Stults Farm, situated on the border of Plainsboro and Cranbury, is celebrating the farm’s centennial this year. The family shared highlights from the farm’s history, including antique farm tools, with Cranbury Museum for an exhibit, “Stults Farm, Est. 1915: 100 Years of Family Farming,” on view Sundays through June 14.
“While our exhibit started to focus on the centennial anniversary of Stults farm, we discovered a richer history that started in 1753 when Johannes Heinrich Stoltz arrived in Philadelphia from Germany,” says Karen Kelley, a member of the Cranbury Historical Society. “The Stults family shared some pictures, articles, and a few family items. The exhibit also relied on pictures, articles from the Cranbury History Center, and items from our museum collection. The genealogy research came from our history center, articles, books, and the Internet.”
Excerpts from “The Stults Family Farm Legacy,” written by Karen Kelley and Lisa Beach of the Cranbury Historical & Preservation Society follow:
“The story of the Stults family is similar to that of many Cranbury farming families who arrived in the eighteenth century. Their ancestors emigrated from Europe and eventually settled among the rich farmlands of Cranbury. The farmers raised large families and their children remained in the area for generations, continuing to farm.
These Cranbury farmers were neighbors, extended families, business partners, and members of the community. They attended the Cranbury Presbyterian and Methodist Churches. Families, such as Stults, Perrine, Dey, Wyckoff, Snedeker, Rue, Conover, Reid, Van Kirk, and Vorhees, joined the earlier established Yankee families of Applegate, Mount, Stites, Wetherill, and Barclay.
Charles Addison Stults, known as C. Addison, was born in Prospect Plains on April 7, 1857. He raised corn, wheat, rye, and potatoes on a 160 acre farm until 1920. The land eventually became the Rossmoor Community in Monroe.
Clifford Addison Stults, one of Charles Addison’s six children, was also born at the Prospect Plains farm on August 20, 1888. Clifford, known as Kip or C. Addison, helped his father with the Prospect Plains farm until 1915. He purchased a 93 acre farm on Cranbury Neck Road in Cranbury from Elmer Bergen. He raised potatoes and wheat and later, soybeans and corn. In 1919, when the township of Plainsboro was created, the farm was divided into 60 acres in Plainsboro and 40 acres in Cranbury.
Stanley C. Stults, son of Clifford Addison, was born on August 20, 1921, in the Stults farmhouse on Cranbury Neck Road. By 1944, Stanley C. began farming with his father and earned $15 a week. In 1950, Stanley C. took over the farming business and in 1966 bought the farm from his father’s estate.
In 1968, Stanley C. Stults Jr., known as Kip, graduated from high school and began to farm with his father. In 1971 Kip formed a partnership with his father. By the early 1980s, they leased and farmed more than 600 acres in Cranbury and Plainsboro, growing potatoes, field corn, soybeans, and wheat.
In 1984, Kip and his wife, Jill, purchased the farm from Kip’s father, who retired. “Pick Your Own” sweet corn and vegetables were added along with the 140 acres of potatoes, wheat, and soybeans. Potatoes were phased out by 1990. In that same year, Stults Farm was the first farm in Middlesex County to be permanently preserved through the Farmland Preservation Program.
In 1997 Brian C. Stults formed a farming partnership with his father, Stanley C. Stults Jr. The family owns, manages, and provides the work force on the 200 acres of preserved farmland. The family includes Stanley and Jill, their son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Jennifer, and their two daughters and one son. The Stults are assisted by Stanley and Jill’s daughter and son-in-law, Amy and Michael, and their two children.”
A reception for the Stults family was held on March 29 and close to 50 people from Cranbury and Plainsboro attended. “We are proud of the Stults Farm and the role the family played in preserving our farming community,” says Kelley.
Farm Exhibit, Cranbury Museum, 4 Park Place East, Cranbury. Sunday, April 19, 1 to 4 p.m. “Stults Farm, Established 1915: 100 Years of Family Farming” features a collection of antique farm tools and highlights from the farm’s 100 year history. The farm is located in Plainsboro and Cranbury. On view Sundays through June 14. 609-409-1289. www.cranbury.org.
