MAY WE EXTEND OUR BEST WISHES TO THE TOWN OF BOONTON ON ITS 100th ANNIVERSARY

Our Town has reached an important milestone • •• its 100th birthday. We• the officers, directors and members of the Chamber of Commerce are proud tc particioate in celebrating this achievement, We have confidence in our town, and will strive to maintain Boonton' s record as an outstanding community.

OFFICERS

E. E. Baldwin, President John Pi sarcik, 1st Vice President Frank Gaudioso, 2nd Vice President Louis Curcio, Treasurer Mrs. Susan L. Coppola, Secretary

DIRECTORS

Anthony Marcello Vincent Chadwick Lawrence Carey Powell Thomas M. A. Clifton Vladimir Scerbo Walter Worrall Thomas Licciardi Bruce Trethaway Edward Zdawczynski Samuel Taylor Felix Wolfe

LIST OF PAST PRESIDENTS

1947 • '48 • Edward Maraziti 1954 • Douglas W. Anderson 1959 • Nathan Goldberg 1949 • Raymond Dawson 1955 • Anthony J. Marcella 1960 • '61 • Albert M. Maraziti 19S0 • Arthur Grambling 1956 • Vincent B. 0,adwick 1962 • Louis Curcio 1951 • J. Stewart Fay 1957 - Arthur Grambling 1963 • '64 • Rocky F. Cerbo 1952 • Howard Rasmussen 1958 • Gilbert ~chnabel 1965 • '66 • Louis O,isena 1953 • James W. Heaney · 1967 • Edward Baldwin compiled for

the

Boonton Centennial Committee

by

~c~ OJ ,..0.ltlS COUNTY

MAUDIE FISCHER Editor

This booklet does not purport to be an historical textbook. It was written to convey tbe spirit, the essence of the people who built the Town of Boonton. This is tbe Town's story, Table of Contents

Into the Wilderness Came the People . . . • . . . . 1

And the Mills . . . . • ...... 2

And Industry Came ...... 9

They Built Their Homes ...... • • • 14

To those countless They Bunt Their Churches ...... 18 good citizens of Boonton . . . to those who contri­ buted their writing talents They Created A Community ...... 26 ... to those who scoured their attics for priceless ol_d pictures ... to those They Fought Their Wars ...... • . . . 56 who shared their know­ ledge and their memories goes the deepest gratitude Look to Tomorrow . . • . • ...... 62 of the editors of The Boo'lton Years. To mention all hy name would be irrz· possible, but two in par­ ticular, Peter Wendt and Alex Fowler • enabled us to give this booklet the substance and character of Boonton;s proud berit.· age. Into the Wilderness

Came the People • •

The vi /loge of Boonton is beautifully situated - so for as charming orosoect is .::mcemed - uoon the - a/most precipitous - face of a bluff, which forms one of the sides of a deep ravine through which the Rockaway River emo­ ties its waters into the p/ain below. Harpers Magazine, July, 1860

.,-·~ •,1·.r•:, .. " • • And the Mills

Boonton to 1903

The History of the Iron Works, the rolling mills, the blast furnaces of

The almost-forgotten village of Old Boonton was ideal. There was, of course, a limited demand tor mer­ founded about 220 years ago on the Rockaway Ri•rer, chant and bar iron by local farmers, all of whom had about a mile and a half downstre2m below tbe present blacksmith shops wher-, they made their own nails and Town of Boonton. Since 1903, the site of the village has other hardware. The big markets, however, were the been covered by the Jersey City Reservoir. From the cities of Newark and New York. To reach them, It was south end of the present Washington Street bridge across necessary to transpon the iron first by pack-horse, and, the inlet, the center of the village would be found at a dis­ later, when roads were Improved, by wagon. Although tance of about 1,000 feet toward the reservoir. inconveniently removed by some 25 miles from herprin­ Distinguished for Its iron works of forges and rolling cipai markets, Old Boonton had a slight advantage over and slitting mill, Old Boonton owed is existence primarily forges in the remoter hills in the nonhwest pare of the to the water power facilities afforded by the Rockaway county. River. At the site chosen for Old Boonton, the fall of the Old Boonton had only a modest claim to fame, Con­ cascading river and the steeply sloping banks were deemed trary to Isaac S. Lyon's ardent speculations in his "His­ ideal for small power dams. At one time there were at torical Discourse on Boonton" (Newark, 1873), the iron least three such dams, not very far apan, furnishing works at Old Boonton was not the first in the 13 colonies. power to water wheels, which operated bellows and trip Its principal c:laim to being historically first rests on hammers of the forges, and gave motive power to the having been the fir.;t in Morris County to have a rolling rolling and slitting mill, as well as to a grist mill and and slitting mill, which was erected in 1770. The iron a saw mill. works at Saugus, Mass., complete with forges and slitting Equally imponanc was the availability .of raw materials mill, had been In operation more than a century earlier; a for producingwroughtiron. Not too far away were the rolling and slitting mill in Bethlehem Township, Hunterdon mines of Hibernia and Mount Hope where iron ore could County, N. J., anteda:ed the one at Old Boonton by be obtained; the surrounding dense forests could furnish 20 years. the wood for making the enormous quantities of charcoal W!thin its limited capacities, Old Boonton furnished a for the forges; and nearby outcroppings of limestone fair quantity of supplies to the patriot forces during the could supply flux for the refining process. · Revolutionary War. There are records showing that Old Easy access to markets for iron products was also im­ Boonton furnished axes, iron rods, sheet iron, iron tires, oonar.t, but in that respect the site of Old Boonton was not a number of iron cups, 6,000 pairs of horseshoes, 1,800

