2 9
M a y 2 0 1 7
"I remember my mother's prayers
and they have always followed me.
They have clung to me all my life."
~ Abraham Lincoln
t e w k S b u r y H i S t o r i c a l S o c i e t y t o H o S t
t a l k o n n J ' S c o l o n i a l a r c H i t e c t u r e
The Tewksbury Historical Society will host author David Veasey, who will
give a presentation on New Jersey's wide variety of 17th and 18th century
extant architecture at the Tewksbury Historical Society Headquarters, 60
Water Street, Lebanon (Mountainville), NJ 08833, on Sunday, May 7 at 1:00
pm. The talk is based on Veasey's book, New Jersey's Colonial Architectural Told
in 100 Buildings. A short business meeting will precede the lecture. The meeting
and presentation are open to the public. Refreshments will be served.
A substantial number of buildings remain from our Colonial past,
including Royal Governor's Mansion in Perth Amboy, the Black Horse Inn in Mendham,
Nassau Hall on the grounds of Princeton University, Washington's Headquarters in
Morristown, the Union Iron Works office building in High Bridge and the Sandy Hook
Lighthouse, oldest lighthouse in the country. The past isn't really dead either! Several
of our contemporary architectural styles can trace their roots to the Colonial Era.
NJ's first settlement began in 1636 when Dutch residents of Manhattan crossed the
Hudson River to what is now Jersey City Heights. Swedes and other Scandinavians began
moving into the southern part of the state several years later from their initial base in
Wilmington, Delaware. The English settlement in Elizabeth in 1664 marks the official
founding of NJ (350 years in September of 2014). Sandwiched between Philadelphia
and New York City, Benjamin Franklin's proverbial barrel tapped at both ends, NJ
often doesn't get due credit for its contributions to colonial and early American life,
including its rich and diverse architectural heritage. This diverse architecture reflects
its early settlers who were the most varied in all the colonies, with each group bringing
their building traditions with them. Hunterdon County buildings in Veasey's
talk and book are: Zion Lutheran Church, Tewksbury; Vought Farmstead, Jones
Tavern (both in Clinton Township), The Old Stone Mill in Franklin Township, The
Office Building/Union Iron Works, Iron Masters House and Solitude House (all three
High Bridge) and the Eversole-Hall House in Readington Township. David Veasey,
the speaker, is a life-long NJ resident and has given illustrated talks all over
NJ and has also written other books about the State.
