I've included the information on each site included in the day's guide book with my commentary followed in italics.
1. Old Millstone Forge Blacksmith Shop and MuseumA 1768 newspaper advertisement may constitute the first mention of the Old Millstone Forge Blacksmith Shop. It was probably operated during the American Revolutionary War, and continuously from 1839 until the death of the last blacksmith, Edward Wycoff, in 1959. Today the Old Millstone Forge Blacksmith Shop and Museum features volunteer blacksmiths who demonstrate the art of the anvil. The two-story brick and timber building hosues an unusual display of traditional metalworking and wagon building equipment. Displays focus on the traditional blacksmithing to modern machining, with tools from the earliest days of the colonies up to the 1920s. Blacksmiths provide demonstrations and give descriptive tours of the building.
As the first top of the morning, we didn't know what to expect. We arrived and there was a couple inside the shop. Upon signing in and receiving our Wayfarer's Pass (5 stamps=entry into some giveaways), RJ began telling us a
bit about the shop and blacksmithing in general while her associate (Bill I believe) demonstrated some techniques and Ceil (sic) sat by the bake sale table. RJ's info was pretty 
interesting, most notably the fact that the Delaware & Raritan (D&R) Canal was built to pass a blacksmith shop every 6 miles or so. The highlight of this location was watching the wonder and joy a young boy showed as he discovered some 19th century tools and watched the blacksmith work his magic. He was so genuinely excited about everything that I couldn't help but feel the same way. RJ's passion for what she was telling us about would go unrivaled through the rest of the day.
2. Farm MuseumThe Van Harlingen Historical Society's Farm Museum is located in a nineteenth-century English barn, and was relocated from an area farm. The barn houses a collection of farm implements, as well as a horse-drawn sleigh, a bicycle from 1900, a counter from a long-gone general store and a variety of tools donated by local residents.
The docent here was pleasantly unobtrusive as she prepared the materials to churn butter. There wasn't a whole lot to see in the barn so we only spent a few minutes at the site. Besides, the race was on with the couple that started ahead of us at the first site. The most interesting information came from the general store price lists. The historical society listed the cost of a gallon of gas in the early 1900s compared to today. Smartly, the weekly salary for an unskilled worker was also compared leading to the conclusion that even at $2.25 a gallon, our buying capability is far superior to that of a century ago.
3. First Reformed Church of Rocky HillCelebrating its ssquicentennial, the First Reformed Church of Rocky Hill is the town's oldest church, with roots going back to 1817 when the congregation began meeting as a Sabbath School. The Dutch Reformed Church of America dates back to 1628 and is, therefore, the longest continuing ministry in the New World. This particular church was dedicated in June, 1857. Although mostly Dutch, German and Huguenot at the beginning, the Industrial Revolution brought new members from various backgrounds. The "picture-perfect" early Victorian, Carpenter Gothic church and parsonage are located in the center of Rocky Hill's historic district.
We knew we were in for trouble when got to the door marked "Entrance" and read the sign that said, enter through the door beneath the steeple. (This non-entrance entrance door, it should be noted, would have brought us to the exact same entranceway as we learned on the way out it.) Upon entering, we found an older couple visiting. We could not locate the official stamp for our Wayfarer's Pass so we made our way through the church. There was not much to look at other than the organ. Rather than wasting time waiting for the stamp, we decided to race on to the next stop of the tour.
4. Rockingham State Historic SiteThe earliest section of Historic Rockingham dates to 1702-1710, with several rooms added mid-18th century when the house was owned by John Berrien, a prosperous farmer and New Jersey Superior Court Justice. Rockingham served as General George Washington's last war-time headquarters in the fall of 1783. It was here that he wrote the "Farewell Orders to the Armies of the United States," bringing the Revolutionary War to a close. The mansion is now a prominent living history museum, interpreted with a fine collection of antiques and reproductions of several of Washington's personal military artifacts, replicated only for Rockingham.
