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 envision 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 calls for adding a ballroom on the back and establishing an elegant steakhouse and a casual pub on the ground floor. [6] A special legislative bill is proposed to allow for a liquor license. [7] [8] [9] In February 2016 it was announced that the Union Hotel would be demolished and replaced with a new building on the site.[ citation needed ] This caused much controversy in and around Flemington, [10] and despite this controversy, the Flemington council approved the plans. [11]
In May 2017, plans to demolish the hotel were scuttled [12] and a new plan to utilize the building was introduced. [13]
The belief that the hotel was haunted is quite prevalent, [14] 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. [14]
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county, representing an increase of 598 (0.5%) from the 128,349 enumerated in the 2010 U.S. census, which in turn increased by 6,360 (5.2%) from the 121,989 counted in the 2000 census. Its county seat is Flemington.
Route 12 is a state highway located in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. It runs 11.69 mi (18.81 km) from the Uhlerstown–Frenchtown Bridge at the Delaware River border with Pennsylvania in Frenchtown east to an intersection with U.S. Route 202 and Route 31 at the Flemington Circle in Flemington. The route is mostly a two-lane undivided road that passes through rural areas of woodland and farmland. It intersects Route 29 and County Route 513 in Frenchtown, CR 519 in Kingwood Township, CR 579 on the border of Delaware Township and Raritan Township, and CR 523 in Raritan Township.
Califon is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 1,076, reflecting an increase of 21 (+2.0%) from the 1,055 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 18 (−1.7%) from the 1,073 counted in the 1990 Census.
Clinton is a town in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is located on the South Branch of the Raritan River in the Raritan Valley region. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the town's population was 2,719, reflecting an increase of 87 (+3.3%) from the 2,632 counted in the 2000 census. Despite its relatively small population, Clinton is the predominant control city for Interstate 78 traveling westbound from Newark.
Delaware Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Part of the township is on the Hunterdon Plateau, while the southern portions are in the Amwell Valley. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 4,563, reflecting an increase of 85 (+1.9%) from the 4,478 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 34 (−0.8%) from the 4,512 counted in the 1990 Census.
East Amwell Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 4,013, reflecting a decline of 442 (−9.9%) from the 4,455 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 123 (+2.8%) from the 4,332 counted in the 1990 Census.
Flemington is a borough in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the county seat of Hunterdon County. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the borough's population was 4,581, reflecting an increase of 381 (+9.1%) from the 4,200 counted in the 2000 census, which had in turn increased by 153 (+3.8%) from the 4,047 counted in the 1990 census. Most of the borough is located in the Amwell Valley and the Raritan Valley. Northwestern portions of the borough sit on the Hunterdon Plateau.
High Bridge is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 3,648, reflecting a decline of 128 (−3.4%) from the 3,776 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 110 (−2.8%) from the 3,886 counted in the 1990 Census.
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population was 3,906, reflecting an increase of 38 (+1.0%) from the 3,868 counted in the 2000 Census, which had declined by 59 (−1.5%) from the 3,927 counted in the 1990 Census.
Lebanon is a borough in Hunterdon County,in the U.S. stateof New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States census, the borough's population was 1,358, reflecting an increase of 293 (+27.5%) from the 1,065 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 29 (+2.8%) from the 1,036 counted in the 1990 Census.
Lebanon Township is a township located at the northernmost point of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 6,588, reflecting an increase of 772 (+13.3%) from the 5,816 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 137 (+2.4%) from the 5,679 counted in the 1990 Census.
Raritan Township is a township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 22,185, reflecting an increase of 2,376 (+12.0%) from the 19,809 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 4,193 (+26.9%) from the 15,616 counted in the 1990 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, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township's population was 16,126, reflecting an increase of 323 (+2.0%) from the 15,803 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn increased by 2,403 (+17.9%) from the 13,400 counted in the 1990 Census.
Stockton is a borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. The borough sits on the Delaware River at the western end of Amwell Valley. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 538, reflecting a decline of 22 (−3.9%) from the 560 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in turn declined by 69 (−11.0%) from the 629 counted in the 1990 Census.
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, New Jersey, United States. Students hail from Delaware Township, East Amwell Township, Flemington, Raritan Township and Readington Township.
Marcia A. Karrow is an American Republican Party politician who is the mayor-elect 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 Courthouse is an historic site located in Flemington, the county seat of Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States, that is best known as the site of the 1935 "Trial of the Century" of Bruno Hauptmann and his conviction and sentence of death for his role in the Lindbergh kidnapping.
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.
Frenchtown Solar is a group of three photvoltaic arrays, or solar farms, in Kingwood Township, about 3 miles east of namesake Frenchtown, Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. Two arrays are located just outside the village of Baptistown on New Jersey Route 12 The third and largest is to the south, off County Route 519.
The Flemington Historic District is a historic district in Flemington, 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 in 1980. One has been documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS).
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