The Historic Village at Allaire

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Allaire Village, Inc. offers guided tours of The Historic Village at Allaire as part of its ongoing educational program. The one hour and thirty minute tours, while geared toward Fourth Grade Education, compliments the State of New Jersey's Curriculum of Social Studies Education Standard 6.3 and falls with-in the scope of the curriculum set for Kindergarten through Eighth Grade. Students will be introduced to various facets of life at The Howell Works Company, a 19th Century industrial community, including commercial, domestic and social aspects.
Costumed interpreters will educate students on the impact of the Industrial Revolution in New Jersey and New Jersey's shift from an agrarian society to an industrial one, identify discoveries and inventions of the time, specifically those related to the production of iron products and steam transportation, and also show the importance of Historic Preservation. Through interactive presentations, students will also gain a more enriched understanding of family and community life in the early 19th Century with comparisons made to the present time as well as given an introduction of immigration and the hardships experienced by many immigrant groups.

Students will begin their tour with a preface to The Howell Works Company and its proprietor James P. Allaire. Through a unique interactive presentation in the Village Chapel, which also housed the Howell Works Company School, students will receive insight into the life of a 19th Century child in an industrial community, be given an introduction to the Industrial Revolution and the role The Howell Works Company played in New Jersey's commercial development, experience life in a 19th Century school and learn the basics of social etiquette of the time, all the while stressing the importance of education.

In visiting the shops of the Village Craftsmen, the students will receive insight into the roles the craftsmen played both at The Howell Works Company and the surrounding community, be introduced to the guild system and apprenticeship and gain a better understanding of the differences and similarities between 19th Century life and 21st Century life and the inventions and discoveries that made those differences possible.

While touring the Village's homes, the student will be shown the importance of community and social interaction, learn the aspects of domestic hierarchy with-in the home and the role children played and gain a better understanding of domestic life in early 19th Century America.

The students will also have the opportunity of visiting the General Store, where they will learn the variances between 19th Century and 21st Century retail operations and patronage. Students will also receive a brief description of the US Postal System of the time as well as an introduction to the transportation network created by James P. Allaire and its impact on Monmouth County. After their visit to the Howell Works Company Store Museum, the students will be afforded the opportunity to make purchases in the General Store Museum Gift Shop.

While conducting the tour of the Historic Village, the Historic Interpretive Guides will cover such aspects of 19th Century Life as energy sources, transportation, iron production and the currency system of the time, as well as directing the student's attention to various points of interest while stressing the importance of Historic Preservation. The interpreters will also discuss the life of immigrants to early America citing various immigrant employees of The Howell Works as examples.

At the conclusion of the tour, as the students are escorted back to the Village entrance, the guides will quiz the students on what they learned throughout the day.

Upon booking a Student Tour of The Historic Village at Allaire, the contact person will receive, along with the contracts and pertinent information, an Educator's Packet which should be used in preparing the class for the tour. The packet contains important information about The Howell Works Company and James P. Allaire which, when discussed with the class prior to going to see The Historic Village, prepares the students for their trip to the Historic Village making their visit a more rewarding and enriched one.

The Historic Village at Allaire is capable of accommodating the requirements of Special Needs Students, however the Village Office requests that if the group is a Special Needs group or there are Special Needs Students in the group the contact person should inform the Village Office at the time of booking. While the guided tours of the Historic Village at Allaire are geared to a Fourth Grade curriculum level, the tours can be customized to fit the requirements of any group including university level students as well as Adult and Senior Adult groups. Combination Tour Packages are also available which include a visit to the Pine Creek Railroad Transportation Museum.

For more information on booking a Student Tour, please contact the Tour Coordinator, Mr. Todd Sylvia, at the Allaire Village, Inc. office.

Mr. Todd Sylvia - Tour Coordinator
Allaire Village, Inc.
PO Box 220
Farmingdale, NJ 07727
(732) 919-3500
Fax - (732) 938 - 3302