County Makes Offer on Van Dyke Farm

Good News and Hope

Middlesex County has made an offer to purchase the Van Dyke Farm on Davidson's Mill Road.

The Eastern Villages Association has been working on trying to preserve this valuable historic and natural resource for a number of years, so this news as music to our ears.

The County had several appraisals made of the land, so the offer is fair according to the current market. What remains to be seen is whether the current property owner will entertain the offer.

We are ever hopeful. The farm house dates back to the 1700's and there is a cemetery on the property with gravestones dating back to the American Revolution. As well there is documentation of slaves who worked on the farm and testimony that there is also a slave cemetery on the land. Add to all of this the fact that the farm lies on the northeastern border of the Pigeon Swamp State Park, which holds the only Category 1 water in Middlesex County, and you have a perfect piece of land for such preservation.

EVA, the Township Council, and the County Freeholders have worked long and hard to reach this point. Parntnering with the State of New Jersey in hopes to acquire the property so it may be preserved and protected forever, we all hope the owner and developer will realize how important this purchase is. Here is a chance to treasure and protect both our heritage and the environment.