Free Tours Offered At Livingston Force Homestead Museum

LIVINGSTON, NJ — Looking for some local history in Livingston? The Force Homestead Museum at 366 South Livingston Avenue in Livingston will be open to the public on Sunday, Nov. 12, from 2 to 4 p.m.

According to event organizers, docents from the Livingston Historical Society will lead free tours of the Force Homestead on the second Sunday of the month during November, April, May and June from 2 to 4 p.m. In addition, private tours may be arranged by contacting Lorraine Palmer at (973) 992-6896.

The Livingston Historical Society provided the following statement about the historic home:

“Originally built in 1745 as a one-room house with a loft by Theophilus Ward, the architecture of the historic house reflects the daily lives of the early settlers. In 1777, Samuel Force purchased the farm. He gave it to his son, Thomas Force, who served in the Revolutionary war and settled in the house with his wife Hannah Smith, after the war. Thomas and Hannah were the parents of ten children, and over the years, added a larger section to the one-room house.

“When the Township of Livingston purchased the Force Home in 1962, the inside of the house was badly in need of repair and the entire house had to be shored up. It became the purpose of the newly formed Livingston Historical Society to restore the Force Home.

“Members of the Society located and preserved numerous items of historical significance which are now on display. On display are items from one of the founding families of Livingston, the Squiers, which one of the seven hamlets that eventually became known as Livingston was name for Squiertown. Also on display are a grandfather’s clock from the Edison Foundation, an original Hitchcock rocking bench, also many Victorian pieces, spinning wheels, a large mirrored clothes rack that belonged to General McClellan and a large original desk used in Livingston’s first Post Office. In the front of the building is an old Indian stone used to grind corn.”

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Photos: Livingston Historical Society