ABOUT ALLAIRE VILLAGE ARCHIVES

The Historic Village at Allaire was once an iron-producing, factory-town known as the Howell Iron Works, Co. The Village was a self-sufficient community containing a carpentry and pattern making shop, a blacksmith shop, a bakery, a boarding house, a blast furnace, mills to finish iron products, a school, a church, a general store with a post office, and workers’ home. Iron produced at the village was shipped to New York City by wagon and steamship. It was used to produce steam engines parts in a factory also owned by our proprietor, James P. Allaire. The Howell Iron Works, as a community, speaks to the experiences of the economic and social changes of those who experienced early Industrial America. Today the Historic Village at Allaire is an interactive museum where visitors can experience history directly through hands-on activities.

​

The Archives are open to the public via appointment for the first time in 30 years. We hope to provide insight into local central Jersey history and help develop a deeper understanding of the past.