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Riverside Festival along the History Trail, Sunday, November 7

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At Ramsaysburg, Explore Warren History Trail visitors will enjoy docent tours of the grounds on Saturday, Nov. 6 and the annual Fall Festival on Sunday, Nov. 7. The site will be open 10am-4pm both days.

Festival attendees can taste an assortment of locally-grown apples, cider pressed on-site, as well as Apple Pies and Crisp. E&R Mathez farm will be on hand to explain the benefits of river-friendly farming as well as offer samplings of their delicious honey. How about a pound Myron Baley’s fresh cured bacon smoked on site? And jazz guitarist Wall Bibinger will offer selections from his extensive repertoire of classic and contemporary tunes. As always, visitors can enjoy the natural allure of the property, exchange stories around the firepit, a self-guided slide show about the era of timber rafting, and relish magnificent seasonal views along Delaware River. Pets are welcome on a leash.

The Ramsaysburg Homestead is a twelve-acre historical park along the Delaware River in Knowlton Township. The property and the structures on it—a tavern, barn, cottage, smokehouse and shed—were built from 1800 to 1870, and represent the activity that occurred at the homestead during its heyday. A natural amphitheater stretches from the historic structure to the bank of the Delaware River, a serene setting for picnics. 

The Ramsaysburg Homestead is located on Route 46 east at the intersection with Ramseyburg Rd. in Delaware, NJ. For more information please check the website, www.ramsaysburg.org or on Facebook.

The Knowlton Twp. Historic Commission received an operating support grant from the Warren County Division of Cultural and Heritage Affairs with funds from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the Department of State.

Explore Warren History Trail

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Many of Warren County’s historic sites have coordinated plans for the second annual self-guided county-wide tour, with family activities at each location, on the weekend of November 4-5, 2023. Join us for a weekend of fun and discovery as each stop along the trail offers something different and exciting for the whole family. Start at any site and pick up your map and guide. Mark your calendar, and keep an eye on warrenhistorytrail.org for more information!

At Ramsaysburg, trail visitors will enjoy the annual Fall Festival as well as interpretive tours of the grounds on Saturday, Nov. 4, 10am-4pm.

As it approaches its bicentennial in 2024-2025, Warren County will celebrate a remarkable history as well as its reputation for the cleanest waterways and richest farmland in New Jersey. Stemming from wilderness times well before the county’s official formation through 1824 legislation, the area’s earliest settlements were in Greenwich, Oxford Furnace, and Pahaquarry. Situated at the confluence of the Delaware and Musconetcong Rivers, Greenwich was the gateway for the northward migration of Quaker, German, and Scots-Irish settlers landing at Philadelphia. Oxford Furnace’s first pioneers arrived in 1726, but real growth followed the building of the furnace in 1741, creating Warren County’s first hub of commercial activity and population growth. In 1732, Abraham Van Campen built a mill in what became the tiny village of Calno in Pahaquarry, the southernmost settlement in a chain of Dutch villages extending down the Minisink Valley from Esopus (now Kingston), New York. Warren County’s agricultural heritage, in combination with eighteenth and nineteenth century innovations in transportation and industry, are important chapters in the rural American tradition.

James Maddock Band, October 9

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A rock & roll lifer, the British-born singer/songwriter has been carving his path since the 1980s with a raw, soulful voice; a storyteller’s sense of narrative; and the ability to blur the lines between folk, classic pop, and rock.

James Maddock

Since those early days in London, James has ridden the wave of a music industry that’s ebbed, flowed, peaked, and crashed. Maddock has stayed afloat throughout the entire ride, enjoying a brush with commercial success during the late 1990s — including a major-label record deal, a Top 5 AAA radio hit, and a song placement on Dawson’s Creek — before transforming himself into an independent solo artist during the decades that followed. If you’re not familiar, you’ll find Maddock’s large catalog full of great tunes on your favorite streaming outlet. More about James Maddock…

The concert will take place outdoors in the Riverside Amphitheatre. Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Picnic tables are available.  

$10 suggested donation.  Gates open at 2 pm, music begins 3 pm. Rain date is Sunday, October 10.

