Somers Point, NJ is such a picturesque and historical town with lots of historical sites and delicious restaurants to visit. It is fun to just get in the car and drive the Historic District and see how the town has grown and developed.
I took time out of my walking project in Manhattan after finishing the Chelsea neighborhoods, walking the 13-mile Broadway walk for the sixth time and preparing to do “The Great Saunter” on my own next week to go ‘down the shore’ as we say in New Jersey (it’s never ‘Down to the Shore”, that takes too long).
I had never been to Somers Point, NJ before. It is a small waterfront community across the bay from Ocean City, NJ, which is a popular resort and recreation town. Somers Point is low key with wonderful restaurants and bars, a popular waterfront and beaches on The Great Egg Harbor Bay and beautiful little turn of the century beach homes and a town steeped in history. I read about three historical spots on Shore Drive in the heart of the Historic District and had wanted to visit them.
The Mauricetown Historical Society at 1229 Front Street
I visited the Mauricetown (pronounced ‘Morristown’ like its northern neighbor) on a trip to visit historical societies in southern New Jersey. Mauricetown comes from the Dutch word ‘Mauritius’ for the Mauritus River that flowed through the town. “Maurice’ is the English version of the word.
The Society’s welcoming sign
The town itself was used for shipping and trade up and down the East Coast and between 1830 and 1902, 61 ships were built in the boatyard in the village. The town itself is very historic and the walking tour of the early American architecture of the town shows many Federalist and Victorian homes of the former ship captains. Today these homes are in much demand for their beauty and beautiful gardens. The care the homes are getting adds to their beauty. Take time to walk around before you get to the museum.
Downtown Mauricetown with the Ship Captain’s homes along the river
The Mauricetown River in the Summer of 2024
The Mauricetown Historical Methodist Church
The historical homes of Mauricetown, NJ
Some of the beautiful gardens in the neighborhood
The neighborhoods gardens in the Summer of 2024
The gardens near the Historical Society
The home that the Society is housed in is one of many ship captains’ homes that was built on this side of town being closer to the river for the other ship captains. Founded in 1984, the Society has taken it upon themselves to start collecting artifacts from the town.
The front of the Historical Society in the Summer of 2024
When you first enter the museum to the right, there is an extensive collection of seafaring items and military artifacts. This includes many items from the Civil War and WWI. There was even a rare pair of original sharp shoot glasses.
The Military Collection at the Mauricetown Historical Society (MHS Picture)
On the other side of the front foyer, is a case line of artifacts from the history of the town from the Lenape Indians to former shipbuilding businesses and local history.
Historical artifacts from the town of Mauricetown, NJ
The China Collection in the Main foyer
In the Formal Parlor, the room was designed with original molding from decor of the house and a copy of the wallpaper that had been found behind paneling that had been put up in the 1970’s. The room was furnished in period furniture that was a mixture of late 1890’s to the 1920’s.
The Mauricetown Historical Society ‘Parlor Room’ with the original molding and copy of wall paper
The Parlor on the first floor
The Chandelier in the Parlor is original to the house
The beautiful back stairs to the second floor
On the second floor, one room was dedicated to a Captain Bacon and his wife, Carolyn, another was full of pictures of the town of Mauricetown through the times, there was a collection of clothing through the ages and a quilt collection that was very impressive.
The beautiful quilt with pieces from everyone in the community
There was one quilt on display that had the names of all the sea captains and their families. Many of the descendants of the town come here to research their families and look at this quilt. There is also another quilt with items native to the area.
The museum’s collection of quilts and clothing on display
The Second Floor bedroom
The Emma Hunter Baby Carriage
Resident Emma Hunter as a young girl
The costumes and clothing of the collection
Hats on display
The builder of the house who built many of the homes in Mauricetown, NJ
One of the rooms discusses the Mauricetown Shipping and Fishing industry with all sorts of photos and equipment. There was even a display of the ‘Bridge Key’ from the original bridge that lead into town. There was also an interesting display on the town’s Oyster Industry.
The Oyster and Fishing Business in this area of the state
The Fishing and Oyster industry
The Grocery industry
In the Children’s Room, there was an extensive collection of dolls, children’s playthings through the ages, clothing and school pictures of the town through the years.
The Children’s Room is my favorite room in the house. I love the interactive toys that promote imagination. This is lacking in children today.
On the outside grounds, there is a Cookhouse that was separate from the main house in the era of when cooking could start a house fire so the rooms were kept separate from the main house. There was a 1880’s cookstove that still works.
The Cookhouse on the grounds of the Mauricetown Historical Society
The inside of the Cookhouse at the museum
On the back of the ground is the Abraham and Ann Hoy House, a small home from 1840 that had recently been lived in by an elderly couple. The house had two small levels with the main rooms designed around the fireplace and heating unit.
The Mauricetown Historical Society’s backyard of buildings
The Hoy House on the back grounds of the museum
The Hoy House had been stripped of the modern add ons and they Society wanted it to look like it had when it was originally built. The upstairs had two loft bedrooms and even a small loft above the downstairs fireplace where the kids would sleep when it was cold outside.
The kitchen in the Hoy House
The kitchen area
The Living area
The Living area
The main room
The Upstairs
The bedrooms
It really showed how the working people of the town lived in a stark comparison to the sea captains who were running trade for the town. The Society’s members have taken great care in restoring these homes.
The Mauricetown Historical Society at 1229 Front Street
The History of the Mauricetown Historical Society:
(From the Mauricetown Historical Society website):
The Mission of the Mauricetown Historical Society:
It is the mission of the Mauricetown Historical Society to collect, preserve and exhibit artifacts and documentation significant to Mauricetown and the surrounding communities.
The Mauricetown Historical Society is housed in the former home of Captain Edward Compton, who was a local sea captain. This Italianate Victorian structure was built in 1864 by Mauricetown carpender Griffith Pritchard and Samuel Cobb.
The home was purchased in 1984 by the society. At the time, the property was in poor condition and required work inside and outside. Over the past 25 years it has been carefully restored to its present condition by volunteer efforts of society members and others. The restoration is an on-going project and there are still areas of work that are needing completion.
The side entrance of the home where people enter.
Situated directly across Front Street from the location of the old shipyard where sea-going vessels were built in the 19th and 20th centuries, occupants of this house were able to view the activities of the shipyard and the traffic of the river.
The Somers Point Historical Society at 745 Shore Road
I visited Somers Point, NJ recently to see the historical shore town and explore their small museums. The Somers Point Historical Society differs from its neighbor down the road, the Atlantic County Historical Society in that its concentration is on the Town of Somers Point and not the entire county.
The Somers Point Historical Society sign welcomes you
The Somers Point Historical Society started in 1987 as part of the “Save City Hall” campaign to save the historic City Hall building. The plan was to highlight the history of Somers Point and its place in the community and to save some of the older buildings in the town.
The City Hall was saved and it was renovated for the new library. The organization was also helped with funding and applying for National Historic Recognition for the Bayfront Historic District that lies between Shore Drive and Bay Avenue on the waterfront district of the town (Somers Point Historical Society website).
The building that the society is housed in was originally a Baptist Church that was built in 1886 and later became the Somers Point Library. When the new library was built, the Society bought the building and the organization was formed. The museum started with about 600 artifacts and it has grown much largers since.
The Somers Point Historical Society main room
The museum is based around the one main room that tells the history of the Town of Somers Point. One display is on the USS Somers named after Commandant Richard Somers. Our tour guide told us that there is always a Somers named vessel in service with the Navy. There was a complete display on the navel vessels including a section on Master Commandant Richard Somers.
Display on items from the USS Somers plus ships and boats
The number of items in the collection includes weapons, dishes, photographs, nautical items and pictures of all the Navy vessels named after Richard Somers. These historical items show the contribution that Richard Somers made to the armed forces of the United States. There were also family hierlooms among the artifacts. It was told to me there will always be a USS Somers in service dedicated to him.
More items from the USS Somers
There was a nice display on the trolley car system that used to line the shore traveling from Atlantic City down the coast to Somers Point. This was a picture taken during the holiday season when shopping at the shore was pleasant experience.
