On September 10, I attended the official grand opening of the West Windsor History Museum at Schenck Farmstead. It was a memorable and emotional experience. Sitting at a student desk with an ink well in the one-room school house brought back memories. Mary Schenck, in period dress, and Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh talked to the attendees about the history and background of this structure.
The restored barn, with its original adze marked beams and dowels, mortises and tenons for joints, showed me the historical originality of this structure. My sister’s barn in upstate New York used the same methods of construction, and that barn was built in the early 1800s.
Another memorable exhibit was the farm store. You announced your presence by ringing a small, high-pitched bell on the counter, which I was able to do. The store included old typewriters and cash registers.
Finally, tired after doing all this walking, I headed over to the farmhouse to take a rest in one of the old classic rocking chairs on the porch with several of the farmers who are still farming in West Windsor. We talked about farmland preservation and keeping that land productive using crop rotation, such as planting alfalfa and soy beans.
This museum showing West Windsor’s farm history is a milestone for the entire central New Jersey area. The Historical Society of West Windsor, Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh, and Sam Surtees, West Windsor’s land use manager, deserve lots of respect and credit for bringing this museum to us, the public, and our children.
Paul Eland
West Windsor