Boonton is a history of Boonton itself by Alex Fowler

I Rolling mill, storehouse and blast furnaces, prior to 1875 I::- .... •' kettles, and 20,000 flints, the lase obtained from Boston. of the refinery when Thomas Boone, the new Royal The more substantial "sinews of war", such as cannon Governor of the province, arrived in July, 1760. Those and cannon balls, were furnished, in this area, by Hibernia circumstances support the Ogden-family tradition thatthe and Mount Hope, where large furnac"s and casting village was named in honor of the new Governor; and the facilities wer" then operating. Governor's transfer co South Carolina in the fall of 1761 The possibility of Old Boonton furnishing some three­ makes that year the plausible one for the name to have pounder cannon was considered at one cirne, but there is been given. Neither the name, Boone-Town, nor any of its no record that any were actually supplied. Although Old variant!'. (Boon-Town, Boonetown, Booneton or Boonton) Boonton contributed but little of· the mar" glamorous has, so far, been found In writings made prior to 1771, in muniticns co the war effort, it did contribute substantially which year Samuel Ogden wrote it, "Boon-Town", but to vital needs of Washington's army. soon after settled upon "Booneton." ' In 1765, David Ogden bought a large tract of land ad­ The First Iron Works jacent to his holdings along Rockaway River at Old Boon­ ton. That tract of 3,656 acres, together with his other When Old Boonton was first settled, or when the iron lands and those later acquired by Samuel, amounted to works was first escabllshed, we do not know with certainty. more than 4,000 acres. Known as the Great Boonton We can be fairly certain that there was neither settler Tract, it included substantial parts of what are now Moun­ nor iron works In the Boonton area as early as 1715. ln tain Lakes, Town of Boonton, Boonton Township, and the s pr Ing of cha c year a pa ny of surveyors for the Taylortown. Apart from being a venture in real estate, Proprietors of West New Jersey came intothisarea, laid the purchase of so large a tract made available ample o•Jt a number of lots, and made note of what they saw. forests required for making charcoal. John Re:iding Jr., chief of the party, kept a diary in which he mentions the few settlers they encountered: cwo or Samuel Ogden three in the Whippany area, one 1n Montville, and one in Pompton. There was no mention of any settler in the The year 1765 also marked the date of Samuel Boonton area, which he described as a wilderness, and Ogden's graduation from King's College (now, Columbia no menticn of any iron works anywhere, None of the pro­ University). There ts a family tradition that Samuel prietors who had accompanied the survey parry would was then not In very robust health, and that his doctor accept the tract which contained the site of Old Boonton. had recommended a sojourn In the country. Perhaps The earliest notice, discovered to date, ofan iron works it was for that reason that David Ogden induced his 20- at Old Boonton is contained in the records of James Alex­ year old son to become resident-manager of the iron works ander forthe year 1747-8. He was Surveyor General of the and the Boonton properties. Proprietors of East New Jersey, which group had come No description has been found of the iron works exist­ Into the possession of all the unsold parcels of land in ing in the time of Obadiah Baldwin or at the time when Morris Councy after 1742. That notice mentioned the iron Samuel Odgen took charge. From later descriptions, we works on Rockaway River, in Morris County, operated infer that the early installation was probably limited to by Obadiah Baldwin. Subsequent rderences to the iron one or two forge fires and one or two trip hammers - all works confirm that it was, indeed, at the Old Boonton on the Hanover side of the river. However small the set­ site, and that Obadiah Baldwin was the iron master at that up may have been, you,1g Samuel must have seen its pos­ time. We conclude chat Obadiah Baldwin was probably sibilities and his own vocation. the first iron master at Old Boonton. With youthful zeal and energy, Samuel Ogden pursued his P.lans for expanding the operations at Boone-Town, and for Obadiah Baldwin extablishing himself as oneoftheimportantpersonsin the Jh 1759, Oa vid Ogden of Newark purchased a narrow community. In l 770, he purchased the Boonton tract from strip of land containing 23.19 acres of land embracing his father, and in August of that year he bought of Thomas both banks of Rockaway River along most of its course Peer a six-acre tract on the opposite bank of the river through the present Town of Boonton, The beginning where he erected a rolling and slitting mill. point of survey of that tract was said co be about one The machinery for the new mlll was purchased in mile above Obadiah Baldwin's iron works. From the England, and at least two experts, Thomas Compson and details given in the survey and a map of the river, it is Thomas Davies, both also from England, were recruited not difficult to show that Obadiah Baldwin's iron works to erect and operate it. The new mlll required not only a was at Old Boonton, and that it stood on property al­ building to house it, but also wood-burning forge fires ready in the po,;session of David Ogden and William for reheating the iron prior to rolling and slitting, as well Kelly. as a new dam, flume and water whe~l to furnish the neces­ When a county road was laid out in that area in 1761, sary power. Part of the capital for this venture was the iron works was called ''Mr. Ogden's refinery," and furnished by Samuel's brother, Isaac, andhisbrother-in­ the name of Obadiah Baldwin no longer appears in con­ law, Nicholas Hoffman, who were given a 1/6 th and a 1/Bth nection with that enterprise. Presumably Obadiah op­ interest in the mill, respectively. erated the iron works from the beginning (1747-8) either The operation of rolllng and slitting mills in the Amer­ on lease from Ogden and Kelly, or in their employ, ican colonies was specifically forbidden by Parliament in and probably continued his relationship with Ogden until 1749-50. The lllegality of the mill at Booneton must have 1765-6, when the management of the works was taken been clearly recognized and condoned by David Ogden, over by Ogden's SOIi, Samuel. We presume that Kelly member of the Council and, In 1772, one of the Justices sold his share to Ogden about 1760, for there is no of the Supreme Court. Perhaps the 20-year-old law had further mention of his inter.,st. lost some of its force in the atmosphere of rebelllon that already was brewing. At any rate, the slitting mill was built despite the ta w, but not without the precaution - so we learn from persistent tradition - of concealing It un­ David Ogden derneath a grist mm. Handed down to us Is another story that may have a Jc was probably In 1761 that the vtllage acquired basis in fact, but has probably lost nothing in its re­ its name of Boone-Town. David Ogden, eminent lawyer telling. When the new slitting mill was first tried out, it of Newark, and for some years a prominent member of wouldn't slit, and the expertise of Compson and Davies the provincial Council, had but recently become owner was insufficient to discover the cause. In desparation,