Christmas shopping at the shore must have been fun
When the Lindenwood Historical Society folded for business, the Society inherited their impressive collection of ship models. There are all sorts of styles and designs of ships that line the entire room. There is very interesting display of clamming and shellfish harvesting equipment that is on display along with period clothing. It really showed how much shellfish production has not changed much over the years. There was an extensive display of shipbuilding materials showing the town’s shipbuilding yards and production that used to be part of the town’s businesses.
Fishing equipment and shipbuilding tools along with period clothing
There is also a very extensive theater and arts program that is part of the town’s past and current social life. Being so close to Ocean City, NJ and its most famous summer resident, Grace Kelly there is a strong sense of theater and the arts around the community.
The theater playbills and items dealing with the local ‘arts’ scene.
The one thing that the historical society helps you remember that this is still a shore community and tourism plays a huge role in the history and make up of the town. You can see by the artifacts that things are geared towards the water and the extensive shipbuilding and fishing industries.
The Society also runs all sorts of fundraisers, movie nights and car shows to help raise money for the Society and does a lot of outreach to the community.
It is a fascinating look into the past of the shore community of Somers Point, NJ.
On the second day of the Morris County, NJ “Pathways to History’ tour in 2022, I was on my way back to Morris County for a second day of adventure. My first stop on the tour was the Ayres/Knuth Farm (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc.), a former working farm just off Route 10.
I had visited the farm/museum the previous year and on this trip got a better understanding on the workings and history of the farm. I was able to take the time to explore the buildings that were open and tour the grounds.
I visited the farm again in the Fall of 2026 for an art gallery event held in the renovated farmhouse.
The main farmhouse on the Ayres/Knuth Farm
The grounds by the main farmhouse
Not only was the site open for touring but they also had a mini car show with antique cars and fire trucks owned by some of the members. Seeing some of these Model T Ford’s and Steam Engine Fire Trucks in perfect condition shows American quality motorship at its finest.
The approach on the road to the farm
What I liked about the farm is that it had been a working farm up until the last fifty years and showed the progression that the farm took in its almost 100 years in the county. The farm itself dates back to pre-Revolutionary War days with the farm being purchase in either 1735 or maybe 1759 by Obadiah Lum. The property itself was settled and developed by Daniel Ayres, who was born in New Jersey in 1778 (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
The Ayres-Knuth Farm and the outer buildings
105 acres of land was given to him by his father-in-law, David Garrigus upon the marriage of his daughter, Hanna in 1803. His son, William took over the farm in 1856 upon the death of his father in 1856, changing the farm to add husbandry and fruit cultivation. When William retired in 1896, none of his children wanted the farm and it was sold.
The stone foundation on the farm is being renovated
Changing hands many times, it was bought by Martin and Anna Knuth in 1906. The farm was taken over by two of their children and it remained in the family until the 1990’s upon both of their passings. In 1996, the Township of Denville purchased 52 acres of the original farm and it is now managed by the Ayres/Knuth Foundation Inc. (The Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation).
On this clear and sunny Sunday morning, it was fun to walk around the former working farm to see how it developed. Both families learned to modernize and add to the operation. I was able to tour the smaller tenet farmhouse (built in 1895), the barn (built in 1895 (and the various outer buildings like the chicken coops (built in 1895), outhouse (built in 1930) and the Smokehouse (built in 1825). The small well was built in 1797 and was the oldest structure left on the property.
The old barn
The smokehouse at the farm
The Corn Crib on the farm
What I found interesting is that there still are tenant farmers on another tract on the property still working the land and the property is protected by grants from Morris County. So, it still is technically a working farm.
The Tenant Farmhouse
The historical sign on the Tenant House
A lot of care was taken to preserve the farm as is and the volunteers told me that there were plans to fix up the other buildings. The Tenant House needed a lot of work and was run down but the main Farmhouse had been renovated and was closed the first time I was there. It was opened for an art show when I returned in October of 2026.
