Warren County History Expo

This past Saturday, April 18th, was the Warren County History Expo held at the Masonic Lodge on Rt. 31. Since I took over the Oxford Historical Society this year, this was my first time attending the Expo as well as setting up a table for the Society. I wasn't sure what to expect, so spent the week preparing and preparing and preparing. Printing pictures, sitting for hours at the microfiche searching through The Washington Star for news articles about Oxford, and cutting and pasting text to be posted on the display board. Needless to say, I was beyond prepared for the event!



The Expo was attended nicely by members of the presenting historical societies. Hopefully next year the general public will make a more noticeable attendance. Warren County has so much history to offer that the public should be taking advantage of every opportunity to learn and be informed! I had the privilege to sit next to a lovely woman named Myra that was a member of the Campbell Cultural Heritage House.

The Campbell Cultural Heritage House is the homestead of Morris Canal Boat Captain James Campbell, an African American Boat Captain on the Morris Canal. This nonprofit, of which many of Mr. Campbell's relatives belong to, was formed in order to promote the restoration and preservation of the Campbell home as well as draw attention to the African American experience on the Canal. Myra shared with me stories of the task of restoring the outside of the home, the cleaning that had to be done inside the house, as well as the excitement of being able to look through Captain Campbell's personal papers that were found in the home. The Campbell Cultural Heritage House's mission is a worthy one and the history of James Campbell is one that deserves much recognition not only in Warren County, but in the state of New Jersey.

The guest speaker for the Expo was Michael Margulies, owner and manager of Eclectic Architecture, a studio which specializes in fine design and historic preservation. Mr. Margulies' presentation included past and present projects of Eclectic Architecture as well as the process of deeming how to restore a historic building and the issues that arise when deciding on what is to be preserved and what is to be changed. This firm has worked on such projects as the Roseberry Homestead in Phillipsburg and our hometown Shippen Manor in Oxford. Needless to say, their work is amazing and such a tremendous asset to preserving history in our county.

After the Expo, I stopped by Shippen Manor, where I have been a docent for almost 10 years. The Manor was in full swing with Revolutionary War reenactors, musket firings, and even the once in a lifetime chance to have your photo taken on a tintype! I didn't have to think twice of taking advantage of this opportunity - look for a future post about this wonderful experience!

So, what is next for the Oxford Historical Society? I have my "first" event in the books and am looking forward to the Society's first meeting in May. Within the next couple of days, I will be posting more information about our meeting on May 21st and how you can sign up to attend what should be a wonderful night of history and learning about the Scranton family and their former residence in Oxford.

Please feel free to inquire with any historical questions or research conundrum about Oxford history. Suggestions for meetings, guest speakers, and topics for posts are always welcome!

Keep stoking the furnace...
Renee