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

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

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. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county,New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

carrying German settlers was blown off course and instead landed at

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. 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. The road was built along the Raritan tribe, Raritan tribe's Naraticong Trail, als ...

, 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 sector, industrial, political, and List of banking families, banking family that owns one of the world's largest fortunes. The fortune was made in the History of the petroleum industry in th ...

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