Morris County Tourism: Summer 2019 Historic Walking Tours Announced
Published on May 08, 2019
Get Tickets Now for Popular Tours
The Morris County Tourism Bureau (MCTB) has announced its 2019 Discover Morris County walking tours and programs, which are designed to allow participants to experience the rich history of Morris County with the assistance of a knowledgeable guide.
The tours and programs begin on June 8, with a new Freedom Walk, head to new sites like the July 27 program at the Morris Canal site in Roxbury, and conclude on Aug. 10. Tours last approximately one hour. Tickets are $15 per person. Please pre-register and pre-pay online at morristourism.org. Call the office at 973-631-5151 for more information.
(JPG, 4MB) A 2018 Morris Tourism walking tour event in Morristown
Seven new tours have been added to the 2019 schedule, along with the most popular ones from 2018. Take a look:
The Freedom Walk NEW/FREE
Saturday June 8 at 11:30am
This event celebrates the Emancipation Proclamation and Juneteenth, the freeing of all enslaved people in the United States. Meet at Historic Speedwell where the annual Civil War Encampment will be taking place. After the reading of the Proclamation, muster and march to the historic Morristown Green where Juneteenth activities will take place during the rest of the afternoon and evening.
The Seeing Eye Walking Tour
Saturday June 15 at 9:30am
North America's first guide dog training school, The Seeing Eye© of Morris Township, was founded 90 years ago. Learn about their history, walk the streets of Morristown where the dogs train, and watch how the dogs interact with their owners. The tour will be led by the Seeing Eye's director, Jim Kutsch, and his guide dog, Vegas.
The Morristown Churches Walking Tour NEW
Saturday June 15 and Saturday August 3 at 11:00am
Visit a number of exteriors and interiors of historic churches in Morristown with guide Peg Shultz, the director of the Morris County Heritage Commission. Learn about church architecture, history, prominent members, and their contributions to the Morristown community since 1733.
(JPG, 73KB)
Victorian Morristown Walking Tour
Saturday, June 22 and Thursday, August 1, at 11:00am
Learn about one of the grandest periods in Morristown's 300-year history with guide Karen Ann Kurlander, a Victorian lifestyle expert and Historic District resident. Walk through town visiting commercial and residential buildings that date from 1870-1910. Victorian social customs will be featured, and you'll learn how 100 Victorians came to be built within a few blocks of the Morristown Green.
Gilded Age Morristown: Foote Mansion and Garden Tour NEW
Sunday, June 23 at 2:00pm
Don't miss this unique opportunity to see a nationally-registered, largely intact Gilded Age mansion. Saved by adaptive re-use, the 1906 Robert Foote home was once known as Spring Brook House. This home is the largest residence ever built in Morristown. Carol Barkin of the Morristown Historic Preservation Commission will lead the tour through the mansion and the sunken Italian gardens now serving as the Loyola Jesuit Center.
Morristown People and Places Walking Tour
Saturdays: June 29 and August 10 at 11:00am
Take a leisurely walk through Morristown with author Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika, former director of the Morris County Historical Society. Her postcard book on Morristown will come alive as she points out architecturally important buildings within the nationally registered Historic District, and hear the stories of past and prominent Morristownians.
George Vail's Willow Hall NEW
Saturday, July 13 at 11:00am
Visit the nationally registered former home of U.S. Congressman George Vail, a scion of the Speedwell Ironworks founder, Judge Stephen Vail. His brother, Alfred Vail, worked with Samuel F.B. Morse to develop the telegraph. George took over the iron business, built this 1848 Gothic puddingstone mansion inspired by Andrew Jackson Downing, and then headed to Congress to represent New Jersey (1853-1857).
Jersey Girl Brewery Tour-Hackettstown NEW
Saturday, July 20 at 11:00am
Sign up for a tour of Jersey Girl Brewing Company, a craft brewery founded in 2014. Carol Barkin of the MCTB will give a brief overview of Morris County's Colonial applejack industry. Afterwards, owner Charles Aaron will lead a tour of his brewery. This brewer was inspired by the essence of a Jersey Girl-she's complex, deep, layered, bitter, sweet, subtle and sophisticated.
Museum of Early Trades & Crafts Architecture Tour-Madison NEW
Saturday, July 20 at 11 am
A staff member of the museum will lead an interior and exterior tour of Morris County's most magnificent building. Formerly a library built in 1899, and given to the residents of Madison by Gilded Age millionaire D. Willis James, it is on the National Register of Historic Places.
Colonial Morristown Walking Tour
Saturdays: July 27 and August 10 at 10:00am
This unique walking tour will cover a mile through Morristown visiting sites associated with George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Marquis de Lafayette's stays here in 1777 and 1779-80. Your guide will be Patricia Sanftner, a member of the local D.A.R. She is an expert on Colonial life and on the courtship of Alexander and Betsy Schuyler who met here in 1780.
The Morris Canal at Drakesville Historic Park, Roxbury Township NEW
Saturday, July 27 at 11:00am
Visit this nationally registered Historic District located near Lock 1 East of the Morris Canal (c. 1825). You'll visit a restored Victorian home once belonging to the King family, and their adjacent General Store. The canal store is one of only two that have survived intact. Weigh yourself on the restored five-ton wagon scale. Optional after-program: iced tea on the porch with Morris Canal historian Brian Morrell fielding your questions.
The walking tours and programs are graciously sponsored by Glassworks Studio, Normandy Partners, the Atlantic Health System's Morristown Medical Center and media sponsor NJ.com. The MCTB will provide, with two weeks advanced notice, assisted listening systems.
