Photo by Ken Braswell, Shore Grafx
www.magazinevolume.com/DiscoverMiddlesex2021 29
Photo by Shore Grafx
Though only 318 square miles in size,
Middlesex County has left a huge footprint
on America’s history. From Revolutionary
War sites to the birthplaces of college
football, duct tape and the incandescent
light bulb, the rich and storied past of
Middlesex County has touched the lives of
people all over the planet.
Just a few examples:
• A partial feather, constituting the oldest known fossil record of a terrestrial
bird in North America, was discovered in Sayreville amber deposits.
• Thomas A. Edison obtained over 300 patents, including the phonograph
and the incandescent lightbulb, while working in his Menlo Park
laboratory.
• The Band-Aid, the forerunner to modern baby formula, the first known
antibiotics and duct tape were all developed here.
EAST JERSEY OLD TOWN VILLAGE
1050 River Rd., Piscataway, 732-745-3030 www.middlesexcountynj.gov
Among Middlesex County’s unique historic and cultural
offerings is East Jersey Old Town, a robust living-history
village offering a glimpse into the County’s rich agricultural
and manufacturing past and what life was like in Middlesex
County in the 18th century.
East Jersey Old Town Village is a collection of original,
replica and reconstructed 18th- and 19th-century structures,
representing the type of architecture found in central New
Jersey’s early farm and merchant communities. The Village
functions as an educational model dedicated to teaching
the history, traditions, folk arts and craftsmanship of the
people who lived and worked throughout the region.
Public programs with historic demonstrations include
blacksmithing, printings, stone carving, home and hearth
skills, soldier lifestyles from the Revolutionary War, 18thcentury
music, tailoring and agriculture. Visitors can even
cheer on the vintage 19th-century home team at a Liberty
Base Ball Club game. Founded in 1857, the Liberty Base Ball
Club of New Brunswick still plays baseball according to the
rules, customs, equipment, and uniform specifications of the
1850s and beyond.
Completed renovations and restoration work have brought
twelve buildings into public use, following Americans with
Disability Act guidelines: New Brunswick Barracks, Runyon
House, Vanderveer House, Pound House, Smalleytown
Schoolhouse, Farley Blacksmith Shop, Williamson
Wheelwright Shop, Three Mile Run Church, Six Mile Run
House, Jeremiah Dunn House, Runyon Wagon House and
the Indian Queen Tavern. These historic structures have
been restored to their original beauty and preserved for
future generations. Its new expanded hours are 10 am–4 pm,
Wednesday through Friday, 12–4 pm on weekends.
Home of the Raritan Landing Exhibit
Historic
Middlesex
Middlesex County’s past mixes evolution, revolution and innovation!
/DiscoverMiddlesex2021
/www.middlesexcountynj.gov
