I read the article on Ghost Chicks at the Red Mill in the Hunterdon Democrat and thought, why not?  Ghost hunting is fun, and maybe it’ll stimulate people to connect with their past.  I enjoy these TV shows and even as a confirmed skeptic I’ll admit to a thrill at an unexplained action or if some spirit seems to manifest.  The current attraction to ghost hunting reminds me of the popularity of séances in the mid-19th Century with the rise of Spiritualist religion.  Even Mary Todd Lincoln, grieving her son, held a séance at the White House attended by President Lincoln and other prominent people.  We all know if you focus attention and engage your imagination, especially when you’re with a group of like-minded people the mind has a tendency to fill the gap, to provide a perception.  A paint smear or moldy bread becomes an apparition if you only look at it the right way, with feeling.

I’m happy to let people have their fun but I also have a nagging suspicion that if they’re serious about touching the past they’re probably missing the boat.  I’m not equipped to debunk ghosts but this I do know:   If you’re looking for traces of past lives and you live in Hunterdon County you’re in the right place.  You can experience the sensation of touching past lives even during daylight hours.  In fact there’s no escaping the past as you drive over the pony truss bridge in Clinton or walk past the Flemington Courthouse and literally hundreds of other sites, homes, village districts, scenic vistas and museums, if you just look at it the right way, with feeling.

This may be enough but you don’t have settle for a fleeting sensation.  If you do some research, engage your historic imagination, maybe even work with a group of like-minded people, you can gain a multifaceted appreciation for what life was like at that time, who those people were and what they went through.  If you’re intrigued by traces of the past that surround us here in Hunterdon County, consult a house historian, a genealogist, an architectural historian, the local historic society or commission.  Find out more at your library, at the Hunterdon Historical Society library, on the Internet, the state archives.  Visit a local museum.  Ask the tough questions: who, what, when, why and how? 

A popular book by a local author (Stephanie Stevens) asked a simple intriguing question:  Who lived in the Round Valley before it was flooded a few decades ago?  Exhibits at local museums interpret artifacts to make the past manifest itself in the present.  At the Vought house, we want to know as much as we can about what happened in the decades before and after the Revolution.  The artifact that speaks to you may be of another time.  But the result may be the similar.  The real ghosts of Hunterdon County left traces but they cannot speak, exhibit, or write; they rely on us to speak, to show, to be their ghostwriters. 

Don Sherblom, President
The 1759 Vought House, Inc.

Our first meeting in 2010 will be January 14th, 2010. 
(The second Thursday, every second month, at 7pm.)______________________________________________________________________
It’s been a long haul over the past four years and we’ve all shown great determination.
And as a group, we’ve accomplished a lot in just the past six months: 

• We reached a milestone in June with the unanimous school board vote.
• In November, we increased awareness with a successful mailing to the entire township.  See both sides of mailer below.
• We have a new, more dynamic and more complete website at 1759House.org (open for suggestions and critiques - to Adam).
• Further research by our genealogist, Fred Sisser III, funded by the County Cultural and Heritage Commission, has uncovered more about the Vought family’s daily life.
• Adam and I retrieved two doors from a supporter of our project that had been salvaged from the house and restored.  Absolutely beautiful wood and hardware.
• Terri is pursuing 10 Most Endangered status with Preservation NJ.
• My talk and powerpoint presentation at the CTMS assembly was a great success (estimated snooze ratio of 2/100).
• An article in the December CTMS student newspaper asked: The Vought House, What Happens Now? (appearing soon with quotes from Adam  Wengryn and Superintendent Kevin Carroll) (Written by my daughter, Zoe Carpentier.  All’s fair in love and war.)
• The quotes from district educators, which appeared on the mailing, should help us in this year’s request for funding of an 8th grade appropriate booklet for use in classrooms throughout Hunterdon.
• I’m scheduled to address the northern Hunterdon County social studies teachers (sending districts to North and Voorhees High Schools).  I’ll give them a presentation on the Vought House museum and booklet.
• The subdivision plans are done.  A meeting of the Planning or Board of Adjustment could happen in January or February.
• The school board has been reminded -yet again- that they need to start work on the historic preservation easement.  

This year offers even greater challenges/opportunities. This year, The 1759 Vought House nonprofit will finally take possession of the most significant Revolutionary War site in Hunterdon County.  We’ll finally be able to start the arduous tasks of preserving and restoring the house, of transforming it by creating a vibrant local history museum, and we’ll uncover even more traces left by the Vought Family and neighbors like Thomas Jones that can tell us about life in this part of New Jersey in the late colonial and early Republican period, and, essential to the above, we’ll be raising funds to fulfill these goals.

This is year one! It’s a great time to help protect the future of Hunterdon County’s Revolutionary War past.

