Eagle Scout Is Sharing What He Discovered In 1778 Livingston Home

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Not long ago, a Livingston Boy Scout took an interest in the butter-churning room at the historic 1778 Force Homestead Museum in Livingston. Now he's organized a public presentation and project to educate others about the tools and equipment in the "buttery."

This past spring, the Livingston Historical Society considered a 5-year plan to renovate the Force Homestead, where visitors can learn about the town's past.

Among the residents who've been learning about the past is Livingston teen Gabriel Kovach.

Kovach, an Eagle Scout candidate in Troup 5216, has created a scout project to identify, research, and label historic objects in the “buttery" at the homestead, located at 366 South Livingston Ave.

The buttery, located between the kitchen and barn, is a pantry-like room where butter was churned.

Equipment used in the kitchen was also stored in this room, such as butter churns, a cheese press, sausage stuffers, a cabbage cutter, and baking equipment. Now, these items are displayed on the shelves.

Kovach and members of his Boy Scout Troop cleaned and organized and labeled each item. The project included providing a brief description of each artifact, and how and what timeframe it was used, and what the modern-day equivalent would be.

Besides organizing the items, Kovach has been planning a presentation to the Livingston Historical Society about the project, “Curating the Buttery Exhibit,” for 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 19, after a brief business meeting.

The presentation is scheduled to take place at the Livingston Senior/Community Center at 204 Hillside Ave. It's open to the public.

Becoming an Eagle Scout takes years of hard work and community service projects like this one.

Fewer than 5 percent of all Scouts achieve the rank of Eagle Scout.

Tours Of The Force Homestead

In 1969, the “Buttery” was restored with a donation by Herman and Jessie Strahman.

The buttery and the rest of the homestead have been open for tours and events at various times.

The extreme west end of the Force Home is known as the “Barn.” In 1973 it was made into a museum of antique tools and farm implements. The antique broom making machine also is displayed in this room.

Eagle Scout Donnie Jones had researched and organized that area as his Eagle Scout project.

The Livingston Historical Society usually meets the fourth Monday of the month, September through April, at the Livingston Senior Community Center. However, this month, they've met on the third Monday, Sept. 19.

More information about meeting dates can be found at https://LivingstonNJHistoricalSociety.weebly.com/. For questions, email LivingstonHistoricalSociety@gmail.com or call 973-992-5855.

Members of the community are welcome to attend for free; however, monetary donations to the Historical Society are appreciated.