Where-To-Go Wednesday - Dey Farm Historic Site

What:  Dey Farm Historic Site

Where: 401 Federal Rd.

            Monroe Township, NJ 

Who: All ages

When: 2023 Remaining Open House Date: October 1

Me - The Dey Farm Historic Site was interesting. There was an old schoolhouse. In the schoolhouse, there was a bell that allegedly still works but we couldn't get it to ring. There was also a really old book report about Thomas Edison. It was from the 1920s. Apparently, school was just as annoying then as now. There were also some old pictures of classes from the school and other schools in the area. Plus, there were also a lot of other historic objects pertaining to schools.

There was also a farmhouse. There were a lot of different old objects and furniture in it. They included a piano, a TV, and even some objects from an old post office like post office boxes. In one room of the farmhouse, there was a collection of all different hats. Most of them were ugly, but they did have nice colors. I'm not really a hat person anyway. The whole house was very very full of many different things. It was fascinating but hard to take it all in. There was just so much. 

There was a barn full of all these different tractors. I never knew that tractors had changed so much over the years. They also had some other things there including tools. Some of the tools were familiar and some were not. 

All in all, Dey Historic Farm Site is a good place to get to see a lot of historic objects in a small area. However, don't go on a really hot day because there's no air conditioning, and it gets really hot.

Mom - The Dey Farm Historic Site consists of several buildings and a section of the old Camden & Amboy Railroad.  Most of the buildings were previously located in other parts of Monroe Township. They were preserved and moved to the current site and reassembled.

The main portion of the Dey Farm House was originally built in 1820 although two additions were added at later dates. The house is now completely overflowing with furniture, articles of clothing, other items and artifacts plus various pictures and documents. Not all of the items on display actually belonged to the Dey Family. However, most of the items did come from families who lived in the town. The house and the items within give visitors an idea of what life was like for the early settlers of the area.

The Henry L. Miller Prospect Plains one-room schoolhouse served not only as a schoolhouse but as a meeting hall, a Sunday School, and later even the Town Hall. Currently, it houses a school exhibit. The exhibit consists not only of various school items, articles, pictures, books etc. that would have been used in old school house but from other periods of history as well.  It includes among other things desks, books, class pictures, and even an early book report as well as a couple of old school bells, one of which still rings.

The Dey Barn now serves as an agricultural museum. It houses a large collection of farm equipment. and more. The collection includes spinning wheels, numerous tractors, and even an old sleigh and more.

There are also a few other buildings located on the property. However, they are not open to visitors. You can also find a section of the tracks from the former Camden & Amboy Railroad on the site. This railroad used to go through the town of Monroe.

Visiting the Dey Farm Historic Site is free. Howeve, it is only open to visitors on the first Sunday of the Month from May through October. The last open house date of this season will be held on October 8, 2023. There is also a virtual tour of the site available on the Monroe Township Historical Preservation Commission (MTHPC) website which can be accessed at any time.

For more information, visit www.monroetwp.com/index.php/boards-commissions/historic-preservation

Tune in tomorrow for Theater Thursday.

All pictures used in this post are our own. If there is a problem with any image, please contact us here and we will look into the matter.