Appelget Farm

Part of Appelget Farm, viewed from Conover Road, Aug. 2022.

Historical Overview

A 10-acre farm sits at the large bend in Conover Road, showcasing corn, flowers, and more from spring to autumn. The property, called "Appelget Farm," is a member of West Windsor's "100 Club." It features over a dozen structures, including an American Foursquare-style house, a few silos, a large garage, a greenhouse, and several barns. At at the time of this writing (2024), the Appelget family has farmed the land for over 100 years. Although most of the once-sprawling farmland was developed into parks and suburbs decades ago, tract that remains still offers a window into West Windsor's agrarian past.

Most of Appelget Farms' buildings date to the early 1900s.[1] However, despite their old age, the buildings are not the property's original structures. In fact, this was once the site of a much-older farm, founded centuries ago by the Updike family.

The Updikes came to America in 1659, when Louris Jansen Op Dyck emigrated from Holland to present-day New York.[2] His great-grandson, William, brought the family to West Windsor. In 1747, he purchased over 700 acres here,[3] followed up by other substantial local land purchases nearby in the ensuing years.[4] The Updikes and other colonial families transformed the landscape into an endless sea of farmland and founded several small historic villages in the mid-1700s, including nearby Dutch Neck. The agricultural environment that these early families created would dominate West Windsor's identity until the late 20th century, when our town transformed into the suburbia we know today.[5],[6]

Extent of 1747, 1805, and current property boundaries (approx).

William had several children: William Jr., Levi, Rebecca, Mary, and Elizabeth. Each married into a different local colonial family. Their mother is unknown, but in 1761 William wed his second wife, Anne Hutchinson. An extensive genealogy from 1889 highlights the Updike family's connection to the estate, even after death: "There are many illegible old headstones in the [Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church] graveyard, but William and his sons probably lie buried under the crumbled moss-grown tombstones in [a separate] family burial-ground on the farm..." Where, exactly, this family burial ground was located has been lost to time.[7]

Upon his death in 1783, William divided his large estate among his children. About 250 acres passed to his son Levi,[8] who kept it for the next two decades. In 1805, Levi and his wife, Martha, sold about 120 acres to their grandson, Levi Jr,[9] who was a West Windsor Commissioner of [Taxation] Appeal from the 1810s-1830s[10] and also helped found the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church in 1816.[11] The old Updike farm further passed to another William in 1835,[12] and a third Levi in 1864.[13] This final Levi kept the property for the next several decades until around his death in 1912,[14],[15] whereupon the farm likely finally passed out of Updike hands after 165 years of ownership.

​It's unknown who immediately purchased the farm, but in 1917, Edward and Mabel Rose sold the estate to Slack Appelget and his brother, James.[16] Two years later, the farm passed to their brother, Rudolphus, and his wife, Elizabeth.[17]

Appelget Farm, 2022.

Appelget Farm (yellow arrow) and surrounding farming landscape, 1959.

The couple lived here for many years, and built many of the barns as well as the current house in 1920 to replace an older one that must have existed here during the Updikes' residency.[18] They also raised four children on the property: Margaret, Edith, Virginia, and Walter.[19] The farm has long been a family affair in the decades since.
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Walter, for his part, acquired the farm from his parents in 1945.[20] He and his wife, Cornelia, raised their children here: Joyce, Ruth, and Charles ("Charlie").[21] Walter, for his part, was a life member of the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company[22]  - a tradition that has carried on through the family. And Cornelia was a Sunday School teacher and involved in a few local agricultural organizations.[23] In the 1980s, during their ownership, much of the surrounding land was sold off and turned into suburban developments.[24],[25]

Eventually, Charlie and his wife, Susan, took over running the farm.[26] Charlie was for some time Chief of the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Company[27] - an office that their son, Kevin, has held for some time.[28] Charlie is also a member of West Windsor's Agricultural Advisory Committee[29] and Sue has been on the Township's Planning Board for some time.[30]

Charlie and Sue's son, Kevin, and his wife, Lori, took over running the family farm about twelve years ago.[31] They, too, are raising their kids here. They sell crops and flowers, and chickens roam inside the fence. They practice organic farming and maintain this historic property with roots dating back generations into old West Windsor.[32]

Appelget farmhouse, Nov. 2024.

