UNION COUNTY, NJ — “Four Centuries in a Weekend: A Journey Through Union County’s History” took place on Saturday, Oct. 16, and Sunday, Oct. 17, at more than 30 historic sites throughout Union County. At each site, guests were given “passport” stamps, ensuring a real time-traveling experience in Union County. This was felt by guests who visited Liberty Hall Museum, which is part of the Kean University campus, and the William Miller Sperry Observatory, on the Cranford campus of Union County College.
Guests had the opportunity to tour Liberty Hall Museum, a 50-room Victorian mansion housing historic items documenting more than 225 years of American life, according to the passport describing the historic sight. The house grounds include lovely formal gardens, a brick stable and other buildings. Liberty Hall was originally built for the first elected governor of New Jersey, William Livingston, who entertained guests that included George and Martha Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay. Eventually, the Kean family owned the property and donated it to the Liberty Hall Foundation in 1997.
Interim collections manager and Liberty Hall Museum educator Kayla Doyle, one of the tour guides for the property, spoke about the countywide event and discussed the significance of the house.
“Today, we are doing the last day for the ‘Four Centuries in a Weekend’ event. Yesterday, we had it as well and we had a pretty good turnout. We had about 100 people come, which we were excited to showcase our house,” Doyle said on Sunday, Oct. 17. “‘Four Centuries’ … allows people to visit other historic locations throughout the towns. We’re here in Union. People stop here and then they’re able to go to either Elizabeth or Hillside to visit another location, which is great, because it promotes whatever is going on at each location and it allows people to learn a little bit about history, and teachers use it as an extra-credit assignment. It also allows people to explore and venture out.
“The house has been here since 1774,” she continued. “We’ve had a lot of families over the generations. Originally, it was Livingston’s house. However, a lot of Livingston’s children were not happy to move to the middle of nowhere in New Jersey. The British would ransack the house searching for Livingston, because he was a traitor and supported the patriots. Unfortunately, when Livingston passed away, his son, Henry, sold the house in 1798 and it went to three outside owners of the Kean and Livingston families. Fortunately, a woman named Susan Livingston Kean Niemcewicz asked her son to buy it back in 1811. About 150 years later, Mary Alice Barney Kean wanted to convert this house into a museum. She was very into history, as she would allow private tours, was a storyteller and (would) hold intimate tea parties. We’re just continuing the legacy that she had. I just love how you can see the changing of America right in this house.”
With an interesting mix of formal and informal, the perfect garden located on the grounds of the house is referred to as the maze and was created by Lord Bolingbroke of England. Guests were able to explore the well-kept garden, which is in the shape of two angels.
Doyle spoke about how they were able to tackle the event this year.
“(The event) was a little overwhelming, because we haven’t seen crowds like this in a long time,” Doyle said. “Due to the pandemic, things have been a little slow, but with this event, Saturday afternoon, we had at least 20 people on every tour from noon to 4 p.m. We had to have two tour guides, in order to split it up. So, it was overwhelming, but we were joyed to see the turnout that we had. We were amazed with how many people came. I liked it because people were able to see the gardens. They got to see the hard work that our groundskeepers put in. They got to see the hard work that our educators put in, and, also, they were able to see what was going on here at Liberty Hall. I’m glad that we participate in this event every year.”
Tour guide and high school history teacher William Corman also spoke of the gem Liberty Hall is to the Union County community.
“We’re giving people an idea of what this house was like and the history of this house,” Corman said on Sunday, Oct. 17. “The ‘Four Centuries in a Weekend’ event is exciting, and it’s exciting to see a lot of people come in here and get excited about the history and learn something new. A lot of people don’t know that Liberty Hall exists, and it’s kind of tucked away from Morris Avenue. It’s really nice to see so many people come through here and take interest.”
Elsewhere, guests had the opportunity to explore the William Miller Sperry Observation, located on the Cranford campus of Union County College. According to a pamphlet promoting the historic site, William Miller Sperry Observatory began with a $150,000 endowment to Union County College by Mrs. Frederick W. Beinecke and her son, William. It was dedicated on May 21, 1967, in honor of her father, William M. Sperry. The observatory houses a 10-inch refractor and a 24-inch Ritchey-Chretien reflector. Founded on Nov. 14, 1949, Amateur Astronomers Inc. makes its home at Sperry Observatory; with over 200 members, AAI is one of the largest astronomy clubs in the United States. The club supports a wide range of free functions in service of UCC, its members and the general public.
Robert Ruggiero, who runs the Solar Observing Program, described the historic sight and the significance of the two telescopes housed by the observatory.
“On Saturday, we had 40 people, so we’ll see what happens today,” Ruggiero said on Sunday, Oct. 17. “The building goes back to the 1960s. One of the telescopes was dedicated in 1972 and the other telescope we purchased. It’s also been redone and reconfigured into a different telescope than it used to be, which was a higher grade, and that was a few years ago.
“The two telescopes that we have is a 10-inch refractor, an F15 under one dome, and this is the 24-inch Cassegrain telescope, which is a mirror reflector telescope that uses mirrors instead of lenses,” he continued. “In terms of which is better, generally, the larger the diameter of the main element, the deeper in space you can see and the more detail you can see. Bigger is better … depending on the weather conditions. Sometimes bigger works against you, because it magnifies the problems in the atmosphere. There’s actually no perfect telescope. It just depends on how big of a telescope and where it’s located. Most larger telescopes are on mountaintops, because there’s less atmosphere to look through and less disturbance, so you can get a better image, and also, in dark areas where there isn’t any light pollution, so you can see a whole lot more in space.”
Seeing an influx of visitors for this event, Ruggiero spoke of what hasn’t changed throughout the years and mentioned how this experience continues to make an impact.
“You have different members that come and go,” Ruggiero said. “We have a core group that’s always here and it’s pretty much stayed the same. People move and people retire, and we get students from the college that come in and join. It’s just a normal flux that you get with an organization.
“It’s good to see people who want to get a better education in what’s out there. It’s exciting to watch people learning and getting all excited about what they get to see,m because it’s one thing to see a picture in a book and it’s another thing to see it on television. But there’s a human factor that comes in when you’re visually seeing it for yourself. You can’t put a price on that.”
Instrument Qualifications Chairperson Alan Witzgall, past president and vice president of AAI, currently trains members in the use of the two telescopes. Witzgall spoke of the observatory’s place in the “Four Centuries in a Weekend” event.
“Yesterday, we had about 40 to 50 people run through,” Witzgall said on Sunday, Oct. 17. “but it’s a little bit less now, because they have other venues they’d like to go to.
“This event has been fun,” he continued. “Many people that live within blocks of here always say they never saw the observatory before. The concept of ‘Four Centuries’ is terrific, because there is a very rich history here at a time when people seem to be wanting to rewrite history left and right. There are still standards that are here that are irrefutable, and this is part of it. The college and AAI have welcomed just about everyone that comes in here. We’re all united in one thing — the love of science and astronomy.”