4 Thomas Compson was sent back to England as one of this danger; the Ogden (presumably, Abraham) with whom country's first industrial spies. There as an employee Washington was then stay!ng was believed to be sincere - in a similar mill, he discovered the secret, but hardly but Samuel, Nol had he done so when hi!' unworthy purpose was found out, At about the same time, Gen. William Maxwell also and he had difficulty making his escape. wrote to Washington complaining of the difficulty of ob­ On his return he triumphantly reported that the fail­ taining recruits in this area because of Samuel Ogden's ure stemmed from the want of lubrication of the slitting influence in getting deferment for any man who had the wheels with suet. To this day, lard oil has been con­ slightest disinclination to fight. The Committee of Safety sidered an essential lubricant In the machining of iron was suspicious of Samuel's motives In buy!ng up the and steel forfeited shares of his kinsmen, and ordered the At­ As owner...rnanager of a growing Iron works, Samuel torney General to file a Bill In Equity to discover the found that he had various civic and social responsl­ true owners and the neat profits of the slitting mill. b!llties, which he readily accepted. In 1770, at the age of There were also vague charges of Tory activity level~ 24, he was appointed a Justice of the Peace. While serv­ at Samuel but none was ever proved. ing In that capacity, he was Instrumental In securing evi­ Near the end of the war, when the fortunes of the Amer­ dence against the notorious counterfeiters headed by Sam­ ican cause were well advanced, Samuel made an abortive uel Ford, and received the commendation of the Provincial attempt to gain Washington's permission for Isaac Ogden's Council. In the minutes of the Council In 1773, he was repatriation. In a letter of reply, Washington aired his referred to as Lt. Col. Samuel Ogden of Morris County, suspicions of the motives of the repentant defector, and, but no notice of his appoinonent can be found. This may with scathing rebuke, said he wished to hear nothing have been an honorary title, but It probably had some more on that subject. semi-official standing because of .his organizing his em­ Despite what he claimed were unjust and cruel perse­ ployees and others into a local militia. cutions by his detractors, Samuel maintained throughout In 1774 when the colonies began to organize their the war the aspect of a true patriot, and placed the re­ reslstanc; to the British policy of "taxation without sources of the mill at the disposal of the military. representation," Samuel was named to the county's first The mllitary, in turn, accepted his offer at face value, Committee of Correspondence, which met at Morristown. and insistently ordered various supplies. In addition, The following February he married Euphemia, daugh­ the Boonton works was put on a quasi-military footing - ter of Col. Lewis Morris, and sister of Gouverneur as was done for otl:1er iron works In northern New Jer­ Morris, who was later to distinguish himself In public sey - allowing the workers to bear arms in defence of service. Presumably, Samuel had already built his manor the plant, and exempting the men from field service ex­ house, which in grandeur may have rivalled Beverwyck cept in cases of dire emergency. In nearby Troy Hills. In his capacity as head ofhlsarmedemployees, Samuel saw his only military service, if such it could be called. There is no record of any other military service that he performed, although he has erroneously been acredtted The.Revolution at times with the service record of another Col. Samuel Ogden of Fairfield, Cumberland County, who had eight Prior to 1776, most prominent men In New Jersey, years of active duty. as In other colonies, Joined Committees of Corre­ spondence and Associations to protest the discrimina­ tory taxes imposed by England. They protested as citi­ Samuel Ogden Leaves zens loyal to the crown, and