The Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission completed the six-volume Somerset County Cultural Resources Survey in 1989.  The survey, which was partially funded with National Park Service - Historic Preservation Funds, was completed by Research and Archeological Management, Inc.  The Architectural Historian and Principal Investigator was Marvin A. Brown and the recommendations were prepared by Marvin A. Brown and Barbara Liggett, Ph.D.  In 1990 the Survey was accepted by the Cultural and Heritage Commission and approved by the Office of New Jersey Heritage of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.  It was adopted as an element of the Somerset County Master Plan by the Somerset County Planning Board.

The Survey was dedicated to the memory of the late Anne O’Brian, first president of the Cultural and Heritage Commission, Bedminster Township Historian and Council member.

The survey assessed 4,840 sites and structures in the County and determined that 565 sites and 23 historic districts were eligible or possibly eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.  The survey proposed multiple property historic nominations for metal truss bridges, stone arch bridges and Dutch barns.  All sites were mapped on U.S.G.S. quadratic maps or local base maps.  The survey contains a 32 page historic context which outlines a number of key historic themes in the County’s history such as agriculture, industry, transportation, religion, revolutionary war activity and ethnic settlement.  There is also a 40 page architectural history, and 150 pages of local histories and architectural histories.

There were 724 black and white photos and 488 color slides prepared.  Negatives for all of the historic sites in the report are on file in the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office.