Burlington

      Saturday, July 31, 2021: Similar to the day before, I visited another old Burlington County, New Jersey, town: Burlington—founded in 1677. I have been to Burlington in the past. Back in October 2004, I visited this town and the Burlington Historical Society Museum. I have a write up about the museum in volume 5, issue 4, of DOTTY’S DIMENSIONS. This time around, the museum was closed because of covid-19, but that wasn’t the reason I visited this town on the date above. According to Main Street Burlington, P.O. Box 1495, Burlington, NJ, 08016 (201-247-7951), there were plenty of stores, restaurants, and other businesses on Main Street, almost to the riverfront. However, similar to Bordentown, many of these businesses had limited hours: They didn’t open until noon, 1 P.M., or 2 P.M. Unlike Bordentown, most stores did operate from about Tuesday through Saturday. Some of them opened on Sunday or Monday. Again, I didn’t mind because like Bordentown, I only walked around the downtown, took some pictures, and window browsed. The views were worth it! Here too, the buildings went back to the 1700s, 1800s, and into the 1900s. On Wednesdays, from 3 P.M. to 6 P.M., from June through September, this town has a small farmers’ market with about six vendors in the middle of downtown. On certain Saturdays, this town also played host to concerts near the waterfront, and certain people conducted historic tours as well.  

Bordentown

      Friday, July 30, 2021: Now that I am finished with visiting Gloucester County, New Jersey, my next NJ county will be Burlington. Therefore, on the date above, I visited Bordentown, especially downtown Bordentown. (For more information, contact Downtown Bordentown Association, 200 Farnsworth Avenue [609-414-0818]). On a few blocks of Farnsworth Avenue, I noticed shops, restaurants, and other businesses housed in buildings from the 18th-, 19th-, and 20th-centuries. The town officials referred to this town as “the little city with a lot of charm.” While it did look charming, the days and hours of many of its businesses were limited. Unlike many downtowns whose business hours and days were usually Monday to Saturday from about 10 A.M. to about 5 or 6 P.M., and about noon to around 5 P.M. on Sundays, many of Bordentown’s shops usually didn’t open until sometime around 11 A.M., noon, 1 P.M. or even 2 P.M. until early evening. Meanwhile, many of these same businesses stayed closed on Sundays, Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. In other words, the best time to shop in town was on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday from afternoon to early evening. Personally, I didn’t mind because I only intended to walk through the downtown and take a few pictures! Nevertheless, they have held special events year round, and from June through September this town has a farmers’ market on Sunday mornings. This has been one of NJ’s oldest towns, going back to 1682.   

Williamstown Farmers' Market

     Thursday, July 22, 2021: For the last of my Gloucester County, New Jersey trips, I went to the Williamstown Farmers’ Market, 701 North White Horse Pike, Williamstown (856-875-8039). This was the largest farmers’ market in Gloucester County, and about two-thirds of this market contained food vendors, many of them Amish, selling a variety of foods: produce, meats, and cheeses, as well as baked goods, preserved foods, bulk foods, etc. In another section I noticed close to two dozen vendors selling non-food merchandise: furniture, books, and clothing, as well as toys, gifts, and other stuff. Outside, this market displayed storage sheds for sale. I easily spent a few hours here!     

Haynicz's Orchard View Farm Market

      Sunday, July 18, 2021: Although the Haynicz’s Orchard View Farm and Greenhouse, 1093 Elk Road, Monroeville, New Jersey (856-340-6370) wasn’t as large as the other farm markets that I’ve been to in Gloucester County, it did sell certain items that I didn’t see in abundance elsewhere: flowers, herbs, and other plants. Of course, this market also sold its share of produce (most of it grown in the surrounding fields), preserved foods, baked goods, and so forth. Meanwhile, looking at the surrounding farmland, one gets to understand why NJ has been known as “The Garden State!”  

Pitman Laurel Farmers' Market

 

     Saturday, July 17, 2021: The Gloucester County town of Pitman, New Jersey, has been a lively, walkable town with its share of retail businesses, restaurants, and a theater—all within a few blocks! Nevertheless, on a Saturday morning in summer, another place worth seeing has been the Pitman Laurel Farmers’ Market, at Sunset Auditorium, 200 Laurel Avenue, Pitman, NJ (856-256-8380). Here, I saw about a dozen and a half vendors selling produce, baked goods, and preserved foods, as well as non-food vendors selling jewelry, crafts, and soaps, etc. Therefore, before seeing downtown Pitman, I would recommend visiting here on a summer Saturday. Between this market and downtown, you could spend a whole day there. 

Duffield's Farm

      Thursday, July 15, 2021: I visited another farm market in Gloucester County: Duffield’s Farm & Market, 280 Chapel Heights Road, Sewell, New Jersey (856-589-7090). This place was bigger than the farm market I went to the other day, and their variety of produce was vast as well. They also stocked much more in baked goods; plus, they had a deli! Most all of the produce for sale grew in the surrounding fields, and some of the produce ended up being sold in jars of preserved food. In addition, they sold jars of preserved food from Kitchen Kettle Village in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As for baked goods, they offered many kinds of pies, cakes, and breads, as well as cookies, donuts, and so on. Throughout the year, the owner plays host to special events for the whole family, especially for children and school trips.   

Maugeri's Farm Market, Swedesboro

      Tuesday, July 13, 2021: Thus, I went to a farm market. (The differences are that a farmers’ market had different vendors selling their merchandise in one place. Whereas a farm market is a retail business located on a farm, and the owner owns both the farm and the retail business that can be anything from a farm stand to a mid-sized store.) On the date above, I browsed and bought a few items in Gloucester County at Maugeri’s Farm Market, 1991 Oldman’s Creek Road, Swedesboro, New Jersey (856-294-9900). Unlike many farm and farmers’ markets that only operate one or a few days a week—mostly on weekends, this market operated seven days a week. While that market from the outside didn’t look large, it was surrounded by fields where most of the produce grew. In addition to produce, this place sold baked goods, gift items, and cheeses, as well as preserved foods that they canned there, food items in freezers, etc. Therefore, what they lacked in building size, they made up for in variety—especially in produce!  

Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse

      Sunday, July 11, 2021: Because the weather was nice, I decided to do a quick visit to Gloucester County, New Jersey, and the Tinicum Rear Range Lighthouse, 70 Second Street, Paulsboro (856-423-1505). Although this place wasn’t open for tours to the top, I didn’t mind because I have not been a big fan of climbing up a lot of stairs—even if the views were good! (I also saw the views online, and they were good.) Nevertheless, I looked at the outside of this lighthouse and the 1880 building below it. Throughout the year, the society who maintained this place played host to special events. Otherwise, if you have been visiting someplace else nearby and wanted to visit a quiet place later, then I would recommend coming here. Be warned: Use your GPS, MapQuest, Google Maps, or some other maps because many of the local streets didn’t have signs. 

Metuchen Farmers' Market

     Saturday, July 10, 2021: As some of you have guessed, I like going to farm, farmers’, and flea markets. On the date above, I traveled to Middlesex County, New Jersey, to visit the following farmers’ market: Metuchen Farmers’ Market, 33 Pearl Street, Metuchen (732-510-0242). Located on a corner plaza, this market included about a dozen vendors selling locally-grown produce, preserved foods, and baked goods, as well as cheeses, meats, and other foods. While the prices were a bit higher than many grocery stores, on the other hand, you couldn’t ask for fresher food! A nearby garage offered up to three hours of free parking. As if that weren’t enough, downtown Metuchen offered its share of retail businesses in buildings that dated from the 19th-, 20th-, and into the 21st-century.