The Union Hotel [1] is a historic landmark located on Main Street in Flemington, New Jersey. It is a contributing property to the Flemington Historic District.
First constructed by Neal Hart in 1814, it served as a gathering place for well-to-do stagecoach passengers and socialites throughout the 19th Century, as well as many local characters and tourists visiting the area. The exterior of the present building dates to 1878.
It gained national notoriety in the early months of 1935 when the trial of Bruno Hauptmann for the kidnapping of Charles A. Lindbergh, Jr. was conducted directly across the street at the Hunterdon County Courthouse and members of the national media covering the trial all stayed at the hotel.
Decades later the property was purchased by new owners, renovated, restored, and converted into what is now officially known as the Union Hotel Restaurant. The second and third floors (which once housed hotel patrons) were left empty and unoccupied, adding to the growing mythos surrounding the widely recognized Hunterdon County icon. [2]
Murals created by Carl Ritz with the assistance of Kurt Wiese adorn the hotel. [3] [4]
In July 2008, managing partner John Blanos announced that the Union Hotel Restaurant would sell its liquor license but remain open. However, in August he announced that the restaurant would close, and that the liquor license would be sold to Bensi, an Italian chain restaurant soon to open elsewhere in Flemington. At a special Flemington Borough Council meeting in September 2008, the transfer of the liquor license was rejected, but Blanos nonetheless stated that the restaurant would close immediately and that he was negotiating with a potential buyer. Blanos said that the Union Hotel had been steadily losing money since he and his partners bought it in 1999. [5]
In November 2012, the Flemington Borough Council selected Flemington Union Hotel LLC to revive and restore the once prominent Union Hotel on historic Main Street. Flemington Union Hotel LLC's principals Matt McPherson and Liam Burns envisioned to revive the Union Hotel as a 50 to 55-room hotel that would expand into the building next door at 78 Main St. The plan called for adding a ballroom on the back and establishing a steakhouse and a pub on the ground floor. [6] In June 2015, they were found to be in default of the redevelopment agreement and removed as developers.
In February 2016, Flemington Borough Council selected Jack Cust as the new developer. His plans included demolishing the Union Hotel and replacing it with a new hotel, restaurants, retail space, underground parking, and a college. [7] This caused much controversy in and around Flemington. [8] In March, Flemington Borough council approved the plans. [9]
In September 2016, The Friends of Historic Flemington, a local group opposed to the redevelopment, filed two lawsuits against Flemington Borough. One alleging that the process to designate the hotel as an area in need of redevelopment was not properly followed and that the Borough failed to follow New Jersey's Open Public Meetings Act. The other alleging that the Borough failed to properly respond to requests for documents under New Jersey's Open Public Records Act. [10]
In March and April 2017, the Friends of Historic Flemington filed two additional lawsuits against the town. [11]
In May 2017, plans to demolish the hotel were scuttled [12] and a new plan to preserve the facade of the hotel and the Deats Building was introduced. [13]
In September 2020, Jack Cust unveiled another revision of the plans reducing the height of the building from 87ft to 63ft, preserving the Potting Shed building, and removing the medical and educational facilities. [14]
In November 2020, work to stabilize the old hotel began. [15]
In September 2021, the last remaining lawsuit between the developer and the Friends of Historic Flemington was settled resulting in adoption of the September 2020 plan. [16]
By April 2022, the demolition phase of the project had been completed. [17]
In January 2024, it was announced that David Burke (chef) would be opening a restaurant on the first floor of the hotel once it's completed. [18]
The belief that the hotel was haunted is quite prevalent, [19] though few members of the public were ever allotted access to levels above the dining hall where a few rooms are used by management for business purposes and ghost sightings or poltergeist incidents have been reported by employees. One reported seeing a pair of shoes walk up a staircase all by themselves. Others have told of hearing or seeing small children in rooms despite the absence of hotel guests. The manager claimed to have felt an unseen presence in her office late one night when she knew she was all alone. [19]
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county, with a population of 128,947, an increase of 598 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 128,349. Its county seat is Flemington. The county is part of the Central Jersey region of the state.
Califon is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,005, a decrease of 71 (−6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 1,076, which in turn reflected an increase of 21 (+2.0%) from the 1,055 counted in the 2000 census.
