06/10/2024
FRENCHTOWN TOUR THIS SATURDAY
OF THE OLDER PART OF THE CEMETERY
A headstone might tell when a person was alive, but it doesn’t tell what the person did with that precious interval above ground. I can help with that.
Join me on Saturday, June 15, at 10 a.m. for my Lower Cemetery Tour and you’ll learn about the women who rescued Captain Slater of the Union Army, the man who swam away from the Milford train wreck of 1877, Frenchtown’s first car owner, headstones made of “white bronze,” and the time Lew Slater & Powers Williams liberated a gaggle of geese from the borough pound. And more!
Each tour costs $15, and it’s free for teenagers. If you are interested in the tour, email me at [email protected] so I’ll know to show up. If I don’t get any emails, I’ll spend the morning among the living.
2024 TOUR SCHEDULE
Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m. – Lower Cemetery Tour
Saturday, June 29, 10 a.m. – Bad Luck & Poor Choices Tour -- On this tour of the downtown and riverfront areas you’ll hear about 10 true stories and one that might be true -- all recounted where they happened. Some questions that will be addressed: Why didn’t Aaron Burr visit Frenchtown in 1806? Who shot our druggist in 1939? Why was Tippoo the elephant so angry in 1869? Why did John Vanselous punch the barber’s daughter in 1922? Why did Austin Pendleton get fired from the bank in 1926? You’ll learn why George Hummer didn’t die in 1879.
Saturday, July 6, 10 a.m. – Uptown Tour includes Doc Mullins’ hospital, old Frenchtown High School, the Doughboy statue, the Barn Theatre, the doll-carriage factory, the Cigarette Train Wreck that got everyone smoking, the home of the Original Terrier that became the mascot of two high schools, and a World War II love story.
Saturday, July 13, 10 a.m. – Downtown Tour, $20 benefit for Hunterdon County Historical Society. It includes the Great Fire of 1878, Senator Martin’s alligators (1895), our secret societies, the floods of 1903 and ‘55, the Queen of Bridge Street (1935), the 1860s feud with the Pennsylvania boys, how Fred Sipes created buzz for his silent-movie theater (1921), and why our founder left France in a big hurry (1794).
Saturday, July 13, 7 p.m. – Once More Around the Block! Find out why Mrs. Snover assaulted a teacher (1926), how the constable rescued little Grace Stocker (1929), and why a book made the Great Depression even more depressing (1932). Learn about the eccentric lifestyle of author James and Alma Agee (1930s), Inky the dog and Inky the man (1940s), Murphy Jones the professional bridge diver, the boy who pretended to be hypnotized (1860s), the baker’s horse that wouldn’t wait (1901), and more.
Saturday, Aug. 3, 10 a.m. – Upper Cemetery Tour It includes the misfortunes of Constable Clarence Doan, Miss Frenchtown’s day of glamour, how Corporal Finney’s sudden death caused his father to put up a 7-ton pink granite monument, how Ron Rogers tried to make minstrel shows OK, Oliver Kugler’s passion for retail, the stubbornness of Old Mary Moore, the crimes of Amos Hart, and the misbehavior of Elden Cooley, who had a master’s degree in Monkey Business.
Saturday, Aug. 17, 10 a.m. – Lower Cemetery Tour
Saturday, Aug. 24, 10 a.m. – Bad Luck & Poor Choices Tour
Saturday, Aug. 31, 10 a.m. – Uptown Tour
More tours will be scheduled through October.
