Warren County New Jersey: the New york city City area’s Undiscovered Historical Treasure
When people head out from New York and surrounding environments searching for weekend retreats, typically 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 areas where New Yorkers typically journey, purchase 2nd homes, star watch and more, it’s simple to comprehend that these locations are leading of the list.
What about an area as near to Manhattan as any of the formerly pointed out hotspots that offers almost whatever we find captivating about our areas of choice for 2nd and journey homes– historic towns and towns, extraordinary 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 areas 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 beautiful and useful countryside of Warren County, New Jersey.
For the a great deal of part, it’s the locals who comprehend about or think of residing in or taking a look at Warren County and even then, the western and northern reaches are still rather rural and unblemished. For a number of its history, Warren County has in fact 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 greatest town, Phillipsburg– a bad industrial city that had in fact fallen on difficult times.
A Pleasant Surprise
Residing in rural Morristown New Jersey, we were considering a 2nd home purchase in the country and saw a home in Bucks County Pennsylvania on a real 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 remarkable nevertheless little 18th and 19th century stone and clapboard structures, comprehended as Finesville, just 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 amazing, Mark developed in eastern Warren County and we had really gone to an auction simply 3 miles far from Finesville so I had some understanding of the place.
The town was reasonably thriving for much of its history nevertheless reduced throughout the twentieth century. A few of the repair work 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 home and acquired and got the Warren County Historic Preservation Award for our efforts. Even far better, given that of Warren County’s range to work, we had the ability to use our primary home in Morristown and relocate to the country entirely.
The Villages and Countryside
Warren County has lots of hidden and sensational towns and towns like Finesville and considered that appearing, various of them have really tempted us to think of moving when again.
As testament to Warren County’s less than impressive trustworthiness, 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 equates to the most stunning in New England. Hope is a one-traffic light crossroads town, developed in the 18th century by a group of Moravians who left an impressive collection of stone houses now revived and changed to services and homes.
North of Hope lies the rather larger town of Blairstown with its simply recently revived 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 prominent preparation school and the town’s olden feed store. This is a walking town, handy 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 reveals and utilizes 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 in fact taped our imagination and may eventually tear us far from Finesville. That ignore, as in numerous of Warren County, has really kept much of its historic product intact and over the previous 20 years, structure owners have really been peeling off old aluminum siding to expose spectacular architecture.
The town actively inspires removal and company improvement– companies in Phillipsburg charge simply 3% sales tax with a few of that money going to revitalization tasks. P’burg, as it is comprehended by locals, 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 many methods to alter Phillipsburg including the redevelopment of its underutilized waterside into a domestic location, with structure set to start in 2006, and the repurposing of an unoccupied business 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 utilizes more dining facilities, the Crayola Factory museum, an exceptionally popular local grocery store (a branch of which may preferably show up in Warren County), a growing artists community, the State Theater, and the historic College Hill neighborhood. Far more remarkable, there are a variety of high-end apartment improvements currently under structure and building or prepared in existing historic Easton homes, 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 prepared to wind up being the next Cold Spring or South Norwalk or New Paltz. A number of years back, we obtained 2 historic 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 renew, we are thinking of a moving into the colonial as our long-lasting 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 home as our area 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 thinking about a 2nd home purchase in the country and saw a home 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 amazing nevertheless little 18th and 19th century stone and clapboard structures, comprehended as Finesville, merely 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 supplies a scene that matches the most stunning 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 home and acquired and got the Warren County Historic Preservation Award for our efforts. Even much better, given that of Warren County’s range to work, we were able to provide our primary home in Morristown and move to the country totally.
North of Hope lies the rather larger town of Blairstown with its simply recently brought back 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 recognized preparation school and the town’s olden feed store.