From: The Vought House Inc.
To: Clinton Township School District
RE: Update on Educational Partnership   

• My talk/presentation in the auditorium to 7th and 8th graders at the Clinton Twp. Middle School went very well - got good feedback from students and teachers. 
•  We have a couple of education-related grants in the works:
• Currently funded research grant:  Genealogical work being done by Fred Sisser III, with Beth Rice and Melissa Mohlman from our group, to discover more about this family, etc.
• Just applied for a grant:  to print a much shorter booklet that would be appropriate for 8th grade students at the CT Middle School and other middle schools throughout Hunterdon County.  Will be working with social studies teachers Robyn Peuss, Leanne Pike to develop an 8th grade appropriate booklet. 
• As a follow up to that, I will be presenting to the North Hunterdon Social Studies teachers when they meet in early December. (power point presentation.  give out booklets.  talk about transforming this into a revolutionary-era museum) 
• Restoration Technologies:  Recent work on the grounds.  Need for a roof repair on the Vought House, to be funded by the owner, the school district.  
• Our mailing to all Clinton Twp. residents re: historic significance of the the Vought House & future as a museum will be in the mail in November.
• Our next steps in preparing for transfer of ownership:  to build membership and volunteer involvement, increase financing, etc.
• Next steps for the school district:  (1) finish NJ application, (2) finish the legal subdivision (over 2-years in the making) (3) write historic preservation easement (get guidelines from New Jersey Historic Trust & write it).

Yours, Don Sherblom

Our 1759 Vought House non-profit asked for quotes from the school district to include in a flyer we’re mailing next month.  Got great quotes.  Looks like they’re not just on board, finally, but actually excited about having a museum at the Clinton Twp. Middle School:

Mr. Kevin Carroll – Superintendent of Schools  “The partnership that will be formed between the Clinton Township School District and the 1759 Vought House will provide the children of the community an opportunity to experience history at their doorstep. This landmark building will be a showcase for our students as they learn about the Revolutionary era.”

Ms. Bobbie Felip – Director of Curriculum  “The opportunity of having a historical building in partnership with our schools will afford children a unique experience in understanding a portion of the social studies curriculum. From learning about family and community in the younger grades to reinforcing more specific content in the older grades, it will help bring history to life in a much more meaningful way.”

Mr. Gerard Dalton – Principal, Clinton Township Middle School  “The Vought House will offer opportunities for future generations to learn how history and geography have shaped our region. The proximity of the location to our schools and others within the region make it a viable resource for instructional activities.”

The Christopher Vought House - now has a historic marker!  The Hunterdon County Cultural and Heritage Commission sign (below) as seen from Grayrock Road, with the middle school through the trees.  

The new Vought House sign makes it official:  Loyalists were a big part of that conflict we call the American Revolution, especially here in Hunterdon County.  

There were honorable men and women on each side, such as the Vought Family among the Loyalists, and Captain Thomas Jones and Charles Stewart among the Patriots.  It was a civil war, sometimes dividing fathers and sons like New Jersey’s Governor William Franklin and his father Benjamin.  A war fought for the rights of Englishmen, our British American heritage.

This marker is a milestone in promoting greater appreciation of our local history and in the Vought House gaining the recognition it richly deserves as the most significant Revolutionary era site in Hunterdon County.  It’s a sign of big things to come!

Strategy & Coordination: 
Regular Open Meetings of Trustees and Members
Four committees, organized by Tim Johnson, Antje Doyle,
                                                            Brian Mullay, Don Sherblom 
Some immediate tasks are set out below.  
Areas of overlap are indicated by color code.   

 Next Step:  four committee leaders arrange meeting and/or communication to
v  expand on list of tasks set out above
v  prioritize tasks
v  organize for action
v  estimate time-line for completion of each tasks and larger projects

OK - the vast majority of those who voted on a meeting time favored Tuesday or Thursday evening, so our next meeting will  be Thursday July 2nd at 7 pm at RE/MAX Town & Country 44 Leigh Street in Clinton, NJ 08809 (see map).

View Larger Map

Starting July 2 - Our meetings will be the first Thursday of the month at 7 pm.

To prepare, please think about the subcommittee you will serve on and the agenda for that subcommittee.  Here’s what I see as the major divisions of labor:
          (1) House & Grounds: maintain and transform this property, (mothballing, preservation plan & action, make visible changes at house)
          (2) Raise Money: raise funds, seek grants, stabilization funds, private foundations, corporate donations, etc.
          (3) Awareness & Membership: build membership, get the public involved, prepare mailing w/existing HC CHC grant.
          (4) Develop History: pursue genealogy project, research, outreach to historians, National Register and Landmark status.

Vought House Inc. - July 2 @ 7pm - preliminary Agenda 

    1) (re)-introduction of members, bylaws, goals of The 1759 Vought House, A Revolutionary War Loyalist Homestead.
    2) Discussion of the Vought House “bubble,” our current needs, next steps, probable time line.
    3) Old business: informational mailing to Clinton Twp. residents, etc.
    4) New business -
    5) Break into subcommittees to set small group agendas and leaders

Any questions or suggestions on agenda items, please email or call (908) 303-8130

Don Sherblom