It's A Family Affair: Historical Community Works Together

January 2021 Society awarded a $500 mini grant by the Native Plant Society of New Jersey to establish a native plant garden on the property.

Fall 2020 Boy Scout Eagle Project. 17 year old Derrick Krasnansky is remodeling the porch in front of our beehive oven on the east side of the house to a more colonial period style for his Eagle Scout project. His project involved deconstructing the old porch, replacing a shake roof, laying a slate floor, painting etc. His involvement is a family affair. His older brother remodeled our museum rooms several years ago for an Eagle Scout project. His dad is our museum curator. And his deceased grandfather was a long time friend and member of the society loaning the tools on display in our Tool Museum Room.

November 2019 The Society is pleased and proud to announce we have received a $2000 History Partnership Program Grant from The NJ Historical Commission, which is administered by the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission for 2020.

August 2019 - Phase 2 of the manuscript conservation has been funded by The Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey. Thank you! We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the remaining two 18th century indentures and accompanying map by the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts in Philadelphia.

June 8 2019 - A consortium of county historical groups including the Somerset County Historical Society, Friends of the Abraham Staats House, Heritage Trail Association, sponsored the 3rd Middlebrook Encampment Seminar. The event included presentations by several specialists, lunch and opportunity to visit the remains of a redoubt on the Watchung mountain. The group plans to publish copies of the presentations.