4/3/26 Visit: Ford's Mansion is just one of many New…read moreJersey's historical sites. The tour is Free! Erik was our tour guide. We started out at the Washington Headquarters Museum. (In the museum, there's a video on Washington's stay in the winter of 1779-80. It'll give you an excellent overview, either before or after your tour). We then walked up a hill to Ford's Mansion. *It's a bit of a hike up the hill. In the mansion, George Washington had established his headquarters during the winter of 1779- 1780. During this winter, there was approximately 96 inches of snow. (I'll never complain about snow again). LOL... The Continental Army camped out about miles away at Jockey Hollow. The home is well preserved and maintained. After the tour of the home, we walked back to the museum. The museum was really wonderful to explore. The museum has a wonderful gift shop. Parking availability is in a small lot and on the street. Whether you're a history buff or not, think you'll enjoy the visit to Ford's Mansion.

PROS: Absolutely amazing! This building is all original and displayed properly. The land is…read morelandscaped well and the tour guide Fred was somewhat friendly. Free parking as well CONS: Almost all of the furniture inside are replicas and you can only come into this building on a tour and not on your own OVERALL: Any history enthusiast will enjoy this house tour! It's free admission, free parking, and there's a lot to see

Museum always a has interesting things on exhibit. Exhibits change throughout the year so it's…read morealways nice to come back and see what's on exhibit. Right now it's Treasures of Middlesex County. Very interesting to see all the objects

After passing the Cornelius Lowe House virtually every day for the past 6 years, I finally made a…read moreconscious decision to try and visit. About 6 months later, based on my gf's suggestion we finally visited. I expected that this historical house would be full of historical furniture or reenactors or something old timey. However, this was not the case. The house actually serves as a small rotating museum exhibition space. During our visit, they had an exhibit on NJ Diners. There are only two floors of the house so it isn't a huge museum by any means. The exhibit took about an hour for me to read through everything and I though it was pretty interesting. I'm not sure how often they rotate the exhibits out but I'd certainly come back when they do. The house was unexpectedly air conditioned. The self guided tour was totally free. Also, the workers seemed really friendly. The only hitch is parking is confusing. The main driveway is a super narrow and scary road right off of River Road. Don't go in here. Parking is actually plentiful behind the house, which is in the lot of the visitor center on Rutgers Busch Campus. Some signs showing where to park would have been helpful.

Amazing property, it is a hidden gem. Went with my family for the tour and everyone enjoyed it!read more

Wow. What a unique, random gem and historic property. What is Fonthill and why is there a castle in…read moreDoylestown, Pennsylvania? Fonthill Castle was the home of archeologist and tile maker Henry Chapman Mercer. (Also in Doylestown are two more Mercer buildings you can tour - the Mercer Museum and the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works building, the business Mercer ran and where most of the tiles in the castle were produced.) Henry Mercer seems like he was an interesting guy, and you can see that in his home - 44 rooms, 18 fireplaces, 200 windows, who knows how many staircases...! And designed and decorated in a way I've never seen anywhere else. The castle is an early example of poured-in-place concrete building and is a mix of Medieval, Gothic, and Byzantine architectural styles. And there are, of course, Moravia tiles (and some historic and international tiles that he collected during his life) throughout the house - almost more than you could imagine. We visited last Saturday to experience their "Fonthill Castle Holiday Lights Meander Experience," which allows you to visit the castle through a self-guided experience (there were staff in various rooms who were happy to answer questions) and enjoy a series of Christmas trees on display throughout the home. I definitely enjoyed the experience but am definitely planning a return visit to see the castle in better light (not at night in the dark - which was perfect for the Christmas tree experience) - they offer 60-minute guided tours though the house for most of the year! The castle is pretty wild, and I look forward to visiting it again and experiencing it in a new way. If you are interested in architecture, art, crafts, the Arts and Crafts design movement, or just quirky, unusual places, definitely add Fonthill to your list and check it out!

Princeton is a beautiful college town and I could spend days exploring every nook and cranny. Among…read moreone of the hidden gems in Princeton, is venturing the very same steps that Albert Einstein walked. What an incredible experience for me. Despite countless visits back East, I didn't appreciate it as much as I do now that I've gotten older. If I return here after all the COVID restrictions, I hope to spend more time here.

