Family Campout, Canal Day planned

The party’s going strong for Byram’s 225th birthday, and the Byram Township Historical Society is partnering with the Patriots’ Path Council of the Boy Scouts of America for a special family event.

On June 17-18, they will host the Great Byram Family Campout at Camp Somers at Mt. Allamuchy Scout Reservation, including free overnight campsites. Camping is not required to participate in the weekend’s itinerary.

Activity fees for the weekend are $15 a person for anyone older than 5, and tents will be available to rent for $10.

Check-in begins at 8 a.m. Saturday, June 17 and programs open with a ceremony at 10 a.m. After that, campout participants will have a chance to try their hand at backwoods engineering, Dutch oven cooking, range shooting and archery, ropes and rock-climbing courses, hiking, fishing and more.

Programming ends at 4 p.m. to allow time for dinner before evening lawn games and a group campfire. The camp trading post and dining hall will be open at various points during the weekend, and an ecumenical church service is being offered Sunday morning before check-out.

Online registration is required.

For the full schedule of activities and to register for the campout, go online to https://bths.us/event/great-byram-overnight-family-campout

For information about the amenities and campground at Camp Somers, call the camp office at (862) 799-2717.

The campout is open to all area families, not just residents of Byram.

Canal History Day

The Byram Township Historical Society also is partnering with the New Jersey State Park Service, the Canal Society of New Jersey, Realty Executives, and the New Jersey State Division of Travel and Tourism to present the Greater Byram Morris Canal History Day at Waterloo Village on Saturday, June 24.

The rain date is Sunday, June 25.

Visitors may tour the historic canal-side village, watch live demonstrations of blacksmithing and other historical trades, take canal boat rides and more.

The event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and admission and parking are free. There will be live music, food trucks and craft vendors throughout the site.

Greater Byram Morris Canal History Day celebrates the rich 19th-century history of Byram and the bustling trade along the 102-mile-long Morris Canal, which ran between Phillipsburg and Jersey City. Waterloo Village was the approximate halfway point along the canal, which carried coal, grain, wood, beer, bricks, hay and other materials inland toward the urban centers and ports of northeastern New Jersey.

For information, go online to https://bths.us/event/byram-history-day-at-waterloo-village/

To learn about the Byram Township Historical Society’s mission of education and preservation and see a list of upcoming events, visit www.bths.us or email info@bths.us