Most of the farm has either been sold off or is being utilized but the core of the farm buildings can be toured, and it is interesting to see a working farm in New Jersey that dates back to the 1700’s and was still active until the mid-1990’s. That is longevity. Still is a step back into the past to see how a working farm once thrived along with the changes that came with the development of Morris County in the late 20th century. The area still has the rural feel, and the well-maintained property is a glimpse into our rural past.
The farmland in the back of the property
History of the Ayres/Knuth Farm:
(From the Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc. site):
The Ayres/Knuth Farm has a long history not just in the County or State level but in the country. It is believed that the farm was formed around 1759 but could be as early as 1735. It was located in the Franklin section of Denville. Obadiah Lum purchased 180 acres and built the first forge and sawmill on the Den Brook.
The old outhouse on the property
Lum purchased the property from Thomas and Richard Penn, the sons of proprietor, William Penn with financing from Colonel Jacob Ford, who owned extensive land including mines in Morris County. Franklin developed into one of the primary agricultural hubs of Denville due to the high quality of soil of the area and proximity to numerous towns with markets where the crops could be sold.
The wishing well on the property
The Ayres Farm was first settled by Daniel Ayres who was born in Middlesex County in 1778. His mother was Anna Jackson, who was the daughter of General Joseph Jackson, who was known as the founder of Rockaway. Daniel married Hanna Garrigus, the daughter of David Garrigus, who was a prominent landowner in Franklin and owner of the Franklin iron forge. In 1803, David Garrigus conveyed 105 acres to his son in law.
Daniel died in 1856 and his son, William Ayres took over the farm. In 1860, he expanded the farm to 300 acres and practiced a mixture of husbandry and a cultivation of different grains. They also raised sheep for wool and cows for butter. He built the existing farmhouse in 1855 and in the 1860’s built the Tenant House for hired hands in the expanding farm. Over time the farm grew to 500 acres.
Farm transport flatbed
During the economic depression between 1873-1879, William Ayres adopted to the changes in the market and shifted the focus of the farm to dairying, poultry and vegetable farming. He also sold lumber to the railroads and expanded into fruit cultivation particularly apples, peaches and pears.
Looking at the farm from the baking
William Ayres retired from the farm in 1896 and since none of his children wanted to take over the operation, the property changed hands several times until 1906, when Martin and Anna Knuth purchased the farm and moved in with their five children. They kept the tradition of husbandry and fruit cultivation and a mix of vegetables as a truck farming operation.
The Office Barn on the farm
The Office Barn sign
The Barn Office from the side view
The farm faced a lot of tragedies in the 20th Century with the death of Martin Knuth in 1935. Between a destructive fire in 1936 and a lapse of insurance, the barn was not rebuilt. With an economic Depression going on in the 1930’s, the farm was largely reduced to a subsistence-level truck farm operation. Anna Knuth died in 1950 and her two children, Frank and Sue took over the operation. Both remained on the farm until their deaths in the 1990’s. They grew a variety of crops and produced eggs that were sold locally.
The Chicken coop is still going through a renovation
The farmhouse was not electrified until the 1960’s and indoor plumbing was never installed. In 1996, a few years after the deaths of Frank and Sue Knuth, the Township of Denville purchased the nearly 52 acres of the original Ayres/Knuth Farm and the property is now managed by the non-profit Ayres/Knuth Farm Foundation Inc.
The site now houses a series of historical buildings that is maintained by the foundation that are part of the original farm.
Visiting again in October 2026:
In the Fall of 2026, the farm hosted an art event I attended by the ‘Artists as Advocates’ event sponsored by the New Jersey Highlands Coalition. The exhibition entitled ‘Farming: A Highlands Heritage’ featured artists who concentrated on agricultural themed artwork.
The exhibition ‘Farming: A Highlands Heritage’ featured in October of 2026
The exhibition was held on the main floor of the farmhouse and not only gave everyone the opportunity to look at local art but tour the grounds on a beautiful Fall day.
After I toured the exhibition, I walked around the grounds of the farm and noted all the renovations going on with the various buildings. It will be more interactive when they are finished and you can see the historical interpretation of the farm.
