COUNTRY LIVING FAIR ON TAP FOR SUNDAY, OCT. 21 AT BATSTO VILLAGE IN
PINELANDS OF BURLINGTON COUNTY

(18/P091) TRENTON – One of the most popular events in the Pinelands – the annual Country Living Fair – will be Sunday, Oct. 21 at historic Batsto Village in Burlington County, providing visitors a chance to experience the joys of country living.

The fair will take place from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to enjoy crafts, exhibits, music, food, antiques, pony rides, farm equipment, chainsaw art, quilting and much more.

Part of Wharton State Forest, Batsto Village is off Route 542 in Washington Township, about eight miles east of Hammonton.

“Many thousands of people attend the fair each fall to sample life as it was during simpler times,” said New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry Director Olivia Glenn. “The fair provides the perfect opportunity to enjoy the subtle beauty of the Pinelands at a special time of year.”

The State Park Service will offer shuttle service from offsite parking areas throughout the day.

Batsto is comprised of more than 40 structures and sites including Wharton Mansion, a sawmill, a charcoal kiln, ice and milk houses, a carriage house and stable, blacksmith and wheelwright shop, grist mill and general store. The Batsto Post Office, established in 1852, still processes mail with a postmark having no ZIP code. The postmaster will offer a special cancellation stamp during the fair.

Batsto Village also offers the Annie M. Carter Interpretive Center to help educate visitors about the ecology of the Pinelands and a visitor center providing displays on ecology, culture and history. The village was started by a local man, Charles Read, and quickly became an arsenal of democracy, producing munitions for the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

Batsto Village served as an industrial center in the Pine Barrens until the late 1860s, with ironmaking giving way to glassmaking.

Both industries relied heavily on the natural resources of the Pinelands. Ironmaking used bog ore found along rivers and streams in the region. Glassmaking relied on the area’s abundant sand. Both industries heavily relied on trees to fuel furnaces.

Wealthy Philadelphia entrepreneur Joseph Wharton purchased Batsto in 1876, introducing cranberry growing and making improvements to the mansion and various buildings. His landholdings in the area, acquired by the state in 1954, would become the core of Wharton State Forest, the largest single tract in the state park system.

For more about the Country Living Fair, visit www.batstovillage.org/country-living-fair.htm.

To learn more about Batsto Village and for directions, visit www.batstovillage.org/default.htm.

To learn more about Wharton State Forest, visit www.nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/wharton.html.

To learn more about New Jersey’s state parks and forests, visit www.njparksandforests.org.

Like the New Jersey State Parks, Forests & Historic Sites page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NewJerseyStateParks.

Follow the State Park Service on Instagram @newjerseystateparks.

Follow the DEP on Twitter @NewJerseyDEP.

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