Exhibits

Parker farm

Doris and George Parker bought their farm in January, 1936. They purchased the 30-acre farm on Schalk's Crossing road from the Chandler Family, who had an unsuccessful poultry farm on the site and were forced to sell. The Parkers later added to this making a total of 125 acres. When the Parkers purchased the land it had a small bungalow home, hence the original name the "Bungalow Poultry Farm". The home was in poor shape and they completely renovated the interior, adding plumbing and later a second floor.

The Parkers had never farmed, although Mr. Parker had attended the short agricultural program at Rutgers after receiving an MBA. In addition, Mr. Parker had spent a year interning at the Forsgate Farm.

The Parkers, however, turned the poultry farm into an efficient operation in which they sold white eggs from their white Leghorn Chickens to the New York wholesale markets. During the years they ran the farm (1936 - 1959) they worked closely with the Rutgers Agriculture Extension, trying out new techniques and coming up with some of their own. All of these new techniques led to increased efficiency, something that the Parkers prided themselves in. This, in turn, lead to the Parker Poultry Farm being written up numerous times in not only agriculture magazines and journals, but also in the New York Times.

Their efficiency also led to an important government contract during World War II. The Parkers were asked to produce fertilized eggs which were the result of the mating of a chicken with a rooster. These fertilized eggs were sold to the government who would incubate them to a certain stage and then use the embryo to make a vaccine for the troops. This contract was instrumental in helping the Parkers become a success at their business and was testimony to their knowledge and skill at poultry farming.

In addition to the poultry, the Parkers grew crops that would later be bartered at the Grover's Mill for chicken feed. They grew corn and wheat which was raised with the assistance of one of their two hired men, Elton Robbins.

In the 1950's the Parker's were finding that poultry farming was no longer profitable. This New Jersey-wide problem was due to increased competition from the south. They went out of business in 1959 and Mr. Parker began working for Walker-Gordon as a purchasing agent, while Mrs. Parker also went back to work.

In the mid 1960's they began to look for buyers of their land as they were interested in retiring. It took ten years to sell the land, and although they did not want to sell to a developer, their retirement forced them to do this. In 1976 they sold their farm to the developer Soloman Reeder who in turn sold the land to U.S. Homes who developed the Princeton collection. The Parker home was destroyed to make way for the development. Parker Road is named after the Parker family.

Doris Parker at egg grader. In the background is the incubator where chicks were hatched. Photo circa 1936-1937.