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The Metlar-Bodine House Museum, a State and National Registered Historic Place. serves as the historical and cultural museum for Piscataway Township, NJ. The house is the older of two remaining houses from the Colonial Port of Raritan Landing along River Road. In 1979 concerned citizens saved the House from imminent destruction. The Fellowship for Metlar House not-for-profit foundation was created to aid Piscataway Township in caring for its museum. A collection and accession policy reinforced the museum’s mission to interpret the development of the Raritan River Valley from prehistoric time to the present, with transportation as the connecting theme. A 2003 fire damaged the house and its collection; $2.5M restoration saved this New Jersey Vernacular style farmhouse and restored its collection. Its permanent collection contains over 2000 artifacts with area provenance (this includes towns that were once part of the original 300 square mile land grant) and are used in exhibits interpreting the museum’s theme, “From Indian Trail to Interstate.” The theme demonstrates changes to the ethnic, race, and religious character of the area over six centuries. These changes are linked to the museum’s mission: to interpret the development of the Raritan River Valley from prehistoric time to the present, utilizing transportation’s effects on the region’s society and its economics.
The goal of the museum is to have its Ross Hall Wall artifact on exhibit in a newly constructed Forever the Fourth Gallery for the celebration of the United States Semiquicentennial in 2026. Designated an “American Treasure” by the National Park Service, the Wall is a colonial artifact from the Ross Hall home in Piscataway where George Washington headquartered in 1778. It was there he wrote his military order designating July 4th as the official Independence Day. Although 1778 was the second-year anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, a formal date for the holiday had not yet been chosen. The Ross Hall Wall is the only surviving tangible link to this historical event.

The museum is continuing to operate with grants and donations and the support of the Township Mayor, Township Council and U.S. Congressman Frank Pallone.