Delaware Valley’s very own media center assistant Richard Epstein published his own book this summer filled with the history and culture of Del Val sending district Frenchtown.

Epstein first came to Frenchtown in 1977 to be an editor at “Delaware Valley News,” and he immediately fell in love with the small town.

Epstein quickly discovered that Frenchtown is not only a quiet New Jersey town, but it is also a historic place with quite an interesting backstory.

In 2015, Epstein came up with an idea of giving guided tours of Frenchtown, so to prepare, he started tremendous amounts of research, using a variety of different resources.

“My biggest source was old microfilm of the old newspapers,” said Epstein.

Then, in 2019, Epstein began writing all of his newly learned knowledge down for what would become his book.

“I thought it was easier to write all the information down so people didn’t have to start from scratch when wanting to learn about Frenchtown,” said Epstein.

When Covid shut everything down, Epstein spent his lockdown looking through microfilm, writing and visiting the Hunterdon County Historical Society.

“I worked with the director of the Hunterdon County Historical Society back in my newspaper days, and he was kind enough to let me work in the research library,” said Epstein.

With all this information, Epstein thought it was a no-brainer to start writing a book.

“Frenchtown” provides an in-depth timeline and background information of the entire town dating back to the 1700’s. 

“I always saw Frenchtown as just another small town, but I found out [from Epstein’s book] that it has an important history,” said sophomore Melanie Tramo. “Wars, Native Americans and colonization all happened here.”

Mr. Epstein’s, “Frenchtown” is not just another touristy story, but an intriguing and insightful book that is filled with history. “Frenchtown” is a perfect read for anyone who is interested in the more in-depth past of Frenchtown.