Hunterdon County Historical Society: Goodspeed Histories: November 2021

Press release from the Hunterdon County Historical Society:

phyllis hartzell

November 8, 2021

Stay up to date with ALL the latest Goodspeed News by subscribing to the Goodspeed Histories Newsletter It’s informative and free!

Long-time readers may notice that I have trouble keeping my articles short. I try my best to be disciplined like my sons, Carl Zimmer and Ben Zimmer, both excellent journalists, but I do not have their discipline or an editor looking over my shoulder, and besides, it’s all so interesting!

After all, I could write a chain of title for the Union Hotel, listing the owners and the tavern keepers from 1800 to the time when Lambert Humphrey turned it into the building we know now, but is that interesting? Not very. We need to know what was going on when each of those people owned and/or ran the tavern.

Which is why this month I only managed to cover Neal Hart, from 1808 to 1828, his tenant from 1828 to 1832, and his son Mahlon C. Hart, from 1833 to 1850. What kept me from doing more was the question of when and why it got the name Union.  Check out today’s article to see the answer.

Speaking of the Union Hotel:
Recently, the Flemington Borough Council unanimously approved the amended hotel redevelopment plan. Mayor Betsey Driver noted that “This is part of the lawsuit settlement agreement with the Friends of Historic Flemington.” With this recently amended redevelopment plan, the front facades of both the historic Union Hotel on Main Street and the 90 Main Street building will be compliant with the approval issued by the New Jersey State Historic Preservation Office (NJSHPO).

This press release was produced by the Hunterdon County Historical Society. The views expressed here are the author’s own.