By Muriel J. Smith
FREEHOLD – Farm: Agriculture in Monmouth County 1600-2013, the farming in New Jersey exhibit at the Monmouth County Historical Society’s Museum, has been extended through the month of February, Executive Director Evelyn C. Murphy, Ph.D. announced this week.
“We decided to keep open the exhibit for another month because of its popularity with the public,” Murphy said. “It seems there are a lot of residents of not only Monmouth County but the state who are interested in the farming industry and its history in the Garden State. We’re happy to be able to give them the opportunity to see it in easy to understand exhibits and displays.”
Co-sponsored by the NJ Historical Commission, Sickles Market in Little Silver and Monmouth Conservation Foundation, the exhibit in the Freehold museum on Court Street includes not only paintings and sculptures, but also implements used in farming from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, as well as milk bottles, bottle carriers, and a butter press in an exhibit highlighting the dairy aspects of farming in New Jersey. There is a special section on Jewish poultry farms, including an incubator, grader and shipping cartons used by Jewish farmers in the early 20th century when these farms supplied 75 per cent of the egg production for Monmouth County.
Among the paintings on display are those of renowned artist Micah Williams, Daniel Hendrickson, and James Martin, all itinerant portrait painters who traveled among Monmouth County farms and estates commissioned to capture likenesses of well-to-do farmers and their families in oils.
“Many people are surprised by the array of baskets in the exhibit,” the director continued, “and enjoy seeing the difference between a clam basket or a harvest basket. One of the most asked about baskets is the reproduction of an 18th century Bee Skep, a temporary beehive from which honey was harvested at the end of each season before the skep was destroyed. Another exhibit shows the variety of tools and implements used in farming, from plows and cutters, to barrels, forks, troughs, grain cradles and shovels. “It’s more than just pitchforks,” Murphy laughed.
“The exhibit was designed to commemorate NJ350, the 350th anniversary of New Jersey last year, but its timely and fascinating as we see how agriculture and the county have both changed over the centuries,” the director added.
The Museum is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, with no fee for association members or children under 6, a special rate for seniors, and a small fee for all other visitors. Membership applications are also available at the museum.
The museum’s archives and library, located in the same building at 70 Court St., are closed until Feb. 18 while staff conducts its annual inventory. For further information, contact the museum at 732-462-1466 or visit its website at Monmouthhistory.org.
