Howell Living History Farm

Howell Living History Farm At A Glance...

The fields are farmed with dozens of horse-powered operations, using equipment from around 1900.
Every Saturday is a different farm event, from the January Ice Harvest and February maple sugaring to sheep shearing, the September Plowing Match and Thanksgiving hayrides.
The fall corn maze is billed as New Jersey's longest-running.
Tour a one-room schoolhouse and a late Revolutionary War period farmhouse in the Pleasant Valley Historical Park.
Todays Sunrise: 7:00 am, Sunset: 6:33 pm
New Jersey Delaware River Region Mercer County

About Howell Living History Farm

Howell Living History Farm is a working farm in Pleasant Valley, in Hopewell Township, run the way New Jersey farms were run between 1890 and 1910. Farmers and interpreters work the fields with horse-powered equipment, raise corn, oats, wheat and hay, and keep the animals that give milk, eggs and wool. On most visits you can watch the work up close, talk with the farmers, and often lend a hand. The farm is owned by Mercer County and operated by the Mercer County Park Commission, and admission and parking are free.

The history of Howell Farm is long and varied. Since farming began on this site in the 1730s, just about every type of farming situation has occurred here. The farm has evolved from a grain producing farm to a dairy farm, and over the years various crops have been grown, animals raised and products produced. It has gone through periods of family ownership and occupation and of absentee owners with tenant farmers.

Today the farm exists in its rural setting as both an example of farming as it was practiced in New Jersey in the period 1890 to 1910 and as a landscape where one can find the remnants of over 250 years of farming practice and life. It has grown from the 126 acres the Howell family gave Mercer County to a 273-acre historical park, which takes in the one-room schoolhouse and late Revolutionary War period farmhouse of the Pleasant Valley Historical Park.

Start at the Visitor Center, where every guest signs in and picks up the day's program. Each Saturday brings a different event tied to the farm year, from the Ice Harvest and maple sugaring in winter to plowing, sheep shearing, haying and hayrides, harvests, cider pressing and Thanksgiving hayrides, and on fall weekends the farm runs a large corn maze.

Activities:
- Walking
  A few nice trails
Amenities:
- Restrooms/Bathrooms
- Parking Lot(s)
- Picnic / Sitting Area
- Picnic tables
Trails:
- Flat / Easy
- Walking Paths
Farming:
- Corn Maze
- Hay Rides
Park Type:
- County Parks
- Historic Area
Attractions:
- Museum / Gallery
- Animals
Rules/Regulations:
- Alcohol Not Permitted
- Biking Not Permitted
- Horseback Not Permitted
- Dogs Not Permitted

Contact / Location

Primary Address:

Get Directions 70 Woodens Lane,
Hopewell, New Jersey 08530

Contact:

A Brief History

Farming began on this land in the 1730s. In 1974 the Howell family of Pennington gave the farm to Mercer County, and the Mercer County Park Commission's preservation and restoration work put it on the National and State Registers of Historic Places in 1978. The farm park opened to the public in 1984.

Its success led to the creation of the Pleasant Valley National Rural Historic District in 1991. Mercer County later acquired key properties in the district, and Howell Farm runs them as the Pleasant Valley Historical Park: a one-room schoolhouse, a late Revolutionary War period farmhouse, a cemetery, and the archaeological sites of a blacksmith shop, a gristmill and two sawmills. Today the farm covers 273 acres and welcomes more than 10,000 school children and 55,000 other visitors a year.

Programs / Education

School groups come for hands-on learning, and more than 10,000 school children visit each year. The farm also runs Children's Storytime, evening programs, internships and volunteer opportunities, and County naturalists lead Naturally Friends programs on the wildlife that shares the farm, from barn swallows and bats to owls and spiders.

Special / Seasonal Events

Corn Maze

The Howell Farm Corn Maze opens on fall weekends from mid-September into early November, with evening hours on Fridays and Saturdays in October. Each year's maze has its own theme and a puzzle game to solve along the way; the 2026 theme is Crossroads 250. The maze is the annual fundraiser of the volunteer Friends of Howell Farm, and the money goes to the farm's historic preservation work and its school programs. Dates, hours and prices are under Hours and Admission.

Saturday Events

Every Saturday brings a different program from the working farm year. In 2026 these include the Ice Harvest in January, maple sugaring in February, workhorse rides in March, lambing in April, sheep shearing and herding in May, Haying and Hayrides in June, the Mercer County 4-H Fair and wheat threshing in July, the annual Plowing Match in September, the Corn Harvest and Fall Foliage Wagon Rides in October, Cider Pressing and Thanksgiving Hayrides and Corn Picking in November, and Christmas on the Farm in December. Summer brings evening programs such as blacksmithing and animal chores, and County naturalists lead Naturally Friends programs on barn swallows, bats, owls, spiders and more.

Admission & Guidelines

Admission and parking at the farm are free. The corn maze has its own admission: for 2026, $15 for ages 13 and up, $12 for ages 5 to 12, and free for ages 4 and under, with prepaid group rates for 20 or more. Every guest is asked to stop at the Visitor Center to sign in and pick up program information. Dogs (service animals excepted), bicycles, horseback riding, feeding the animals, fires, camping and alcohol are not permitted.

Hours / Season of Operation

The farm is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and closed Sundays, Mondays and Mercer County holidays. The corn maze, evening programs, the 4-H Fair and some children's programs keep their own hours.

The corn maze runs on fall weekends from mid-September into early November. For 2026 it is open September 19 through November 8. On the September and November weekends and on October Sundays, entry is noon to 4 p.m. (last exit 5 p.m.); on October Fridays, entry is 5 to 8 p.m. (last exit 9 p.m.); on October Saturdays, entry is noon to 8 p.m. (last exit 9 p.m.); and on Columbus Day, October 12, entry is noon to 4 p.m. In past seasons the maze has been set up on Valley Road about a mile west of the farm, next to the former Belle Mountain Ski Area, so check the farm's corn maze page for where to go.

Facilities

The Visitor Center is fully accessible, and transportation to the historic barnyard and the fields is available on request. Parking is free.

Related Groups / Organizations

Below are a few groups that we have connected to Howell Living History Farm. If we are missing any, please let us know

Mercer County Park Commission

Nearby Places

Belle Mountain is about a mile west of the farm, beside the Valley Road field where the corn maze has been set up in past seasons. Baldpate Mountain and Washington Crossing State Park are in nearby Titusville, and Terhune Orchards in Princeton makes a good second farm stop in Mercer County.