Wonderful site educating and celebrating NJ history. Handicap friendly. Tour guide was…read moreincredible 5/31 @ 1300. I don't recall his name but he was awesome. Friendly, knowledgeable and accommodating to those with special needs. I will definitely visit again to learn more.

Atsion Village and Mansion is one of the best kept secrets in South Jersey. The mansion itself is…read morevery well preserved, and you can take tours of it on the weekend in the summer. Many people do not know about the furnace/iron industry in South Jersey that thrived in the early 19th Century, and you can come here to learn all about it. Our tour guide was 80 years old and lived in the area her whole life. She knew EVERYTHING about the history of Atsion, and we both loved listening to her talk. The park service officer who greeted us in the historic general store also filled us in about the history of the village. The cemetery and church are really cool, too. You can combine your visit with lying on the beach on the lake, too.

Looked at the grounds. Parked in front of the house and…read morelooked at the outside of the house. There is also a large parking lot shared with the Ma and Pa Trail. Walked around the grounds in March before most plants had come out. Liked the planted area called the Larry Franz Woodland Walk. At the back of this area, walk past the ribbon tied on a tree. Then go down a steep trail to circle back along the Ma and Pa Trail to the parking lot. Good to see the snowdrops, crocuses, hellebores, dead leaves, and fungi on tree trunks! Without leaves, you can see further through the forest. Slippery when dry! Some steeper trails are slippery as the dry leaves slide over rocks hidden under the leaves

My wedding was BEAUTIFUL thanks to the Liriodendron and it's gorgeous grounds. I am so happy that I…read morefound this place nusselled in the back of some neighborhoods in Bel Air. The location is perfectly located for wedding at St. Marks Church is Fallston (~10 minute drive). The venue is a little pricey (~$3000 + insurance for an early slot on a Saturday in October). But it's worth it for the gorgeous setting. I also liked the back entrance where I was able to sneak upstairs and get my dress bustled before having to see all my guests. We came down the main staircase (which the florist was able to decorate) as we were introduced as a couple for the first time. We did not have dancing but did have yard games set up. We used one portico as a bar area and the outside terrace area for cornhole. We had a giant jenga set as well on the concrete terrace area. You do have to pick from a specific list of vendors when it comes to food. They have Dean and Brown on their list though which is one of the highest rated catering places in Harco. Overall, the wedding went off without a hitch and I am so glad that I held it at the Lirio!

We visited Old Swedes Historic Site last Saturday when we visited Wilmington and New Castle on a…read moreday trip to Delaware. We're visiting Sweden at the end of the month, and I was keen to learn some Swedish American history. And - to be honest - until I started researching for our day trip (after learning about the replica of the Kalmar Nyckel and its sails down the Christina River) - I didn't know much at all about New Sweden! Old Swedes Historic Site was not only very informative - but interesting! Old Swedes Historic Site is a place where you can learn about New Sweden - a Swedish colony in North America (in what is now Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) from 1638-1655 (it was incorporated into New Netherland in 1655 after it was conquered by Peter Stuyvesant). For a time, Fort Christina (in what is now Delaware, and just down the street from Old Swedes) was the first settlement of New Sweden. At Old Swedes Historic Site, you visit three different sites in one spot and on one guided tour: the Hendrickson House (an example of a home built by Swedish colonists) that was moved to the site); the 1638 Burial Ground; and the Holy Trinity (Old Swedes) Church (built in 1698). The church was particularly interesting - with its brick floor, oldest pulpit in America, beautiful stained glass, and carved into wooden doors! Our tour guide was very nice, and the tour was only about 45 minutes (you can stay and explore more of the burial ground if you choose after the tour). In a single day, you can visit the Kalmar Nyckel Foundation and Museum (and sail on the Kalmar Nyckel), visit the park and monument now at the former site of Fort Christina, and Old Swedes Historic Site. These three stops were interesting and really gave us a much better understanding of this part of American colonial history that I was quite ignorant of. Definitely worth including in a day of exploring the area!

Oldest active church in the US…read more.. You can also stop for a National Park cancellation stamp here. Very cool grounds to walk. 5 stars for that!

We had a really fun time traipsing around Mount Harmon Plantation a few weeks back. We arrived by…read moresmall boat. There is a slip available for visitor and member use on the Sassafrass River. We walked to the main house and paid $20 for both of us to wander the grounds which are beautiful and extensive. We especially liked the underground house and the tobacco barn. The barn had tobacco hung in the rafters as it would have been in days of yore. The interpretive signs that are scattered about really help to tell the story of this place. As a plantation, there were slaves who worked and died here without pay. The brochure does not once mention slavery which is unfortunate. This plantation is really an excellent place to learn about how our country was built on the labor of slaves.

Battery Park is a public park in New Castle. It has a walking path/trail that leads around the edge…read moreof the park along the Delaware River. It's a nice place to stretch your legs during a day of exploring New Castle, especially if it's a pretty day. But the views can be a little industrial, and I wouldn't say it's a must see if you have a day to explore New Castle.

