WNJ Exclusive: History comes alive in the holiday season at Allaire State Park
All photos by David Wheeler unless otherwise noted
by David Wheeler
In the holiday season, few places in New Jersey bring our colonial past to life quite like Allaire State Park in Monmouth County, New Jersey. A recent visit felt like a trip back in time, with visits to the blacksmith, a mill pond, the old-fashioned Pine Creek Railroad, and a rifle demonstration from colonial militiamen.
The colonial guides and re-enactors are knowledgeable and enthusiastic, and the grounds themselves are largely intact from Allaire's long-ago days as Howell Works Village. In the early 19th century, Howell was a thriving industrial village producing cast and pig iron, with up to 400 people living here.
Now a state park, Allaire also hosts 23 miles of hiking trails and a nature interpretive center.
The visit also offers the chance to enjoy the late autumn chill in all its fallen-leaf splendor, with the stunning reflections of red and amber and bronze glassing over the mill pond, as birdlife calls out the day's dimming hour. Friendly nuthatches and tufted titmice share the trees with downy woodpeckers and noisy blue jays.
Nuthatch
Tufted titmouse
The railroad offers the most exciting attractions for children. The inexpensive $5 fare covers two round trips aboard the Pine Creek Railroad around the meadow, past other old train cars and through a pine woods. The New Jersey Museum of Transportation operates these narrow-gauge trains, which represent the steam era's heyday in the United States more than a century ago. This railroad is one of the oldest continually operating narrow-gauge steam rail exhibits in the nation.
The immense herd of white-tailed deer and rotund woodchucks lend the train ride an old-time safari feel, and some lucky visitors in the past have spotted red fox and great horned owl as well. Seven year old Kayla joined other youngsters on elevated seating for a better view, and a massive, 25-foot tall vintage bare engine towered over the depot area. Yet on this day, the most enjoyable attraction was - of all things - a pretend train that they could climb in and out of, which was essentially a large cardboard box with "Tyler Express" printed on the outside!
Beginning this past weekend, Allaire began offering rides aboard the Christmas Express with Santa Claus - providing a veritable Polar Express right here in New Jersey. Over the next few weekends, Allaire will also host a visit from jolly Saint Nicholas, horse and wagon rides, and holiday lantern tours. Allaire Village, Inc. is the non-profit friends group operating the 40-acre state-owned Historic Village. More information can be found at www.AllaireVillage.org.
David Wheeler's book, “Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State,”will be published in February by Rutgers University Press. He is the founder of WildNewJersey.tv. More information on the book can be found at WildNewJerseyBook.tv.
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 12/6/2010 2:00 PM 
Categories: WNJ Exclusives
Tags: allaire state park pine creek railroad tufted titmouse nuthatch downy woodpecker howell monmouth county
Categories: WNJ Exclusives
Tags: allaire state park pine creek railroad tufted titmouse nuthatch downy woodpecker howell monmouth county
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