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 He purchased the property in 1756 from a cousin of his wife, Cornelius Wyckoff, which was part of his holdings on the original Lot 5 of the Harrison Tract. Barnardus served as Revolutionary War soldier and as a local constable after the war.He was married to Leah Suydam and farmed the property for over four decades. When he died, his wife Leah continued to farm but mostly under the supervision of her four maiden daughters. The fifth was Magdalena, married Benjamin A. Hageman II. They had two sons, Bernardus (b 1810)and Benjamin (b 1812). Their mother Magdalena died in 1814 leaving two very young sons. Their father then persuaded her Garretson sisters to take care of them for him, as he could not run his farm and take care of them. So the young boys moved to the Garretson Farm and lived there into the 1840s.
Adrian and Catherine Hageman immigrated from Dutch Amsterdam to New Amsterdam either late in 1652 or early 1653, settling in Flatbush, New York. By 1701 farmland was not available for growing Dutch families. In 1702, four grandsons of Adrian moved to the Six-Mile Run area. A great, great grandson, Adrian, purchased 350 acres. He had seven sons and three daughters. One of their sons was Benjamin B. Hageman, who married Magdalena Garretson. You read about her two sons above. Benjam moved to the Bridgewater area to farm in 1845, after he married Jane Van Wickle, a direct descendant of Symen Van Wickle. He farmed there for sixteen years. While there, they had two sons, Garretson and Samuel. He must have done very well there as you will see in the next paragraph.
 In 1861, Benjamin was persuaded by his aunt Elizabeth, the last Garretson sister, to return to the Garretson homestead on South Middlebush Road. That very year he built the regal Italianate-Victorian house that we have today. His son Garretson graduated from the Rutgers School of Engineering in 1868, and was responsible design and construction of the Wagon, Horse and Dairy Barns built in 1876-7. There are no other barns like them anywhere else in the World. Their design was influenced by a combination of Dutch, English and Victorian design styles. Garretson kept a journal for over forty years in which he chronicles the 19th century rural life. He also went into some detail as to where he got his ideas for the barns. Benjamin had two sons, the oldest, Samuel who died in 1876, and Garretson. Garretson who became the area's land surveyor, civil engineer, and notary. The house passed to his son Peter, in 1933, after the death of his grandmother. Peter was the Franklin Township Tax Collector from 1928 until his death in 1943; his wife assumed his duties, continuing for another 24 years from the house.
For nearly 40 years, the large room off the south porch served as the official office of the Franklin Township Tax Collector. Peter's son, Garretson continued to live on the farm with his family until 1972, when the threat of the proposed Six-Mile Run Reservoir and state pressure forced them to leave.
The Hageman Farm remained deserted for five years, deteriorating from the weather, neglect and extensive vandalism. Public concerns and the postponement of the Six-Mile Run Reservoir moved the state to agree to dispose of the farm buildings. On July 13, 1978, the Franklin Township Council passed an ordinance authorizing the purchase of the farm and out-buildings for $100 and an annual lease of the surrounding 1.5 acres to be returned to the Township in lieu of taxes.
 Open
house tours of the Hageman House and Farm are held the Second
Sunday of each month. The Second Sunday house tours have been suspended until further notice.
Hageman Farm
209 South Middlebush Road
Somerset, NJ 08873
tel. (732) 828-7418
Map and directions
The Hageman House and Farm is available for third party-private events
including weddings, receptions, holiday parties, and corporate
meetings. For pricing and availability, please contact Carol
Sas at Carol@themeadowsfoundation.org
Thank you to all of you that joined us in celebration of
completion of the restoration of the historic Horse Barn at Hageman
Farm at Colonial Times. We had a great time and are so glad that you came to support the
Meadows. Pictures of Living History weekend can be seen here.
 UPCOMING EVENTS AT HAGEMAN FARM
“Who Killed the Lindbergh Baby?”
Please join us on Saturday, May 16, 2 p.m. at the Hageman Barn, 209 S. Middlebush Rd. when popular New Jersey historian Tom Ainsworth joins us to talk about the 1932 Lindbergh kidnapping. The “Crime of the Century” has hit rural Hopewell. The body of the infant son of Charles Lindbergh is discovered in the Sourland Mountains. A national manhunt begins. Was this an “inside” job? How was the perpetrator apprehended? Why did it take so long? What effect did the media blitz have on the trial? Was the evidence manufactured? Did the right man die in the electric chair? Was the lone participant caught the only guilty party? Would modern forensic techniques have made a difference? Come explore the many theories and get the facts about the trial that gripped the nation. Tickets are $10 each and can be reserved by calling (732) 560-1977.
Meadows to Host Farm Garden Workshop
Please join us on Saturday, May 30, 1-4 p.m. at the Hageman Farm for garden talks and planting demonstrations. Topics to be discussed include butterfly gardens, flowers, shrubs, planting a victory garden, herbs and vegetables, and heritage gardening. There will also be tours of the Hageman House and Barns, and a sale of gently used gardening books and cookbooks. Children’s activities too! The first 50 cars will get a free pack of seeds. Admission is $5/carload, and it’s a rain or shine event. For more information please call 1-908-789-2206.
Meadows Foundation to Host “Classic Urban Harmony” Program
Please join us on Friday evening, June 19, when noted music historians Pam and Charlie Horner present their lively program, “Classic Urban Harmony.” This multimedia presentation will include the history of Rhythm ’n Blues, early 1950s Rock ’n Roll, Doo Wop, and Soul. The program will be held at the Hageman Barn, 209 S. Middlebush Rd. at 7 p.m. Tickets @ $10 each and can be reserved by calling (732) 560-1977.
Two views of the antique rose 'Zephirine Drouhin.' This is a Bourbon rose, first bred in France in 1868. It is a climber and a repeat bloomer, whose flowers have a delightfully sweet fragrance. This rose is now in bloom at the farm on a newly installed trellis.
'Rose de Resht,' is an ancient Autumn Damask rose with a mysterious history. Rose de Resht blooms in waves about every 3-4 weeks from early Spring to frost. It was discovered and brought into commerce by Miss Nancy Lindsay, and English rosarian in the late 1940s while traveling in Iran. But let us hear her own words: "Happened on it in an old Persian garden in ancient Resht, tribute of the tea caravans plodding Persia-wards from China over the Central Asian steppes; it is a sturdy, yard high bush of glazed lizard-green, perpetually emblazoned with full camellia flowers of pigeon's blood ruby, irised with royal-purple blooms on oriental faience." (N.L. 849). Rose de Resht is also blessed with that wonderful 'old rose' fragrance and it is very disease resistant and needs little care. It is indeed the perfect rose for a beginning gardener to grow!
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