HISTORIAN - David Blackwell VOICES OF 1778: THE AMERICAN ARMY IN HUNTERDON: PRELUDE TO THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH Join Historian David Blackwell of Hopewell, NJ for this provocative lecture that is bound to stir some controversy! Revolutionary War researchers and local historians alike have long debated the route or routes General Washington's Army traveled through Hunterdon’s Amwell Valley and surrounding hills on their way to the Battle of Monmouth.  New research, both recently published and ongoing, is answering that question through the voices of the very soldiers who made that journey.  Come hear the compelling echoes of June 1778 as told by the men who lived it.    April 13, 2014 David Blackwell is a native of Hopewell Township where he grew up in the context of his family and local history.  His ancestors were among the early settlers of Lawrence, Ewing, Hopewell, East & West Amwell, and Delaware Townships.  At the age of ten he began working on family history; by thirteen had acquired his own copy of “Pioneers of Old Hopewell” and had visited the state archives.  Through high school he continued to visit the Archives by taking the bus to Trenton, as well as visiting more distant relatives to identify and copy their photographs for posterity. He attended the University of Pennsylvania where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Architecture.  He went on to Cornell University where he took additional courses and taught in the School of Hotel Management.  He began his career in Construction Management in Ithaca. On his return to Pennington, he joined the Hopewell Valley Historical Society in 1990, for which he has served as President four times, and is currently Secretary.  In the last quarter century, he has researched and written more than a dozen feature articles for its Newsletter - most recently two on local participation in the Civil War, and one on ‘The Road to Monmouth’.  He is a speaker for the Society and for private groups. Also in 1990 he was appointed to the Hopewell Township Historic Sites Committee, later served a term on the Planning Board, and then in 2000 became a member of the founding group of the Hopewell Township Historic Preservation Commission, for which he helped write their Historic Ordinance.  He has served as Chairman of this group, and is currently the Vice Chair.  For them he has researched, prepared, and carried through more than 25 individual nominations to the Township’s Register of Historic Places.  He is on call for all historical queries that come in to Hopewell Township. In 2010 he was active in establishing the “Crossroads Historic District” in Pennington, including writing the Historic Preservation Plan Element, surveying the buildings to be included, and writing a brief history of the town for the document. More recently he and two other Hopewell Township residents sought to preserve the Jacob’s Creek Iron Truss Bridge, and the ravine through which Washington’s Army marched on December 25 & 26, 1776 to the Battle of Trenton. He wrote the eligibility document for the nomination and assisted in raising funds for the full nomination. It was approved, and there is now a state and national landmark in place. He maintains an active interest in historic houses, and inspects them for the Preservation Commission and for any other need that presents itself.  He has renovated two c. 1840 Greek Revival farmhouses - one in upstate New York, and another in Montgomery Township, NJ.   He is currently restoring an 1899 house in Princeton, NJ, where he now lives.  He retired in January this year, and intends to pursue all of his historical interests, including research and writing.