Smithville Conservancy Committee, Friends of the Mansion at Smithville

Smithville Conservancy Committee, Friends of the Mansion at Smithville In late 2013 the Smithville Conservancy became a sub-committee of the Friends of Mansion at Smithville (FOMAS) - unofficial page Don't want to canoe?

Located in Eastampton, NJ, the "Historic Smithville Park is the centerpiece of the Burlington County Parks System. As the Smithville Historic District, the village is listed on the National and New Jersey Registers of Historic Places. Smithville grew from a typical, small mill operation on the Rancocas Creek to a major industrial plant employing hundreds of workers in its shops and yards from the

1860s to the 1920s. Known for its high-quality woodworking machinery, the Smithville-Mt. Holly Bicycle Railroad, and the Star high-wheeled bicycle, Smithville was also well ahead of its time in town planning, sustainability, and workers' rights and welfare. Within its borders, it offered its residents and workers a variety of recreational, artistic and educational opportunities. Smithville was, in just about every way, a model industrial town." (from the Burlington County Parks website)

300+ acre park, industrial village ruins, Smith mansion, farm complex, man-made lake with viewing platforms and floating boardwalk, rails-to-trails, Smith's Woods pavillion, hiking trails, kayak/canoe portage around Rancocas Creek dam, picnic grove, gazaebo, county parks office, cultural & heritage office.

2012 SPECIAL EVENTS AT SMITHVILLE PARK

Sunday, April 22 - Earth Day - 10 am - 3pm (rain or shine however, heavy rain may cancel some activities) Celebrate Earth Day in a Burlington County Park. Visit one or all parks and learn about our parks and what you can do to protect our parks. Sunday, May 20 - Victorian Games - Noon - 4pm (rain or shine)
Travel back in time and join The Friends of the Mansion at Smithville for an afternoon of Victorian games in the park. Gather in the park to play a variety of games that Hezehiah B. Smith and his wife Agnes Gilderon Smith may have enjoyed while resideing at smithville in the 1800's. See first-hand a typical Victorian Wedding. Entertainment, games, lessons in tea etiquette, and games of croquet are all free. Nominal fee to tour the mansion. Sunday, June 24 - Earth Fair - 10:30 - 4pm (rain or shine)
Burlington County's Annual Earth Fair returns to Historic Smithville Park featuring vendors, entertainment for all ages,and kids' activites with an environmental twist. This family event focuses on ways to protect and enjoy our environment. Find out which Burlington County municipalities are going green. Children's activities include "trash" sculpting, papermaking, storytelling, environmental vaudeville and facepainting to mention a few. Environmental organizations and businesses are invited to participate. Sunday, August 26 - NEW - A Day on the Water - 10am - 5pm (rain or shine) Rent canoes or kayaks and paddle the Canoe Trail in the Burlington County Parks. There are three locations to rent canoes: Burlington County College, Clarks Canoes, and Historic Smithville Park. Food, Fun and Activites will be at each of the locations. You don't have to canoe to enjoy the fun. You can drive to each location and enjoy the festivites. Sunday, September 23 - Arts in the Park - 10:30 - 4pm (rain or shine)
Enjoy entertainment on three stages featuring music, dance, theater and storytelling. The Smithville Annex Gallery will host the 36th Annual Juried Art Exhibit. The exhibit will include watercolors, oil and acrylic paintings mixed media and sculpture. Guests are encouraged to engage in free interactive activities, such as Chalk the Walk, Paint the Mural project and a Clothesline Art Workshop will enable artists of all levels to showcase their skills. Sunday, Oct. 28 - Fall Float Festival - Launching canoes and kayaks from 9am - 2pm - Festival until 4pm (inclement weather could cancel some activities)
Canoe on the Rancocas Creek and see the Fall Foiliage as you float along the Rancocas Creek. Launch from Smithville Park. There will be a nominal fee to rent canoes and kayaks. Paddlers will be shuttled back to Historic Smithville Park for food, entertainment and activites. ages. Sunday Dec. 2 - Victorian Holiday Celebration - Noon - 4pm (rain or shine)
Join us to kick off the Holiday Season at Historic Smithville Park complete with a visit from St. Nick, who will arrive by horse and carriage at 1pm. Visitors can expect horse & carriage rides, ice carving demonstrations, tours of the Holiday decorated Smithville Mansion, entertainment, kids activities, and a holiday market place where you can purchase that unique gift.

9th Annual - TODAY
03/09/2014

9th Annual - TODAY

Lines on the Pines is a Gathering of Authors, Artists and Musicians, and all who enjoy the the NJ Pine Barrens. Held Yearly in March

There is always something interesting going on at Smithville Historic Park
03/09/2014

There is always something interesting going on at Smithville Historic Park

EASTAMPTON Hezekiah B. Smith lived life on his own terms. For 22 years, he ruled a small industrial village employing hundreds of people in a complex that produced woodworking machinery.

