Uncovering Raritan Landing

Only two houses remain from Raritan Landing: the Metlar-Bodine House and the Cornelius Low House.  Mark Nonestied, Middlesex County Historian, discusses Low, his family's alliances during the American Revolution, and architecture of the house.  We also spoke with archaeologists who participated in the 26th investigation of Raritan Landing; on the grounds of the Cornelius Low House.

During the early years of the American Revolution, Raritan Landing was occupied by Hessian and British forces.  This episode reveals how the strategic encampment of the Crown forces effected the daily lives of the inhabitants and changed the town forever.

Participants reminiscence about the Raritan Landing excavation.  Archaeologists explain how a site was scientifically dug, the new technologies used at the Landing site, and, most importantly, what the artifacts tell us about everyday life during the years before the American Revolution.

Raritan Landing was located near the Raritan River.  The name Raritan came from the Lenape word "Rariton." This episode talks about the culture and lifeways of the Lenape and Munsee, indigenous people and the first inhabitants of what became Raritan Landing and New Jersey. 

Construction of a federally-funded sewer line endangered the buried remains of one of the 18th century port community: Raritan Landing.  The official state archaeologist, Dr. Lorraine Williams called the Director of the Rutgers Archaeological Survey Office to warn him.  This episode covers how Dr. Grossman and his team of researchers and diggers investigated the site using a technological first in the field of archaeology.