Millbrook Village Days

Update: 2014

  Millbrook Days at Millbrook Village
October 4TH and 5TH 2014
10 AM to 4 PM
Old Mine Rd. and CR 602N.
Hardwick Twp., NJ
908-841-9531, 908-537-2544, 973-875-3461

Millbrook Village

Poem by Diane Dunwell-Hoffman © 1996

A crisp cool autumn day, the scent of wood burning.

People dressed in flannels and jeans come with a yearning.

A yearning to experience a way of life, hands on,

sweat on the brow, crafters long gone.

Raking the lambs wool, spinning the yarn, and then weaving the cloth,

while the sheep graze in a pen.

The smells, oh the smells, apple butter in a kettle, a stew

cooking on an open hearth, hot burning metal at the blacksmith shop.

The tastes, the sips, the licks,

Cider, apple butter, honey, and hard candy sticks.

All around is autumns glory, trees of red, orange,

and gold.

No high-tech society, just the truly wonderful ways of old.

Millbrook Days 2009 – October 3rd and 4th, 2009

10 AM to 4 PM – Rain or Shine

Are you tired of the fast pace of the 21st century? Step back to a quieter time where the high price of gas, credit cards cell phones and computers are not found.

Experience Millbrook Days where Millbrook Village comes alive as it was over a century ago.

Volunteers in period clothing will demonstrate 19th century crafts and trades recreating the atmosphere of a late 19th century farming community.

Visit the one room school house and learn the three Rs. Join in some kid’s games at recess. Try the stilts, hoops, or jump rope. There will be other kid’s games and activities throughout the village too. Marbles, checkers, ring toss, apple race, sack race, tug of war and corn husk doll making to mention a few. Kids of all ages can join the fun. No batteries required!

Millbrook’s "residents" will be busy plying their trades and doing everyday chores and activities. Cooking on a woodstove, churning butter, spinning yarn, making cloth, natural dying, gardening, lace making, quilting, darning and sewing, drying and preserving food, gourd decorating, open hearth and campfire cooking, too.

The blacksmith, wheelwright, wood workers, carvers, rope makers, Shaker Box maker, miller, chair maker, chair caner, wooden pitch fork maker, slate splitter, tinsmith and other craftsmen will be plying their trades and demonstrating old time skills. Step in and ask if you can help, there are lots of hands-on things to try.

Like music? The band will be playing some good old time music. Got an instrument? Bring it along and join the fun. Another type of music will be playing down by the barn. An assortment of vintage hit and miss engines will be setting the tempo for the corn sheller, grinder and other old time equipment. To some, the sound of these old engines is music too.

Apples are in season. The grinder and press will be turning out fresh apple cider and the kettle will be cooking down apples to make delicious apple butter. Lend a hand, it’s fun.

There is something for everyone to see and enjoy. A friendly atmosphere abounds, and new friends are sure to be found at Millbrook Village. Everything is free of charge and family oriented. Donations are accepted.

Picnic and rest room facilities are available. Food concession is available both days provided by the Harmony Hill Presbyterian Church.

Millbrook Days is presented by the Millbrook Village Society in cooperation with the National Park Service

Millbrook Village is part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, located in Hardwick Twp., NJ at the intersection of Old Mine Road and Warren County Route 602N.

Parking and admission is free. Shuttle bus service provided from the Watergate Area to Millbrook Village from 10 AM to 5 PM daily – free of charge.

For more information about Millbrook Village go to the the NPS website www.nps.gov/DEWA /millbrook village or by telephone 908-841-9531 or 908-537-2544 .

Directions to Millbrook:

Unless you're coming from Blairstown, NJ, your best bet for finding Millbrook is to take I-80 to the westernmost exit in New Jersey. If you're coming from Pennsylvania on I-80, this will be the first exit in NJ after you cross the Delaware River. As you come down the exit ramp, make a sharp right. You'll pass under I-80 and hit a stop light. If you're coming from NJ on I-80, you'll make the last exit before going over the bridge into PA (Millbrook exit), proceed down the exit ramp, make a right, and you'll end up at this same stoplight. You'll probably wonder why this road needs a stoplight, but it's one lane wide for about 3/4 of a mile. When it was once a two lane road, the experience was truly life-changing. The light changes about every 3 minutes for opposing traffic. Millbrook is 12 miles from the I-80 bridge along this road. It may seem like an eternity, but it really is only 12 miles (of breathtaking views of the Delaware River), and you'll end up at the intersection of two roads. The village parking lot will be at this intersection. For those of you obsessed with internet maps, MapQuest www.mapquest.com will find Millbrook, NJ, and does show the Old Mine Road as well as the roads from Blairstown and Peter's Valley.