I really liked this park. Close to downtown. Ran along the water, which was very pretty. My only…read morenegative comment is that there is no path from the parking lot to get to the path on the water, you just had to walk over grass and uneven ground, which is difficult with a stroller or if you have difficulties walking.

A house hidden in a…read more house The Thomas Shinn House was originally built waaaay back in 1712. A very primitive English cabin built of roughly cut logs. Nothing fancy about this place. The cool part is that it was actually hidden and part of another house that was built much later. The Shinn House wasn't discovered until the new and much larger house was demolished in 1967. Of course the Shinn House was bought by the Mt Holly Historical Society and moved from it's original location on Water Street to it's present home on Park Drive, right behind the town hall. Unfortunately the old cabin isn't open to the public and you really can't see in the windows. That's too bad because it must be fascinating inside. However just walking around it and seeing the rough and tiny place is amazing enough. I wonder what it must have been like to raise a family in this tiny and crude home. And why was the newer house just built around the little cabin. I'll probably know but it is an incredible cool and historical house located in a town that is just full of surprises.

I absolutely lose my mind over historical gems such as the Physick Estate that have the entire…read morehouse to peruse! The tour guide was fantastic & really went through every possible detail on the family & the history. Came with my friends on the first day of our CM vacation on a weekend. Pretty easy enough to purchase tickets ahead of time at the gift store. All in all a perfect way to spend a few hours learning about the local history! Highly recommend!!!!

Whenever I'm traveling I do my best to look up if there are any museums or historical points of…read moreinterest I can check out. Even though Cape May is known mostly as a Jersey Shore resort community, there's a lot of eye candy in the form of Victorian architecture - including some historic estates. One of these is the Emlen Physick Estate, and since they offer tours of the house I thought it would be a great way to spend part of my afternoon. Located on Washington St slightly away from the main hustle and bustle of CM, the Emlen Physick Estate sits on a sizeable piece of land somewhat inward from the street. The property contains the main house, a carriage house which now holds the gift shop and a restaurant, and another building used for administration. The estate is run by Cape May MAC, who worked to restore the house back in the 70s. In addition to the standard estate tour, they also offer trolley tours and evening "haunted" tours on the property. The Estate was built for Dr. Emlen Physick, who came from a prominent family. I won't give away the details of the tour, but they did a really good job discussing the history of the property, Physick and his family, as well as all of the architecture and decor of the estate. Our tour guide did a great job with every aspect of the tour, including answering our questions. One thing I noticed was that the promo pictures here on Yelp show historical interpreters guiding the tour, but we didn't have that. Our guide was great, but a historical interpreter would have been a funner touch. The tour took about 45 minutes to an hour, and afterwards we were given free-reigns to explore the carriage house which had merch and a small self-guided tour area. Overall, I enjoyed my time at the Emlen Physick Estate; it's definitely worth taking the time to explore and a welcome contrast to the typical beach things to do in the area.

The Old State House is on a quaint little street in a cute part of town. There was plenty of nearby…read moreparking when I went. The tours were free, but it wasn't crowded and we basically interrupted the guide's phone call. She did give us a personalized one-on-one tour after debating if she should wait to start the tour on the hour and said she'd be mad if someone else came in. She did give off a vibe like we were interrupting her sitting around time. Despite that, she was very knowledgeable on the history of the building, and it was nice to be able to look around with someone and ask them questions. The inside really seemed a lot like Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It's amazing the small, perfunctory building was in use until like 1933. There was a really nice painting of George Washington in one of the rooms and good information on early delegates. If you are in the area, it's a free stop and there's free parking, and there's good information and not too long to see. It was worth visiting. No gift shop though.

I really like old buildings and have enjoyed visiting Philadelphia and Washington DC old historic…read morebuildings. This building and the furniture inside of the Old State House were uninteresting to me. Though the stairs were enjoyable to see inside and outside. I posted a picture of the marble stairs on the outside. There was a volunteer finishing up with some people who liked history, and they said he was very knowledgeable. I was mainly there just to see the building. I would recommend if you are interested in Delaware politics and history go here.

Paper Mill House (ca.1770) is a township museum located in the same building as the Newtown Square…read moreHistorical Society's offices, but note that they are separate entities. The Paper Mill House allows visitation to its display rooms during open hours, while the Historical Society is by appointment, and is another part of the building. The Paper Mill House Museum is only open Sundays 1-4 PM in July and August. Admission to the museum is free, although donations are appreciated. There is a rep from the Historical Society there to answer questions, but you tour the display yourself. Paper Mill House was originally a residence for local mill workers. The building was restored in the '80s and is now set up as Colonial-era rooms, such as a colonial kitchen, parlor, bedroom, and 19th century general store. On the 2nd floor there are local history exhibits. The rest of the museum is offices and conference room for the Historical Society. There are 4.5 acres of grounds, including a neat wood plank bridge over a stream. The museum building itself is close on the corner of Paper Mill Rd. and St. Davids Rd., but, though the address is Paper Mill Rd., note that the gravel parking lot is off of St. Davids Rd.