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Bibliography

1. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1930.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1930. Shows the house and many of the current barns existing by 1930 (if not earlier), but their style (especially the metal barns and cinderblock garage) precludes them from having been constructed in the 1800s.
2. Opdyke, C. W. (1889). The Op Dyck Genealogy, Containing the Opdyck-Opdycke-Opdyke-Updike American Descendants of the Wesel and Holland Families. Printed for Charles W. Opdycke, Leonard E. Opdycke and William S. Opdyke, by Weed, Parsons, & Co. (Albany, NY)
3. Johnson, Ann, Johnson, Rut, Updike, William. Indenture. Windsor Township, 1747. Conveyance of 713 acres (as written in the deed) from Rut Johnson and his wife, Ann, to William Updike. Found in New Jersey State Archives Early Land Records, Volume G-3, Page 49.
4. Perine, James, Perine, Nealehe, Updike, William. Indenture. Windsor Township, 1747. New Jersey State Archives, 1747. Conveyance of 265 acres (as written in the deed) from James Perine and his wife, Nealeh, to William Updike. Found in New Jersey State Archives Early Land Records, Volume G-3, Page 51.
5. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1980.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1980. 
6. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 2002.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 2002.
7. Opdyke, C. W. (1889). The Op Dyck Genealogy, Containing the Opdyck-Opdycke-Opdyke-Updike American Descendants of the Wesel and Holland Families. Printed for Charles W. Opdycke, Leonard E. Opdycke and William S. Opdyke, by Weed, Parsons, & Co. (Albany, NY)​
8. Updike, W. (1780). Will of William Updike. Found in New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Book of Wills, Lib. 24, P. 288. Will written August 10, 1780. Proved May 13, 1783; witnessed by David Slayback, Moses Groom, and William Tindall.
9. Updike, Martha, Updike, Levi Jr., Updike, Levi Jr. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1805. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 6, Page 151.
10. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.
11. Sesquicentennial History: 1816-1966. West Windsor, New Jersey: First Presbyterian Church of Dutch Neck, 1966. Pamphlet located in the Archives of the Historical Society of West Windsor at the West Windsor History Museum (50 Southfield Road, West Windsor, NJ 08550).
12. Updike, Levi Jr., Updike, Mary Ann, Updike, William. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1835. Located in the New Jersey State Archives, Middlesex County Deed Book 6, Page 152.
13. Updike, Levi, Updike, Mary Ann, Updike, William. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1864. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 57, Page 463.
14. “Automobile Driving and Trolley Map of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1905 : from the Latest Geological and Actual Surveys.” Map. Princeton University Library - Digital Maps & Geospatial Data. https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-5q47rr19d, n.d. 
15. "Deaths - Updike." Trenton Evening Times. April 23, 1912.
16. Appelget, James G., Appelget, Slack U., Rose, Edward C., Rose, Mabel H. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1917. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 395, Page 426.
17. Appelget, Elizabeth, Appelget, James G., Appelget, R. Kirby, Appelget, Slack U. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1919. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 421, Page 203.
18. "West Windsor Tax Assessor Address List, 2019.” West Windsor, 2019. List of all residences in West Windsor with dates of construction, according to tax assessor. Sent to the Historical Society by Lorraine Jones and Dawn Moretti.​
19. "Obituary - Mrs. R. Kirby Appelget." Trenton Evening Times. May 26, 1955.
20. Appelget, Cornelia S., Appelget, Elizabeth, Appelget, R. Kirby, Appelget, Walter. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1945. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 908, Page 144.
21. "Obituaries - Cornelia S. Appelget." The Times. May 24, 2012.
22. "Obituaries - Walter D. Appelget." The Times. September 11, 1999.
23. "Obituaries - Cornelia S. Appelget." The Times. May 24, 2012.
24. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1980.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1980. 
25. “West Windsor Aerial Photography Composite Map, 1990.” Map. Historical Society of West Windsor - Map Archives. West Windsor, NJ, 1990.
26. Appelget, Charles W., Appelget, Cornelia S., Appelget, Walter. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 1999. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 3751, Page 229.
27. "Firefighter honored for 50 years as volunteer." The Times. December 6, 2010.
28. “Our Officers.” West Windsor Volunteer Fire Co #1. Accessed November 23, 2024. https://www.westwindsorfire.com/officers. Lists officers of the West Windsor Volunteer Fire Co. No. 1, and shows Kevin Appelget as its Chief at the time of access (November 23, 2024).
29. “Agricultural Advisory Committee.” West Windsor Township. Accessed November 23, 2024. https://www.westwindsornj.org/boards-committees/agricultural-advisory-committee. Lists members of West Windsor Township's Agricultural Advisory Committee and shows Charlie Appelget as its Vice President with a term to expire January 14, 2026. Accessed November 23, 2024.
30. “Planning Board.” West Windsor Township. Accessed November 23, 2024. https://www.westwindsornj.org/boards-committees/planning-board. Lists members of the Planning Board and shows Sue Appelget as a Class IV Board member with a term to expire January 14, 2028. Accessed November 23, 2024.
31. Appelget, Charles W., Appelget, Cornelia S., Appelget, Kevin C., Appelget, Lori. “Indenture.” West Windsor, 2012. Located in the Mercer County Clerk's Office, Mercer County Deed Book 6137, Page 584.
32. The author of this article, Paul Ligeti, knows the Appelgets personally.