Goodspeed Histories: Week of Nov. 17, 2018
This week’s article turned into a history of two separate farms, the one where John Reading once lived, on the west side of Route 519, just north of Prallsville, and the one where the Woolverton Inn is located. Both of them were part of the property of the Wolverton family, and it was just too hard to pull them apart.
What frustrated me though was my inability to come up with a good photograph. All the pictures of the Woolverton Inn are under copyright, and I was not able to get out this week to take some photos of my own. One of these days I’ll get one I can use and add it to the article.
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy:
Part Two of the Reading-Wolverton Farm (https://goodspeedhistories.us
There is lots of news on the preservation front:
The Reading School
This one-room schoolhouse is located on the Rosemont Raven Rock Road, and has long been used as a residence. The Delaware Township Historical succeeded in freeing it from the preservation tract it was a part of, and is embarked on returning it to its original appearance. From the Society’s annual newsletter comes the news that work on the old school has produced some surprising results. The crew from the Society has been taking down the partitions installed when the schoolhouse was converted to a residence, and in the process discovered that the entire back wall was covered with chalkboard. Even better, some math equations written on the board had survived all these years. How marvelous!
By the way, Anna P. Wyman is working to raise money to support this restoration effort. If you’d like to help out, please get in touch with Chuck Taylor or Marilyn Cummings
The Richard Holcombe House
What a coup! The house was part of the property that was preserved through the Green Acres Open Space Program. But as Roger Byram, the DTHS President wrote, Green Acres lacked the mission and the funds to maintain historic structures. Which meant that the house, which dates back to at least 1744, would have fallen into disrepair and eventually collapse. The DTHS stepped in and negotiated a first with Green Acres, separating the house from the rest of the preserved property, and selling it to owners that are committed to its preservation. That’s a lot to celebrate! If you want to learn more about the efforts of the new owners to bring the house back to life, you can follow the Kliwinski family on this challenging jouney at www.gaiaswayfarm.com (https://goodspeedhistories.us
November is Bridge Awareness Month
These month designations are kind of crazy. But Hunterdon County has a lot of amazing old bridges that deserve awareness. I’ve writen a certain amount about some of them. Here’s a list: https://goodspeedhistories.us3
Some Trivia from the Hunterdon Republican:
January 10, 1868, “Intelligent Dog. Mrs. Ruth Bray of Kingwood [Ruth Scott, widow of John Bray] has a dog that is very handy around the house. He carries letters and packages between her home and that of her sons, at Bull’s Island, a distance of three miles, with great punctuality and faithfulness, and manifests a disposition to be useful that commends itself as a model to a great many bipeds.”
Have a wonderful weekend and a Happy Thanksgiving!
Marfy