The history of a hotel that once stood on the west side of Flemington’s Main Street has quickly turned into something much more. Part One began with Flemington’s first European property owners and ended with the Revolution. This article goes on from there, but only as far as the 1790s, when Hunterdon County acquired a new courthouse.
The history of the Union Hotel continues, following the sale in 1850 by innkeeper Mahlon C. Hart and wife Maria to a partnership of real estate investors.
Flemington, New Jersey
My last article studying the history of the Union Hotel began with the beginning of the Village of Flemington in the 18th century and left off in 1809 with Neal Hart as owner of what was then known as “the House of Neal Hart in Flemington.”
A sketch of the hotel in its later years.
My last article concerned an old restaurant on Main Street (today’s Higgins News Agency) that long ago sported a lovely arch along its front roofline. Previous to that, was the George Rea building, that had a similar arch on all four sides. Looking for the next building on Flemington’s Main Street with that unusual feature, we come to none other than the Union Hotel.
While going through my files I came upon an article about the Inn by Hunterdon historian Egbert T. Bush. It tells us much about how popular and important the Inn was, not just to Stockton but also to the surrounding towns.
Most of you, my dear readers, know that the famous Rockafellar family had its roots in Amwell Township, Hunterdon County. And we’re all familiar with one particular descendant of this German immigrant family, a man who prospered hugely from the opportunities afforded him in America—the famous John D. Rockafellar. Another descendant, although not a direct ancestor of John D., became the tavernkeeper at Skunktown (now known as Sergeantsville), and I am much more interested in him.
Recently I gave a talk at the Hunterdon Co. Historical Society on how to research the history of one’s house. While preparing for the talk, I decided to look over the history I did for my own house back in 1981. It was the first one I had ever done, and I hadn’t a clue about how to go about it. I found most of the owners of my home, but some of them were absentee owners, so I didn’t pay much attention to them. On reviewing my chain of title, I got curious about one of those absentee owners, and began to do some more serious research. It paid off with a pretty interesting story.