Horsin’ Around

Horsin’ Around. . , The impressive range of white frame farm buildings before you – the immense barn and silo complex to the left; the wagon houses and corn crib in the center; and the spacious farmhouse at the right – evoke Hopewell farming at its most prosperous around the turn of the 20th century., Historically, this property was known as “Stony Brook Farm,” named for the meandering stream that drains the surrounding fertile land. This farm complex, with its characteristic linear arrangement of buildings, was a relative late comer, established in the late 1850s. By the early 1900s, it was one of the area’s leading stock farms, with a specialty in horse breeding., Stony Brook Farm came into being following the death of local farmer Charles Clifford on the final day of 1856. It was sold by his executors in 1858, acquired first by lsaac Welling, who passed it on to James and Susan Thompson. By 1860, the Thompsons had erected a new farmhouse – the one you see today – and the census for that year shows their household numbering no less than 16 persons, including their nine children and two farm hands., For almost four decades, the Thompson family harvested crops and raised livestock on a farm of 150 to 170 acres. An 1880 agricultural census lists corn, oats and rye as the main crops, while livestock included 25 milk cows, 35 sheep, 15 swine and eight horses. However, the Thompsons struggled to retain ownership and, following legal proceedings, the farm was finally sold off in 1898., Under the new owner, Edward B. Allen, the property was transformed, taking on the Stony Brook Farm name and a new, very different identity. An absentee owner who lived in Flemington, Allen was a horse aficionado and harness racing enthusiast. Over a quarter century, he built the property into one of the leading stock farms in the region, periodically holding public sales of racehorses, draft horses, dairy cattle and other farm animals., Horses were Allen’s true passion. He shipped them in from all across the country to train and sell, and he traveled to Scotland to import Clydesdales, the well-known breed of draft horse. In January 1911, a 1,740-pound Clydesdale stallion named Maharajah was delivered to Stony Brook Farm. Less than six months later, 25 head of choice Clydesdale mares arrived. In this same year, Allen embarked upon the venture for which he is best known, the founding of the Flemington Fair Grounds., Edward B. Allen put Stony Brook Farm up for public sale in 1927 and devoted the remaining two decades of his life to running the Flemington Agricultural Fair. The farm passed through the hands of the Hicks and Kamenstein families before being acquired by the Socony Mobil Oil Company in 1957 and becoming part of its petroleum research center. The Mobil facility was succeeded in 1997 by the pharmaceutical research campus of Bristol Myers Squibb, which remained active until 2020., (image captions) , , In the 1870s, the Thompson family farmed 170 fertile acres along the banks of Stony Brook (Everts and Stewart, Atlas of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1875). , , One of many horse sale advertisements placed in local newspapers by Edward B. Allen during the first decade of the 20th century (Trenton Evening Times, January 20, 1906). , , Edward B. Allen brings his stud Maharajah to Stony Brook Farm (Trenton Evening Times, January 24, 1911). , , The farmhouse at Stony Brook Farm as it appeared circa 1950; originally built around 1860, note how little this house has changed over the past century (Family of Reeves Hicks)., Content development by Hunter Research, Inc. Graphic design by Douglas Scott