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Liar – Route 31 Did Go Thru Bedminster & Bernardsville

Did you know that US Route 206 actually used to be Route 31 and what is US Route 202 was actually Route 32?

Here are the signs!
Here are the signs!

So now you tell your friend “Take Route 31 North Thru Bedminster
and Turn Right onto Route 32 straight into Bernardsville.” Huh. “Route 31 goes to Clinton right? Left? WRONG! Confused?

Travel back to 1935 and you definitely would have been.

Maybe you could travel down Mine Brook Road to Bernardsville and the directions read take Route 32 south to Bville and stop at the dairy. Or maybe you’re coming down from Chester and you wanted to visit the Brady’s Hamilton Farm in Peapack/Bedminster and you actually have to go down Route 31. Well that was actually the case right up until 1935 when the transition began to change these two crossroads across the Somerset Hills to Routes 202 and 206.

How Confusing?

Have you ever had such a major roadway change names in your lifetime? Your whole psychic changes. Think about how much confusion there is when the Department of Transportation changes highway exits and how long it takes you to forget the old ones and replace it with the new numbers. Geeze, I think there’s still exit signs on the southern end of Route 202 South that still say Old Exit 2B.

Read More »Liar – Route 31 Did Go Thru Bedminster & Bernardsville

NJ Historic Trust Grant Analysis 1990-2008

The New Jersey Historic Trust Grant Program over the past 18 years

nyht_logoThe New Jersey Historic Trust is responsible for advancing historic preservation in New Jersey and establish stable sources of funding to support activities that contribute directly to the preservation and use of New Jersey’s heritage resources. We thought it’d be interesting to follow up on the discussion regarding the New Jersey Historic Trust and their distributions over the last decade.

The analysis was done just to observe the data and see if there are any interesting trends. The data was sent to us from Dorthy Guzzo, the Executive Director of the New Jersey Historic Trust in Trenton, New Jersey and we thank her for her efforts.

Read More »NJ Historic Trust Grant Analysis 1990-2008

Stepford Wives of Somerset Hills (Bedminster)

Did you know that portions of the 2004 film The Stepford Wives were filmed in Bedminster (Lamington), New Jersey?

Stepford stars in area to film movie remake
Nicole Kidman, Bette Midler perform in Bedminster, sleep at Bernards Hotel
The Bernardsville News
By SANDY STUART , Staff Writer 07/10/2003

BEDMINSTER TWP. – A picture-perfect barn complex and sunny skies greeted Nicole Kidman and a host of Hollywood actors this week, during the filming of a scene from the new “Stepford Wives” movie. Kidman, Bette Midler, Matthew Broderick, Glenn Close and Jon Lovitz were among the stars who joined some 200 extras – including many local residents – on a Larger Cross Road estate.

The filming of the scene, which depicts a Fourth of July fair in the fictitious upper-class town of Stepford, began Monday morning amid heavy security provided by the local police department. Filming continued throughout the day Tuesday and was scheduled to wrap up yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, assuming cooperative weather.

Many of the cast and crew members – including Kidman, Midler and director Frank Oz – stayed in luxurious rooms at the Olde Mill Inn in Bernards Township during the filming, according to sources. They were said to have checked out by Wednesday.

In the remake of the 1975 classic thriller, Kidman plays the role of Joanna Eberhart, who has just moved from Manhattan with her husband (Broderick) and children. According to publicist Marsha Robertson, the scene in Bedminster shows the Eberhart family meeting the townspeople of Stepford for the first time at a July 4 celebration.

Among those they encounter are Bobbie Markowe (Midler) and her husband (Lovitz), who are also newcomers to Stepford; as well as the town matriarch, played by Close. Other cast members include Faith Hill, Christopher Walken and Bernardsville native Roger Bart, an original cast member of the Broadway hit, “The Producers.” Hill and Walken did not appear in the Bedminster scene.Read More »Stepford Wives of Somerset Hills (Bedminster)