newsletter archives: 1998-1999

8/9/2019 Newsletter Archives: 1998-1999

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The

QIn-untt!QIir.cula:rMorris County Heritage Commission

VOL }O. NO . 1 SPR/lI ' G 1998

MargaretKembleM arne<! on Dt.cember 8. 1758. '"

Moms!O"'n. New Jersey,Mill].am Kemble "' 'a s sure ly the mOSIgllmI>Tf)U$bnde of 18th cemUF)', Ne w

Jersey. Onc-quancr Erlj;hsh. onequaner <irttk. on..-quaner Fren<:handone-quancr DulCh. her beau!)' was 1101coo''ftIUOTIJ.Ian d ",hed as much onhCT pnwnahty 15 on tho proportions

o f her rea!UJl:s. Accordma 10 • , , ~ U -

1mo"11 an h,stonan "she was bothsrnslll\'e and exqUlSl1e an d ....d charm

nlher than .tatl 'CS<lue beauty. Herlarge dark eyes expreued bothIt\\elh&ence and feelm,",

She roamed an Englishman,"Tho1TW <iIIg.o.the Sttond son o f theV)JC(lunl of Gage an d the fururecommander of the: Bnllsh foren mNorth Ameno • . ServIng a s , Colonel,n !he Bnny. .rmy, he ultImatelyhenm. the most powerfulf.oghshman on the conhnrn L

Margam Kemble.11k<:her husband.c . ~ from dlSlmgulshcd ancenry.n.. olclest <bughtcrof P.,\er Kemble.an Englishman born I n Sm)ma .... Sl.Mwor. " 'ho hi d been educalCd In

EnSland. the grandd3ughltT of aGreek anS IOCnl! from the Island ofHdO$,whom her grandfather, RIchardKemble, an Eng hsh m=:ham woriong

by Frances D. Pingeon

""quire..! I l l r ~e ' t a : ~I n MomSto"'nwh,ch ellkndcd ahnosl four mIlesfrom the I n t = l i o n o f T ~ m p cW,ckRoad to M t. Kemb le Avenue (namC<lafter hIm) almru;t to tile town itmltsl ie buIlt. mansIon h o ~there wherehe lwed wm! hIS d e ~ t hI n I '8?Kemble 5cf\'cd on the Go,emor ' ,

council In the rears before theRevolution and was on. ' If the mostprommenl an d w c a l t ~ , e s lmen I n 1 ...colony .

It \\'as se".ral } •• n before th"prQblcms wllh the mam.ge began 10

surface. From all outward SIgnS, Ihey" 'C« ' perfectly matched- \largarelre,-cled In he r 5OCLI.! ;>MIllon a i a

.~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ : ; ~ ! ! ! ~ 5: : : i ; : ;~ , IeadIJl,ll 1\o$teS$I n "'"wYork Cu y andage was proud of her e ~ t r a O r d 1 l l a

charm and chanMlU.. HI5 fello"officers called her the -l)uche ss "

I n Turkey, had mimed, she bro ughtfomgn blood into an EnShsh family,In 1730, her father cam. 10 NewJ<:fSC1.' and settled al f'UC3laway

Landing w ~ he. earned Of\ aIhrwmg busIness , li e marne..!Gertruyd Baywd, first COUSin of \heVIJI Counlandts, lhe DeLane.)"s an dlhc Van Rensse!.ers,ltadlnJl famlhuof N ~ w York, Circa 1850, he

When Margaret Kemble mamedThomas Gage In 1758, there \ \ ' l I ~lut!.O!' nO tens.on between lhe colon.esand the Mother country, She had nopremorullon !hat a rebellion .n thecolome$\\'Owdd,,"Uk ~ . e rpcopk fromher hu$band's, n.er., " " . no SIp ' 'I fImpcndll1,confhct

QbVlousir Margaret had de"elopedstrong I.es 10 New Jersey and lQ the

( _ " . " " " 0. pall' J)



,.,.,

LENA EDWARDSMorris County's Angel of Mercy

' l1m gh m.lQ)' in Morris County I:Iave.I.. ..e"C I lIcarti of her. physician u,naEdwards s urely "Ilks as on e of theCOlIn!),',greal(si ""()I1Jen.

Lena Edwards W3 $ bom on Sepl C m ~ rI i . 1900. 10 Dr. Thomas aDdMane Ed ...u!b. Lc:",,'s p,Dte:!.tam fa!ber, • profeuor of drnIistty ' " HowardVllwen!!),. lnslUIed m his da.ugbler aotTCIftisense of lOtial len'l« aDd civico;ofIUm . . . 1ille her CaIboIic rI10lbcr in-

buaI II I Iw:r • wong religiou< faith.LcILl. Ilad "'-0 bfo(her$ and 0 "" SIsIC<_AI prominent members o f !he blackmiddle CISSli ;n WashIngton, DC . theEdwards hJ d conlaCI$ with many blackprofenional5, and 1....:""grew up v.ith .."olli sense of ...cia l pride.

1..<:113Ed,,'ards enrered m. HowardUIIi'-elm), Medil:al Scbool in 1921. !be0111)' female in ller clasa Sh e marriedcbssmale Jolin Madiso n upon gDduatioob<II tonrinued 10 use beT nWdn> IllrDe 50

dial p r o s p c c : ' i ~palienfS would no t CODtuse he r ""'thher husl>lml. Afie. compIeuDg her IJIIttQShip II Frcedm.ln',HOIopllal 1II W a s b ~ 1 g t o n .D.C • ,b e &Ddhe, husbaod m o ~ e d10 !he !..af.ye""~ ( i < > nor Jersey Clry. moli-"IIO:! bytheir sean:h (Of ;,uegrated parochWs.::booIs. Here !lie couple served. com-muni!)' comprisal primari ly of EasternEuropean Call1oiks. According \0Edwards. "[F)ortullJlely I wa s in •""ighborllood of people from E.mEurope. lite !he I'ol;sh and !he Slavishalld " ~ m o I .and \bey ....en: U$ed 10"'"0111(11. espc-c:u.Uy fo r ma!enlil}' cases.They would come 10 me ~ . . . . ,~ .

could l i l t freely DQ me. I built up aprxou fllfl}' wen··,C»· well. as aIIl1UI!f of 0 0

Ed .. .rds lIIIde bouse callsthrougbow !he city. e v a ! . . . . veling \0 met.o.u oa the Morris C..w wbr:-re sbeofteD bad 10 Jump frOIO one boa! 10illJO!bef\0 reICh her patieots. She wa s aspeocial friend and l d v o c ~ l eof JerseyCitY's black community. Her lhird child

Dr. /...t7IIJF. £d>,,,,,ds ~ 1MpmidtnJi4J M.II<>Irt" f".dI;lJI.

was the fir!! to be boptized in tbc """,.bbck Catllolic cbun:b Of CIuis! !he KingIIIJerxy Cil}·. c o m p l ~in 1930.

D e s p i ~ber s'lOCases. Edwards~ dtfficu lties. \\'bm sbe join-

ed !be 5u.ff of !he MlUjlUeI HlgueHospiW in Jersey CiI:)" in 1931. dlt"ClUef of Slaff lOkI br:-r. "You kno ....""e'", b:aving I little difficulty becameyou're OD !be S\J.ffof tbc bospiw. Youmust remember tba, you b:ave <WI) h.tn-dicaps: rust. you, '", I WOIILlD. an d se

condly. >'0'.1"", I Nci'O." Edwuds IOIdhim WI tile bospifa l ,,'Ould h ave" , finda b t \ 1 ~ rexcoue for IlOl wonting her. Sbes t a ~on. !bough the bospiul refiaW togu m ber residency sta!U$ unrill945.

WIlile prac licina al !be ho:spital,Edw am voic:ed be l concerns over !beissue of race. especbll y "beD ;, affectedbel" ~ e - n r s . On<;c: sbe ~ D g r i l y

confrOaled the Cbief o f Staff <IV"" !bebosprLll'J policy of sqrepliog pariems_" If IhiJ segn:PIIOD doesn't SlOp. I'UCIOK dowlI the hospital." The bospilllchallZed ;15 policy.

Though Edwmls I><:<selfexperic!x:ed prejudice. she I><:lievedthat!he burden of gender oulweighe<l thaI of,ace. "I n my cale. racia l bonier,; ha, 'e

msen100. bul I do DOl feel W I being .

by David Milros

Negro doclor Illos ever b « n so much ah.tndj(:ap as being. woman d<x1Of "

]111936 Edw.mls· brother and fathe'died. II " '1$ then tho, $he d<x:ided 10purchase I farmllouse OD Myersvill eRolId in scenic Long Hill Township,wilhin walluna d l l \ a ~of SI. Joseph'sShrine ~ Sbnoe ....1$ bui!1 by II><MI$Si0rwic5 of lIIe Hol y Tnn:l). Ireligiow community lIIal fr'"'juemlysJlODSOfedretrellJ and OIber acu"tiesfo r Afnean Amenclll Catbolics trolO !becity. Located InudJi hiDs IlId forests"illl a dramalic view of tbe ..alley. II><:

Sluioe ga"c lief • sense of peace andCQmfon. Here she anended Ma u d ai!y.

ThouJ:b hl;r medKa! practice cen·Iered in Jersey Cily. Ed,,·ud • • so ""Yed patients In Long Hill TO ...ll 'hipSII<:' did this while raising a fam;!) thotbad IfOWD 1051!!by 1 9 3 ~ · f o I Uboy, .n dtw O 11;,15

In 1941. Ifler ber bU$band ...-pat

.ted from the fomily. Ed . ud s joiMd!be Third Order FrlDClSC.I . . . a religiousorder fo r Ja)-men ""110 "'lIhtd 10 live asimple lire "'"I!bo\u Iu."ing 10 \akI: fOrm;l!'-0"" of poveny. cb . ity. an dobediera-. She eomml!k:d ho..-nelflOm..causeof the- poor, admini..m,riog 10 !heirneeds, d o ~ t i n gH o e » ",come 10

charily. and ,e .. ing on !be boards ofmaay cha rill blc organizal iofl$.

By 1954 Edward!IL !tad deli"eredovtr S.OOO bobies Sh e d ~ i d e d10 gi,·.up be, Jersey Cil)' pracuce \0 teach IIHoward University. 8U1.1><: (e!l unful·Iilled in lIIe acatk:m"C world i ll 1960. alage 60. sbe joined a mis>ion inHereford. Teus. ,,-here sbe oo'O!CdIIr:rwlf 10 !be plight of mlgrlnt "wkenThrou&hlief efforts. Ux: r u e d ~ 10

build I l(}-bed ID.Ilernity hospital. ShecoIUributed $10.000 1O... ud !be project.n d organized I committee of Laun-Americans 10 oversee ilJ construction.She .Iso raised !Ileney 10 No !heho'pill l When she rece ived fe"" ,

«0lIl1_"," ""pal ' 4)



Heritage CommissionWelcomesNewMemb'The Morns Counry Heriu.ge1 Commission wdeornes fwO new

~ m b e r $10 the 8ou'd~ I r s. Maria. Fenlon. a Madison

'''5;&nl. h u been aClh'c o"c r theyears with several hislOncaJorgaruzauons She h.as ,'olumeeredber time with Mac<:lIlloch HallMuseum; the Madison Historical

Society ; has \lttn Historian for theBorough of ~ b d i s o n .beoen a DelegateID the 1987 Moms COIlmy Bicemenni.aJ Consulluion Convention;and been involved with the JuniorLeague of Morristown. Othe ractivities include the Madi sonVolunteer Ambulance Corp.; NationalSecl"C'mries Association. MorrisCoumy ChapICr: Thursday MornlD'Club. GFWC , Madison: Member ofthe Madison Hi$lOric Pres<"rvationCommission: Neighborhood WatchCoordinator; and warlo::ed wlIh !heElection Polls. Mrs. Fenton is also amember of Lilt Nauoo.alGeneaJOI-=-1SOCIety .

While employed with the Madl.$OflHemageComminte. MI1. mlnn wasthe r e ~ n c hUSLSWlt to Dr . FrankEsposito, who authored The Madison

Hen/Qge Trail. She also chaired !beMacc:ulJoch Hall Museum Project and

the FosterfIelds Farm Projecl while~ c l i v ewith the Junior i.e_gut ofMonisto"' ...

As an employet' of !he MadisonPublic Library. sIle worked as 1helocal bislOrian .

Maria's imcreslS OUlSide !he hisloryarena include gardening. ~ r o s s· s 1 U c h .

travel. and genealogy usearct\.With her avid interest in the hislOty

of Morris Coumy and historic

preservation.1be Heritage Commlssioois honored 10 ha' ·e her u1heir Vice·Chairperson

Tbe Hen13ge Commiuion also..."OUld like 10 welcome Richard Simona$ the newe51 r n e m ~ rof the Board.

Mr . Simon spent his caret'r as abusiness executive ,,·ith GeneralElectric IlDIi laler Lil10n Industries.

retinn, from the laner as vic:ePre:sidem of Markellng with the Swedalmemat;on<il Divisi()n.

Curremly Ricbard Simon is aTruS1eC of Morristown G r ~ n .theWasbingoon Aswciation of NewJersey. and MaceuUoch Hall Museum(former Board Pusidem). He is alsoon the Board of Friends of Florhamand the Thorras NU l Society.

His invol'·ement with MaccullocbHall Museum include curator of lhefollowing:

MOrri$ Clnal: NJ"s MmuuainQimbillg W(l/mWlY (1991); In I h ~

CoiI«:riOtl: Fin t & D«orQliw Ans in/I Historic HOitIf!(1993 ) ; Sil>Yr & Teain Morrim,wn ( 1994. C<H:Urator);EdM.'Ord Kmnich & 1M 19th CeJuuryNJ L a n d s ~(1995) ; Ungky H.Miller . A Noble Cause. A TragicEndUtg ( 1996. co-curalor): and Madein Morris (1997 ).

Mr. Simoo also is a lectul"C'r onlocal hislOf)" wbQse hobbies includew.terwlor painling. an collecting.b.::ychng, and ~ ki i n l l

'The s13ff and Board members of ~Morris County Heri 13ge CommiS$ionwish 10 welcome these two prople andlook forward to working with thesehistory enthusiastS .

•

NEWS & NOTES

NEW JERSEYHISTORI C TRUST

lbe Di$cm"(,f Ne w lCr<;ey HiStorylicense plale is oow 00 sale aI aU 47/'>fOl()f Vehide agenci es. TIlis IS oneofilie firsclic:ens.: p l a ~ $mthe~ o o n l J Y10 honor h i ~ t o r y .Proceed$will hdp fund hiWJrical research.emibiIs. educational provam, a!\dpreScf\'ation of New Jer$CY'S

historkal \ : > U i ! c . l i n g ~aDd collt:(;1iolls.

MOR RIS COUNTYmSTORfCAL SOCIETY

A I c h i ~ t u r a lhi!tOrian. Janel FOSler

will present History ( l/ Fifty: AM ·20th Cemwy Domemc A.rchilcClurtOIl May 111h. Thi$ program will bebeld at We Frelmghu}sen Arborerumand is free 10 !he public. TIoe focuswill be f'o5l Will Iract bousing. Forfunhcr infOl1lllltioD,please oon1ae(the Morrili Count)' HIStorical Soclct)

al 973-267·3465.

MACCULLOCH HALLmsrORlC,\L MUSEUM

VI<:Acconfllished Swell: Image andYer.se in ScJwolgirl Samplers "ill be011 dl.<play 311he musewn [rom MayiO lhrougl! A ugust 16, 1998. Also,OM Fas;'icmed Heroes will \It: ondisplay J ~ 7. 1998 thrOugb Julie 6,1999. FOr more infonn:tl\OIl, pleasecalilhe Museum at (97:})538-2404



HeritageCommissionPublications1bc M o n i ~County IIcntlle Com-. mlSJioD bas = - ( " 1 publicatiomilable to the public Newesl in the

mmission's HIStone Highllthl$ seriesdie lI,gorie HighIiglrlfl)j PtJrSipparry -o)' !lolls brocbure.O m prospering as an agric:.illUrlIld Ulduslml comrouruoy,110 fat'mUDds... 11 10 Parsippany. T roy Hilb.mnanu Qf!he large indu$bia t works,

ca!ed in wbat w ~ once !ill: village ofd Boonton. are submerged under the

lers of the k!'Sl:Y City ReKrvoir.aD} b.i$toric sites 'rill ""ist ; ,n d thechllre bi&hligblSeighl of ~ .W:$ .Grey$I(lD: Park Psycluaaoe Hospital

S buill in 1876 10 relievecrclO"'d,n& . , the Trenton Asylum.chil.,., ~ m u d S l ~ n desiP'Wey ,!()1Ie Par k in the $eeQnd EmpireIe £aergy for the c o m p k ~"'as

~ at '0 on-sirc: facility ttllno d p i from CQ.I.l, tbe unique

vNided pspl:l.nr (110 longer UI uw )m t ~the:

only on e of its bo d in New

PIIbI.,.._ of Ioc: . '10'' ' ' CouncyBoot<!of a - " , F ~

,!, B. K ....... C1tmrpe_ _. . ' " l'<1IooII. ~ ' i u- a w . , . , . , . . . -

m. \.. .' I ....... , S<."I<UYVIdR Sol_. , Tmmuo '

.,.. D Pn\iCO!l. =.. .y I/,"ori""pml,C.....mc" I " ' F , ~dtS. SoIb<mwoardC. s.-..ry Cbolw.. Hoaoraty Me<nbtr

N. Ult<1lZO.0f!I« Adm,,'"''''''''01 M.,,,,. I I f f h i " "

''''''raftsman Farms. """ICI,\ on Route10 Wesl. was borne 10 de$igner ofmission.sl} ·le furni ture. GUSUIv Stickley.M r . Slickley was a I " " ' . r in the Arts:and Crafts lIIO\'rnI'1U betwml 1898 In<!\9U. CI'lIf\s1lWl Fums is I Nllio<WHisloric [IOOmlf k open 10 tbc public.

Moom Tlbor. I 300 borne o:ammunilycomp r ises DllII)' bea utifu ll y maimlinedViclOrian aoo Stic\: sl}'le hous.,including Upee OC Uigonal wnun uniry

buil<ful&$. The M etbodul EI'Ucop.aICburc b establilbed Moun l Tabor 1.1 iI D

assoc:iItioadedicated 10 sl'irilUlllrevi,'&!in 1869 OriginaUy I SUIIlIIlerenc:ampmem communii}', eVlffiruallybecominga yeal-roond wmmlliliry. dlisSUIte e.bant<,l . . oc ialion fullClioned as amuNcipalily ,,';lhiD. larg e murucil'alilyunciII980.

For I lisM& of om.rsiJes in tbo: I f . . .

pleue my,. . tb c Historic Hirillirhis ofPars'ppony · r ,OJ Hdl.s.

The Historic Hithlight$ senes cOlllisa

County CircularMorris County Heriuge Commission

"",orris COunty Courthouse. p,O, SOx 90 0Morrislo""n. NI 07%3.{l9O()

(201) 829-811 7

of ten o;ommunities; MeDdbam. Boou·lOll, R o ~ b u r y ,Moor,ille, Wubin\:lonTOWII$hip, Mad ;",n, SOroup ofChatham, Ch . tlwn TOWMhLp,Marris.own and PoniW.ny.

A d d l l i o n a l l N b l ~ " o l l Sof !he MorrisCounty H e f J ~Commission 'Iltlude:HUloric Slits of Moms C4wu)'. ,r-.Jerwy, Di,tclOry of !llSlori, MornsCounry, , " " ~ J ~ r s q :GUldr 10 IhrMorris Ctwil ;n Morm Counry; JacobGrren and 1M S/(lvrry Dt/xlu In

Revoh<lraNJry Merm CoIifll)' , , . , ~

Jersq; CoIoniol an d Rf:I'OIw.OtrM"1Morn', CDuIll)' aM Gone 10 M"t<Ir1M¥lam's CfV\'o7l_Morru CeloM ' , " ' .. .J r n q oNJ rhr em'l War .

For informa tion ",sardlng thosep u bl i~ ar i o n s , you may WntaC! !heH " ; ~ I C 'COmmission a t (973) 829·8117;FAX number (973) 63\-5137 . E·rnJll ii i

SkrrenzoOCo.Monis.NJ.lJS , or "'Tile ii i

PO. S O ~900, Mormto\>'1\.!'oI1 07963·0000,



T h e

Qtounty QtirrularMorris County Heritage Commission

OL. 20, NO. J FALL 1998

CivilWar BookPraisedBy HistorianJ " n~ Hcnl.lgc Comml5s ion's the common sold,er surmunded by

lalCst publica!1on, Gone 10 Gone to Wear the death, as he fought for" cau&e heWtllf Ihe Victor '$ Cro ...n. is sometimes never fully unders tood.

ally available. The book has Victor's Crown Muws' work IS a mIcrocosm orM" mved much praiK. Accordmg to MonIICounty,N_ .... ., . .......... 0 .... w.. a nonhcm county before and dunng

hor and h,Slonan John T. Cun- "tloxwnm""1""""""" the. CiVlI War. II should be read by all.gham. "Gonuo Ww r Ihe Victor's " - .... _ . . _ _ scholars and laym<:n who want a more

><71Caplurt l the Ideals. goals. . - ..... _ " - profOWld undn'S\.IIId'ng of 00" the

- -Xed nnollOllS. and dreams of w a f a r r ~ l e dNew Jersey:ms..··ms County ', men and women be- In the Foreword of the book, (j

and dunng the Ov,l War Told Kwt P,chler {author of R ~ m e m b e

ewspaper accounts arK! «Iuonals War l/te Aml!rican W a } ~p r : l I ~Ihcl e t t ~ r $from the fronl, Ihc scope ,. H ~ n t a g eCommISSIon for having ere·

ges from Ihe famed (and htde ated "an endunng work."lhat WIll "In_wn) Underground Railroad to ,plfe scholars ~ n dstudcnt. til probeIcd emottons about the war before more deep ly InIO Ihe Impact or Ihc

conniel; from county Civil War on Moms County," "A ·parallOns to IlioughlS written boVl: all," ....Tites PIchler, "the average

o r ean ImpendIng balllc; from the reader WIll COrM away from ttu. bookme fronl to the d,stant walls wllh a grutt , a p p ' ~ ~ l a u o nof tile

nwnVllle Pnson, Another flllC herOIC $acnflc" madc by 5QldlCTSand

ing perfOTml/lCC by DaVId Clh:ccns of Moms County In then

MII'os.th e book WIll proVIde ..,hd ; ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ ~ ~ ; ~ ~ ~ ~ S I n I g g ltoensurc"thalgo\,emmenl ofdmg for III Moms County tlK people, by the people, for 11Klents, II WIll also serve as a people, shaJlIlOl pmsh from l h e ~

de1 for Olher rounl1es." p;;;;;;;;; Gone 10 Wear lire Y l e l O l " ~em"-,, .

ounty Hlslonan and COmmISSIon may be purehascd from S('lccte<! I!\dC-\ba- Frances Pmgeon calls p c n d ~ n tbook. ltores thmughoulk. "comprehenSlve and liberty polu whe re patriotism roled. Moms County; "also may be ordcrt.-dewspaper accounts describe the Le iters and dia ries show the apat hy from the Hcntage CommiSSIOn by1y ralhes of lownspe<>plearound and despalT. as well as the heroism of calling (973) 829·8117 or 81 14



MaryA. PrendergastJoinsCommissionBoard

M :uy A. Prendergast, a resident ofRarding. \\ 'as recemly appointed b)' the Morris Count)' BoardofCbosro Freeholder s, to the HeritAge Con.unission. R c c e i ~ ' i n gher M.A. in Arncrkan fhstoryfrom Rutgers and the 1995 recipient of !he Coral Lansbur)' Pri7.e, Mary will be a welWilIt

addition 10 W Board.She currently is a volunteer archivist and museum registrar with the Harding TOII.'IlShipHistorica l Soci ..1)'

where she established collection l'(Iallage:mentusing c o m p u t e r i ~ ddatabases. Working with c o n ~ u ! t a n

she establisbed new museum spnce and an ilxhibit of furniture in an hiStoric house. Marywas also involvedin establisbing climate-controlled storage for archil'a) materials .

As project dircl..1.or fl)T new museum space and grant-I\mding, Mary was responsible fcrr theprofessionally installed e ~ h i b i t ,O:mfllry Leam'ng: Early Schools in Harding T()\'.71ship J 78().1930. Alongwith Dorothy Harunan, she researched and p ~ a book 011early schooh, which is currently a\\'3itingpublication. 1be research was funded by a block grant from the New Jer$ey lhstorical C o n u n i s ~ i o n

Cliler exhibits for whieb Ms. Prendergast was project dire<:h)r include: All Era of £ltgmJa: Hardillg'sMorris mt d Esux Dog Show, Diary of a Grtf!ll Vil/agt F ~ r ,and. 75 Yro,s: New Venlbn l'oJulIlter FireDtpartme1l11922'1997. Mary was also project director for a permanent exhibit by Leone Design Groupentitled A COl.Uury l.ift which opened fn 1997, As an intern for the Museum of EIlrly Trlld<:s and CraflSm Madison, Mary arrangL'{) and prepared a finding. aid for the Ralston-Nesbitt Pap<:rs.

Currelllly Mary is a nlelnber of the Harding Township Planning Board, the Hi:;toric PreservationCommission and Secretary 10 lilt: Morris Cooni)' Trust for Historic Preservation

TIle Board members and suff of the Morris County Heril3ge Conunission wish 10 weiCOnK""~ b r ) 'to theBoard lind look forward to working with beT.

For Sale: Farms, Orchards,and Iron Mines

N, ncleC1lth CC1llury poslCf1iIIch·ntl sing C"omrmSSl<ll1er't sales

ofland are the focus o fa ne w Hentage

C'ommlSSlon IIrChlval p " , s ~ a t l o nproject. DavId Mums. th e CommISSIon',on:hlVlSl, has located t7 7 ofthcsc posten.mong 115.000 pages ofSwrogateCnun esl3te (probate) files (IJI,t ~stored In tbe Morns County Arduves .

"The old posk1'S. oommonly kno"'llllSbrOlwldcs, proVide much IOfOlllUll1onabout the County. They freqllC"l1tlydescnbe orchards, fanns. uo n mines.

and otlIer featulQ o f the l a n d s c a ~

which tells lIS sornclhlOg about ho w

the community lived . Moreover. theypossess a special Intnnsic value asdocumentary artifacts. Mltros WIllremOve the posten from then files.unfold them. and store them 10 specIalfolders and b o ~ c s .In IIOTIlCiml3"""s •addnional rcstof1l11on and Mylarencapsulallon ma), be mjUlf'C,t "TheCommiSSJOIIplans to have some of thcposten TlI3ttcd or framed for displaypurposes.

COMMISSIONERSSALE-Real &iitate.

IRONOREMINE,~ " , . . - . . . ,.....-........- .........::::..."'::'.:r::::oM ~ - _. . : : : . - . . - , ." ' - ~ I " " ~ - " _........ - ............."' ..--....- - - . - - ~ . -..--.................Thursday,Jan. 24,,_., ............_---.._.-. 8r..pbeo Cvllc"r,

. I _ b U a r 4 ,0 . . . 11 M .........

- .......-..."... ' ' ' ' - ' ' - ..." , - = -



Page 4

Dancing at the Winter Encampment m Morri s town

TK Aen we thin k of the encampmen t

, , at Mornstown d unng the w mter1770- 1780, we thmk m tcrms of

ffenng --- so ldler!; eatmg sh"". andmc .... callng pet dogs dunng ragingow stonns. But in Febt1lal)' 1780,eneral Nathaniel Greene wrote to hiscnd Colonel Samuel Webb; "I hopeu ",,11 corne and partake of our

V .... OnS:' The fol low ing mo nthreene ....Tote: "We are very merry a t~ m p..: · Somehow t hese two PictureS of

e scene.1 M omstown in 1780 don'tem to go together. But fommaldy,ficers' d ,ane • • lett .... and or derlyoks help e" plam a n i nteresting social

de to the story of the wlOter mili tarymp.Wmter was a fa irly qUiet anddentary I1me for the 18th century

nnles. Fightmg was limite d 10 smallids and the anny was usually campedom' 1<><;31l0n for ma ny months. Fore officer!;, there were shU guard andl1goe pames to be commanded. as wdlcoun_man ials, mspecllons and drills .

owever. In general, the <lady paceowed conSIderably for the officers.nere was 1 = work to be done and thislowed the officer!; sOme time forVCr!;IOnS.The grea test dwersto n for young

ficers WlIS meellng young wome n·en as now! Apparently Morrislownas a good loca1l0n for this actlvtty.meon DeWit! en cournged a frie nd toSit him by sa)'lng: "1 WIsh you wouldme and see us. you don't Imow whateny girls the re are abom his p lace ." '

V h l ! ~Capta in Shaw, G ~ n ~ r a lKn ox'sde wrote; 'The clr cie of prenyeatures IS SO engagmg Ihere seems toe no quitllng it: ' Officers enjoyed t heompany of the ladies duri ng th IS

herwise hard " ~ nt e r at dinners ,cighmg partIes . and dances

Dancing was p robab ly t he most

1779 1780 by I'nc O lsen, Ranger, Histonan- Momstown National !l isto",a l Park

popular r ~ r ea tl on for the o fficers . The

officers had been to camp at MomslO"nbut a cou ple ofweeh whe n they beganorga nlzm g large fonnal dances called··Assembhes ."' They hoped to hold t hefirst Assembly by Fcbt1lary 3rd.ho wever, constructIOn of a building I n

wluc h to hold the dances causcd a delayunlIl Februa ry 23rd . 'n " , buddmg wasde signed as a mIlitary storehouse, but itap l'arem ly had suffi cienl space fordancmg . Colonel Walter Stewart

de,e n bed the bUIlding:

"The 1I0u se we propose 10 have ourAsse mblys . IS newly bu ilt In

Morris tow n : the Dancong room 70fe el long by 40 brood , and twodrnw ing rOOmS down sum s . ."'

TIlE BIG DANC ING ASS EMBLIE SThe officers ha d hig h hopes tor Ihe

assemblies. Colonel Huotmgtonboasted; "Thmlr. of the Assembly Itst.130 Subsc ribers and 165 Lad,C' on Ihelist - the first bi l l " 12.000 N. Jersey -

Ihu$ much for the A S5embhe-s:' Thisparticular assemhly list has not beenfollnd in archives, but another assemblylist w hich docs survi ve, lists 36 officerscach p ledging 400 dollars towards the

balls . The subscribers mcludcd G ~ - n cr a

Washmgton, hIS aides. and most of IhelmporlaJll genera ls and offtcers In camp.

The first ba ll was held on February23. but was n o t " bIg success. RoyaFlint wrote : "I fcar "'c shall ha ve a thmcollection of lad,es as the wealher IS badand the roads shoc king. " Cap tam Shawreported : "The re was no detachmentei ther from Bas kenridgc, [lcveN'Y ck, orElizabeth Town .. nor d id the lad lesfrom Rarit an favo r us wuh t hc lf

co mpa ny " ll e attributed t he poorturnout o f ladies to bad wcathcr and '"adesl'" thaI eertaln oflhe,r sex h ~ " eto bemfonned, before they ' ·cnt ure. w/oo andwho do there assemble .. " Whtle JosephBrown MOte:

'"LaSI Wednesd ay comme nced thegr eat Mili tary Assemhly a'Morristown . His Excellency op;:n,dthe ball WIth Mrs . Knox . As thewcather waS coo l there were butSlxtct'fl ladles a nd from fifty !O SIxtyGent lemen p resent. There WlIS greatorder and regulanty observed . '"

The baHs held on March I and ,\pn24 were better atten ded . Ge nera l G r c ~ "

I c ~ " , ' " ~ . a()JI pag< 6)



Pagc 5

A s s o c i a t i o n o f N e w J e r s e yWa s h i n g t o nC e l e b r a t e s

..,.."., Washmgton ASSOCUl!1on o fI. New Jersey. b a ~ m

Momstown , formed m 1873 andh a n ~ ~ dby !he N ~ w Jerseye g l s l a t ~m 1874. '$ c d ~ b r a t , " g,ts25!h aMlVcrmry. "("k Association . .ne of Ammca 's oldest his toricrescr."J.l1on orgamzatlons and o n ~o fhe fm;t de''Oled to 1M malntenano;:t ofn h,stonc SIte.

In 1873 a group of p ~ s e r v a u o n -

m,nded lou l c,hzcns, oneludingorron Go"emor Randolph of Ne wersey, succeeded In purchasing atUcllOl\, the Ford Mansion an d~ WlIShm8IOn'IRe\'Olullonary

WaT HcadquartCTS dUrtng Ihe billerWImer o f 1779-80. Th e ASSOCIation

~ q u l r C dan elItraordmary coll t tuon

f m111tary and colon,al art,cles forIsplay. including $Orne of the

w n n ~used by Washington, then

JI<'nedthe manSIon 10 the pubhefter Opcrllung the Slle ~ s a museum

or nearly GO years. the !\i.soclat,ononW"lCOOthe Fedc:r.alGovernment \0

1 2 5 t h A n n i v e r s a y

take over the mlLll$Ion and In 1933Washlngton's Headquarters becamethe nucleu5 of the country's firs tNahonal I{,stoncal Park.

The NatIonal Patk Scr"tCe,WI!h!heassIstance of th e WashonglonAssociat,on, s u b s e q ~ n t l yexpanded!h e property ho ldmp through lm dpurchase and donations. Today. theMorristown Nationnl Hlstoncal Pat' kmcludes the Jockey Hollow area (si l t

Ortbe army's camps I n 1779-SO),!heNew Jersc:y Bn&adc 1U'e1. FortN = n s e , and a separate museum andlibrary, In addl\lon 10 the ongmal FordMansion lleadquancr5 buildm8_ Thepark now encompas;;cs 1680 acres.

Th e miSSIOn of the WashIngtonAssoc,at,on IS 10 !IUJIPOn !heMomstown Nauon.l park In theprescrvatu)n and 'nterpreta110n of !hISmlowned Rcvolullonary War SlIe as

well as 10 honor !he comnbullons ofWashmgton an d h'$ !TOOpS to Ihccause of Amencan mdqxndencc.

The Awx:","on s u b s , d " ~ e s1M Park

b y R i chn r d C . SmlOn

Dc"elopment Fund and IS. by f e d ~ r a

statute. the offiCIal Id"sory body to.he NatIonal Par le In add,t,on, theASSQC,auon ac!I\'ely parhelp;l.es in.an d funds. l e c t u ~and pubhcatlonprograms. acqUISitIOnS for theex tens ive hbrary and muSeumCOllttl1Of1S, preservation andconservauon taSks. and programs forthe enhancement o h n e and muscumInterpretatIon. The: AssociatIonmembers m a t formally tv'lee a year,once In the FaU for the MarthaW a ~ h , " g t o nR ~ e p ti o n and In

February to celebrate GeorgeWashmgton's bIrthday. The: latt .g3thennll cncompaues thc annualbUSIness m..,nng and lurn:heon at'"'hleh • scholat'ly addrc:ss 15 g,..enrelaunllto George Washmgton

(The Asso<illlUm ....clrllme)mcmbuship "ppliC(JliQIIJ "lid

mquinl!S .. h,ch should be <i<,wr"d / 0

rhe Secretary of rhe W",-hillll:/()"Associmion o f New Juuy. PO Bm/4 1 J. Morns/a" ',,. ftlJ 01'J6!, /-17] ,)

HeritageTourismEmphasizedat Recent Symposiu

A n IU-{)ay symposium, Moms

Cou/Il)' Tourism' Strategy forSuccess, was Ileld on July 21 to discusshe opporruniues and challenges

nvolved in enhancing tourism in ou rrea , Thc meeting ...·u sponsoKd byhe Morris County Park Conunissioo,IationaJ Park Service. Historic Morris>'isitors Center. and !he MorriSCounty Heritage Commission, andopeoed wilb ~ m a r k $from Frank J_

DruelZler, Director, Morris CountyBoard of Chosen Freeholders_

During !be rneeling, the ~ n c eof hen!age tourism (lbe presentationsan d interpretations o f hislOTical ~ i l C $

an d themes) as a key ekrnent inmarketing overall tourism washighlighted by several of !he speakers .He r itage T ourism has becomeincreas ingly important in recent yearsand in an hi5loric.ll)·,rich County such

as Morris, offers an area for crea l1!lgsustainable tourism As was POlDtcd( l i l t by speaker Dr Barbara Ml1fl1ek.Chair of Ibe Task Force on NewJersey History, heritage tOUrism h a ~

po!eDtidl for significant posill 'cttonom"IC Impact. U .....,11 . s being acatalYSt for historic preservation andcorrununity rcvitaliution

•



Page 6

mu st 11.IS . rnJoyed h l m s e l f b e c a u ~heSlnIiilcd on the momln, after theMarth usnnblyl(> WTlte; ,, ' ha,,,manythtngs to say to you, but wu at theAssembly lasl mghl and fu l not a littlefaltgued and .lauded."

It's l,1Ilc1earwho provldwthe musicfor the dancing ~ m b 1 t C ' S .There w=al least thrtt "Bands of MUSIC" In theCTlCampmrnl. Colonel Webb's(egmICnt of SWk's Bngllde had twobands In Crane's and Proctor'sRCi,ment.. Proctor' s mne .man bandhad been paId 15 pounds by

Washington for playtng a ChnstmasrntertalIllIlem on December 2S. 1779Thc records art SJla1'se. but II appeat1lthat these bar4 lI'Ieluded suchInstruments as oboes. bassoon •• horns.

i'IIblOCOllOll of .... Motris CcuntrBoard of CI>oJ«t I"cd>oIders

N.o<y B. KBa;tp. 0t0i'fH"""M i t " W, I'tmOII. 1'!a-0a<'P""""M.ne L. Moore. Ser,fflj,.,Do,id R. St".n. TrNl.f"rtr

F . rus D. J>inceon.c - y IiSt"ntJIIM . ~ J C W u. .ArI.., F DempseyMit)' A ",<..s.'P"R _ C. S""""M>ry ChoJI . . . H"""""Y Membn

SuSln L..ot<nM. Offi'" A d m i n J l t " ' t ~ r.·IIl Ii!, sIorONO@gtLneIDo,OS MIttOS. A " * " , ,

e-ratoU· doulnlOOilLneI

dlnnels. and poss,bly flutes andvloltns..

Thc thret large Assemblll:$"'''''' no t

the only <Jan<.:<,s that Winter. 111=were also many smaller danus. Infact. there were so many dances lhalsome officer.; WCIe getting lirM. RoyalFhnl wrote: "Danc;mg is almost a dailyor rather mghtly dt\'a'"liIOO:· WhIleCapram Shaw added; "11trec nightsgom& tIll af\cr twoo'elock. [the lad,es]have made us k ~ ,t up." flinteomplatned; '" have manythtngs to saybut was a\ Mr, [Abraham] Lott·s aU last

mght at a ball and am too much I>."omout I( ) add lIIuch more. ~

Wa$hmgton took grt'll personalplcl$Ul'C: tn dane'ng. He learned todance a t age f i f t ~ ~ .paymg thr«

County CircularMorris Couoty Heritage Commission

Morris Coun ty Courthouse. P.O. B o ~900Morristown. NJ 07963-0900

(WI) g29·8111

1h'lhngs nine pence 10 attend a danc,nschool. and he continued dancmg fOmO$t of hIS Me. He was I,ud to b~ c o n s p l e l , l ( l \ l $ "for hIS graceful andelegant dancmg of the mmuel. lirece ,ved high pra,se: for hIS danctnfrom French officers who said that hidanCIng of ~ mInuet could not havbeen Improved by . Panslan roueahon.

Danemg, fOT Waslnngton and h,contemporanes. " 'as an OppOTIuoltytshow ofT onc's manners . grnnhty.Soph'Sl1eal inn. and SOCIal rank. It waalso great entertamment and gave th

danccrs a ch.:Ir)cc to .'IQClalizWashIngton ..lOOk great pleasure I

dancing and regretted ...hen old agforced tum 10 gw e up "s o agreeable antnnocent an amusemem:'



VOL. 20, No.1

TheQInun±ll QIirrular

Morris County Heritage Commission

WfNTER 1998

THENEWMUSEUMOFEARLYTRADESANDCRAFTS

"Hisory,MadeInNewJersey"

W Iat do I l iI early 19th celli"'),broadtu: , (1 r u m ~ J- f he - < : : e m u r yRoman·

esque RtNiva/Ubraf)', and a /a u 10thcentury family oj fou r hm'l! incommon? n,ey're all pan of he !If!!!

Museum of Ea r /)' Trruies and Crofts -mid t h ~ ''re al l pa n of h,slO'Y mode 'nNew Jersey.

em Oc tober 4 . 1997, th e Museum ofEarly Trades and Crafts ""-oponed itsdoors to the public fo llowing a yearlong SI.2COJ,OOO reslOrlIlion, renovation. and rev italizat ion project. Th eMuseum'S home of 27 years, thehisWf'" Jame s Library Building , hast>e.n rerurot<l to its original beauty andnew emib ilS featuring treasureS fwmtho

Mu""um's collectionhave

beenmstlllied Ihroughom,The resto ration of the Stale and

Nalional R c g i s ~ , . . , dJames L ibraryBuilding was furl<led by a p a ~ r ! J li p

between the Museum of Early TradesaDd Crafts. the Borough of Mad isonam! N,O maIChing grants from the Newersey Hiswri<: Trust's Hiswric: Preservalion Bond. The new!y -reswredBuild ing is a cornerston e of Madison's

DownlOVoTl H istOric District and one oftile best eUlIljl les of R ichardso ni anRomanesque Revival arclliteClUre inthe Sta le. Sta ined glass windows Ibalproc laim tile "irtues of I:o.Jks, rCil.ding,and k nowledge grace the Building ' s20 ' higb rOOIIl.'l. Th e elabora tely sten·c iled b r i c ~wa lls and arches are comple ,""o ,ed by rich oa k beams, doors .

t rim, and !loots. Three uniq uefirep laces, t w o of carved oak and one

of stone, enh ance Ibe beautiful inter iorspace. , These and otller decorJUVOfeatures represent the be St of tum.flf

th e-<:eruury hand craftsmanship . theculmination o f hundreds of yeats of~ n ow l e d g eand sk ilL

(ro-ulru.«/ on par< 3)



I'.ge 2

Knuth Fann Hi storic DesignationUnanimou s ly Recommended

Mayor Carol A Spence. is plea$ed10 l.rulOlmce lIIat !he Sure

R ...iewBoiiIIrd

of !he OffICe of HisloricPIese""auon. Depanment ofEnvmmmemal PTOIe.::tion. met yester'day ~ n durulnimously vOletl to recommend Denville', Ayres' Finn (locallyknown as !he Knulll Farm) for listing onthe SLate and fede.a1 Registers ofHistoric Sites . Continuously fanned forover ISO years. tbe sire includes acluste. of rann bulJdin&. that predate!he CMI War mel provKles excep~ I ybeauti!Ul scenic rural visas.

The State Review BoMd unaru·mously wpporud tustoric dc.ignationof lhe p ~ r t yowot:d by the Tov.-nshipof (km me \..Q/Ii the subject of debateamong Counctl members. the currentan<! former mlyors and the Histo.icalSoctety. the State Review Boardmemt>ers felt the entirt parcel W3Smtegral to !he hmoTK: imporwlce of !heslle and would enhance the a c c e p =

of !be desigl\.ltion at \be Federal Ie,'etMI)or Carol A Spencer. long a

supponer ofhisloril;: prnmlltion of thissue. said "I .... pleased the SUteRevle\Oo' Boud affirmed our commentS$UppOfIlDl inclusion of the entire tractSThe Knuth's would be pleased, I'msure. 10 know the fum will now enjo)'~ n added I ...el of proteCtion fromencroachment" The Mayor wanted to

reossure Denville cili2ens that thi.designation di d n(J1 affeCt u'"" of theemun, soccer fields or pre.::lude furure

use oftbep ~ r t y

for active or pu5i,-e

peny muSI be $Ubmined10 the Slat<: ofNew Jelsey lI,stonc S,teS Review

Boud for re-vie ... IIkl PTOJe<:1 approval.Even If the applicauon bad beenapproved os subnlllted. any municipal

recrealion Several <lIbe. regislered r:::::._:::.:_sun include aclive m.:reationalcomponentS $U(:h IS lolf COU.,;es Of5OCtt. fields According to the 1111

AdminlSlTlu"e Code. Applicationproctdl<'V joT e n c r o a c ~ / U

aW/wTi;lllion. ;r does no! mailer whereon the properl}'the Stale Review Boardsel the boo.tndary for historicdesignation Any stale. county. Ormunicipal p'Oje.::1 pfOposed for lands

bordering hislorically designa ted pro--

i 'ip ' o t ~

The inclusion of !be emi.e lot ,,'asunanimouslylireed 10 by !be State Re·view Board in order to adhere to Statt

and Federal regulations fOf hIStoric

deSIgnation . The Fede-nol . eguLationprohibit -donur" boo.tndariesor ineguiar

lines through a lot unless they follownlluul boundaries such as a stream Of

cliff The applicarion. as originallyfiled by the lIistoriclll Society. includedan irregular bifurcation of lIIe 101, It isnot unusual for lbe Stale Review Board10 appT()\'e propertie$ ".-ith ooWitioru; orfUMI41lfndations for clwJge in !he landboundaries. The Denville Hisrorica lSociety. represemed by Presidenl 8C\BIandwd. agreed to IhI: ~ = o m -mended b)' the Stat<: Revie" Board on

behalf of !he lIi.uoric:a1Sociery."I wanl 10 en.sure that _II ~ n \ ' i

residentS are a",-are \hal Stale regulatIons do fIOI prohibil other uses forthis l.md. but that these State Itgulations provide fot an addiuonallevel ofreview at the State. That review ,,"ouldhave been required unde. State regu·lation 00 malleI w h e r ~!he line "·ISdflwn for hIStOric p.eservllion <:Ifthisp ~ n ya$ expllined 10 the CouncIl byour al1Ol1leY at \he IasI public. fIlIXlingon this issue "

Sue Schmldl. ClLainnanof the Cornr m ~10 Prexn'e the Knuth Fann, said-A fler years of belie"ing in the Ilis·to.icaI s i g n i l i ~of this Slle. it wasgralifying 10 have eleven hi5l:ori<: experts validate our historical research.['m $Ufe I speak (Of all the Committeemembers when I thank the HisloricalSociety for their e fforts and support.We wam 10 specifICally thank Ma)'Of

Spencer for11 ....

ays believing in themerilS of thIS pro;ecl and CouncilmanHussa wbo ...~ n lon recQrd in wriungwtlh the Slife Review Boud supponmgdrslg.nlItion of till: eutin: sile." Th eMayor added W t as SOOD as officialword aTTl,'n that the rttomJl1l:nda.UOR.Sof the SUIre Rev;ew ~ r d have ~ n

accepted by A»istam Con:uniMioocHall, the S1Ste Historic Prt!len-lItion OffICer. plan s will gct unde",,-ay for anappropriarc idenllfying plaque and

celebration.



Museum ft>IIllJW<dJ

Set mto !his lovely environment arexhil)1!$ fe.ruring highlighl$ from thedgar and Agnes Und Collection of81h and 19th ccntury ha!ld tools andodUCIS of crafumanship ExhibilS ine OleW Museum are fcx::used onrnmuniry; !he family in Ihe

ommurnty. busmess in !beommunity. the cnJisperson in !b e

mmunity. n weU IS the Museum ine commumry. One new u hibitund on the main le"el explores thee and "'Of1< of the 2"enge early 19thntury ~ w Jersey farm family.

hrough the artifaelS and informationn display visiton will be inviled toxpLore the question. "What is thenction ofa family?" and the larger

uestion. "How does your familynclion 10 meet buic needs?" Todaye may Ihink of one or twO parenlSoviding for a family. bul life on am Dearly "'''0 hundred yean agoqu,ffiI the ,."Orl; of the enlue family.ilh children beari ng eco nomic

ponsibUiries alongside the" parcnlS.In the new ·Crali and C o r n n n u u ! ) ' ~

hibit on the lower level of theuseum. VlSilOrs will meel fouraftSpeople who hved and worked in

Madison 10 the mid-ISOOs andxover hOW their lives "-erelerwovcn . Elw Buren. Caleburroughs. WilHam Sayre. and otherUSinessmen all d e p e n ~on eacbher for Iheir livelihoods Vis ironi11 $ee many treasures !Tom theuseum's Edgar and Agnes Land

ollet:lion in Ihis exhibit. including ane-crafied cabinetmaker's 1001 chest.umerous barrel·making iIIld shoe-akiIlg 1OO1s. a taraeapple cider pressd copper sliU for produclnl Newrsey's famous "Jersey \..ighUling".Two new invesligation !.lalions canfouod in !h e MUSCllm. On \he main·el. visitors can use the new Media

Center 10 view I video. read a boo);.or use artifact boxes lO explore theirown lI"Cali of interest in If1Iditioo.alcrafts. Within the nexl year !beMuseum plans 10 add a computerstation Ihal will ena ble visi lOrS toexp lore the Museum"s"s collection viaCD ROM and access \he Intem..(1hr000gh Madison 's RoseNel system .On the l o ~ rlevel roonger visitorscan build a community themselves in!lit new ·Sueersc.ape DiscoverySpace' and see bow C<.IJJUJWDities growand change through urba n pllnningusing floor-size maps and miniaturcbuilding lO recreale the town ofMadison. Or vi.!ilOu can uy their

hand at archilectural design usingscaled models. archilectural drawingsand I supply of building blocks lngeenough for any budding architeCt.

The new /Tolusetlm of Early Tradesand CraftS has something for e"eryoneincluding new programs and aclIVitiesfor adults. children. an d farrulies _ Inaddilion " traditional craftdemonstraIions. the Museum will beoffering wor kshops. birthday parties .evening prOJrllJl$. and lOUrs

Call (973) 377·2982 for I calendarof events . Museum hours are Tlle$dayIhrough Saturday 10 AM 10 4 PM andSunday 10 PM 10 5 PM . Groups andschools by reservations.

Boonton TownshipF rm PreservedForever

Morris County has succtssfullysaved One of ilS lasl remaining farmsfrom furure developmem by pur_chasing Ihe rights 10 \he "Foo r CornersFarm." Freeholder Douglu Cabanaballlkd a 5488,542 check from !heMorris County Open S ~ Ind Farmland Preservalion Trusl Fund toNelson D<lland. Jr .. owner of Ihescenic 36--ac:re U"ac:t al Roclr;:awayValley and PO" 'ervilJe Roads.

According 10 \he terms of theagreement. the Doland family retai nsownership of the land. bul il can onlybe used for alTlculwre. Should \heDolands :;ell. the new oWTlen mustalso accepl the dee<! restriClions.

The Doland family has owned theproperty since the 1800s . "When Ipass on I don't waDI to $e e this propelt)' de,'cJoped," said the 79·year-old

Doland "Ilhrnl: the , · . u l e ~.s prenythe wlily il is . My Father d,dn ' t " 'antthe land subdivided . It would ruin !h e

Township. I"mjusl trying 10 carry on\be tradilion . · The Doland family currendy leases the property 10 formerTownship mayor Oscar Kincatd "'hosliU produ<:l:Scom and hay.

According [0 Freeholder Cabana."The Four COn\eT$ Farm is the geographic <:I:n\er of Boonwn To,."Mhipand one of the most picturesque v i e w ~

in Ihe TO"ll. When you hit \he turn althe farm. you think YOU'te '" Vermonl. il is so beautiful . ."The scene isone of \be Townshlp's tr.Idcmarts. w

i...asl year the County boughl thedevelOpJIlCntrighLS to the 57-acre \ V e i ~

farm. aI$o located II RockawllY ValJeyand Valley Roads I n BoontonTownsbip .



ImportantEventForLoversof Histor

ToBeHeldInChester7 1 . topic "New Jersey DIsasters"1 wdl be lIle keynole addle$$ by Dr .Marc Mappen at a loca l gamering [0muster suppon for New Jersey'shistorical resources. Among thefamous C&wtropbes thaI Dr. Mappt' nwill dl$CUU are the H indenbul1

e ~ o s l O l l .tbe MOITo Castle fife and!he Lmdbtrgh bdnaping. E ..cryolM'"j i l l an imereSl in New Jersey hislaryis invited to anend the infonnath'cmorning session on Sarurday.February 2 8 . to discuss the repon ofthe Tas k Force On New JerseyHUIOf)' . TIle C'"Cnt will be held at thehistoric Commun ity PreSbyterianChurch in Chester al 9:30 a.m. Inaddition 10 Dr. Mappen 's talk. the

mommg will fearure a "hi5l0l)'marketplace" " 'here local and regioR.II1no... profit orgamzations will offe rpub lieanons and expenise. Thecoo"cnient C hester location isexpected to draw individuals andorganizauons from Humerdon,Somerset.Sussex, and \\ ' a =n . as ....ellas MOI1isCounty. Dmssion se5SIOII5

will gi"c genealogisls, members ofhlstomal societies and historic:preservation comrniss ion$, libra rians.ar<:hivislS, l ea c h e ~, re-e!!llCtors aOld

museum stilffer $ the opportunity 10$hare experience$ a nd opinions on theTask FOr<:e5' recolTllJ>endalions. Theforum is one of five scheduled in eachrcglOt! of the *"It:10 Inform the publicaOOutlbt Tau: Force recommeOOa\JOl\Sand 10 confum g r a s ~ r o o u<uppon fOfthe preservation of New Jersey'shislory

A d,'namic and emerunning speaker,

Dr. Mappe n will explore some of thedramalic as pectS of OIlt SIlIle's richh!StO')' and address the criti<:al need 10

preserv e New Jersey's heritage. He isthe autho r of lerstyaM: TheUnderside of Ntw lusty Hinory, acollection of anic les origi!!lllly

published in the Ne'A' .Jersey secti on ofThe New Yor k TImes. 1lIe bo o k hasbeen praised as a "dehihtful popularhistOry" and "extremely entertaining.In addition 10 numerOllS articles an d

reviews. Mappen has written twO otherbooks: M ~r d e r aJld Spits. L o w rs andLies: Stllllns the G r ear COrUrowrsiesof Amuican HiSll)ry and \\'ifCh<'!S andHinonaru: /rotrprtraril)lU of Sa/em.An ,ward ·winning radio senes

feaNring Dr . MappeD, "NewJerseytimes." i$ now airmg on !-lationsthroUgbOOI the nale. Mappen is theAssociale Dean of Uni"ersity Collegeal RUlgers, the Stale Unive rsity o fNew Jersey, and is eurrently theediror-in<hief I) f a projectedEocydopedia of New J e r ~. Herecently se,,'ed as Viu-Ch,irman of!he Ta sk: Force on New Jersey hi5lory .

The Task: Force was appointed byGovernor Chri$lrne Whitman al !bebehesl of the Legislarure to eva luatethe StatuS of hislo!")' in the Stille.According \0 itS carefully docum..ntedstudy. many of New J e r s e ( ~majorhistoric site5 Ir e in I state ofdeterioration and disrepa1! , and piecesof the archives thll lell !he stOl)' of itshistruy, a ~ crumbling In fact,withoul immediale attention , NewJersey history itself will be a disaS ler.

Dr , MapP"tt will focus on the

reasons why this C&IlIIOI be alln"'ed 10happen an d how to prevent it. In thewords I) f the Task Force report. "NewJer sey has one of the rielit's! and mostvibra nl historics of any sta te in theUnion One of the origi!!lll thirt«ncoll)nies, New Jersey was the crQU

roads of the American Revolution .More battles were foughl here than IIIany other SUIte." New Jersey', hIS-toric sites represent more dh'crse t ~ -

amples of ethnic architecture than mostother states. Leaders of science andindustry have thrived here as ha\'cleaders of the women 'li mo,·emem,authors, artistS. athletes andPresidents

Dr , Mappen will explaID brleny

ho w the recommendations of !beT I ' ~

For<:e. if lInplemeoted, "'ill lead torenewed celebration of our hISIO,)lhfOOih pub lic support and cLllzenenthusiasm,

Dr . Barhata Mitnick. theclWrpcrson of !h e Tas k Force, and DrM lppen will both ~ 3<allable 10answer audience questions and II)

comment on suggestions from thepo.IbJic, AudicllCCparticlpallOn "ill bekey 10 the success of the forum

The ConununllY PresbYlenanChurch is w!thin walk lllg distance ofChes ter's many antiqu e $hops andrestaurantS , No reservation S Ir eneeded to attend, but orgmitattonswho "'ish to reserve tables for 1MHislOry Marketplace should contaCtThe Morri s COUnty HernagcConUTIls.sion (973) 82 9 -81 t7 byJanuary 25. Snow dale is March 7 althe same lime and place.



N e w s

MORRISTOWN

Maoc ulloch Hall Historica lMuseum

The Museum', b iennial artexhibit, Flora '98, will open in theSchoolroom Gallery on February 8.1998. with a big change. For thefirst tim.. Flora will be a juriedevem coordinated by Curator of

EXhibits Jane Bedu l• .Arti.'ilS from througho ut the state

have submitted over one hundredworks for consideration by jurorAnn WillialIlll. an artist, educa tor.and independent curator. Formerlythe Director of the New JerseyCenter for Visual A m and Curatorof Art at the Morris M useum, Ms .Williams has artwo rk II I theco llections of several corporations.as well as in the National Galleryo f .' . rt .

This perennially popular showf e at u r e~ floral and gard en art in

var ious media. 1lle colorfulexhibit of blooms wi ll be abarbinger Df spring in we middle Dfw i n t e r

Sundays, April 26. May 24, andJune ]4 , M.cculloch Ha ll will

begin" new speaker series withauthor. wit and lecturer FranLebowitz. She will be fo llowed inthe "3 Sundays at 3" series on May24 by Professor John Roberts. anoted Shakespeare scbolar alldwriter. who has chosen theprovOC"-ti\'e topic ·Shakespeare,1':ast and !he Am.rican Mob. ' The

& N o t e s

series coocludes 00 June 14 withNJN News senior anchor KentManahan, an Emmy A wardwinner, docume n(.ary producer, andinterviewer. All three speakershave dose conne<;(;ons to

Morristown; Fran Lebow itz andJohn Roberts grew up here, aDdKen! Manaha n lives in MorrisT ownsh i p.

The se ries will tal;e place at the

Parish House of SI, ~ t e r ' s

Episcopal Church on Mi ller Road .with a reception and refreshmentsfollowing at Maccul10ch Ha lL Th e

cOSI of the series i I S50, withindividual tickets at 520 each, mdsrudent ticketS al SIO. Thespeakers have waived IIleir usualfees so thaI all proceeds will go 10suppan MaccoUoch Hal1"seducationa l programs. For moreinformation call the Museum ()ff,ceat (973) 538-2404.

•

Morris County Historical SocietyAcorn Hall

involved over the years are alle x p e r i e = ~whic h will e! iha= ourSociety

Shdla has rece ndy been t h ~

Execut"'e Dire<:tor of ProprietaryHouse. The Royal Governor'sMans ion. in Penh Amboy wb ereher skills ill managemem andQrganization proved o f great valueto !he ope ration an d awareness of ahistoric site.

The Morris COUnty H istoricalSociety invite members of theItiStol) ' commumty to call at AcornHall, !heir headquaners inMorristoWD. to we lcome SheilaMar ines .

•

New Jersey His!Oric Trust

Thirry s;tes 10 New Jer'iC)'receiv ed $ 11.5 million for h"toncpreservation. TIle grants. whichwere announc ed on December 17in Madison will fund Ihefe'toration. re habilitation , andstabilwuion of historic sitesthroughout the s tate. T h =

receiving grants in Morris Coumy

The MOITis County Historical are as follows:Society is pleased to anno unce theappoimment of Sbeila Marines as

their new director beginning inJanuary 1998.

Sheila comes to uS wilb aseventeen year career in museumand historic sue management. 'Thevarious aspects of presen'ation,programming, grant writing,exhibits, and membershiprecruitment in which she has been

Obadiah LaTourett e Grist andSawmill located II I Washington

Township. received S75.24O: andSL Mal)"s Roman Catholic Churchin Wharton recei ...

e<! S283.275.

•



age 6

CivilWarBOOkAvailaole~ o o n

T I J,"thlll the next twO momhs, Lhe

r r Morri, County Heritageommission will Jl'!bl;sh it> late ' t bool:,o"., 10 Wear Inc Victor', Crow,,-wns Coofl/)', NI:W Jeruy an d 1M Civil

ar, Funded by the New Jer s eyis!orical Commission, this publicati o nas compiloj and ojiled by theommission ', archiv ;'t, David MiU'OS.he book focuses on New Jersey', Ci"i l

ar era, including !he pefiod leodiDg u pLbe WOr. l',!itros cUmi"", Morris

o u n t } " ~wanime role through " '"r ie o c eof both roldien and civilians .

e compilation inc lude, new,paper

ieles. lellen. • diary and oth<:rm,ry SQurce ma!t:rial s relating !Oorris County's involnme m in Lbevil Wor as plesemed ",ithin the lar&"r

PubI"""ion 01 tb< Morr;< C<>tlm)"BoarO of n o . . F",ehold<n

m.;y B. K""I'\l, Ch<!i'P'''''''>tg''''' J. Cosh"iI. Yiu'C!wi'i"notlrie L . ) ,100 • • S«r<rary

b"" F Dcml"<)', TrtaJurt ,=c! D p , ~ , C<>""'Y HisJ ontlllri.>. W. F<""'"

lh..." S. M£!-.:.m:y,"W ! ~ .$;lberman

o)' eh.o\f .,.. HOIlOlU)' M = b < .

... Lof<IlZO. Offia Ad","",,,,,,,",md Micros, Arch",,,

conlex t of American History,Top icl tOve fed in the bo o l; ioclu de

" '" Mexica n War an d the abolitioniSlr e s ? O = to " '" war, " '" UndergroundRailroad in Monil; C o unty, wanimepoli,ics, pro·wl! patriotism , drafte,'a sion , and women ' , wartime 'o l e.AI"" iocluded are n u m e r o u ~firs! handaccounts of major banle, SIIch as thosedescri bed by Jo,iah Quincy Grimes,William Van Fleet, and Edmund D .Ha l s ey .

A li>ting of o ver ] '000 Civil War$Older grave sites is fearured in !heappendix. These names were compiledby Rockaw.y h i s l O r i a ~Nick [)eRos<:ave ' a period of ",Ven yean and erucredinto 3 compu!t:r databas e by !he ojit(ll'.

According to G , Kurt Piehler, Ph ,D ..

County Circula rMorri> County fleritag e Commission

Morris County Counbou,"", P.O. Box 900Morristown. NJ 07%3·0900

(201) 829·81 17

,, '110 wrOle !he foreword. "The Morri,

County Heritag e Commi" ioD ha ,prod uooo a volume \ha! allows theparticipaIll£ in !he C ivil War to speak forthemse lves . By including the voic es of

both political leaden and officers as wellas !hose of . , 'e!3g. wldiers and citizens,!hey have produced an e nd uriog work.It will inspire scholars and srudents toprobe mo", deeply imo the impact of theCivil W ar on Morris Coun ty. A bo,·.alL ,he . , 'erage reade, will CC>mo aw.yfrom this boo k wiLb • g", . t orappreci ation of the beroic sacl i ikesmade by solders and citizens of ~ j o f I i s

C ounty in their struggle to emu, . 'thatgovemmcm of the people. by lhepeople, fo ' the people. $ ~ I In,l! perishfrom th e earth .· "



T h e

m o u n t y mircu la rMorris County Heritage Commission

OL. 21, NO.2 SPRING J999

PaintedLadies:

Houses, Architecture, and Colorin MorrisCountyT1Ic Moms County lIentage1. Commlsslo n 's annual"IlpOSlum. co-spOnsored by the" m ~County Historical Society,ll be held on June 3, 1999, bctwr:en30 PM and 8:30 PM .1 !he Culturalnnn. 300 Mendham Road. Morris""T1Shlp Enh!.led " ~ t r l t e dLadies:~ Archnec:rure, an d Color m

MomsCouniy"!he program. uteludesbox supper and r,o, 'o prnen tahons

llo ...ed by a qucsuon and :tm\>'erod.l k pcaket"$""ll be Harry Dcvlin,tho r and Illustrator, a nd,hiteclural hlWman Janet Foster.Mr. Dcvlin'sprogram, 0< An ArnSt's

ew of the Pamted Lady", reflects

s hfelong lo"c of Americanelutectun Harry Devltn is authord lilusuator of P o n r ( m ~oJ

muiaur A r t l t i l t t : t u ~ .Monumnw 10

Romantic Mood . 1830·/900. He

d hiS ""lfe Wende arc .bo authond dlusuaton of !he Cranbury,-,es of cluldmt·, books. Mr. Devlin

c r e a t e d . VISI lImIty ofustraltons. paIntings, emoons, and

Tlltng! over the ),(,JfI .

Jallet Foster, archi tectural historian,will pn:SCTIt "DeSlgn 1Il Color:Ammcan VIctorian ArchItecture."Ms. FOSler tS currentl y teaching atDrew Unwerslty and IS author ofLegacy T/trOl<gh The !.ellS. A Study ofMcndham Arch/lectuI'C ". and c 0 -

author of Buildlllg by Ihe Book ", .thRobcrt GUier. Hef" prt'SCIltanon willfocus on ho... 10 achIeve au\henm:ViclOIian ~ o l ( l r 1 .

The program Will begm wllh a bQxsupper , followed wnh an lIllrooucttonby the Hentage Commissionchan'person. Nancy B. Knapp. ThepfOJrlm'$ modcnttor 's '"lCe -chairperson, MJJ)' PrendergaSL

The cost for the symposiumreg'SIr.II 'on and box supper ,s SIO.For further tnfonnanon , please callthe Comrnlul()n office at (973) 829-a I 7.



Page 2

JewishCenterCelebrates1OthA n n i vb y D a v i d M i t r o s

'The yea!" 1999 mar ks the Centenrual...l. of the Morrislown Jewish Cen ter.Located On Speedwell Avenue alSus,,"x A\'enue, the Ccmer sentes thesplnrual and soctal nuds ofMorristown's kw ish community,whtch firsl incOTpQratedas a formalrehgtous body 100 years ago. Th.bUlldmg, 11SIed on Ihe NationalRegtster. rece"'ed a HeritageCommission mar ker in 1987. TheMoonsh-lIlsprred archite<:ture, unusualfor th,S area, fearures an imposingcopper dome. the build ing's mOSIpromInent feature. From mstdc theCenter. the d<lm. forms the highceiling of a rorunda supponcd Iby massive marble CoronthiancolulIUls. The sen,," of strengthand sohdlty conveyed by thearchitecture mirrors the

solidarity of a communlly ftrmlyrooled lI \ 1\. faith. cu lture, andtradmon.

Th e hIstory of the Centerb"gan m the early 18905 whenonly several JeWISh famth esl",ed m Momsto"" . To attendservices 011 the High Holy Daysthe)" had to travel by wagon orh = to Plamfteld Or Newark.At one poim, the ,.even adultmen of the small communitydecided to have prayer services .m Morristown, SO theycontributed money 10 purchase a Torah.Smee they needed olher men toestabhsh a minyan (I.e . a quonun) of10 males necessary for a Jewish prayerservice, they mviled three guests fromnew York to the home of Abraham andHalTY Mmtz on 4 Race StreetTogether they and Iheir familiescelebrated the IIIgh Holy Days.

On Jan uary 5, Ig99 , the originaltntstet's incorpora t ed a! ) the House ofIsrael. At ftrsl. religious se-rvices andHebrew classes were held al the Mintzhouse. but as the congregation grewbigger and bigger il moved from onelocation to another, sukmg newquarters. By 1912 the congregatIOnhad OCCUpIed ftve different bmldings.In 1918 the religious body purc hased athree-story Victorian hOm<: at 177Speedwell Avenue . They remodeledthe bui lding, which made il possih le forthem 10 hold rel igious services on 1Mftrst floor and religious classes on the

second.Dunng the 1921_1924 tenure of

Rabbi Isadore Singer. the tdea ofcrea t tng a mulli-pmpo,," communitycenter arose. Maurice Epstem, founderof the M. Epstem departmenl store , lt da campaign to raise $34.000 toward thISgoal. By 1929 the prOject \\'lIScomp leted. In Marchof that year,

David S. Salny, former president of thecongregation and co·owner of Sa ln)'Brothers Men's Store. laid Ihccornerstone of the Momstown JewtshCenter - -Sell Ytsrael.

Epstein's leadershIp and the staunchsupport of other members kept theCenter solvent dunng hard limesDespIte the Great Dep resSIon. theCenter met as finanCIal obhganons. Itdid this, in part, by ,..,lImg bonds tomembers and by engagIng In o:herfundraismg act".,ties.

From the 1930, through the 1950;JeWIshoommUlllty life rC\'ol,'ed around

the Center. Acnvmes mclud<""<lBoy and GIrl Seouts. thealncalproductions, a s;ymphon)orchestra, mother/daughterluncheons, father/son dumers .and other cui rural and fam d ,

activities For sports andrecreattOn, the Center had agymnaSIum and bowhng alley.

In the 1960s a dd ,tIonalclassrooms and a new SO CIalhall were bmlt . More reccntly ,th . former gym was COnYC!1C Ginto a ballroom A nurser:school was added m 19'n .

{)(:sp lte these add itIOns. theCmt...-' s aesthetIC character hasremamed intac\. In facl. I:'VIsual appeal has been gr e a,l,enhanced by ,,"veral

architcctural modiftcallons madeduring the paS! ftve years. New fromentrance doors feature a stamed gla"deSIgn combming m'o anctent JeWIShsymbols. the m ~ n o r a hand the trce o flife . A series o f stunnmg comemporar;,stamed glass windows In the fromchape l depIcts various bibhca!

l o o " t i " ~ e d"" pag' 6)



Page 3

Re m a in~of BvenrycKlam!ion. j~ !n CenuryRuralLfehc lIl1eartillng of Beverwyck, the

1 sue of an 18th eentury plantationar Route 46 In Parsippany-Troylls, has greatly excited the historicalmmunity throughoul Morris

ounty. ArchaeologISts havescribed the site as "on e of the moSl

gnificant archaeological sources.tnd in New Jersey oVer the past 30ars." 'The dISCOVery OCCWTed duringNl Depamnent of Transponationr): and ride expansIon project tha t

gan about tv.'o years ago. Federa lw requU"cd the OOT to do anehaeologlcal dIg following themal findmg of archaeologica lmnants. Unfommately t1us did notc permanent prote<:tion to the site

any motorists wanted the parking. and SOme local officials backedm. But thanks to the cfforu oftoric presen,moniSls and the ir

pporters--most notably Senatorthony Bucco of Moms County_·\h<:

OT agreed to find another locationconstruction of the park and nde

Meanwh ile. the DOT hasncl uded Its dig , ,..,vea ling Itsdmgs al a Februal)' 26 meeting atmWllcipal offices of Parsippany

oy HIlls.Though only three of the site's00 acres have been excavated, ov ...000 arttfacts have been foundludmg fmc porcelain, earthenware

rage containers, stemware, spoons,mbs. pots. metalwork. costume

well)', shells. and other items .dmeologists have also unearthed

merican ind,an spear points andls. RemainS of between 22 and 2S

mldlOgs on the property mclude ave quaners. shoemak ... shop, andcksmIth shop. While the state'$

dget fOT the dig has been exhausted,

a third party may be allowed to

sponsor such an endeavor.'The history of this site begin> i l l the

mid-eighteenth century, when much ofthe timber On this land h.ad been cut toproduce cha rcoal for fueling ll"O11

forges on Or nCar the propel1y . Theland was originally o"",,ed by theprospeTous produce dIstributorWilliam Kelly. who so}d ;t to Lucasvon Beverhoudt (1736-1796) in 1759.8everhoudl was a forme r Dutch

restdrnt of the Island of S t. Thomas Inthe Danish West Indies who mAde hiswealth in the rum \Tade. During theAmerican Revolution. Bevcrhoudtrepon edly cnlertamed bothConHnental officers, British soldIers,and F,..,nc h ambassadors at hISplantation. G<'orge Washington notedthe property in his letters.

The plantation prospe,..,d for about30 yean, then fell into decline. A firein 1803 destroyed severnl buildings.which, ironically, helped presen'c thesite's unique archaeological deposits.The.. include structural remnantsalong with an ifaclS re lating toeveryday life on the site.

Alan Mounier, President of theArcbaeological Soc ,et)" of NewJersey, describes the irnponance ofBeverwyck as follows;

"When Beverwyck was founded,George 111 sun sat upon the throne

of England. George Washingtonwas a young man. and ThomasJefferson a mere lad. Thegovernment of the Colony of NewJersey was still treanng WIthIndians over disputed lands: theRe"olution that would make NewJersey a state was many yeus m thefuture; and, the tluaUs ofBeverwyck could only dream of

emancIpation."· 'ntis site is, by all accowlIs. one

of the fmest and best preservedarchaeologIcal sites of the 18thCC11tury in New Jersey . Apparently.Bcvcrwyck was a ,ubstant,alplantation, complete wilh a masterdwelling and numerOu Soutbmldings devoted 10 agrarianlife . An advenisement In 1169mentions a bam, separate s t a b k ~

for horses and cows, a smokehouse,

a kltchen. a black -smnh shop, aswell as s t r u c ~ sfor storage ofvegetable<. rool crops. and graIns.In its heyday the 51le boasted a trac tof2,OOO actes contammg orchards.caule, and agricultural fields. OneIntrigumg aspeci was t h ~k""pmg ofNegro slaves. about 20 of whomwere housed On the estate"

"The reponed d,scovenes arenothing shon of p h e n o m ~ n a Lbagsof grnln --preserved after twocenturies in the eanh!_not tomention finds apparently relating tothe hves of Ihe slaves and olhcroccupants oflhe sHe . The state ofarchaeologIcal prescr ...allon al theSIte compares favorably wHh (orexceeds) that of Mo nltcello .Williamsburg. and Jamesto""O."

"Beverwyck pos . . ses greatpotentIal for illustrating life On "northern plantallon as compar ed 10

on the far better kno""O sout herncum pie The archaeology of thisSlle prormses to be of surpassmgmtetest 10 those of Afncan descentas "..,ll as 10 scholars in general. forH ;s unlikely that Ihe history ofnonhern slavery would be asunabashedly m:orocd in Ihe wriltenwords as in tlx: hidden histol)' Ihat

(continued Gn pas , 4)



Page 4

OralHistory SpotlightedinFilmPresentatio

Apresemanon entitled Oral Histor)' an d Film: What Call We Lear" Abl>"llhe People o f } " " ~ J e r s r y ?will take p lace at!h e Octagon Auditorium o f M ahoney Lib rary , College of St. Ehzabe!h, Monday April 12,3:30-5:30, The event Will

feature Chanceman's Brothers an d Sistery an oml history documentary film on African Amcncans in Morris County,produced by Rna H ~ l 1 e r ,Director of the Local History Program at County Co llege of Morris . Guest speaker Gi les R. Wnghl,Director of the Afro-Ammcan H,story Program at the Ne w Jersey Historical Commission, will diseuss the film. Alsofeatured "'il l be excerpts of a video focusing on the t e ,timonie, ofHolocauSI survivor>; living 111 Ne w Jersey . Th e video waSproduced by Professor Joseph J, Prei l, Dif<'c\Orofthe Kean Univ=i ty Holocaust Resource Center. Dr. Preil , , ~ \ lbe on handto di&Cuss hIS work.

~ presentanon-p;lrt of the Ne w Jersey Srudies Academic Alliance Film Festival __is being organized by Dr. Hamet LSeplnwalL Direc tor of th e Holocaust Resource Center at SI. Ehzabeth, Sponsors tnc1ude the H'story Depanment andHolocaust Resounoe CenterofSt. Elizabdh, the MomsCoun ty Hmtage Conunission, the New Jersey Historica l Commission,and the Holocaust Remembrance Council ofMetrow e , t.

Te achers and community members are encow-aged to attend. AdmIssion is frtt. Coffee , , ~ II be served. l fposslble, pleaseR.S.V.P. by ca lli ng Profe,sor Se p inw3\l , Department of Educat ion and Intenhseiplinary St ud ies, at (973) 290-435 1.

H e r i t a g e C OllllTli s s i o n ' s C i v i lW" a r B o o k W " i n s A vv a r d

'Tte Moms County Hrnlage Commiss ion pubhcation, Gone 10 Wear the Victor's CrO>lll, MoF'Ti$ Coun/y, New Jersey a",1.I.. Ihe CivIl War , A Documental)' Account, has won first prize in the book category from the Leagu e of Hi s onea 1Sociellcs

of N ew Jersey . CommISSIOn archiVIst David Mitros, who compiled and edtted the bo o k, receIVed the prize, a "Certifica te

ofE1<c.llence"" ,n Camden. NJ <>II March 6 during a ceremony hosted by the Camden Count)' Histon,al Society. The CivilWar book is sold al tndependen t bo<Jkstores thro ughout Mom. Cmmty and at Barnes & Noble BOOksellers in Ledgewood.It IS al" , available from the office o f the Moms County Heritag e ConunisSlon

M ORRISCANAL'PRESENTAT ION

S a m e ~ &Noble Booksellers in ledgeWood MU ptesettt "!{)$It1l:y(If the Moms Canal " on Friday, Apnl 9 at 7:30. The e\'en!WIll fcaMe \llih by ~ u t h Q r $JO'\l:ph}, Macasekand RIChard C. Simon on their fdpeeti\ 'e bookl,ChiUkf(; the Mams CrmalII! Morris CouII/yand The Morris,Crwar,N'MJerl<ty'sM&"maJu Climbing WawYlWJI. f t ; r funber informatjon <:aUBames&l':ob1e at ( 9 1 ~ )252-9300,

BEVERWYCK (ro""""M)

awaIts revelat io n from the analys is of archaeolog ica l rem. ins .Th e present and past archaeo logica l wo r k at Beverwyc k suggests that It IS a slle of ImmenSe Importanc e to a

understandmg of thiS early period in New Jersey hlstOl)' . Its history, associatIon wi th hIstorical perron"s:es and event!.and its remnants. are SO Significant that this sIte may 1N: of Natio nal Histone Landmark quality. This is a w ly umquearchaeological SIte, whose transcende nt Importance to selence and to heritage must not be neg lected."



Page 5

Notes from the Archivesby David Milros

Danil l General Washington!B / iliCt;1./

d"'enltyondfrudom o fpeech

are eonctplJ N)(}ledin ou r Constitution.81.11 .. .

hil t ou r revolullonory forefatheT$p r e o c h ~tolerotion. Ihey did nOI always loleral e Ihoss ...hose opinions a p p e a r ~10 threalen Ihe sovereignty oflf 'e newmergi ng "public. o. . ' ; ng on d after the Revolution. Ihose who p rofessed loyalty to Grea t Britain we re ~ i e w e d w il h susp icionnd contempt, Seme had Iheir property confIScated. Olhen were mbjecled 10 cru e l punishments Including ta r andjeolhering ,hich often caused Se>'ere bllrtU aver milch o f he body. LoyaliSls b\'ed in coIISlani jea r an d generally ol'oided expressing the,r....s. Yet sometimes the more courageous among Ihem op e nl y ""iced Iheir opinions. speak/ng boldly 10 Ihose K'nam Ihey

gorded OS lrollors 10 Iheir countryt Jlu/ king, Sud... .as Ihlti'tlS1t ojSelomon BoyleofMorris TOKIIUhip. . . . ho expressed his ami·lel senllmems pub/icly . Boyle's actions resulted in his indictmentfor hov;n8 ullered seditious words. OS r e c a r d ~in Ihelq,..-ing coun document.

Morris C o urt o f Quar ter Sess ionsJuly 1779

e State vs. Solomon Boyle: Indictment for Seditious Words

h. JW'ors. Ln Beha lf orthe State ofNe;.>.·Jersey, for the Body o f the Coun ty of' l f T 1 ~ 'upon the" oath present, l i lat Solomon Boyle, late of me Townslnp o f,ms, In the CountyofYooman, being a perniCIOUS and disaffec ted Man. and

Pason o f a troubled Mind, and Sednious DtsPOSlllon &:. Conn:l'S3non. andntnnng, pracncmg. and falsely, maliciously, adVlSldly, &:. seditiously mtending[I,mf)'. discourage. and 10 disunite the good Subjects o f thiS Stale, to dispose

m> 10 favQUr!he pmmslQnS of the Enemy, and to alienate the Affections of theopl,. fu:>m the prtSenl & O ~ e m m...u . . . dKI falscly, mailclously and am'lSuIlyandn l o u s l y$I.y. auen. .!fmn. pronounce. and WIth I loud 11(11"" dedar,. u",selse. malic lOllS. ScdlllOll5, and opprobnous Engh sh words follOWing, tha l lS 10

y, "Damn ai/1M ConllJlenlalj-J (meaning the: .fores.,d Solomon Boyle) "'lShe} "'erll al l ,n Hell Domn ~ n " " a lWashing/on . Damnation 10 litem all. / ....ishe Regulan (meamng the British Army) .....re no w paraded before my Door; Iould gIve Ihem Di ru l lo M . " And the sa,d Solomon Boyle. in furtherr O S e ~ U ! l c n sofh,s Mahce against the sa,d Stale of New Jersey . . . did falsely.ahClOUjiy. and adVIsedly, and sedmo usly . ay. assert. affinn, pronounce, andIth a loud ,'010;(: decliUe these: other false, maliCIOUS. sedIIlOUS.an d opprobnousglIsh Words followmg, thaI IS 10 say. "{(meaning the Ol d So lomon) wish Ihe

egulars (meaning the Bnus!! Army) "'en ! 110 .... 0 / m)' HOlISe: il will be my Turn"'l. an d Ihen I jhollgel Revenge"-to the evil and pernICious Example of all

I n the like Case offrndmg. against the Form of he Act o f th e Council andmaal Assembly of th l ' Slate I n such Case made &:. proVIded and against theace of thiS Stlte. the Go,-.:mment, and Dignny of the same .

·Iham I ' anawnxncy General

A 10,} ' gelS TOUgh Irwllmeru al Ih e LibertyPo l e by John TTUmbull



P 3 g ~6

JEWlSH CENTER(<<HIllltwdJ

t h e m ~ s _One of them .1Iustra!esJeruS/llem, the S/lcred ell)'. In th.s

"'"Ofl<, the mys"cal Image of thehea,='y Jerusalem-'·w Jerusalem onHIgh'· (the d'VllIe bluepnnl for !heSIIcred city}-comes together WIth theearthly Jc:rusalem. ''\he Jeruuicm ofGold_·· B n ~ ...~ behold heavenm«llll i earth - God !ouchlllghumankind lIv"oughh.,~ In!heworld.

For Jews the: Ideals of Untty, peace,and dlVlnc ardor emooclltd II I thiS

sacred an are expressed Ihrough the lIfeof !he communtty. At lhe JewishCenter I conunUntty of 430 famlhesl h n \ " ~ SIII an atmosphere that helpsbUild the foundat.on of a good andworthy Jev.uh life. The educallOn theyr e c e i v ~at the Center teaches IllemIt''1sh soc.:ial values. which emphasi7.e5voluntec:nsm and the obhgahon ofcommuruty responslblilty. [! alsoencourages them!o value thetradl!'ons and p!"\lCUeeSthaI have beenhanded down lIv"ough 1M ~ l I o n s .

CullUDlly. soc.ally. and Splntually, the:MomslO...n JeWIshCmll'r-Bel! Ylmlelhas bem a JlOS''''-e fOlee III people's

f"IIbllClUOfl of "' " MorriI ellUlIt)'Board ofCb:JoerJF , f t _ i S

1'>zIC)' 8 Ktllpp. a . . ~).Uty II r I C t A l " " , I-'iu-QIoo/.,.......M.,.,. L . Mooto. ~0.,..:1 11..SI:,....... r...u.r.,Fro,.,.. D

"'"*""""Cor.nI>' H'UDrnJIt

).hrtaw. m.onlI.itII1rd F " " ulI.iclu,6 C. S,,,,,,,,Barbo. . J( WOO<1ltul!Mory Cll>lr . .. UOtX>nT)'Mtrnbe,

SIISan I.ot<:nzo. O!JI<:. AJm;ni",.'UM•. rn.a,!; .k>r<:[email protected]"D . WI M,,,,,,. ArrJ",-;"N ' l l i " dm'troO@i" "'"

li\"e$. and i! continues to enneh the... ell·belIlJ of Mom5l0wn and the

SlIfTOUfldmgarea through ,t s presence_

Bartenstein ReceivesAchievement AwardThe: WuJungton Assoc.atlOn orNew

.ler$ey preseruoed Its armualacruevemen! awan:lto Fred.BanenstemofMcndham m recognition o f his workover the yean m docwnenting

Impol"tarn~

af thc Rcvolul1onaryWumMomsCounty_ Bartensu.mandhis late wife l$&bel pc:rfonned historicalrese=h that resulted in the location oftwa 'mporum . . es; Jacob Ford·sRevo lutionary War Powder Mill (nea rWaslltngton·s H ~ a d q u a n e a )and thewin ter encampment of the New Jerse yEngade dunna: !he wmter of 1779 -1780 . The fascinating discovery andresearch on the Pawdn Mill wasdocumented ITt !he BiU1ensteU1'sbookNew JeruY·$ Revolwiolfory WarPo-..Yi¢r Mill, published in 1975_

County CircularMonU Coulli)' Heri!.lge Comm' . o "

Monis County Courtbouse. P.O. B o ~900MOI"lislOwn, NJ 07963..{)90()

(201)S29-S117

Mendham Historic TourBrochure Available

Hisloric Hl"ghligh/S o f MendhamTO""lUMpIS the Commlsslon·s nc", ·n t

lOur b r o c h ~eommemor-al"'i theTO"1lShlP'S 250th .M.Vcr5l l ry. Thebrochw-c g"·es a lInef hIStory of thearea. featunng photographs anddescriptions of CIJIII h,stonc iJlCSIlleludmg those In BrooltslClc andRalston. fonner runl ",du Slnalsenlements. Mendham TO"lIsh,p·'",dustnes once ",eluded "",,,,Ils ,gristmills. fmgt's, !ex!lle mIlls. anddmillenes. lben: ...ere also {ac!onesthai manufactured shoes, ilassware.

and carpets. Many of these werepowered by the abundance of waterthroughout the area. Other na!Ur.l1I"C'SOUT1:cs Included 'rOT"Iore, m,ca. hme·stone, and lumber. AccOrdlrli 10 thebrochure's mlroduchon, the people ofMendham TO"lIShlP worked wherethey lIVed lr I a nalwa l sClUng. aWl:from the 'dark sataniC mIlls· of the b'gc,ly. pursu ing economic Independence.For more mfonnauon conW:1 the

CommiSSionat

(973) 829-8117or

thelocal library. munlclp,al build mg.Ralston HistQncal SocIety. Of

Mendham Booki .



T h e

<!tuunty <!tircular

Morris County Heritage Commission

OL 21, NO.3

L O ~ ! ~ l a v eR e ~ o r a ~fauna!

n early June the H e m a g ~

comm",ion acqum,d a 207 ye ardoc ument titled " M om s County

hs and Manurrun ollS." The mnet ye hand wnnen boo k. w hich hadg been missing from the Morri.nty Ckrk's Office. r«ords themg of slav", an d the bmh,e children.;, IOSt peop le are unaware: that

w Jersey was a slave stat e. Eig htcem of New Jersey's popula!tone COnsiS1C-.:! of African sla ves .e<,-quarters of the , l a ~ epo pulatio n

byD IiIMlros

d In the nonh.-m a nd eaSle rn paI l ; S = ; ~ 2 : : : ~ ; ; ' :C."J)". - ~ '=--o Df1"".1 .J.""1e colony. M()Sl of Ne w Jer,ey' . ,..""""1<>1M M . m , CD""".d,,*-

. " '" ,,",,' '' ! fo ' ' «"'"'Yes "'ere brought over from Dutc hl e m e n ! l ;i l l New York. Others we re

chased fmm sla"e markels il l Penhl>Qy and Cooper', Ferry (n ow

mdcn).Slavery ~ c a m ean 'mponant

ue dunng !he A m ~ r ic a n Rev oluti on,mo nt was the first to abo lish .I av ery

dcclanng It unconstitutio nal,.chusens' courts interpreted the

e', bIll of nghts as p r ohib,hngery. Pennsylvan,a. Rhode Isla nd.

Connecticut adopted gra dualmon, wh ich g uaranteed fre edom t ore generaltons of blac ks

In 1778N ~ w

Jersey Governorham Liv>ngston urged the gra dualmg of sla,es. callmg slavery "unerly

inconsistent with t h ~ p r a C t lc ~ ofChnsllanity." In M orris County. thePresbyterian mmister a nd pa lnOl. Jacob

Gr-c<:n. ~ on d e n m c dthe h yp<><:ri.y ofthose who oppose !he tyranny of Bn tamwhi te ",fusmg to free the" sl av es."Wha t a dreadf ul absur d ity. thatpeople who are so strenuo uslycon tending for liberty, ,-,ould a t the samelime encourage a nd promote slavery! .May s l a v ~ " f ) 'cease in Amenca."

For many ~ a r s ,abohllomS! pl easfell upo n d ea f earS. N ot un lll 1804 didNew Jersey pa s. an "A'-' t for the Grad""l

Em anc ipation ofS l a v ~ r y :' T h ~

lawmandated the gradua,l man wn iss lon (i.e .( " " " ' ," ' - " 0 " p a ~J)

FALL 1999

Early RailroadSiteRestorationPlanned

by R, Simon

I m a ",cllo n of woodsover loo kIng t h ~ Rockaway

R,v e r a few b loc ks from down townSlIS one of the few

remaining railroad turntables i l l thestale . These turntab les were used a tterm mal pomts to turn eng inesaround. Th e Site is located o ffMorris Ave nue across from t heformer L a ~ k a w a n n aRail road freIgh tstatIon and m close pro x ImIty to anabandoned 19th century tre stle bn dgewhich spans !he n ver .

The Town o f Boo nton hasde veloped pl an . reee nt ly to "cqu irethe site and res tore I>Qlh the turntableand trestle bridge. The Board of

A lderman Itope 10 purchase lhe land,now owned by NJ TranSIt through agram Boonton WIll ~ re queStIng from

the Op<:n Sp"<X' and Farm"cad Presc ...vallon Trust Fund . If ~ uc c e s s f ul , thelan d will ~ added to the adjacent GraceLor d Park w h, ch surrounds thopicturesque Rockaway River gorge.

T h1s project seeks to preSITVe anmterestmg p le c ~ of New J ~ r > e y '

ratlroad history. At th" term inal pointthe Delaware . Lackawanna, an d WesternRailroad e nt e",d !he In dustrial a",a ofBoonton, famous for its blast furnace.

iron foundry, and nailworks . Th econjunction of!hc Morris Cana l and l he((co""n,<d O>! palP' 2)



Pagel

Rai lroad Restorati on(CO" Ii">m1 )

railroad at Boonton mad e this o ne ofthe Importan t Industria l sites ofNorthern New Jers<ry in the second half

ofth<. 19th cenrury.Th e turntable rernams con51st of a

cj rcle of stm,. work 55 feet in diamet ercrealmg a basin about 2 10 3 f« t deep.In the ce nter IS 3 large !lat stone withprC>Jccting IrOn studs whi ch held t herurrnng mechamsm. whIch wasmanually operat ed (referre d to an"ann-stron g" turntable). The bas in IS

panially eovered with leaves anddebm, and' nOw eontams a few largetrees . b ut W fine old stonewor k ISTl'adi1y apparent. Restoration of thi shislOnc site and the adjoining oldrmlrC>ad lrCstle bndg e will be atredllablc adcilllon 10 Boomon's nc hhentage.

-1 /905 ";tw aj he railroad tJ<rtlta1>l. tmd " , , , { . brids<, "';Ih Boom"" ""..1 mm"com inbdckgr<=Ui.

Dover Featured in Historic

Site Tour Brochure

R 1510r;c Highlights ojDow:r is thelatest on a senes of th,rteen

h,stone lOurs pubhshe d by the MornsCOWIT)" Heritage Commission Thebro chur e mc!ude s a short h istory ofDo,'cr and f e " I Ur e ~ photographs and

de<cnpnon. of eIg ht histonc <tiesDov ... played a major ro le in Morris

C o u n t y - ~mdusmal lustory. A forgebui!! m 1722 alon g the brook that flow sthrough Hurd Par k remained moperahon during the Ame ricanR",'olutlOn and lat ... expand ed tomdude a dam, ro ll ing mIll. and nailfactory. By 1820 Dover's Ironwork..had been modernized by o""ers JosephBlackwell and Henry /l.lcFarlan 10

mclude Sled furnaces. a cham cable

shop, and nvet m, ll.When the Morris Ca nal op<:ned m

1831 II brought I 1~ W life to the ironIndustry . which m tu m spWTedeconomic growth . With ~ complellonof the Mo rn s & Essex Ra ilroad in

1848, olher mdustri es moved in,mak ing Ihe 10"'11 one of north ern NewJersey's major mdusmal c e n \ e ~ .

Remarkably , the l Ion mdustry that!.>egan In I h ~ eigh teenth c enturycontinued we ll mto the twentiethcentury. But as the Iron mm e.abandone d a c t ; ' ~ t ym the )95 0 • . it wason ly a mailer of tim e !.>efore the Ironworks and other factones shut theirdoors. and the rush of industry ceased.

Today Dover's small ..rban--

suburban COmmUOIty of hard workingprople shows ~ i g ns of new life. Therevllalized Histone O,smci wu h lIS

antique shops and popu lar !lea markelamacls many VlSllOr.;. Thepres efyat ion of Dover' s archlle<:turatlysignificant bu ildmgs -- not as muSeumrelics b ut as usefu l structures --hashdped susta In and encour age thetown's c<:onom;c revival. Such effo rtsinspire greal hope for the fut ure Oflh,shislone to"".

Cop le. of Historic Highh ghls ofDo· .er may be obta.oned from theMom s County I1entag e C omm lSSlOlor Dover Hmorical Soci ety.

,



SLA VE REC ORD S

fr«mg) of 5Ia"es born after July 4,

1804. at age 21 for WOmCnand 25 formen. It also requ.red sia.,·"owners tofl'g1Stcr sla\'e births.

Significanlly, t ~ manuml$$londocummts found", Ml>lom5CounryBIflh.s and Mnnummons" ofl¢llpredate the Gradual Emanc'p;llionAc!. In fact. tile book I><.gms m1792. a lIme wher! many had alreadybegun frec"'g their 511\·es. hlO$I.Ia,·cs manummed I><.fo,"" lS04 InMoms belonged 10 Quakers. a groupknown for its abohuonisl sentiments."Tho::Quak= had '"(lIed10 uclude III511\"" own,,"; from I ~ i rmttllng$ In

1776.Adam M.lk!". a Quaker, was Ille

firsl person In Moms COUllly 10 iTceIltS s l ~ v e l i . The Ma y 3, 1791,manUImSSlOneen.ficate for Mtller',II"·,, Jack n.ads.s foHo,,·s:

Wh"reas my Negro boy namedlack being under age, and I nOIbeIng easy 10 connnue hIm 111

bondageany longer !han "" arTWUto the age o f " ' ..,'Y on e years.berng full)' pe,,;uaded he OUllht tobe free at thai age and Ihal IIt5 hISJust due. and . . . natunl.1 ngln . • .

I>Ot 10 be deprwed thereof.Th=forc. I do by ~ ~ K n I S

manum.t and $e1 h.m_tIt( saKIlack··free altM um e he amves at

tho age of twenty on e yearsaforesa.d, dcclanng lhal he shallbe enurely fm: from bondage toany person or person whate,..". andby this Inswm...,t ofWnl"'g I doauthonze htm to demand andmamtam hts nghl to FreedomlII:l:ordrng to lhe true tntefl'st andmeanmgof these ~ s e n l S. . . .

Anoth ... llUIlumlSSton cemficale.

dated March 8. 1796. documents the

fr.,..,ng oftwo

mamedslaves by

Henry Rankms. ThtS documentsilo"" IlIIt RanJ.:,ns bought thecouple from thelT former o"ner.Joseph J..ey,1S. for the $Ole purpose offrcemg them. He p U r e h . ~andmanumtlled them the same day.Rankins. wllo SIgned Ius name withan MX:' IS not hsted ti l the ta x

ratables of the penod. He may ha,'ebeen I freed blaele, SlIlCe thepurchaStng lI.I1d freeing of s l ~ " e sbyf = Afnean Amenean! was notuncommon. The lu t of thedocumenl reads as follows:

Tlus May Cert.fY to whom II mayConcern, Thai for divers good .I have th15 day Manumilled,Liberaled and sc i fm: my NegroNamed Pompey McCoy, agedaoout 47 Years. logether WIth hnWIfe named Flora aged. about 40

yoars . . both of whom werefonn ...ly lhe propeny of JosephlewIS o f Momstown and bolh ofwbom I ha,.,,!Im day purchased ofhim. . Hen.by giving and gr.1Intmgunl0 lhe saId Pompey McCoy andFlono his wife full liberty to trade,buy, bargain, sen. and Ilctllain fortlt(mseh'es and 10 Il"UlS8ct allmanner of busmess 1$ fully an dfreely as tho' they wm : born of

free parents, and I hereby fl'leasethem from all services that I mIghtby la w 0<" Equity or by thecommon ~ U S l o m so f thIS Slaleh:avc ~ l a . l m e dfrom them.

For scholars o f Afncan A m c n ~ a n

history. the rerum of lhemanuml$$lon and btrth book by ananonymous pcm.m tS I landmarkevent. CommlSS'onmember and

Page 3

County H,stonan frances Pmgeon

saYi, "I t ·s a muacle; 11'Sirn:placeable. It opens up anotMrchaptet for us 10 study."" ACcordtng10 Karl Niederer, DilUtor of he NewJersey State Arch,,"("$. -nus .sdefinllely an .mportant book, andImportant find that delaJis an earlypenod of African Amencan hIStory111 Morris."' ProfC$sor Rita Heller.htstory profCSSOfa \ Counly Collegeof Moms, i . quoled as sarmll, MJ

apprC<:lale any wnllen record Ihalprovides conerete e"dence !halbnngs US closer 10 the appallingIlIStl1utiOllof silVery. Yoo must $CC

thc w th to set yoo free."The manum'sSlon and birth book

is now In th e Morns County Clerk'sOffice. At the H ...lIageCommISSion's tccOmmcndatton.County Oerk Joan Brimhall had thebook mIcrofilmed by lhe NortheastDocument Conscrval1tm Crntcr In

AndevCT, M a ~ s a c h u s c t l•.

•

Art Exhibit FeaturesHistoric Sites

Swaln'S Ar t Store of MomstO\\l1

will e;>;hibit the work of awa rdwmmng Moms County anisl LucilleHobble on October 3 through 9.Hobb,e's popul:at Jtthographs anddra"1ngs of ol d houses = featuredIn the H.·ntage ComrnlSSICnpubhcatlons. HiSllm'c Siles of MorrisCounty. New Jersey

•



P a g ~ 4

G r e a t D r a v v i n gF l o r h a r T l E s t a t e

R O O r T l o fR e s t o r e d

byR.Sioo1

'7h e magnificent dr.wlng room o f..l. the Vanderb ilt -Twombly ~ S t a l ~ ,

now home oflhe Madi son campus ofFairleigh Dickinson UnlVersity, basbeen restored to lIS former glory, ThemansIOn ofFlorharn. one o f ~ fineslglIde<:! age country esta tes m lhe nation,was e r ~ t e dIn 1893 -97 by Ihe masterarchllecrural firm of McKim, Mead &WhOle.

This impress!"e room. now used bythe Vni"ctslty for a "mety of academICand SOCIal funcnons. was the s Ite of

Jaborate entertaInment hosted by MrsFlorence Vanderbilt Twombly for overa half cennuy. Embellished with opu·ent Rern"ssance marble fireplaces and

eleganl plasm '' ' 'ork molding and cei lmg. the room was created I n m.j.sncpropomons. Meastinng 85 f..,1 by 32reet and nearly 20 r« l h,gh. the roomencompasses the space of two averageAmerican homes.

The restoratIOn project was imtlated

by the Fncndl of Florham. an organuation oflocal clllzens dedicated to thepreservation of t h ~Florham estate andis gardens, as well as ilS nch hIstory

The Friends created a '<'5toration com_m i n ~ e .headed by Barbara Kedauverand Phyllis Con"'aY. which wor kedlosely WIth the Umvcrsity adminStratIOn and conlruClors on the plan

nmg and lmplementanon. The COm-mmee', key role was to oversee theaesthelle a s ~ 1 Sof the proje<ot andssure a h,gh level of hlSloncal accurcy In the work.

Early on Janet Foster, archllecrural,stonan and p'<'sen"non consullanlrom Madison, was engaged to deter_

mine the ongma) paint colors used onhe "'ai ls and moldings. Based on herindings, the room was palnte<! in aale green denved from the Hammond

Ha",ood House In Annapolis. Uponiscovering tMtthc ongul/Il "'all mold

mgs had been gilded. these decorative

accents we«: hlghlighled in gold.1llough the ongmal13!e 19 cenrury silkdamask drapes were located (purchasedby Maccullocb Hall Mu""um at the

Florham estale auction in 1955). textileexpertS '<'commended againstthe ,r rehanging due to the fragility of the Cen-lUI)' old fabric. As an appropnatesubstltulC, Fnends member PbylhsConway engaged the mtemationally renowned fabric company StalamandreSilk Co., to pro"de a reproduchon ofthe malenal used 10 Newport's MarbleHouse, another Vandc.,-bih Fami lyeState of the same penod.

In addition 10 the interior d ~ o r at ' O l l .

I h ~ renovanon Invol ved the exact '<'_placemenl of the Qrigina l chevwnpanern floor. installation of historicallyaccurate exterior doors and replacement of the windows with the originalunilS which had been found 10 storage.

Restoration COSIS werc in the vicmiTyof one-quaner of a milhon dollars.Fnends Comm,ttee Chaurnan BarbaraKeefauver spear-headed a fundralSlngprogram to p r o , ~ d esignificant support

to the Vn,, ·ersi!y for Ihe '<'storation.

KeefauVet" organized twO major bencfitballs and worked closely WIth the admInistration in procunng lhe gcneroussupport of several foundatlOn.: T h ~

Hyde & WatSQn FoundatlOn.t h~

F.M.Krrby Fmmdanon. the Alice & LeonardDreyfuss Foundation, the Hidden PondFoundanon. and the TomlinSQn FamIlyFoundanon. In addition. generous p ro

bono contributions of expertise tncluded architects Peter Dome, AlA ,Charles John, AlA, and Phylli sConway, intenor designer . CarmmeToto, Madison painting comraclOr, andScalamandre, Inc . alSQ proVldcd addItional generous aSSIstance to theproJcct.

11le successful restoranon proj ectrcpresenlS a fmc examp le ofpartn eringbetween a preservanon -mmded volunleer gro up and the custodians of anhistoric Sne. Friends o f Florham PresIdent Emma Joy Dana has expressedher adrmrallon ior 'h e organizahonsboard and =mbershlp who have energetically suppot1cd tnis project as wellas rv,.·o major garden '<'StOT1l1l0nsat thIS

wonderful gildcd age estalC.



L. 21, NO. I

o a r d

'0 of Moms County HeritageCommission's members havereSIgned at the end of their

S thIS year. Marge Cushing andi ~Dempsey> both have served the

miSSion for mor e than ten years.rge Cushmg was appoln led 10ommiSSIOn in March 1988. She<!at V,ce-ChatrpCTSon as well asd on several comlmtt«s duringnllle. "farge wllS responsib le for

al o f the H ~ t ( ) r i cHighlighlures and wa s committee chaireveral of the symposia. In herofres ignanon she stares, "i t has

an honor and SOun:e ofacnon to have """,cd on the

mission. My In l= s t I n Moms

1/y's heritage and its preserva t ionever wane . ." Marge g ~ son to

"1 already miSS mytornung and edmng sessions . "

enth ru;iasm for wming andg and dedic a t ion to the·a1.J.onof Morris County historybe greatly missed. Ma rge hasdy been elected President of theury TO"TIsiup Hmoric Advisorym m m ~ e .

hne Demps..y began her tenurehe Commission I n 1986. Over

years Arline has serve<! asw-er of the Commission and an

- ' emember of the publicalionmlttee Ar lme IS the eduor of

T h e

<!r:ounty <!r:ircularMorris County Heritage Commission

M e m b e r s

the publicalion Old Boonton ond ,heJersey City Reservo ir, a collection ofactual newspaper accounts from thedays w hen the town thr",ed. Thehook featutcs ~ a s u r e d fami lyphotographs ge nerously entrusted to

her . She is also 'esp<:Insible for theHentage Comnnssion hooklet Thenrst Slate 10 Rotify th e Bill of Rights.

Arline sta tes she has mIXedemotioru; regard ing her deCIsion 10

reSign from the CommIssion as shefully enjoyed her appointments.Ho ...-ever. Arline is involved with

WINTER 1999

R e t i r e

many other programs and aCIIVitiesand can 'I ded,cale the time she fee ls IS

reqUIred " , th her other commlUnenls.She states i l l her leller of resIgna1!on'"I " ~ s hthe Commission much suc cessIn the furore and I leave wuh manyfond memone<" .

The board members and staff of theMoms County Hcntage CommISSIOnextent 10 both Marge Cushmg andArimo Dempsey bes l WIshes m thelt

future endeavors .

•

H " i I ~ pc-. ."""" ""'mUr< Vicl S ; - . F,a"<". f't"I{<Q", Ch"",.T><m Nancy Knapp.A,d,,,,, no"1lI MWW • ni l At,,')· C A a l f ~ " '"",nMd ,A./Kwh ' " ,h . , \ f Q ~ nFWN,,!



Bloomery Forges • Morris C o u n

M OmS County's rich m a g n e t ; l ~

deposl1s were first worked into

metallIc lIOn m blO<lmenes, where

wfought iron ",as produced drrttl1yfrom ore.o . batch process. Weatheredore found lTl exposed vems alongs ~ a mbeds was Ideal for working inbloomenes: many early forge:s w=located Wlthm a quaner m Iles of the

nearcSl outcrop of 'ron ore .Waterpower was used to work the~ l l o w s. wluch supplied a cold air blas t10 t h ~heanh. Water also powered theInp hammer, used to aggregate the no nand remOve unwanted slag.

This phase of the local industryboomed dunng the Revolutionary Wa r

by Bierce Riley, President, Roebling ChapterSoci e ly for Industrial Archeology

and the War of 1812, whc'II forgesprovided wrought iron bar used forstrapping and tires on military wagons .During the financial downturn of 1817when the U.S . market was flooded , , ~ t h

cheape r Bmish ITOn, many MomsCounty forges clos<:d,ne, -cr to reopenasa]n.

In the la te 1830s "'-orth J ~ r s e y

b loomCThbegan expenmentmg wuh halblast, a new technology which la ter

became !mo"", as the Americanbloomery process. The Americanbloomery incOrponlled a !arge, tapered,brick chimney e n casing casl rr<m P]pcsin which the ai r bIaS! ""'" prehealedbefore entering the hearth throug h the

luynesrebuilt

Some earli..,. forges we10 accommodale th

technology; an known fors<" built aft1840 utilizcd ho t blast. In Ih,s sam

penod the Morris County iron industrwas also revlVcd by the Moms Canawh]eh mpphed rehab le lJansportattoto a previously remote area.

Today, rernaln. o f the waterpow

systems are typically the mO$! v"iblfeatures at fo rge s]tes. Remnantsdarns, hammer ponds, and tailraces arthe most d iscemable fe.Nr<:S. A closlook will reveal slag an d heJrth lJasoften used 10 re inforc e darn an d we"Or placed to the slM in spoil heaps .



h g e

S p r i n g ' 9 9C o m m e m o r a t e

S y m p o s i u m t oG e o r g e Wa s h i n g t o n

7t.c Washmgton A$SOClation of.I.. Ne'" Jersey w!ll cdebrale its125th aMl\ 'e rsar ) ' and commemoratethe b,centenJIIII of GeorgeWashml\Oll ' , death ""th I sympoSIumtItled Thll Image of GroT '

lI'ashlllglon. on ~ 1 . i y8, 1999 alMomst""n Naaonal HislOnCalPark 111

Mom$lown It will uplorc \hechangln, Iml ,e of WlShmgton aspresented by artISts over a penod ofmore than two ccnlUnes. Speakers willdehver shde"U uSlnllcd lectures 10sho", how paInters, sculptors,pnnunakers. and craftspeople haverepresemed Washington In changmgpollucI!. SOCIII,and cullUTal conle)<\S.

alr'bara J, Mu,uck, symposIUmorgantzer, tndqxndtnt an historian,and ' P " i . h s l In Amencan tllS10l)'

p,:I1IItmg, will begm the progn.m "ith"GcorJe Wuhmgton: Mirror ofAmcncan HIStory" and H. Nichols a,C\.ark, the E I _ McOoll21d StorzaChau of Educanon al Atlanta's HighMuseum of Art. will foUow with MAnleon Preserved: George Washmgton 10Sculpture,"

Dunng the lunch break. conferenceregIstrants "'ill be able to view some ofthe extensIVe colleclion o f GeorgeWashington art and memcn.biha in thecollections of MomsIO"Tl NanonalHIstoriCiI Pari:,

After )ul\chwn. W,lham AyresChId Curator and DlCCctor oColl«uon s and lntetprnauon at thMuseum 1 \ Stony 8rook. " '111 presen"Fl1St IJ1 the Hevts of H,s CountrymenImages of Ge<lrge WashmglOll il l thAmenean Home .M

Marl<.TIustletltw:me. Kay an d VelmKunball, Professors of A n 'hSIO,)Tex., Chnman U n l V ~ ! ' $ I t y"'11conclude: the program " " h "TIIe

Power. Pres.o:nee, and PerSIstence oWashingtoll Crossing Ihe Delaware I

the American Imagination."' AreceptIon ",,11 follow. For mO

mformanon call (973) 33$·3372

MARK YOUR CALENDER

f i e\: S = ofiM H..-itage Olmmis!Oion of Moms CotmI}'wjll be making a p r e ~ t a \ 1 o nOf\ MFlorlwn M

al the:1 - / Rro Unck Schoolhoose.OIl Febn1a1y" 1999lt2 PM .. 'Theprograrn inponsored by the Chaillam To."11.>hrp1:!1.wmcal$Qclety. Florham, il\MadiSOll. wa ! the mansion of he Vanderbil! and T",,,,,bly famlhes. It was oneof the rUlest eoually cita!es'm thcnation during Ihe ' ' O i l d ~ dAse" an d was «eal<:d by the GJ"Cat mas.ten MCKim.

Mead & White. arehireclS. aodFredr!ck lawOlmsu:d, !andscap<' arcfriwct.'The s!Jde presental ion will co,'er theIustory o{ the uta l " and g a r d e n ~inc1Udil'g Stanford Wlul" s 'ntci!or decoiallonr.. S ~ " ethe date 1lQ"'.



P

ArchivistAppointedatMorristown'sWashingtonHeadqu'Th e Momstown National.I. H'$IOflCal Park has rece ntly

announced the appo,n led of Da vid J.Veceluoh to the posluon of Archivist for115 LIbrary and Spe(aal Collections,located at tile Park Museum on the sIteo f WashIngton'S Headquaners InMomslo"lI . New Jeney. AccordIng to

Ihe Supenntendenl. Clark DIxon. Mr.Vecchloh ",11 be responsible foro,·nsttln& the Park's exterlSlvecollection of ran: boob. documcnl.'l,m m u = p u . maps an d other histone.lmJlmal dealing wtlh the AmmcanRevolullon and Colomal Period .

Mr. Veechloh has bern employedmOil recently at the Nahonal Lib raI)' ofMedIcine. operated by the NanonallnsmuleJ of Health I n Bethesda,Maryland.. Working IIIthe archival field15 a collr:<:lIon access tr:<:hnIClan.Vecchloli was Involved In the handling

of book!;, manUSCnpl$,and Journals forthe H,stoI)' of M edICine Olvision. Inaddulon. he has CIlIated severalexhibitions dealing WIthmedica l histoI)'materi al.

A formerresi dent of HIghbndge, NewJersey. Mr. Vecch loli .lmIded school I n

Glen Gardener and rece,,·ed a BA InEngll'lh LItera"""'II RulgefS UnivCI"Sayli e subsequently rece,,·ed a Maslers~ g r c eIn Amencan HIStOI), from theUnwcT$11y of Maryland. as well as aMas teQ I n Llbrvy ScIence from theCathohc Um,·en.I!y o f Ammea I n

Washmgton. D.C.From h ISyc-arsof education and work

","h historical matma ls, Mr. Vecchiohhas. accordmg to hu own words."csubh5hed a strona; cornmJlment to thefield of SpeCIal colleellons· , , ~ l h i nthehbrary profeSSIOns·', Asl:ed on •prellmmary Il:Vlew of the NatIonal ParI:

holdmgs al Momstown, lie expreI>is excitement In bemg m" o lvcd WcollectIon of such grca l dept hbreadth In Its fie ld. 1b e Par k libraryarchIves conum, 300.000 ItUlCludma;40.000 '"IllumesI n the LihCollection, 6000 pre-ISW Impnnctbe Ran: Book CoHecllons. and mtha.n 30,000 documents m the 18th19theentury MlI1USCf1p1coliectlon.laner mdudes letters of the FoundFaLher$ and Re"olullonary War Obooks, d,mes. l/Id JO\I!Tl3.I$..archi'-al colle.:uons rcpreSC111one omost Important natIonal n:sourcesstudents and researchers ofAmencan Revo lu tIon a nd ColoHIstory.

Mr. VeCc!IIoh IS mamed and IllS

LIsa IS • LIbrarian al Douglas ColleRUlgers Un1\'crslty TIley 'CSll ie

Bcmardsvllle.l\ew Jersey.

History-A-Thonat AlexanderHamiltonSchool'71.eA I e ~ l I I d c rHamilton&;hool in Momsto ..."n ( g r ~ s 3- 5) 'n l l be ki cking oITies S<'condannual MHlsrory_A_.L T h o n ~fundraiser<mJ anuary 5, 1m .

Th<: PUI]XlSCoftlus ,,' .ent is tWi:l-fo!d; il i$ the major fundraise> fOf the school (Jast yeer S1\ld.!-ntsrJIse d S8,600} andn IS a WIly to c h a H ~tilt StudentslQ "leam 3boutM OlfI5to"'1I·snchhi StOry. The theme t.Ius ~ ar IS · .. 1om$lov.n: 'fh<F1!"St One H1lI!dred y ~ " .

A package of materl:ili will&" home Mil> the students au January 5, whic h I ' I ~ J linclude a hlSIOlj' fact sheel withtwenty facls retUming to sucll thITlgs as Yoxkl:y Ho llov.·, fort ~ , the Re'o\ullonar) War and GemgeWashingion, S!udmts will ask relative$ and &tmds to sponsor themm the fundnu= by pledging a dollar amount fureach correct :1II$"''eI" g J " ~on the qwz. TIlerc is DO door .o--door :.eHiIljl inwl\ 'ed. The quiz v.ill be &i'=m sehool(1 1 JanUll""y26. Swdcnt.\.will lhen lq>OIl back 10 tile IIp<m$Or and collect the pledged amount. All money IS collected:md.retumed to \be school forspe<:ia l culrw:al HIS programs and assemblies. Also in the pad."lIge WIll be a ",-allangtour map supplied ~ . of!he HIStOll<.' Moms ViSitors Center to c:ooourage famIlies to '1SLtour local histOric sues.

ThIs y = we a t . thrilled to hio"-e the support of the Wa5lungtoo ~ l a t i O l ' lof New' loney wh o ,,,.;n heeongrarulaung and awardJng w "Winnerso f an ~ s s a y~ t . All students ",'in be wnang on Ihe follo\\111g topic; ~ I I \

my OPlll101l. why is it important to study l b ~ h i s t O f } ' o fM o r r i ~ l O w n' "

Also supP<)l1lng thto c "cn t is the Moni<;tllv."n I'artn«llhip which is provi<llnsa. gift certificate to the stud en t who

brmgs 10 !be most pledge lllOIIey . 'Thee ,' en t wiil culm Ina te 01\ hmuary 2:9" l ib a " SII by Alcx.;lnder HamiltQi\(3 CM ,John HanuniJ) who "iUial hi1::i<;iuthis b fe: and aNW<'r qucstion.s po:sedby thi: stUdents. For more informatiOIl plea.seu l l Roye. Wintz. Cha.Irpe:r!;OO(973) 5$8·5317. n u s program was dt;ve loped by pa ren t vol1l1!1tm and thescho&l' sprincipal, B ill Venczla.



p . s ~6

News

&otes

New Publi cat ion

The McDonald "" WoodwardPublisbmg Cornp,any is pleased roannounce !he publielltion of a newbook. 1 h ~CoTOllSd Kups: An OralHWOf)' of A_rieon CiJToustt/s by NewJ ~ r s e )author. Carrie Papa. Theaulbor's reselrtb on !be <.:arOll".I!....-asfunded by the N ~ wJersey Hisrorica.lComnussion

The boolr:: is a unique collec rion ofstories from Ihe p e o p l ~who livedbehmd the lights. music. and magic ofthe antique wooden c a r o u ~ L

The C o r o l 4 ~ 1Keeps will be of!Inerest to Morris County residenlSsince mucb of it deals with Benrand]slaOO Amusement Park. Palisades

.>\musemenrPlrk. Seaside H ~ i g h ! S .

I'ul>tlClllOll of .... Mor,.,. COWII)'IIoIrd of CbosenFr."l".hlor$

Suey B K,,"!'P. OtairpeffD/IM u . W F e - . 11"" . a...1)'UUl'IM."o L Moore. SNJTIIJI"1

0 . . R SI'l'm. T- . ,Ff2<II:a0 P'l1ICe.JII. c - y HUt""""Roc:banI F . . . . .M uy A PrtndnpslR>ChIrd C. 5 _Ba bo•• K WOOIIhult

Asbury Park. and other New Jerseylocations.

The boo k is available at loca l bookstores throuilhout the County.

Symposi um

The Friends of the New JeT".yRailro,ad an d Transportation MUSC'IIman d tbe United Railroad HislOncalSociety of New Jersey will bold their

ninth annual all day symposium onSaturday. April 10. 1999. It will be

held in the Hall of Science Aud itori umat Drew University. Madison from 9AM to 5 PM. The AntltropologyDepartmentof Drew is a ccrsponso r ofthe event

The themewill be {I', Now or N ~ T

County CircularMorris Cou n!), Heritage Cmnmis,iQn

M(!rri$ Coumy Coortbousc. P.O. B o ~900MOITistown. NJ 07963..()9()()

(201) 829·8117

fo r Ihe Herilag e Ct nler . This publevem featurts 17 fast movinillustrated presentations focusing onIhe s t a t e - w ~effoTt to create Railroad 100 Transportation Museuman d restore /presen:e New Jerseybistoric trart$pOrUtion equipmenSU\lClUrtS. siles. artifacts an

memnrlbilia .Lunch an d momlllg an d aftelllOOllrefreshmems are ,"eluded in the S2

admission for members of " FIIeoosFor Othen. the adm;SI;;on is $35. an

includes one year m e m b e r ~ h i pForregistration fonn or f u r

information. CO ntaCt Cap!. BMcKelvey. Coordinator. 1Dogwood lanes. !krteley Heights . N07922. or <.:aU /fax (90S) 464 -9335

newsletter archives: 1998-1999

Documents