Delaware Township is a township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Part of the township is on the Hunterdon Plateau, while the southern portions are in the Amwell Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 4,560, a decrease of three people (−0.1%) from the 2010 census count of 4,563, which in turn reflected an increase of 85 (+1.9%) from the 4,478 counted in the 2000 census.
Flemington is a borough in and the county seat of Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Most of the borough is located in the Amwell Valley, a low-lying area of the Newark Basin, and the Raritan Valley, the South Branch of the Raritan River, which flows through the center of Flemington. Northwestern portions of the borough sit on the Hunterdon Plateau. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,876, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 295 (+6.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,581, which in turn reflected an increase of 381 (+9.1%) from the 4,200 counted in the 2000 census.
Frenchtown is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Frenchtown is located along the banks of the Delaware River on the Hunterdon Plateau, 32 miles (51 km) northwest of the state capital of Trenton. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,370, a decrease of three people (−0.2%) from the 2010 census count of 1,373, which in turn reflected a decline of 115 (−7.7%) from the 1,488 counted in the 2000 census.
High Bridge is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 3,546, a decrease of 102 (−2.8%) from the 2010 census count of 3,648, which in turn reflected a decline of 128 (−3.4%) from the 3,776 counted in the 2000 census.
Lambertville is a city within Hunterdon County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 4,139, an increase of 233 (+6.0%) from the 3,906 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 38 (1.0%) from the 3,868 counted in the 2000 census.
Lebanon is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 1,665, the highest ever in any decennial census and an increase of 307 (+22.6%) from the 2010 census count of 1,358, which in turn reflected an increase of 293 (+27.5%) from the 1,065 counted in the 2000 census.
Raritan Township is a township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,447, an increase of 1,262 (+5.7%) from the 2010 census count of 22,185, which in turn reflected an increase of 2,376 (+12.0%) from the 19,809 counted in the 2000 census. The township is located within the heart of the Amwell Valley and Raritan Valley regions, as the South Branch of the Raritan River flows through the center of the township. The northwestern portion of the township is located on the Hunterdon Plateau.
Readington Township is a township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16,128, an increase of two people (+0.0%) from the 2010 census count of 16,126, which in turn reflected an increase of 323 (+2.0%) from the 15,803 counted in the 2000 census.
Stockton is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The borough sits on the Delaware River at the western end of Amwell Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 495, a decrease of 43 (−8.0%) from the 2010 census count of 538, which in turn reflected a decline of 22 (−3.9%) from the 560 counted in the 2000 census.
New Providence is a borough on the northwestern edge of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Passaic River, which forms the county boundary with Morris County bordering Chatham Township. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 13,650, an increase of 1,479 (+12.2%) from the 2010 census count of 12,171, which in turn reflected increase of 264 (+2.2%) from the 11,907 counted in the 2000 census.
The Flemington-Raritan Regional School District is a comprehensive regional public school district in eastern Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grades from the neighboring communities of Flemington Borough and Raritan Township.
Hunterdon Central Regional High School is a comprehensive, four-year public high school, and regional school district that serves students from five municipalities in east central Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Students from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington, Raritan Township and Readington Township attend the school. It is the district's only school.
Marcia A. Karrow is an American politician affiliated with the Republican Party. She is currently serving as the mayor of Flemington, New Jersey. She previously served in the New Jersey State Senate representing the 23rd Legislative District from February 9, 2009 to November 23, 2009. She previously served for three years in the General Assembly representing the same district she represented in the Senate.
The Hunterdon County Democrat is a weekly newspaper that serves Hunterdon County, New Jersey. Currently owned by Penn Jersey Advance, Inc., its offices are in Raritan Township. It is one of the largest paid weekly newspapers in New Jersey, with an estimated total circulation of more than 21,000. It is published every Thursday.
Hunterdon Plateau is a plateau in western Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It borders the higher Musconetcong Mountain to the northwest, the Delaware River to the west, Amwell Valley to the south and the lower lying areas of the Newark Basin to the east.
The Flemington Historic District is a historic district in the borough of Flemington in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. After evaluation by the state historic preservation office (SHPO), it was listed on New Jersey Register of Historic Places ) and the National Register of Historic Places on September 17, 1980, for its significance in architecture and politics/government. One has been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS).
The Hunterdon County LINK is a bus system in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The system offers fixed-route and demand-response services throughout the county. The system is operated by the Hunterdon County Department of Human Services, and operated by Easton Coach Company. From 2011 to 2020, it was operated by First Transit.
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