Hello again list! As long as I'm plugging off-topic events - there are two more coming up in October... Details follow. One event is in Rahway (not free) and the other in Edison (free). The email is long - and I apologize for that - but I thought some list members might be interested... Regards Joan ------------- First Event: ------------- The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Presents THE CIVIL WAR: ON THE BATTLEFIELD AND ON THE HOME FRONT GHOSTS OF THE PAST, CEMETERY TOURS of RAHWAY CEMETERY OCTOBER 22-23, 2005 Tours Start at 1:00 p.m. - Last Tour Starts at 4:00 p.m. Tours leave the Merchants and Drovers Tavern every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the afternoon. Participants should plan on coming early if at all possible as the tour takes about 2 hours and the cemetery must be vacated by dusk. Experience the Civil War at home and on the battlefield through the eyes of a slave, a politician, a member of the Wide Awakes, a drummer boy who died in camp, an army chaplain, a carriage manufacturer indicted for treason, Union enlisted soldiers and officers, a soldier's sister, members of the United States Colored Troops, a Confederate soldier, a physician's young apprentice, a penniless widow, a civic minded woman and more, all now resting in the historic Rahway Cemetery. Costumed re-enactors, who tell stories of slavery and abolition, Copperheads and resistance to the war in New Jersey, the election of Lincoln, military recruitment and support of the war by the local government, local celebrations, encampments and illness, battles, African-American contributions on the battlefield, economic ruin at home, worry and heartbreak for families, life in a New Jersey town, and, finally, the death of Lincoln, Lee's surrender and the return of soldiers, will bring the Civil War period to life on this interactive tour of the historic Rahway Cemetery presented by the Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association. Admission also includes free parking at Parkside Plaza (located immediately south of the Merchants and Drovers Tavern on St. Georges Ave. (Rte. 27), a printed tour guide with map showing the location of the grave sites, and admission to the Merchants and Drovers Tavern following the tour. The Merchants and Drovers Tavern (c.1795/1820) contains thirteen furnished rooms and For the Entertainment of Strangers: The New Jersey Tavern, a permanent exhibit installation on New Jersey tavern life and stagecoach transportation. The Merchants and Drovers, a hotel from 1798 to the mid-1930s and an early stagecoach stop, was used for government meetings and general elections, civic celebrations, sheriff's sales, professional services, public entertainment and business transactions from the 1790s into the late 1850s. The cemetery tour program is based on extensive primary research that includes numerous letters to and from soldiers, newspaper articles, township committee minutes, photographs and books from the period, as well as journals, articles and other publications written shortly after the war. A publication based on the research will be for sale following the tour. The oldest stone in Rahway Cemetery, adjacent to the Merchants and Drovers Tavern, dates to 1724. The cemetery includes the grave of Abraham Clark, signer of the Declaration of Independence, and stones carved by John Frazee, a nationally renowned sculptor. The Terrill Tavern (c. 1750) Museum Shop will be open, and refreshments will be available in the Merchants and Drovers Tavern. (For ticket information and directions see the website.) For information call (732) 381-0441 or visit our website at www.merchantsanddrovers.org <http://www.merchantsanddrovers.org>. The Merchants and Drovers Tavern Museum Association is the recipient of a 2005-2006 General Operating Support Grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a Division of the Department of State. ---------------- Second Event ---------------- EDISON HISTORY DAY to be held on October 23, 2005 The Metuchen-Edison Historical Society, the Edison Museum and Tower Board, and the Edison Historic Preservation Commission are jointly sponsoring the 5th Annual Edison History Day on Sunday, October 23, from noon to 4:00 PM at the Edison Main Library, 340 Plainfield Avenue in Edison, Middlesex County. During this free event, browse through photographs, documents, maps, personal accounts, and artifacts that span the history of what is now Edison Township from the archives of the Metuchen-Edison Historical Society, and memorabilia from the Edison Memorial Tower Museum. Features include: a guided tour of the historic Stelton Baptist Church cemetery, the final resting place of many early European settlers across the street from the library, conducted by noted historian Mark Nonesteid at noon - don't be late! For more information, please contact Tyreen Reuter at ayersallenhouse@msn.com mailto:ayersallenhouse@msn.com <ayersallenhouse@msn.com>