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Knowlton’s Frank Van Horn Begins His Next Chapter

January 6, 2026

Frank Van Horn in honored by members of the Knowlton Fire & Rescue Company during his last Township Committee meeting as mayor. Photo by Joe Phalon.

Knowlton Township Mayor Frank Van Horn presided over his final committee meeting in December, as he retires after more than four decades in public office.

First elected to the Board of Education in 1978, Van Horn has served as school trustee, committee member, and mayor with only a brief interruption since his first election more than 45 years ago.

During that time, Van Horn has married more than 250 couples, including one ceremony in which he hung over a cliff on a rope to tie the knot for a couple who fell in love while mountain climbing.

Looking back on his years of public service, including decades organizing the Warren County Farmer’s Fair, Van Horn attributes his ability to get things done with the people he was surrounded by.

“I’ve done the best I could, and I’’ve been surrounded by wonderful people, dedicated, loving, kind people, and we have to remember here, this is just a small township committee here,” Van Horn said after wielding the gavel for the last time. “You’ve got to look at the big picture and try to be kind and consider everybody.”

The Van Horn family legacy traces back almost 400 years. The family settled on Manhattan Island and then moved to Hope, Knowlton, and the Blairstown area to build an extensive dairy farm business. It’s there he went to work at age 16—formally—although his work in the family business began informally almost from the day he was born.

At age 7, Van Horn was up at 3:30 a.m. to feed the 100 pigs on the farm, and by 16, he would rise at 1 a.m. to pick up a load of cream in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, and then drive it to Raritan Valley, New Jersey, where the cream was unloaded. He would then drive to school where his dad would meet him and switch vehicles.

“We grew up quick.” Van Horn said. “By 16, I was a man, not like today’s youth.”

But now it’s time to relax. Van Horn says he looks forward to spending more time with Mary, his wife of 54 years, and the rest of his family.

Joe Phalon, Contributing Writer

Contributing Writer

Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.