For directions, check the map on our home page. The property address is 140 Route 46, Delaware, NJ, located at the intersection of Ramseyburg Road and Route 46, east of the village of Delaware. From Interstate Route 80, Exit 4, take Route 46 eastbound approximately 4 miles.

Moss Henry and the Bryophytes: July 31, 2021

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The band will fill the amphitheater with unrepentant Honky Tonk & Western Swing that harkens back to the days of the opry and cowboy movies. Ramsaysburg concert at the barn outdoor amphitheatre. 6pm. $10 donation suggested.. Ramseyburg Rd, and Rt 46.

Moss Henry and the Bryophytes

The concert is made possible with generous support from the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Division of the Department of Land Preservation, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

2021 Upcoming Events

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July 24: Plein Air Painting.

Potluck lunch and bucolic scenery, 10 am.

July 31: Moss Henry & the Bryophytes.

Country Western swing in the amphitheater, 6pm.

August 21: The Lion King.

On the Big Screen outdoors in the amphitheater, dusk.

September 25: Riverside Rhythm.

Big band in the amphitheater, 6pm.

November 6-7: Explore Warren History Trail.

A self-guided county-wide excursion.

Ramsaysburg COVID Concert at the Barn

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On August 16, 2020, the Walt Bibinger Trio (Walt on guitar with Nancy Coletti on vocals and Paul Rostock on bass) and classical harpist, Andrea Wittchen (accompanied by violinist Rebecca Brown) performed for an audience stuffed with a love for good music. The concert was produced by the Knowlton Township Historical Commission with generous support from the Warren County Cultural and Heritage Division of the Department of Land Preservation, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

2020 Activity Adjustments

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Your friends and neighbors at the Knowlton Township Historic Commission wish you well at this difficult time. While we shelter in place, protected by Knowlton Township’s generous open space and access to nature, the inconveniences in our lives are negligible compared to the suffering borne by others during this pandemic. As heroic doctors, nurses and health care workers risk their lives to save others, social distancing seems a small burden indeed.

Ramsaysburg’s oldest surviving citizen

When society emerges from isolation our cultural institutions will change, creating new opportunities that will require more public involvement. Volunteer contributions of time, talent and energy will be critical to organizations large and small. Here in Knowlton, sustaining the beauty and character of our community’s historic resources and scenic treasures, as well as those throughout the region, will present new challenges. Consider joining the Knowlton Township Historic Commission when we resume our work together as neighbors. We look forward to that moment with hope and enthusiasm, knowing that our best work is ahead. 

Until then, many events and performances at the Ramsaysburg Historic Site won’t occur as planned, including the annual Memorial Day Flag Ceremony and Picnic and the annual Summer Concerts in the Barn series, normally presented on the last Saturday of June, July and August. Just as organizations around the world postponed programs and closed public spaces, we must also pause to allow time to recover with hope that other annual events, including the Fall Riverside Festival and Christmas in the Country, will take place later this year. 

Even as these events are put on hold, the important architectural and planning work for the full restoration of the historic Ramsaysburg Homestead will proceed. New grants awarded in 2019 will enable ongoing improvements to resume as we emerge from this difficult time.

While we will miss the solace that art, music, dance, cinema, drama and other cultural pursuits bring to our lives, know that all of us who volunteer on the Knowlton Township Historic Commission will work to provide the anchor that our heritage provides. With your help and support, we pledge to bring back the community-enriching events, exhibitions and concerts that you enjoy as soon as possible. Stay in touch, stay well and consider joining as a volunteer. Your talents and energy are crucial to our continued success.

Plein Air Painting and Photography: July 24, 2021

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Plein-air artists, please join us at 10:00 am for a day of painting and photographing the beautiful views along the Delaware River, intimate woods scenes along our paths and of course the old restored buildings at Ramsaysburg Homestead. Bring your lunch and join us to dine at 12:30. This is always a fun day of painting outside and getting to meet fellow local artists. Bring your easel and paints, camera, lawn chair and any other materials you might need. Feel free to come early or stay late.