Sounds exciting, doesn't it? The doors were locked when we arrived. Apparently they are quite serious about beginning tours only at the designated 30-minute intervals. Once we entered, our docent took us through the rooms pointing out repeatedly that this is "what it might have looked like" or that is a "replica of a period piece." As one of the seemingly countless homes of George Washington, this house offered little in the way of actual Washington curiousities. No artifacts from the time he lived in the house existed on site and everything else seemed to be guesswork based on what's known about the late 1700s rather than document supported research on this location specifically. Our guide did not seem to possess the kind of deep knowledge of the site's minute details which kept her from expanding on the basic facts with interesting vignettes.
5. Blackwells Mills Canal HouseThe Blackwells Mills Canal House was built circa 1835 as a home for the bridgetender on the D&R Canal. From that time until the canal closed in 1932, the bridgetender and his family lived there and operated the swing bridge to allow vessels to navigate the canal. Boats on the D&R Canal transported products, mainly anthracite coal, between Bordentown and New Brunswick and served as part of the Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway. Although there are no swing bridges along the waterway now, several bridgetenders' homes remain. Now the property of the State of New Jersey, the house was occupied for nearly 40 years after the canal's closing by a retired canal worker. Later, a group of local canal buffs formed the Blackwells Mills Canal House Association, leased the house from the state, and restored it. In 1974, the D&R Canal State Park was created.
I've been at or near this site a number of times taking photographs, walking or biking the paths along the canal. It's a quiet, picturesque spot. (Note: the photo above was not taken this morning. While Buffalo may be covered in snow, we are not here in NJ.) A nice woman greeted us at the front door where she had a copy of her book (The Bridgetender Boy) and assorted sweatshirts stamped with D&R Canal for sale. This site had quite a few activities planned for kids later in the day, but the greeter told us to go ahead and browse the house on our own. As we walked through, two older ladies told us, in no uncertain terms, that we were early and the events hadn't yet begun. Meekly we made our way out to the canal path for a short walk before heading on to our final stop. We certainly did not feel welcome at this spot.
6. Wyckoff-Garretson House
Constructed in 1730/1810, the Wykoff-Garretson House has been noted as a very important and rare example of the earliest period of Dutch American settlement in Somerset County. "The house survives remarkably intact for almost 300 years with a considerable a mount of original fabric," "...most remarkable of which is the anchor-bent frame, built in two nearly identical building campaigns almost 100 years apart. The timber frame is a marvel of European-influenced building craft...a major showplace of Dutch American vernacular architecture in NJ." (Source: preliminary examination/structure report of Clifford Zink, Architectural Historian.) John Wyckoff constructed the first half of this house in 1730, to which improvements were added by John's son, Cornelius, in 1775; and finally after his and his son's death, the second half of the house was built in 1805 by Samuel Garretson, a farmer from Hillsborough who moved to the Wyckoff farm to be "closer to the city."
As we pulled in the driveway, a woman stopped us to tell us there was a $5 suggested donation for parking, adding after my long pause that we could park around the building even if we didn't want to pay. (From official website: "admission and parking at each site are free.") The parking area was packed and there were considerably more people at this location than any of the previous. We were a bit upset to only have 15 minutes or so to make it through the exhibits and buildings. Everyone we encountered on the way to the sign-in area conveyed the importance of seeing the harpsichordist. Said harpischoridst was on lunch break for the duration of our visit as were, apparently, the 10-15 costumed reenactors on the site. Parts of the house are undergoing renovation. Those areas were especially interesting because we could look inside walls and see the true building design and materials as opposed to the updated areas with modern amenities like smoke detectors and sprinklers. The chickens roasted on a spit over an open fire were entertaining for a moment, but we made our way quickly out of the area to confused reactions from the volunteers manning the food tent. We did attempt to turn in our Wayfarer's Pass, but no one seemed to know what to do with it. I tried to explain that at an earlier site, a box was available to place the card. Hopefully, it makes it to the proper location at some point. It could be worth a free dinner or hotel stay.
While some of the sites were underwhelming, the entire concept of the weekend is wonderful. We traveled one of three set tour routes. If I wasn't judging tomorrow, I'd make the trek to one of the others as well. Hopefully, they'll build upon the idea for next year's event.
