Hunterdon County History

"The First 300 Years of Hunterdon County: 1714-2014" is a downloadable file whose purpose is summarized in the introduction of the document:

"The essays of this book were written by men and women who are much concerned with the preserving of something of our historical heritage. They have not attempted, on this anniversary date, to write a complete history of Hunterdon County. Rather, as a labor of love, they have given you essays on subjects in which they are interested, and even as regards their specialties, they have been limited as to space and as to available time. In a sense it is an invitation to others to write on phases of the County's history that are not covered here."

The Hunterdon County Historical Society is an excellent source of information on the history of Hunterdon County. As stated on the website, "The mission of the Hunterdon County Historical Society is to collect, preserve and share the evolving social and material history of the entire County of Hunterdon, New Jersey. The Society will fulfill its mission through educational programs, research and publications, and by maintaining for public benefit the growing collections of the Society and the buildings that house them: The HCHS Archives, the Hiram E. Deats Memorial Library and the 1845 Doric House Museum.

The official Hunterdon County website has an extensive writeup on the county's history, including the evolution of county government, complete minutes of meetings, the stories of the courthouse and jail, and the historic Bruno Haptmann trial for the fatal kidnapping of the son of Colonel Charles Lindbergh.

Another superb historical source is Goodspeed Histories, a website devoted to New Jersey History and Genealogy. The website and blog are run by Marfy Goodspeed, who has researched Hunterdon County families since 1981 when she started her house history business.