Visitor Information

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Sunday Afternoons in Pleasant Valley

Explore 3 centuries of history through new programs offered in the Pleasant Valley Rural Historic District. Upcoming programs in this series are scheduled on the following dates from 12:00pm to 4:00pm.

September 7 - Church History Day presented by Pennington Presbyterian Church.

October 19 - Wooden's Poultry Farm Tour hosted by Tom Wooden.

November 9 - John Phillips House Open Hearth Cooking. A taste of Pleasant Valley's early history.

Friday Evenings in the Fish Barn

A series of evening programs from 7:00 to 9:00pm in Howell Farm's New Visitor Center Barn.

September 19 - A Picture of History: Pleasant Valley, New Jersey by local historians Bob & Carol Meszaros

November 14 - Harvest Moon Dance - Music & dancing in a circa 1850 barn

Click on the Calendar page for all the Saturday programs and these new programs.

 

Henry Phillips Barn Restoration Update

Work continues on the restoration of the Henry Phillips Barn. The photos below were taken the week of June 28 by Jeff Kelly.

Phillips Gristmill Site Walking Tour

Thanks to the efforts of Eagle Scout Eric Del Grande of Hopewell, visitors can now tour the site of the Henry Phillips grist mill that served Pleasant Valley farmers from the time of the Revolution to at least the 1830s. Located across Pleasant Valley Road from the former Pleasant Valley School, the newly cleared trail, which was Eric's Eagle Scout project, includes the mill site, the head race, the mill dam, and the trail race. The earthen mill dam is the most visible remanant of the mill but this site is rich with archaeological potential.

The gristmill site is part of the Pleasant Valley Rural Historic District.

The photos below show scenes from the several months spent building the trail through the dense underbrush and the beginning of the first guided tour of the site on June 8 when Howell Farm historian Larry Kidder provided information gleaned from documents and physical examination of the mill site to Eric, his family, and several visitors to the farm.

Clearing the mill dam.

Clearing the head race area.

Putting down woodchips for the trail.

A section of the completed trail along Pleasant Valley Road near the mill site.

Eric Del Grande and Larry Kidder check a map of the tour at the beginning of the first pubic tour on June 8.

(Photos by the Del Grande family)