Specialties
Howell Living History Farm & The Pleasant Valley Historical Park What is now called Howell Farm has been a working farm for 285 years. As a living history farm, it operates on a full, working scale by raising crops and livestock, and by using the house and barns as people did in earlier times. Howell Farm continues as a working farm, contributing to New Jersey's legacy as the Garden State. Dozens of horse-powered field and transportation operations are used to farm 126 acres: from growing corn, oats, wheat and hay to raising animals that give us milk, eggs and wool. Each year, more than 65,000 visitors learn about the seeds, heritage breeds, and farming methods it preserves...and the ways they are still used to improve agriculture today. Howell Farm's calendar reflects the cycles of a fully functioning, working farm in Pleasant Valley, New Jersey during the years 1890 - 1910. Programs enable visitors to see real farming operations up close, speak with farmers and interpreters, and in many instances lend a hand. Factors such as weather, soil conditions and animal needs can impact operations at any time, resulting in program changes that reflect the realities faced by farmers then and now. Howell Farm is owned by the County of Mercer and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission. Brian M. Hughes, County Executive | Aaron T. Watson, Executive Director