PARK RIDGE, N.J.—Enjoy great music in a unique historical setting at the Wortendyke Barn on Pascack Road in Park Ridge, as this year’s series of free summer concerts launches this Sunday. The calender kicks off on July 28 with Black Lace Blues from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
A blues band at its core, Black Lace Blues also pulls inspiration from rock, funk, and reggae, covering the classics as well as some originals. Some of the band’s musical heroes include Robert Johnson, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, Albert King, Santana, and Robert Cray.
Limited seating is available, and people are welcome to bring chairs/blankets. The museum inside the barn will open to visitors at noon before the concerts and during intermission.
The schedule continues monthly with The Slippery Chickens (retro rockabilly) on Sunday, Aug. 25 from 4 to 6:30 p.m.; Sharp Edge (rock ‘n’ roll) on Sunday, Sept. 29 from 4 to 6:30 p.m.; and the Annual Bluegrass Concert on Sunday, Oct. 27 from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
The Wortendyke Barn in Park Ridge has been a Pascack Valley landmark since its construction on what was once 460 acres owned by the Wortendyke family. It was used continually as a barn into the 20th century and is one of only six pure Dutch barn types in Bergen County.
The Wortendykes first settled in Pascack (now Park Ridge) in 1735. The land was maintained as a working farm until 1851. For years the age of the barn was debated by historians, who generally held that it was constructed between 1750 and 1800. Then, in 2006, scientists from the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory’s Tree-Ring Laboratory (part of Columbia University) took samples of the barn’s original supporting beams. Analysis showed that the trees used to make them were cut down during the 1759 growing season, which means the barn was likely erected in 1760.
This type of barn evolved in the Netherlands and came over to the New World with Dutch farmers who settled areas surrounding the Hudson River Valley. In the 18th and 19th centuries, these structures could be found all over Bergen County. Due to deterioration from the elements and because changes in agricultural practices rendered them obsolete, there are very few examples of this type of barn in existence today. Bergen County purchased the barn in 1973, saving it from demolition.
In 1997 the barn opened as a museum with exhibits on agriculture that include antique farm implements and tools, the history of the Wortendyke family farm, and the history and evolution of farming in Bergen County and the Hudson Valley. It is open seasonally starting in mid-May. Visit any Sunday from noon to 4 p.m. at 13 Pascack Road, Park Ridge. Admission is free.