[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 49 (Thursday, March 27, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H2741-H2742]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HUNTERDON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY, CELEBRATES TRICENTENNIAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey 
(Mr. Lance) for 30 minutes.
  Mr. LANCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to celebrate the tricentennial 
of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, the county I have proudly called home 
my entire life and where my family has lived since 1739. The 
celebration this year is led by former State Senator Marcia Karrow and 
a hardworking committee of exemplary county residents.
  The 300-year history of Hunterdon County is an excellent example of 
the

[[Page H2742]]

journey in the advancement of the English colonies in North America to 
the present day status of the United States of America throughout the 
world. To this day, Hunterdon County maintains its natural beauty and 
rural charm, as has been the case throughout its history.
  The county is proud to be named for Robert Hunter, the distinguished 
royal governor of New York and New Jersey who sailed to America with 
3,000 Palatinate German refugees in 1710. They, and thousands of others 
like them, yearned for religious freedom and a better life for 
themselves and their descendants. Hunterdon County was formed when it 
separated from Burlington County 300 years ago this month, in March of 
1714.
  From the first reading of the Declaration of Independence on the 
steps of what was then the Hunterdon County Courthouse in Trenton to 
General Washington's historic Delaware River crossing and decisive 
victory at the Battle of Trenton, Hunterdon's link to the 1776 birth of 
the United States is significant. I was personally inspired as a child 
by the tales of Captain Daniel Bray and the Hunterdon County militia 
who collected the boats on our western border that were used in 
Washington's crossing on Christmas night in that fateful year of our 
Nation's birth. The county boasts several sites associated with the 
Revolution, including the 1759 Vought House in Clinton Township, a 
Loyalist homestead that still exists with its architecturally 
distinguished serpentine ceiling.
  The county is also proud of its agricultural heritage. The county 
seal originally included a hay wagon and now features a bountiful sheaf 
of wheat. Farming was the story of most county residents, from Native 
Americans through the earliest colonial settlers to those who lived at 
the beginning of the 20th century. Many barns dot the county landscape, 
and this heritage is celebrated annually at the Hunterdon County 4-H 
and Agricultural Fair.
  A century and a half ago general stores and hotels, including several 
owned by my ancestors, were common in the towns that sprouted across 
the 400 square acres of the county. From Clinton in the north to 
Lambertville in the south, to Frenchtown in the west, to Flemington, 
the county seat, in the middle, they were the centers of life where 
Hunterdon families came to market, to socialize, and to worship.
  The nature of Hunterdon has changed as the population increased from 
the mid-20th century forward. The large agricultural townships have 
become more heavily populated as farmland has been transformed to 
houses for new residents, who demanded improvements, including 
establishment of a system of regional schools and construction of the 
Hunterdon County Medical Center. After World War II, Hunterdon was the 
only county in the State still without a hospital. County leaders, 
including the Board of Agriculture, were responsible for the building 
of the medical center that opened in 1953. Since then, this health care 
facility has become one of the premier medical institutions in New 
Jersey. Public-spirited men and women created five distinguished 
regional high schools that would become leaders in the State in 
academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities.
  The 300-year history of Hunterdon County has been captured in 
writings, photographs, and memories telling the compelling story of its 
sheer natural beauty, its people, and the larger community of churches, 
nonprofit groups, and civic organizations, with neighbor helping 
neighbor.
  Our ancestor have striven for 300 years to make Hunterdon what it is 
today, a 21st century exemplar of the United States as a whole: free, 
self-governed, prosperous, and dedicated to the advancement of the 
Nation. We, the 130,000 current residents, have a responsibility to 
those who will come after us to preserve and improve the county we 
love.
  Truly, Hunterdon County has always been and will always be in my 
heart.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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