Window To The Past

Title

Window To The Past

Artist

Regina Geoghan

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Window to the Past by Regina Geoghan. A window of an old general store showing the outside deterioration of time and neglect and the inside treasures of times past. The store,located at historic Waterloo Village, is named Smith's Store after the man who founded the village on abandoned farmland. Waterloo Village is part of the Allamuchy State Park in Sussex County N.J, featuring more than 20 of the original buildings of the 19th century canal town. Just as the Village has suffered through boom and bust cycles during its time as a functioning community, efforts in the past years to restore the buildings and make the village a viable open-air museum and tourist attraction have also undergone times of great support and times of little support. Work is underway once again to repair and bring back to good condition the buildings of the village, which include an inn, grist mill, general store, blacksmith shop, farms and other structures that were integral to the live of the village.
Waterloo Village reached its peak as a result of its accessibility for those traveling along the 102-mile journey of the Morris Canal. The canal ran from Jersey City N.J. to Phillipsburg PA and was a major route to transport coal from PA to Jersey City. Traffic reached a peak in 1866, when the canal carried 889,220 tons of freight, equivalent to nearly 13,000 boat loads. The village was located at a half-way point along the two-day trip along the canal and canal workers would stop at the village to stay overnight or for other of the services that the shops and workers of the town provided. After the end of the Civil War, when railroads began to expand, the canal was used less and less for transport and soon both the canal and the village went into decline. The canal was rarely used after 1900, causing the village operations to fail as well. By the time of the Great Depression, the village had become abandoned.
Effects were begun to restore the buildings in the 1960s. Volunteers raised funds and worked to accomplish this enormous task. The Waterloo Foundation for the Arts was established to help raise funds and to expand the operation of the village. It became a popular venue for performing artists, antique shows and other events. Unfortunately, after a few years, state aid and other funding was greatly reduced and the village was shut down. Now, as of last year, Waterloo Village has reopened and is scheduling events once again to a limited extent. Work has been renewed to do the repairs and work necessary to make this charming site a true living museum and venue for the arts, education and other activities.

Uploaded

September 27th, 2015

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