I have been disgustingly obsessed with this place for a good 20 years. When I used to live in the…read morearea, I'd drive on lake road just to get a few glimpses - or sneak up on the Matheny side to get a good look. When I saw that Blairsden was being served as the Mansions In May this year, I nearly died. The finest example of Beaux Arts architecture in the US ( built by Carr'ere and Hastings - who also built the New York Public Library & the Frick) So when tickets went up for $50 a piece - I quickly snapped a few up and alerted my wonderful BF (who has no interest in this) of what we were to do on Mother's Day. Turnout was expected to be tremendous, so 25 shuttles were offered to and from the mansion from the Fowler rd parking area. We got there at 12:00 and waited just a few minutes to board. By the time our shuttle was full, there was a good 20 people waiting for the next bus. We entered from the main gates on peapack rd and zipped up to the top of the hill. There were about 100 people waiting to enter the home in front of us - well worth the wait. Each room has been redesigned by interior decorators from around the US. Most of the rooms had tidbits of history here and there. Original sinks, faucets, lighting, fire hose, elevator, etc etc as well as molding, fireplaces, windows, flooring. This house was a masterpiece! I only wish they had spent more on the grounds as you were unable to see the ravine built for the home. Again - this is just for the month of May and all the proceeds to toward a good cause (Morristown Medical Center) GO GO GO!!

Awesome wedding venue!!! So well run, quick bartenders and food service. We were greeted by alpacas…read moreand beautiful scenery, shaded, grassy areas perfect for socializing with the crew. The cocktail hour was held in a separate building from the rest of the ceremony. There were a ton of food options for the cocktail hour. Charcuterie, a pasta bar with a delicious mushroom bolognese, and lots of drink options. Everything was beautiful, lots of decks and corners to round, and places to gather. Never had to fight anybody for a place to sit or anything. The actual reception room was large, but felt very intimate. The chairs were comfortable. The acoustics were good enough I could hear everybody at my table while the band was still playing. There were plenty of bathrooms. After the sun went down, they started a bonfire outside. There were lots of mosquitos out, though. We only sat out there a couple minutes because we were getting eaten up. I wouldn't expect them to spray the whole property, but I imagine there might be some sort of bug control solution that could work for event nights. Tiki torches? Citronella something? We had so much fun, and Waterloo really was beautiful. I'm sure that most events here play Waterloo by ABBA. It was a crowd pleaser.

This is a "town" lost to time. It is a piece of history that is in desperate need of…read moreacknowledgment and repair. But it is one that should be seen regardless. I have done here for years and it has always been a peaceful walk. I just happened to go up on canal day when a lot of the buildings are open and people are allowed to look around inside them. It is a great doorway to our country's past. I would suggest anyone to go at least once.

I'm a big time American revolutionary era fan. Benjamin Franklin is one of my all time favorite…read morefounding fathers. The propriety house was home to William Franklin, Benjamin Franklin's son. So this historic house has been on my list of places to visit. Kerry, the intern, was my tour guide. He did such a good job of showing me around. I was happy to have finally toured the Royal Governor's mansion. The ladies of the house host tea time Wednesday afternoon!

Was part of a volunteer crew laying a paver sidewalk out front. I and Steve, a member of the…read morepreservation group were the last two still working, late in the day. I heard a voice call out Steve! Looking around, not a living soul on the street, no passing cars, no one inside the Proprietary House. I looked over at Steve and he said, "You heard that, didn't you?" Apparently, one of the spirits at the house often calls to him when it's quit and few are around.

PROS: This castle has been here for about 100 years which was funded by the womens federation in…read moreorder to preserve the cliffs. Nice view of the Hudson and still in mint condition. You can climb to the top if you'd like as well. The path to it is very simple and it's a great place to take pics around CONS: They keep the ground floor locked up so you can't go inside even though its safe OVERALL: a great place to go to if you want to see a piece of palisades cliff history

The Women's Federation Monument is located inside the Palisades Interstate Park, accessible from…read morethe Long Path and the Forest View Trail. It's really quite cool. It was built in 1929 to honor the women who helped turn the Palisades into a park. There's also a small bit of landscaping in the area, with some flower gardens and plaques. You can climb up to the top of the monument and get a good view, or you can explore the structure in general. Sadly, there's a bit of graffiti spoiling it as of our visit, hopefully that will get cleaned up.