Larisons Corners, also spelled Larison's Corners, is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

located along the border of East Amwell and Raritan townships in

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 128,947, making it the state's 18th-most populous county,New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

carrying German settlers was blown off course and instead landed at

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. The settlers resumed their journey north to New York City by traveling along

Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail", ...

, where they "fell in love with the land" while passing through Larisons Corners. Their settlement was first called "Pleasant Corners", and a German Reformed Church was established. Several members of the

Rockefeller family The Rockefeller family () is an American industrial, political, and banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the American petroleum industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries by brothe ...

are buried in the church cemetery. An inn was established in 1779 at the crossroads of Dutch Lane and Old York Road. The inn was sold and renamed Larisons Corner Tavern, and was "one of the Old York Road's most popular taverns, which featured ballroom dancing downstairs and a gambling den upstairs where professional card players fleeced farmers of their hard-earned cash". By 1811, "the name Larisons Corner had become attached to the surrounding town", and the settlement had a blacksmith shop. The nearby community of Ringoes held their annual Ringoes Grange Fair in Larison's Corner in 1940. It featured chicken-catching contests, bingo, music, and milking cows, while gambling and alcohol were forbidden.

References

East Amwell Township, New Jersey Raritan Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Hunterdon County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey {{HunterdonCountyNJ-geo-stub