November 2010

Surrounded by (and often confused with) Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, the church and its burying ground are in fact a separate property owned by The Reformed Church of the Tarrytowns. The gravestone of Catriena Ecker Van Tessel, namesake for Katrina Van Tassel in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow", is located near the church. Annual reading of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (tickets required) happens on the Friday and Saturday before Halloween. There are also free tours of the church Sundays at 2 pm, May through October. For information on candlelight Christmas Eve, Easter, and summer services, telephone the church office at 914-631-4497. Image courtesy of the J&J Roadshow.

Founded in 1849 as the Tarrytown Cemetery, the town posthumously honored Washington Irving's request to change the name to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. The 90 acres are a place of peace and rest for those who have lived extraordinary lives, among them Andrew Carnegie, Walter Chrysler, William Rockefeller, Elizabeth Arden, Leona Helmsley, and Washington Irving himself. Irving's grave overlooks the 3 acre churchyard from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Free maps are available in literature boxes at the cemetery office and at the the cemetery's south gate.

The Cokato Museum has over 8,000 images in its collection. The most unique feature of the museum is a 1922 snowmobile. It has recently been restored to how it was intended to look.The museum features the snowmobile in numerous parades and events in the Cokato area. Genealogical records and research tools are provided with the museum's assistance.

The Chisago County Historical Society provides a variety of educational programs year around. These range from monthly genealogy workshops to folk art demonstrations at local community festivals to special events featuring food, fellowship and guest speakers.

Information about the upcoming programs is published in the newsletter, CCHS Connection and also in various local newspapers. The society also publishes the Heritage newsletter which is filled with articles about the history and heritage of the local area.

The Union Pacific Collection dates to the mid-1800's, featuring original editions of reports from survey teams that searched for the best land route to join the nation, east to west. Surveying equipment, early rail equipment, and artifacts from the construction of the nation's first transcontinental railroad tell the story of one of the world's construction marvels.

The museum features promotional materials that helped attract emigrants to the American West, along with a sampling of the precious possessions they brought with them. Visitors to the museum can trace the settlement of the West on an interactive map table that highlights the towns that grew along the railroad's route. The museum also features displays about the heyday of passenger travel and the rail industry's efforts to promote the nation's first national parks.

The museum offers visitors a rare glimpse of what life was like for a modest family in the Victorian era of opulence. It illustrates the late 19th century as the "era of invention" and highlights inventions that changed everyday life for the average person by way of the house's second owners, the Phillips family. Henry Phillips was one of the first inventors of the modern kitchen range hood and his brother, Dr. Charles H. Phillips, was the inventor of Phillips Milk of Magnesia.

The house features an outstanding collection of Native American artifacts, Revolutionary War and Civil War artifacts, other arms and armaments, 19th century tools and farm implements, a charming little Victorian parlor and "Kate's room", a Victorian girl's bedroom circa 1870. Changing exhibits include major displays from the Society's extensive antique clothing collection.

In 1736, the land now occupied by the Gristmiller's House and the Cranbury Firehouse was purchased for the site of a gristmill, to grind grain for the farms throughout the Township. The mill burned down in 1860, but was reconstructed. It was probably then that the present Gristmiller's House was built .

Cranbury Township acquired the Gristmiller's House from an early Cranbury family, and from 1968 to 1985 the house served as Cranbury's Police Station.

When the Police Department moved to other quarters, the house began to deteriorate and was threatened by demolition. The Cranbury Historical and Preservation Society leased the house from the Township in order to save it. With the help of a matching grant from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the generous support of Cranbury residents, friends ,and businesses, the restoration of the Gristmiller's House was completed in the spring of 1993, and dedicated on September 18, 1993.

In 1975, the Arthur E. Perrine Memorial Wing was added, a gift to the Museum from his daughter, Mary E. Perrine. Mr. Perrine, noted horticulturist, was the sixth generation of the Perrine family to live in Cranbury. The first floor of the Perrine Wing serves as a meeting and exhibit room, where special exhibits are arranged at periodic intervals. Here hangs the Tercentennial Quilt of sixteen scenes that tell the history of the community. The Bicentennial Quilt of twelve historic scenes is in the History Center.

The basement area houses permanent exhibits of farm implements, early tools, memorabilia from early businesses and activities, Lenape Indian artifacts, and artifacts recovered during the 1977 archaeological dig at Main Street and Park Place West. Also open to the public are Sara's Garden (herb garden) and the Victorian Garden located on the site.

The period rooms include the 18th century kitchen and bedroom with its sampler collection, the pre- 1820 dining room and the Victorian sitting room. Visitors can tour several theme rooms such as the Doctor's Room which contains various surgical instruments and devices, and the Military Room, which displays swords, guns, uniforms and other memorabilia from the Revolutionary through the Gulf War.

The vintage 1800's barn houses an assortment of authentic carriages, including a stage coach, a peddler's wagon and a handsomely restored doctor's sulky.
Maritime history is an important part of Cape May County. The museum is the home of the original Fresnel lens from the 1859 Cape May Point Lighthouse. And there are several other maritime and whaling exhibits.

The Native American Room contains an extensive array of arrowheads, tools and shells of the Lenni-Lenape tribe.

The museum and library collections comprise the greatest survival of significant Bergen Dutch artifacts and documents in the public domain. The library-collections encompass family genealogy, diaries, and manuscripts; church, cemetery, and bible records; books, clippings, and on local and county history, the Revolutionary War, and historic architecture; postcards, photos, videos, atlases, and maps. The photograph collection is founded upon late nineteenth century glass plate negatives, which record the earliest views and studies of Bergen Dutch architecture, and has grown to encompass an important visual record of the county's growth as a metropolitan suburb. Many early views of long vanished landmarks and artifacts were used to illustrate the interesting and rare Papers and Proceedings of the Bergen County Historical Society, beginning in 1902, which include such landmark articles as Eugene Bird's "Windjammers of the Hackensack" in 1915-16. Manuscripts and genealogical records are housed in the society's library located at Felician College.