FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 25, 2010

“Deserted Village” Visitor Center Will Be Open on Sunday, May 30

BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – The Deserted Village of Feltville contains ten 19th century buildings and the archaeological remains of a vibrant community nestled in Union County’s largest park, the 2,065-acre Watchung Reservation. Feltville’s general store/church building has been restored and opened as a visitor center, complete with interpretive exhibits and restrooms. Though not open on a regular basis, visitors will be able to enter the visitor center on Sunday, May 30, from noon to 5 p.m.

“The visitor center houses an exhibit of artifacts, photographs, and maps that depict the area’s history across four centuries,” said Freeholder Vice Chairwoman Deborah Scanlon, liaison to the Union County Parks and Recreation Advisory Board. “Hikers and history buffs can learn about the mill town built by David Felt in 1845 and learn why the area in and around Feltville was designated in 1980 as an historic district on the State and National Registers of Historic Sites.”

Feltville was a thriving mill town from 1845 to 1860. After being sold by Felt, the village wasted away and became deserted, but was reborn in 1882 as Glenside Park, a summer resort. This business closed in 1916 and the Village was again briefly deserted until being purchased by the Union County Park Commission during the 1920’s.

The Deserted Village includes a Revolutionary War period cemetery of some of the area’s earliest residents. Union County is in the process of restoring the Village’s buildings and grounds. With funding assistance from the New Jersey Historic Trust and the Union County Open Space, Recreation and Historic Preservation Trust Fund, work is underway to restore the Glenside Park carriage house and give it an adaptive reuse as a lecture hall and meeting room.”

Visitors may pick up a map and narrative at any time at Feltville’s parking lot for a self-guided tour. Enter the Deserted Village via Cataract Hollow Road, off of Glenside Avenue on the Berkeley Heights side of the Watchung Reservation.

Information about the Deserted Village and other historic sites in Union County is available from the Union County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, (908) 558-2550, or on the Union County website at www.ucnj.org/cultural/4centuries.