Events

Sunday, June 28, 2026, 12 p.m. – 2 p.m. Project P.U.B. 41 N. Bridge St., Somerville, NJ 08876 Portraying a licensed keeper of a public house, known as a publican, Michael Carver will capture the spirit of a tavern of the 1770s with parlor games, competitive toasting and sharing of period news and events. Program is free, but donations are appreciated. Reservations are required as space is limited: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/tavern-entertainments-tickets-1983382296841?aff=oddtdtcreator Food and drink are available to purchase from Project P.U.B. Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage State Historic Sites and Tapastre/Project P.U.B. are destinations for Sip & See Somerset, a passport to heritage tourism and craft drink in Somerset County: https://visitsomersetnj.org/see-central-somerset/ #SipSeeSomerset ? “History on Tap” features authentic colonial-era reenactors and musicians telling the stories of 18th-century taverns including Somerville’s historic Tunison’s Tavern as hubs of communities where people gathered to share news, engage in trade, and enjoy entertainment. Join the Wallace House and Old Dutch Parsonage Association monthly, March through June, on Sundays at Downtown Somerville restaurants for these family-friendly programs celebrating America 250. “Liberty Lives Here” is presented by the Downtown Somerville Alliance, celebrating America 250 in Somerville, New Jersey, with the sponsorship of the Wallace House and Old

Portraying a licensed keeper of a public house, known as a publican, Michael Carver will capture the spirit of a tavern of the 1770s. Portraying a licensed keeper of a public house, known as a publican, Michael Carver will capture the spirit of a tavern on the eve of American independence with parlor games, competitive toasting and sharing of period news and events. Program is free, but donations are appreciated. Reservations are required as space is limited. Food and drink are available to purchase from Project P.U.B. Wallace House & Old Dutch Parsonage State Historic Sites and Tapastre/Project P.U.B. are destinations for Sip & See Somerset, a passport to heritage tourism and craft drink in Somerset County: https://visitsomersetnj.org/see-central-somerset/ #SipSeeSomerset

The Dayton-Mersereau-Hendricks spy ring was General George Washington’s first organized intelligence network, predating the more famous Culper spy ring. Washington set up the Mersereau ring in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in early December 1776 when he asked Staten Islander Joshua Mersereau to recruit operatives that would report critical information from behind enemy lines on Staten Island.  Colonel Elias Dayton of Elizabethtown, an officer in the New Jersey militia, became involved with the Mersereau ring in 1777, expanding the network by adding more operatives including New Jerseyans Captain Baker Hendricks and his brother John Hendricks, and John Meeker. Operating primarily between Staten Island, New Jersey, and the lower Hudson River Valley, the Dayton-Mersereau-Hendricks ring passed intelligence to Washington about the British military’s numerical strength, its tactical operations, artillery positions, supplies, and naval assets. The network supplied critical information to General Washington and carried out important clandestine tasks that facilitated his crossing of the Delaware River in December 1776. It also provided intelligence on the British fleet, which helped shape Washington’s late-war strategy, and played a role in exposing General Benedict Arnold’s treason in 1780. Phillip Papas received his Ph.D. in History from the Graduate Center of the City University of New