03/09/2014

Sunday May 18, 2014 @12:00PM - 04:00PM

Victorian Times Join the Friends of the Mansion at Smithville as you travel back in time to experience a Victorian afternoon in Historic Smithville Park Entertainment games lessons in tea etiquette

We found a hidden jewel at historic Smithville Park yesterday - the temporary home of the Underground Railroad Museum. ...
08/04/2013

We found a hidden jewel at historic Smithville Park yesterday - the temporary home of the Underground Railroad Museum. Stop by Thursday - Sunday

Underground Railroad Museum
Jun 7, 2013.

EASTAMPTON — The shuttered Underground Railroad Educational Center and its collection of artifacts will be surrounded by history when it opens at its new digs Sunday.

The nonprofit center, which closed its Burlington City building adjacent to an Underground Railroad site on East Union Street in December because of financial strain, has found a new home in Burlington County’s Historic Smithville Park. County and center officials will celebrate their partnership and the new location with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sunday at 1:30 p.m. during the Earth Fair at the park.

“This is a significant piece of Burlington County and, quite frankly, national history that will be safeguarded for future generations to explore and learn right here at the county,” said Joseph Donnelly, director of the Burlington County Board of Freeholders.

The county stepped in to help the center after learning it had to close its building. Originally, officials thought the collection could be featured at Burlington County College’s Willingboro Center, but Smithville proved to be a better fit.

However, college, county and center partners are working together to help catalog the museum’s artifacts, create oral histories, and establish educational activities for students who visit the new location, officials said.

The nonprofit’s collection includes books, art, news clippings and relics relating to the Underground Railroad and black history, such as the Emancipation Proclamation and Brown v. the Board of Education, and tributes to luminaries such as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

“The museum works really well with our overall plan for Smithville, a place that is rich in local history,” Donnelly said. “We already have a workers cottage museum, the Smithville Mansion Museum, and now the Underground Railroad Museum. We would like to continue to add more historical and educational attractions to Smithville.”

County historians also are investigating stories about Smithville playing a role in the Underground Railroad. At this point, they are still researching and aren’t sure if the reports are factual or just rumor, officials said.

In recent years, the county has done significant restoration and rehabilitation work at Smithville, a former industrial village. Industrialist Hezekiah B. Smith lived in the 1840 Greek Revival mansion now open to the public. He manufactured high-wheel bicycles at the village during the late 1800s.

For now, the collection will be housed in the oldest worker’s house, which predates 1820, on the property, officials said. The county restored the building in 2011, moving it from one location in the park to another to rebuild its crumbling foundation and collapsed walls so it could be reopened to the public.

The building is home to the visitors’ center and will temporarily house the Underground Railroad exhibit until the restoration of another worker’s house is completed.

The county has used state historic preservation grants for its its restoration work at the 312-acre park along the Rancocas Creek. Officials said they did not want to wait for work to be completed on the other worker’s house before unveiling the Underground Railroad Museum.

After the grand opening Sunday, the museum will be open during normal park hours.

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/burlington_county_times_news/underground-railroad-museum-to-open-sunday-at-new-home/article_8992212e-4acb-5169-ae5a-dcb5d03d8295.html

EASTAMPTON — The shuttered Underground Railroad Educational Center and its collection of artifacts will be surrounded by history when it opens at its new digs Sunday.

01/26/2013

The 8th Annual “Lines on the Pines”
Artists & Authors - Art, Books, Crafts and History
“FREE” EVENT Sunday - March 10, 2013 Open to the Public
11:00AM - 4:00PM Purchases: cash/check and carry Kerri Brooke Caterers 609-561-5504
755 South White Horse Pike / Route 30, Hammonton, NJ 08037

12/01/2012

VICTORIAN HOLIDAY CELEBRATION
Sunday December 2, 2012
Noon until 4pm at Historic Smithville Park
803 Smithville Road, Eastampton, NJ 08060
FREE ADMISSION! TENTED EVENT!

tours of the Village available at 12:30 and 2:30 with County Historian Joe Laufer - stop by 24 Maple (the new Smithville...
06/24/2012

tours of the Village available at 12:30 and 2:30 with County Historian Joe Laufer - stop by 24 Maple (the new Smithville Visitors' Center) for more information

EASTAMPTON — The Burlington County Earth Fair is back this Sunday at Historic Smithville Park with a lineup of environmentally friendly exhibits, entertainment and tips for going, or staying, green.

05/17/2012
04/06/2012

Preservation and reuse of 54 Maple Avenue is nearing completion. Ribbon cutting ceremony planning is under way for summer of 2012.

04/06/2012

Address

801 Smithville Road
Mount Holly, NJ
08060

Telephone

+16092655068

Website

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