Do a little time traveling and venture back to the year 1900 at the Howell Living History Farm, where everything is still done by hand. And you can help. At Howell, modern day farmers stick to the old-fashioned way of doing everything from building a barn, baking bread and plowing a field to harvesting pumpkins, pressing cider and making bacon. On any given day, you’ll help the farmers make soap, bake cornbread or just enjoy a slow-paced ride in a one horse open sleigh. Certainly not your usual Saturday afternoon.
The farm, which dates back to the 1730s, preserves New Jersey’s agricultural heritage and demonstrates farming as it was done around the turn of the century. Using horse-drawn ploughs, costumed interpreters tend to the fields using techniques that pre-date electricity and modern conveniences. Kids get a kick out of meeting the horses, pigs, oxen, sheep and other livestock that are typical of a 19th century family farm.
Almost every day on the farm there is a different activity, but Saturday is a big day for demonstrations. It could be maple sugaring, sheep shearing, henhouse visits, quilting, hayrides or a game of old-fashioned baseball.