POSTPONED! The Evolution of Agriculture: A Case Study in the Delaware Valley

Event Postponed- please stay safe and stay tuned for updates!

Author Larry Kidder will explore changes in agriculture, and rural life that reflect the larger picture of agricultural change in western New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania just north of Trenton and Morrisville. The region known as Pleasant Valley, bordering the Delaware River in western Hopewell Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, has been farmed since at least the mid-1700s and is rich with history. While historic farm life may seem nostalgic and we long for the "Good Old Days," farm life was not static and farmers and their families faced great challenges in every decade, and at least some people experienced great joy and success. 

Larry Kidder has been a volunteer historian for the Friends of Howell Living History Farm (operated by the Mercer County Park Commission), and has also served on the board of the Hopewell Valley Historical Society. He gives frequent talks on Mercer County history, especially concerning aspects of the American Revolution as well as its agricultural history.

He is the author to two books relating to agriculture and rural life. The Pleasant Valley School Story presents the history from the 1820s to the 1930s of a one, then two, room schoolhouse that was also a community center for the Pleasant Valley farming community. This book won the 2013 Scholarship and Artistry award presented by the Country School Association of America. Farming Pleasant Valley: 250 Years of Life in Rural Hopewell Township, New Jersey was published in 2014.