Tour A Forgotten Raritan Riverbank Village On Your Cellphone

MIDDLESEX COUNTY — Beginning this Saturday, May 15, Middlesex County will launch a virtual reality history tour of the forgotten Village at Raritan Landing.

Raritan Landing, once a bustling port on the Raritan River in Middlesex County, NJ, had all but disappeared from the landscape until artifacts and building structures were found lurking below Piscataway’s Johnson Park about 30 years ago.

The village would have been located approximately where East Jersey Old Town Village meets Johnson Park in Piscataway.

Now, using an augmented reality app on your cell phone, visitors can stand in the center of the village and see what it looked like 200 years ago. And as visitors walk through the park, they’ll encounter stories about the people who lived in the village, discover artifacts that helped to tell those stories, and even take a photo with George Washington on horseback.

To experience, this you need to download the QuestUpon app. Look for the program called "Uncovering Raritan Landing," which goes live on May 15.

Simply download the QuestUpon app on an iPhone or Android and play the Raritan Village quest any time or day starting May 15.

In addition to the Raritan Landing Quest, a permanent exhibit has been mounted at East Jersey Old Town about the community along with artifacts that have been recovered.

This was made possible through a partnership between the Middlesex County Division of Historic Site & History Services and QuestUpon. QuestUpon is an award-winning augmented reality company.

“History meets innovation in this first-ever augmented reality tour through New Jersey’s rich – and in this case, hidden – past,” said Middlesex County Board of County Commissioners Director Ronald Rios. “Raritan Village's history as a center for trade and technology – and as a destination for people seeking a better life – mirrors modern-day New Jersey. By using the QuestUpon app and your mobile phone, you'll have your own personal docent at your side every step of the way.”

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