Old Barracks Museum
Barrack Street
Trenton, NJ 08608
(609) 396-1776
Fax: (609) 777-4000
E-mail: [email protected]
Hours: Open daily, except Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas, New Years Day and Easter.
Admission: Adults, $6; students, children under 13 and senior citizens, $3.
Director: Richard Patterson
Built in 1758 to house British troops during the French and Indian War, and now registered as a State and National Historic Landmark, the Trenton Barracks is one of the oldest public buildings in the country. Actively used during the American Revolution, the Old Barracks housed soldiers at the time of the Battle of Trenton and later served as a military hospital.
Old Dutch Parsonage
Wallace House
71 Somerset Street
Somerville, NJ 08876
(908) 725-1015
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-noon; 1-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free
Groups of 10 or more need reservations.
Site Supervisor: James Kurzenberger
Wallace House, the home of wealthy retired merchant John Wallace, served as Washington’s headquarters during the winter of 1778-1779. The Old Dutch Parsonage was the home of the Rev. Mr. Jacob Hardenbergh, the founder of Queen’s College (now Rutgers University) from 1756-1781.
Old Millstone Forge
Blacksmith Museum
c/o W.L. Bryan
611 Canal Road
Somerset, NJ 08873
Location: On North River Street, Millstone, NJ
(908) 873-2803
Hours: Sundays, (first Sunday in April through last Sunday in June, third Sunday in September through last Sunday in November), 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free, donations accepted
A 1768 newspaper advertisement may constitute the first mention of the present forge. Deeds date back to 1839. It probably operated during the Revolutionary War, and continuously from 1839 until the death of the last blacksmith, Mr. Edward Wyckoff, in 1959. Today, Old Millstone Forge features several amateur blacksmiths who take turns demonstrating the art of the anvil. There are numerous tools and implements, many handmade. Especially interesting are the two ancient Dutch anvils dating to the late 1600s.
The Parry Mansion Museum
The New Hope Historical Society
Box 41, 45 S. Main St.
New Hope, PA 18938
(215) 862-5652
Hours: Friday to Sunday, 1-5 p.m., April 24 to Dec. 5
Admission: Adults, $5; students and senior citizens, $4; children under 12, $1.
Site Supervisor: Susan Eaton
Built in 1784 by Benjamin Parry, wealthy lumbermill owner, the mansion was occupied by his direct descendants until purchased by the New Hope Historical Society in 1966.
Princeton University Museum
Of Natural History
Guyot Hall
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ 08544
(609) 258-4102
Fax: (609) 258-1334
Hours: Daily, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Admission: Free
Site Supercisor: Elizabeth Horn
A wide variety of exhibits includes: an Allosaurus skeleton; mammalian and reptilian skeletons; a giant globe; birds, plant and animal fossils, and geology, biology and anthropology displays.
Rockingham
Route 518, RD 4
Rocky Hill, NJ 08553
(609) 921-8835
Hours: Wednesday-Saturday,. 10 a.m.-noon, 1-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: Margaret Carlsen
Rockingham, where Washington wrote his farewell orders to the armies, served as the site of his last wartime headquarters from Aug. 23 to Nov. 10, 1783.
Rutgers University Geology Museum
Geology Hall C.A.C.
85 Somerset Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1281
Location: Corner of George and Somerset streets
(732) 932-7243
Fax: (732) 932-1268
Hours: Monday, 1-4 p.m.; Tuesday to Friday, 9 a.m.-noon. Call for additional hours.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: R. William Selden
Thomas Clarke House
Princeton Battlefield State Park
500 Mercer Rd.
Princeton, NJ 08540
(609) 921-0074
Fax: (609) 921-0074
E-mail: [email protected]
Hours: Park open daily, dawn to dusk; Clarke House open Wednesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon and 1-4 p.m.; Sunday, 1-4 p.m.
Admission: Free
Site Supervisor: John K. Mills
Site of the Jan. 3, 1777 Battle of Princeton where American forces under Gen. George Washington defeated British soldiers. Gen. Hugh Mercer, of the American Army, died in the farmhouse of Thomas Clarke nine days after the battle. The Clarke House is furnished in the period of the Revolution and includes exhibits of weapons and artifacts.
