Fosterfields

The farm is located in beautiful and historic Morristown, New Jersey.

The farm is a gorgeous place where after you enter the Visitor’s Center, you can roam around farm buildings, through the woods, and see how farms were run in the “olden days.”

There are also school field trips.

General Joseph Warren Revere was the grandson of Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere, who bought the property in the 1800s (which had been a working farm since the 1760s) and built the Gothic Revival main house, The Willows.

Around 1881 Charles Foster bought the property and renamed it after himself!

His daughter, who was around four years old at the time, lived in the house her entire life.

Country life agreed with her because she lived to be 102! She was quite an interesting character.

Wishing to preserve her beloved home and give future generations the chance to experience the sights, smells, and sounds of rural life, Caroline Foster in 1979 bequeathed Fosterfields to the Morris County Park Commission, to be preserved as a “living historical farm,” the first in New Jersey. Not a replica, Fosterfields is a working farm, using the tools, techniques, and materials of a turn-of-the-century farm.

According to the Morris County Parks Commission:

At this 213.4-acre New Jersey and National Register Historic Site, you can enjoy many of the daily farm activities that took place in the 1920s. On the farm, visit the farm animals, witness the farmer plowing or planting of the fields using antique machinery, and help perform daily tasks, such as collecting eggs, grinding corn to feed the chickens, and cleaning the harness. Visit the authentic 1920s Farmhouse where the farm foreman once lived, and compare it to the 1854 Gothic revival-style mansion, The Willows that was once the home to the elite Foster family, the previous owners of Fosterfields.

A Living Historical Farm

It is still a working historical farm where families can see how farms worked in the old days.

According to Skylands Visitor:

In early Spring, just after the Farm’s opening, the antics of newborn piglets and lambs delight children and adults alike, and little voices beg, “Could we get a pig, Ma? Could we buy a lamb, Dad?” Beginning on opening day on April 1st and continuing through late October, an exciting array of activities and demonstrations, including Caroline Foster’s birthday, sheep shearing, potato and corn planting, butter making, blacksmithing, cooking at The Willows and the Civil War Weekend, take place.

Here is a wonderful video showing this: