Trains and Mansion Tours at Kuser Farm Park

Kuser Park is a magical place to visit during the holidays. It is always decked out in the month of December and there are numerous events. The activities here are unique and ones that everyone would enjoy. 

The great part about visiting Kuser Farm Park is that visiting anytime in December can be wonderful. I have visited it on three different years. I have had fun on every visit. The best part about it is that visiting the park, driving through the lights, visiting the mansion and seeing the trains are all free!

Kuser Farm Park

The first year that we went we went on a day when there were no other events happening. We arrived close to dusk. The kids had fun walking around and seeing the lights on the large tree and the mansion. They were amused by the park decor as well. There were some decorations placed along the road through the park. There was a radio station listed that you could tune your car to in order to play Christmas music as you made the short drive.

Some things you will see in the park are beautiful landscaping, a barn, garages, gazebo and a yellow building that was the laundry room for the family. If you are a tennis lover like myself you may be interested in seeing the clay tennis courts. Many famous people played tennis here and they were known as some of the best courts in New Jersey. The Kuser Mansion is also in the park. From the outside you can see its Queen Anne Victorian architecture, sun porch and terrace around the second floor.

Where is the Kuser Farm Park and Mansion?

The Kuser Farm Park and Mansion are located at 390 Newkirk Ave, Hamilton Township, NJ 08610.

Are there bathrooms?

There was a small house that held bathrooms on the grounds of the park. There are no public bathrooms inside of the mansion.

Where is parking?

There is a parking lot as you enter the park from Kuser Road.

When are the Kuser Farm Park and Mansion events in December?

Winter Wonderland Event & Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 6, 2024 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Winter Wonderland Event & Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 7, 2024 from 2:30 pm to 7:30 pm

Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 8, 2024 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm (Visits with Santa are also in the Mansion from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm)

Mansion Tours on December 10, 2024 from 10 am to 2 pm

Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 11, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Mansion Tours on December 12, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Mansion Tours on December 13, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Mansion Tours on December 14, 2024 from 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 15, 2024 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm

Mansion Tours on December 17, 2024 from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm

Mansion Tours & Jersey Valley Model Railroad on December 18, 2024 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm

If you need any further details check out the calendar here: Kuser Farm Mansion.

Kuser Mansion Tours

One year I did this at Christmas with two of my friends. The first two floors of the mansion were open for touring when we visited. We were all blown away by the beautiful Christmas decor in the mansion. We also liked learning about the different rooms and the family as we walked through. I was impressed that the tour was also 45 minutes long.

The next year I went back with my family and some of the decor had changed. They loved all of it too. While there are tours offered at other times during the year this is the best time to visit due to the extra decorations. There are a few spots that make for some great photos as well.

Who built the mansion?

It was built by Mr. Henry Ahredt and his crew.

What is the history behind the mansion?

This was the 22 room summer home for Fred Kuser. Initially this was a 70 acre estate and 22 acres of it are still preserved today.

Rudolph Kuser had immigrated in the 1800’s from Zurich, Switzerland along with his wife Rosalie from Austria. They bought the Timothy Lord Farm in Hamilton. It was a working farm with Jersey cows and crops such as asparagus. They raised their six children there. There is now a restaurant on this property called Chick and Nello’s Homestead.

Their eldest son Fred Kuser married his wife Teresa Doelger in 1884. Her father was the founder of the Peter Doelger Brewery. She was from New York City so they made their home there. He bought the 70 acre B. Goldy Farm across the street from his parents for $7,000. He bought the property to build their summer home. The couple went on to have 10 children here.

During the building of the mansion on the property he imported many fine materials. I was impressed by the room upstairs with the Delft tiles around the fireplaces as I had only seen these before in the Netherlands. There are also beautiful tiles of different colors surrounding each fireplace. The mansion was built in 1892.

What will you see inside?

The first two floors of the mansion are open for public viewing. As you enter the mansion you will see the drawing room. There is also a morning room and a dining room. I liked how there was a butler’s pantry between the dining room and the kitchen. This pantry even had an area where dishes could be kept inside a portion of the wall to stay warm until they were ready to be served. The kitchen had an impressively large stove that is 230 years old and original to the house.

As you go up the stairs be sure to notice the beautiful stained glass windows.

Upstairs the rooms have different color schemes. The Rose room was the master bedroom. It is easy to figure out which one this is due wallpaper laden with roses. It also has an attached bathroom and attached mini room with a crib. The writing desk is in a prime spot adjacent to the three windows.

The Delft Bedroom is the girls bedroom that is blue and white with an attached bathroom. The Gold Bedroom is another girls bedroom. There is an office as well that has floral wallpaper. There is also a bathroom and the Brass bedroom for the boys that has brass bed frames. The sewing room was fairly large which seems like a nice luxury.

Despite being a mansion this home still had a cozy feel with its decor and layout.

What are some things of interest inside the mansion?

Fred Kuser had business interests in Lenox, the Mercer Motor Car Company and the Fox Film Company. Things related to these can be seen inside the mansion. Check out the license plates and photographs of different cars in the hallway upstairs.

In the downstairs you can see the area where they would show silent movies to dinner guests on their projectors. There is an 18-foot curved CinemaScope screen. Look out for the film reels on the desk in the office upstairs as well. There are still outdoor movies shown in the park throughout the year.

The basement of the mansion houses the Jersey Valley Railroad. HO gauge trains can be seen at certain times of the year.

What are other ways in which the Kusers impacted New Jersey?

Many Kusers were influential in other areas of New Jersey as well. They were involved in many places around the state such as Baldpate Mountain, Fernbrook Farms, High Point State Park and more.

The Lenox Company rose to prominence with the help of John L. Kuser after its founding in 1889. The Kuser Family helped the People’s Brewing Company that was founded in 1890. He also helped Mercer Automobiles become founded in 1909.

John L. Kuser also purchased 350 acres of farmland at Baldpate Mountain (often known to locals as Kuser Mountain) in 1910 intended for pheasants. He built a hunting lodge, main house and aviary at the site of an old farmhouse. His son, John L. Kuser Jr, became the first Kuser to live there year round. He was also the treasurer of the Lenox China Company. His one son John Erdmann Kruser lived at the property until the age of 17 and his son Michael Kuser lived there until 1987.

John L. Kuser had also moved to Fernbrook Farms in Chesterfield in 1897. Members of the Kuser Family are stewards of Fernbrook Farms. Larry and Susie Kuser established an environmental education center here in 2001. My son has enjoyed many homeschool classes here. The property is also notable for its John Newbold House and Water Tower.

Colonel Anthony R. Kuser was a director in over fifty corporations such as the Prudential Life Insurance Company and the South Jersey Gas, Electric and Traction Company. He was on the staff of Governor Abbett, Wertz and Griggs. He was very interested in environmental conservation. Anthony himself was a founding member of the New Jersey Audubon Society as well as the New York Zoological Society. He also helped start the The Fox Film Company by giving a $200,000 loan.

John and Anthony Kuser purchased the High Point Inn in 1910. They transformed this into a country estate and wildlife sanctuary of 11,000 acres. They later donated this to the state in 1923. Colonel Kuser was the one who commisioned the monument at High Point State Park. The lodge was later razed after it fell into a state of disrepair in 1995.

How much do these tours cost?

They are free! Feel free to give a donation.

How long are the tours?

They are 45 minutes long.

Information in this section was obtained from me attending two tours and from this brochure here: Kuser Mansion Brochure. Some information was also from here: Fernbrook Farms ,Kuser Family, The Kuser Years, Trenton History and the Baldpate Mountain Brochure.

Jersey Valley Railroad

The Jersey Valley Railroad Club was formed in 1978 in Hamilton. It is a club that works with HO gauge trains. The layout is called Jersey Valley. Some of the section names are Pine Grove and Pleasant Plains.

Where is it located?

The basement of Kuser Farm Mansion.

What will you like seeing here?

One thing we liked the most was the roundhouse turntable for the trains. We enjoyed following different trains as they ran. One train went into a tunnel and we were surprised at the location where it emerged again.

I was impressed by how detailed the streams were. My son enjoyed seeing the slew of old cars around the display.

What things in real life can you find that are also in this display?

There is a model of the Hopewell Train Station.

One of the trains says Jersey Valley RR, referencing the club.

Conrail 8206 was a train that had operated in Ridgewood, New Jersey.

There is an Acela 2006 that could also be found in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Acela can also be found at a Suburban station (a station in Philadelphia) at the bottom of the tracks.

One of the trains says Raritan River. The Raritan River Railroad can be found in Middlesex County.

There is an area called Pleasant Plains.

There are also some references to Pennsylvania such as a Lehigh Valley Railroad train

There is a Greyhound bus. These can usually be seen departing from Newark.

There is a Belvidere Theater. This was a real theater that is now operated by the Country Club Players in Belvidere.

There is a Happy Panda restaurant. There is a Happy Panda restaurant in Wayne, NJ.

The first two cars on one of the trains reference the New Haven Connecticut railroad.

There is a truck with an ad for the Shoprite Can Can sale. I can definitely remember shopping during this sale as a kid.

There is a Hamilton Train Station.

You can’t miss their Trenton Makes bridge when you walk in.

Winter Wonderland at Kuser Farm Park

This is a well known Christmas event that occurs at Kuser Farm Park each year. This event has lots of fun activities, This year some of these will include pony rides, wagon rides through the lights, a small Candy Land Express train ride, Candy Lane cottage, a Gingerbread bounce house and more! The mansion and model railroad tours that are mentioned above will also be going on during this event.

Read all the event details here: Winter Wonderland.

Location: Kuser Farm Park

Dates and Times: December 6, 2024 from 4:30 pm to 7:30 pm & December 7, 2024 from 2:00 pm to 7:30 pm

Our Experience at Winter Wonderland

We went this year for our first time! We loved it! There were lots of lit-up Christmas decorations, inflatables and more throughout the park. There were a lot of cars but parking was still easy to find on a side street. All of the workers did a great job in keeping the lines moving quickly.

The event was set up with a Candy Land theme. There was a gum drop trail, mini Candy Land Express train ride and more. We enjoyed going through three houses that were decorated to look like giant gingerbread houses. One gave out cotton candy, another gave out bags into which you could put different types of candy and another had reindeer food you could put into a bag for yourself.

After that we went to do the bonfires to warm up. Then we went on the mini train ride to the right of the mansion. Afterwards we headed to do a wagon ride through some of the Christmas decor along a small trail. It was a lot of fun since the ride was a bit bumpy and steep at times. Our favorite part was the inflatable decoration of Santa on a monster truck. We then got some hot cocoa and walked around the mansion and tree before heading back home.

Worksheets

I made this set of four worksheets. There is a history sheet about the Kuser Family and a worksheet related to them as well. There is also a scavenger hunt for the mansion and for the Jersey Valley Railroad in the basement. If your kids enjoy the worksheets they may also enjoy these worksheets related to the Lower Trenton Bridge. There is a Trenton Makes World Takes Bridge in the Jersey Valley Railroad display.

Things to Do Nearby

Want to check out other things while you are here? Visit some of my other favorite places in Hamilton: Hamilton Hot Spots. I love to frequent the spots mentioned in this article.

We often also visit the Martel’s Christmas Wonderland since it is close by. It opened on Black Friday and is open until New Year’s Day. This is a walk-through holiday light experience on their property. You can see where the family won the Great Christmas Light Fight in 2020. Visiting this house is a Christmas tradition for many New Jersey families. Remember that parking may be difficult if you visit on a weekend. Sometimes Santa will appear here on a Sunday. The house is located at 21 Phillips Avenue in Hamilton.

Where to Stay

Planning to spend a night here in order to enjoy all the amenities of the area?

Here are options for places to stay:

Be sure to visit Kuser Farm Park and Mansion during the month of December! It is a magical experience that your family will enjoy.