Reservations open November 1 for Shippen Manor’s annual “Victorian Candlelight Christmas Tours.” Infused with traditional holiday dulcimer music, these tours will look at Victorian Christmas practices on Sunday, Dec. 3 and Sunday, Dec. 10. Tours begin at 11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 1 p.m.
Please contact Gina Rosseland at grosseland@co.warren.nj.us or 908-453-4381 to reserve a spot. Tours are limited to about 10 visitors per hour.
Shippen Manor also will be participating in the 3rd Annual Explore Warren History Trail along with 13 other historic sites around the county Nov. 4 and 5 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors can choose how many sites to visit during the weekend with northern sites open Saturday and the southern sites, including Shippen Manor, open Sunday. There are printed trail maps located at all locations to assist visitors on their history adventure.
Visit the website for more information at www.warrenhistorytrail.org or find the Explore Warren History Trail on Facebook.
Sunday is also Civil War Day at the Manor with self-guided tours and activities for the kids. The 27th NJ (Bailey’s Boys) will be positioned along the lower driveway, hillside and porch demonstrating the experiences of Union soldiers during the Civil War. The Colonial United Methodist Church of Oxford, located across the street, will be open for tours from 12 to 4 p.m. and light fare will be for sale. The stone church is the former 1813 grist mill associated with both the Manor and furnace. Docents will be present at that location.
On-site parking will be limited to the small lot on Belvidere Avenue as the back parking lot and driveways will be closed to vehicle traffic. Visitors are encouraged to park in town and walk over. For more information pertaining to parking, accessibility and more, please visit Warren200.com.
Sunday, November 12, marks the last regular tour for the season at Shippen Manor. Guided tours of the main floor of the Manor will begin at 1 p.m., with the last tour starting at 3:30 p.m. Docents will be discussing Food Preservation in the last “On the Daily” series for the 2023 season. Topics examined pertain to the 18th century processes of drying, pickling, and smoking food, butchering meat for jerky and sausages, as well as the use of spring and smoke houses.
Walk-ins are welcome for a walk-through of the museum, beginning at 2 p.m. until close at 4 p.m. Admission is free, but Friends of Shippen, a volunteer group that helps with tours, is accepting donations from visitors at the end of the tours. All donated monies are used for Shippen Manor.
This is a family-friendly site. On-site parking is limited with a couple of accessible (handicap) parking spaces closest to the boardwalk. The back lot is very limited. If there are no available spots, please park in town and walk over.
Self-Guided Explore Warren History Trail
Explore Shippen Manor, Blair's Town, Oxford Furnace, the Morris Canal and many more historic sites throughout Warren County. This is a free self-guided, county-wide driving tour, where you can visit one or multiple sites at your own pace each day. Sites in the county's northern region will be hosting visitors on Saturday, 11/4; and the southern destinations will be open on Sunday, 11/5. Each site will have a docent on hand to convey the history of the location, and some sites will host demonstrations and festival activities.