May 10, 2019 - New Jersey Historic Trust Premieres Documentary to Kick off National Historic Preservation Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, May 10, 2019

Documentary premiere at Craftsman Farms (Courtesy of Vonda Givens, Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms)

Documentary Filmed at Craftsman Farms Highlights Work of the New Jersey Historic Trust

MORRIS PLAINS, NJ – In celebration of National Historic Preservation Month in May, the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) and New Jersey Historic Trust premiered a short-form documentary at Craftsman Farms on May 4^th highlighting the role of historic preservation in saving New Jersey’s history and the positive impact the Trust’s grant programs have had on hundreds of historic sites across the state. The documentary was produced by On Demand with Rob Lowe, an award-winning program that highlights new stories and innovative concepts through short-form and long-form documentary on PBS.

“We are thrilled to be able to kick off Historic Preservation Month with such an impactful project honoring the work of the New Jersey Historic Trust,” said Lt. Governor Sheila Y. Oliver, who also serves as DCA Commissioner. “We congratulate everyone involved on the success of this outstanding collaborative project and are grateful to PBS for highlighting the important work we do to help preserve centuries of New Jersey history.”

Dorothy Guzzo, Executive Director of the New Jersey Historic Trust, was featured with Vonda Givens from the Stickley Museum, and Linda Caldwell Epps from Sankofa Collaborative in the short-form documentary filmed at The Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. Craftsman Farms, a 30-acre National Historic Landmark and the centerpiece of Gustav Stickley’s estate, is one of the most significant landmarks from the Arts and Crafts movement and was preserved with assistance and funding from the Trust.

“Historic preservation encompasses so many stories – preserving a place, preserving history, discovery, education, heritage tourism, revitalization, economic development and job creation, resurrecting traditional trades, and craftsmanship - so when we started this project, we weren’t sure what the focus would be,” said Executive Director, Guzzo. “We wanted to make sure that the holistic work of the Trust was well documented in this film and we are thrilled with the results and hope the national airing will introduce many others to the importance of preserving history and historic sites within their communities.” 

Ms. Guzzo also spoke in the documentary about the partnership the Trust has formed with Rutgers University Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities (MARCH) at Rutgers University-Camden to create a continuing education Certificate Program in Historic Preservation.  According to MARCH, the program is designed for those who want to gain a deeper understanding of the vocabulary and discipline of historic preservation and provides the fundamentals of contemporary historic preservation practice as well as opportunities for in-depth studies.

Following the May 4^th premiere, the 6 minute, short-form documentary will be distributed to nearly 200 public television stations throughout the United States, including local stations WHYY in Philadelphia and NJTV. In addition to public television stations, the documentary will be broadcast in the New York and Philadelphia areas on CNN, MSNBC, PBS, the History Channel, and HGTV networks. It will begin airing on May 27^th and run approximately 10 times a month for a year.

The full documentary is available to view online at: https://youtu.be/EG_9vj7EB7I.

New Jersey Historic Trust was created in 1967 to preserve New Jersey’s historic resources across the state.  For more information about NJ Historic Trust, visit: https://www.state.nj.us/dca/njht/. 

DCA was established in 1967 and today offers a wide range of programs and services, including energy assistance, housing vouchers, affordable housing production, fire and building safety, community planning and development, local government management and finance, and disaster recovery.

  For more information about DCA, visit https://nj.gov/dca/ or follow the Department on social media: