New Jersey West Line

This wall of rocks, near the first sharp curve of Brookside Drive in Millburn’s South Mountain Reservation, is a stone abutment. It’s one of the last remnants of the New Jersey West Line Railroad east of Summit.

(Below is what this stone wall looks like from the road, if you’re NOT the type to go climbing up steep poison-ivy filled hills to get better photos of historical ruins [cough]. See it peeking through, there on the left?)

This stone abutment originally supported a wooden trestle locally known as the Ghost Bridge, so-called because there was never actually a railroad built on top of it.

There was never a railroad on it because east of Summit, the New Jersey West Line was never fully constructed.

Construction started in 1870. They bought the land for the right-of-way, and they graded the land, and they even laid tracks in some places… but construction was stopped by 1873, in part due to corporate politics, in part due to lack of finances (Panic of 1873, anyone?).

Before 1873, everyone was so certain it would be built that the railroad started appearing on several maps. Here’s an 1872 map with the Morris & Essex line highlighted in blue, and the proposed New Jersey West Line highlighted in red (hint: not the county boundaries). (Click to see it larger.)

(1872)

If part of the NJWL on that map looks familiar… that’s because WEST of Summit, the New Jersey West Line became the modern-day Gladstone branch of the Morris & Essex line!

(2012)

(As a New Providence resident, I use the Gladstone branch every day! Hooray for partial construction of the NJ West Line!)

This isn’t to say that NOTHING east of Summit was ever built on the NJWL. There was a quarry in the South Mountain Reservation that needed to export its rocks to the rest of the world. The solution? Reclaim an unused bit of the NJWL that conveniently connected to the Morris & Essex Millburn station! Here’s a map from 1906, showing the railroad spur in use long after construction had otherwise ceased on the line:

(1906)

And that’s all I know. Abandoned railroads are fun!

 

References:
Beers, F.W. (1872). “Topographical map of Hudson, Union, and Essex Cos, New Jersey.” State atlas of New Jersey based on State Geological Survey and from additional surveys by and under the direction of F.W. Beers. Beers, Comstock & Cline: New York, NY. From the David Rumsey Historical Map Collection. http://www.davidrumsey.com/.

Lampe, O.W. (1999, 2000). Images of America: Millburn. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738504130.

The Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society. (n.d.). The Map Room. “1906 Atlas Map of Millburn, Plate 32.” http://www.mshhistsoc.org/map-room.

Wikipedia. (2010, last edit). “New Jersey West Line Railroad.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Jersey_West_Line_Railroad.

 

 

(P.S. Hey, speaking of railroads and history, Amtrak is sponsoring National Train Day this weekend, in honor of the completion of the country’s first transcontinental railroad in 1869. If you live near a city, and you’re into trains, why not check it out?)

Cannonball!

The Cannon Ball House in Springfield was:

• Built in either 1741 or 1761 (the second date is currently favored) by Dr. Jonathan Dayton
• Originally a farmstead
• Used as a hospital by the British during the Battle of Springfield in 1780
• Pierced by a cannonball in its west wall during the Battle of Springfield (hence the name “Cannon Ball House”)
• Operated as a tavern, briefly
• A residence again, for many many years
• The home of the Springfield Historical Society (and still is, ever since 1953)
• Added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 (as the Hutchings Homestead)

Here’s what it looked like in the early 1900s:

 

In case you’re wondering why I keep misspelling “cannonball,” it’s because I’m using the spelling on the sign out front.

 

Also in case you’re wondering, two of my references were bronze plaques nailed near the front door:

 

Just to confuse things, there’s another historical Osborne Cannonball House in nearby Scotch Plains (also Union County), which was ALSO built c.1760, and ALSO pierced by a cannonball during the Revolutionary War. This is NOT that house.

 

References:

New Jersey State Chapter: Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America. (1957). “The Cannonball House.” (Sign marker). Documented April 2012.

Sanfranman59. (Last edit April 3, 2012). “National Register of Historic Places listings in Union County, New Jersey.” Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Registered_Historic_Places_in_Union_County,_New_Jersey.

Turner, J. and Koles, R.T. (2004). Images of America: Springfield. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738536180.

United States Department of the Interior (n.d.). “National Register of Historic Places.” (Sign marker). Documented April 2012.

Short Hills station

The original Short Hills train station was built in 1880.

Original Short Hills station, c.1906

 

It was deeded to the Lackawanna Railroad twelve years later, in 1892 (although Millburn owns it nowadays).

As far as I can tell, the original station was replaced by the current station around 1908.

Current Short Hills station, c.1910

It’s also home to the Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society!

And here’s a final couple of photos for context, because why the heck not:

For information on parking and schedules, check out NJTransit’s website.

 

References:

Lampe, O.W. (1999, 2000). Images of America: Millburn. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738504130.

A lot of names to remember

Founded by immigrants in the 1880s and 1890s, the Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Salem Congregation was sold to the Mount Olive United Holiness Church of America in 1959.

Both of those denominations are mouthfuls!

It is immediately next to the Overlook Medical Center.

 

Reference:

Meola, P.E. (1998). Images of America: Summit. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738563307.

Over the river and through the woods

I am not 100% sure how old this railroad bridge over the Passaic River is, but I’d guess late 1830s, since this branch of the Morris & Essex railroad was completed in 1838.

Because of all the trees, it’s hard to get a clear shot of the bridge nowadays, but the “enduring town landmark” (Cunningham 1997, 34) has long been a popular subject for local photographers:

c. 1900

 

c. 1916

 

Date unknown, probably c.1950-1990

 

References:

Cunningham, J.T. (1997). Images of America: Chatham. Arcadia Publishing: Dover, NH. ISBN 0738545619.

Treese, L. (2006). Railroads of New Jersey: Fragments of the Past in the Garden State Landscape. Stackpole Books: Mechanicsburg, PA. ISBN 0811732606.

(Submitted to Sunday Bridges.)

Diamond Hill School

It’s the Diamond Hill School! Except it’s not a school anymore. People live here! I actually started trespassing on their tiny front lawn just as the residents emerged from the house to start loading their car. (I pretended to be taking photos of the church next door until they drove away.)

Here’s a context shot from across the street:

 

Diamond Hill School (also sometimes known as “the Woodchuck School”) was built in 1888.

Here’s a photo of Diamond Hill School, c. 1910…

c.1910

 

…and here’s a photo of it c. 1932. (Look, it even still has that little porthole on the side, near the roof!) Just two years later, in 1934, it was the last one-room schoolhouse in Union County to close.

c.1932

 

It’s been maintained on its original foundations as a private residence. Hooray for preserving history!

 

References:

Troeger, V.B. (1996). Images of America: Berkeley Heights. Arcadia Publishing: Dover, NH. ISBN 0752404903.

Gonczlik, J. and Coddington, J. (1998). Images of America: New Providence. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738565210.

Calvary 2!

This is another view of Summit’s Calvary Episcopal Church.

I’m going to copy what I wrote last time, because I haven’t learned anything additional, and you probably don’t remember what I wrote anyway:

Calvary Episcopal Church was the first [religious?] congregation organized in Summit! Its first building was erected in 1854 elsewhere. Unfortunately, that church was destroyed in 1893 by a Christmas decoration fire. (Seriously, don’t leave candles unattended.) The congregation consequently moved to its current location, on the corner of Woodland and DeForest Avenues; the new building was consecrated in 1896, and it’s been there ever since.

And just for fun, here are some old photos of it, with dates largely unknown:

 

Reference:

Meola, P.E. (1998). Images of America: Summit. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC.

Old mill ruins

A few days ago, I posted something about the dam that powered Seeley’s Mill. Well, THIS is all that’s left of the mill— a broken concrete floor, some mossy brick foundations, and corroded steel pipes all over the place. It’s part of the Sierra Trail, marked on the Watchung Reservation trail map (link in sidebar) as the “old mill ruins.”

Originally built in 1763, it started as a gristmill (for grinding grain) called Fall Mill.

After Edmund A. Seeley converted it into a paper mill, the business thrived until 1924.

Around 1916, the Green Brook (which powered the mill) flooded torrentially, and Seeley’s Mill fell in.

Apparently they fixed it up and functioned for another eight years (what with the whole “closing in 1924″ thing).

Nowadays… there’s just a trail marching through what’s left of it, and that’s that.

 

References:

Troeger, V.B. (1996). Images of America: Berkeley Heights. Arcadia Publishing: Dover, NH. ISBN 0752404903.

Lincoln-Hubbard School

Back in 1909, a school was built, and they called it THE LINCOLN SCHOOL.

Back in 1955, the Lincoln School was razed, and that was that.

…But the “new” Lincoln School lived on!

The current Lincoln School was built in 1953. In 1998, the school was renamed “The Lincoln-Hubbard School” to thank G. Morrison Hubbard, Jr. for all his philanthropy over the years. It’s currently one of the five gr. 1-5 public elementary schools in Summit. (There are also two elementary schools that only carry Pre-K and Kindergarten.)

For current information on the goings-on of the Lincoln-Hubbard School, click here to visit their own website.

 

References:

Hageman, R.A. (October 2006). “G. Morrison Hubbard, Jr. (‘Morry’): A noteworthy contributor to Summit.” The Historian: The Newsletter of the Summit Historical Society. http://summitnjhistory.org/Historian/Hubbard.pdf (PDF).

Meola, P.E. (1998). Images of America: Summit. Arcadia Publishing: Charleston, SC. ISBN 0738563307.

Catholic Church of the Assumption

Now, when I hear the word “assumption,” I associate it with the noun form of the verb “to assume,” which of course means “to make an ASS out of U and ME.”

But to Catholics, apparently, it refers to the Virgin Mary being taken up into heaven.

Dictionary.com tells me that they come from similar roots, at least.

BUT ANYWAY.

Although an Irish congregation formed the church in 1845 (and that church marked the center of Morristown’s Little Dublin neighborhood), this present structure was built in 1872. (Above is a circa 1900 photo of it.)

Despite Morristown’s important role in American Revolutionary War (i.e. George Washington’s headquarters), the Catholic Church of the Assumption is actually Morristown’s oldest church that’s still standing. (To clarify: there are other old buildings, but no older churches.)

For more information about the church’s current programs and Masses, click here to check out its website.

 

Reference:
Morris County Heritage Commision, New Jersey Register of Historic Places, and National Register of Historical Places. (n.d.). “Church of the Assumption.” (Sign marker). Documented October 2011.

Morristown Partnership. (2011?). “Morristown’s History.” http://www.morristown-nj.org/history_cont.html

Williams, J.M. (1996). Images of America: Morristown. Arcadia Publishing: Dover, NH. ISBN 0752402072.