Wagon tours and spring plowing are just part of the fun you will find at Howell Living History Farm on Saturday, April 29. Visitors can experience the lifestyle that went with circa 1900 farming by participating in the field, and at the farmhouse.
A horse-drawn walking plow for turning furrows will be in use where adults can experience older methods from the fields. Outside the farmhouse, visitors of all ages can help by pumping water and splitting wood needed for “wash day” operations, and try mending a seam with a foot-powered sewing machine. A push-type, reel lawnmower will be available for those wanting to help with the first lawn-mowing duties of the season. Parking and admission are free.
Rides to fields where farmers will be plowing with horses will be offered from 10:30am until 3:30pm. The free, tractor-drawn rides last approximately 20 minutes and are given on a first-come, first-served basis. The workings of a circa 1900 farm can also be seen at the restored Henry Phillips house, where costumed interpreters will be using period tools and equipment to wash and dry clothes, to mend clothing and to mow the lawn.
Howell Farm is owned by the County of Mercer and maintained by the Mercer County Park Commission. It is located on Valley Road, just off Route 29, in Hopewell Township. The GPS address is 70 Woodens Lane, Hopewell Township, NJ 08530.
For more information, call the farm office at (609) 737-3299, or visit www.howellfarm.org or www.mercercountyparks.org.
