Warren County New Jersey: the New york city City area’s Undiscovered Historical Treasure
When people head out from New York and surrounding environments looking for weekend retreats, generally they end up in western Connecticut, the Hudson River Valley, the Catskills and other upstate New York places, the Jersey Shore, and the Hamptons.
As places where New Yorkers normally trip, purchase 2nd homes, superstars see and more, it’s simple to comprehend that these locations are leading of the list.
What about a place as near to Manhattan as any of the formerly discussed hotspots that utilizes virtually whatever we find capitivating about our areas of alternative for 2nd and journey homes– historic towns and towns, unbelievable countryside, outdoors activities, farmhouses, farm markets, artists, country dining facilities– nevertheless does not have the buzz or the name recommendation, a minimum of not.
Even places even more a field like Bucks and Pike Counties in Pennsylvania and Sullivan County in New York get more press. Well let me provide you to the formerly depressed backwater turned spectacular and useful countryside of Warren County, New Jersey.
For the numerous part, it’s the homeowners who comprehend about or consider residing in or going to Warren County and even then, the western and northern reaches are still rather rural and unblemished. For a lot of its history, Warren County has really either been a trick to those who have really never ever seen it or an area to avoid to those who had really become aware of its most significant town, Phillipsburg– a bad business city that had in fact fallen on challenging times.
A Pleasant Surprise
Residing in rural Morristown New Jersey, we were thinking about a 2nd home purchase in the country and saw a house in Bucks County Pennsylvania on an authentic estate Website that fascinated us. With map in hand, we took what appeared like the most direct course to Upper Bucks County and found ourselves following the Musconetcong River, along Warren County’s southern border, past a collection of about fifty spectacular nevertheless little 18th and 19th century stone and clapboard structures, comprehended as Finesville, merely prior to we crossed into Pennsylvania.
Warren County was barely on my radar screen, as a Real Estate Agent focusing on historic homes and locations– www.gerrykasper.com–, I was flabbergasted that there was a hamlet of this size and quality in Northern New Jersey of which I was uninformed. A lot more great, Mark grew in eastern Warren County and we had really taken part in an auction simply 3 miles far from Finesville so I had some understanding of the area.
The town was fairly thriving for much of its history nevertheless reduced throughout the twentieth century. A few of the removals have really been so exceptional that 2 Finesville homes were simply recently consisted of in across the country home and garden publications.
At the time we discovered it, a c. 1825 stone Georgian colonial was for sale in the town. Therefore we restored this house and acquired and got the Warren County Historic Preservation Award for our efforts. Even far better, considering that of Warren County’s range to work, we had the ability to provide our primary house in Morristown and transfer to the country totally.
The Villages and Countryside
Warren County has great deals of hidden and sensational towns and towns like Finesville and since getting here, many of them have in fact enticed us to consider moving as soon as again.
As testament to Warren County’s less than exceptional performance history, the sign welcoming visitors into its county seat discusses Victorian Belvidere as “New Jersey’s finest kept technique”. Belvidere is a sleepy town discovered off the beaten course and set out around a New England-style Village Green.
Northern Warren County supplies a scene that determines up to the most sensational in New England. Hope is a one-traffic light crossroads town, developed in the 18th century by a group of Moravians who left an amazing collection of stone homes now restored and changed to services and homes.
North of Hope lies the rather larger town of Blairstown with its simply recently restored collection of dining facilities and shops, currently under element to think about for the National Register of Historic Places. Main Street is bookended by a popular prep school and the town’s olden feed store. This is a walking town, practical for an hour’s walk with weekend visitors and a poke around the stores and tranquil streets.
Just west of Hope and Blairstown, outdoors activities exist in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area that consists of part of the Appalachian Trail, Millbrook, a recreated 19th century town, and Peters Valley, an artists nest which shows and offers regular programs.
On the eastern edge of Warren, Hackettstown still keeps its 19th century feel with exceptional multi-colored Victorian homes, antique stores along Main Street and Centenary College in its middle.
Phillipsburg– An Industrial Town Reborn
As beautiful as Warren County’s countryside is, it’s the city that we at first tried to avoid that has really tape-recorded our imagination and may eventually tear us far from Finesville. Thankfully that neglect, as in much of Warren County, has really kept much of its historic product intact and over the previous 20 years, structure owners have really been peeling old aluminum siding to expose mind-blowing architecture.
The town actively encourages removal and business development– business in Phillipsburg charge simply 3% sales tax with a few of that money going to revitalization tasks. P’burg, as it is comprehended by citizens, is extremely problem-free as Routes 78 and 22 run just beyond town as does the express bus to Manhattan, which stops at the Phillipsburg Mall.
There are various methods to alter Phillipsburg including the redevelopment of its underutilized waterside into a domestic neighborhood, with structure and building set to start in 2006, and the repurposing of an unoccupied industrial park into a new commerce. Phillipsburg was called as the location for the New Jersey Transportation and Heritage Museum.
Merely over the river, Easton Pennsylvania supplies more dining facilities, the Crayola Factory museum, a popular local grocery store (a branch of which may preferably show up in Warren County), a growing artists area, the State Theater, and the historic College Hill location. A lot more intriguing, there are a variety of high-end condominium developments currently under structure and building and construction or prepared in existing historic Easton houses, such as the previous Easton Hotel, which will bring abundant individuals within walking variety of downtown Phillipsburg.
South Main Street near the Delaware River Bridge is mainly restored and all set to wind up being the next Cold Spring or South Norwalk or New Paltz. A number of years previously, we purchased 2 historic domestic or business homes on Phillipsburg’s Main Street: an 1887 firehouse for $60,000 and a 19th century Georgian-style colonial for $90,000.
As the town continues to restore, we are considering a moving into the colonial as our irreparable home so we can awaken on Saturday mornings and walk to our favored breakfast location down the street. We’ll more than likely keep the Finesville house as our place in the country.
Well let me provide you to the formerly depressed backwater turned beautiful and problem-free countryside of Warren County, New Jersey.
Residing in rural Morristown New Jersey, we were contemplating a 2nd home purchase in the country and saw a house in Bucks County Pennsylvania on an authentic estate Website that interested us. With map in hand, we took what appeared like the most direct course to Upper Bucks County and found ourselves following the Musconetcong River, along Warren County’s southern border, past a collection of about fifty sensational nevertheless little 18th and 19th century stone and clapboard structures, comprehended as Finesville, just prior to we crossed into Pennsylvania.
As statement to Warren County’s less than impressive performance history, the indicator welcoming visitors into its county seat discusses Victorian Belvidere as “New Jersey’s finest kept technique”. Northern Warren County utilizes a scene that equates to the most spectacular in New England.
At the time we discovered it, a c. 1825 stone Georgian colonial was for sale in the town. And so we restored this house and bought and got the Warren County Historic Preservation Award for our efforts. Even much better, because of Warren County’s range to work, we were able to use our primary house in Morristown and move to the country entirely.
North of Hope lies the rather larger town of Blairstown with its simply recently brought back collection of dining facilities and shops, currently under aspect to think about for the National Register of Historic Places. Main Street is bookended by a popular prep school and the town’s olden feed store.