begged only to be treated as such. When Independence was declared, many were f ram their marriage in 1775, Samuel Ogden and his shocked, saw only chaos in rebellion, and rejected the wife, Euphemia, continued to live at Old Boonton for the tenets of the Declaration. Among those so affected ensuing eight years. During that time, at least one son, were the Ogdens, of whom five of Samuel's kinsmen David Bayard Ogden (not David Boonton Ogden, as Isaac openly affirmed loyalty to the crown, and later Joined s. Lyon avers) was born to them. Seven other children the Loyalists in New York and Staten Island, They were were to survive their father, as did David B. Oge.en. his father, David, three brothers, Isaac, Nicholas and The war came to a close in 1783, and the British Peter, and brother-in-law, Nicholas Hoffman. What forces withdrew from New York City, which they had oc­ Samuel's private sentiments, or those of his brother cupied for seven years. Tory sympathizers, who had Abraham, a distinguished lawyer of Morristown, were taken refuge in the City, were evacuated to Canada, we shall probably never know, Outwardly they supported Nova Scotia and England. On the heels of the Tory the Patriot cause. evacuees swept the patriots, who, themselves, haJ had to flee the City In 1776. Into the rush to fill the City's A number of people - and George Washington, him­ commercial void, plunged Samuel Ogden, who opened up self, was one - thought the split loyalties of the Ogden a large general store, and established his residence in family were designed to save the family fortunes re­ the City In. 1783. Perhaps he and his family were not gardless of the outcome of the war, Subsequent events loath to leave the area where they had been the objects of seemed to support that conjecture, When the properties so much distrust. The management of the iron works at of the defecting Ogdens were seized by the Patriot gov­ Old Boonton was placed in the hands of John Jacob Faesch ernment of New Jersey, and sold at auction, Abraham of Mount Hope. and Samuel were the highest bidders: Abraham bought In his father's property, and Samuel that of Isaac Ogden John Jacob Faesch and Nicholas Hoffman, The loyalties of both Abraham and Samuel had already been questioned by the Com­ On April 22, 1788, John Jacob Faesch moved to Old mittee of Safety, and.each had taken the oath of allegiance Boonton, residing In the manor house built by Samuel to • the Patriot cause. The oath-taking did not absolve Ogden. Two years later, when Faesch was 61 years them, especially Samuel, from further suspicion of Loyal­ old, he married 31-year old Susanna Leonard, widow of ist sympathies. Roben Lawrence, and niece of Captain Michael Kearney In February, 1777, Gen. John Sulltvan in Chatham of Whippany. Upon her marriage, the new Mrs. Faesch wrote to George Washington warning him· to stay away became the stepmother of John Jacob, Jr., age 13; from the vicinity of Samuel Ogden, where Tory sym­ Richard Brinkerhoff, age U; Eliza Marla, age 10; and pathy ran high, and where Washington's life might be in Catherine Esther, age 5. s John Jacob Faesch continued the operation of the Boon­ when spring floods, gathered in the 120-square­ ton works until his death In I. 799, after which the man­ mlle drainage area of Rockaway River, were funneled agement was taken over by hl.B two sons, both in their through the narrow confines of the river at that point. early twenties, In 1805, when the 21-year lease had run The new dam was no exception, and suffered serious Its course, the Faesch brothers purchased the Boonton damage shortly after It was built. William Scott, him­ properties, of which, because of previous sales by Og­ self, moved to Old Boonton in 1823, occupied the Ogden­ den, only 2,500 acr"s remained. Under their manage­ Faesch mansion, and supervised repairs and new con­ ment the Boonton works did not prosper - possibly be­ struction, which were going on at gr.,at expense. Un­ cause of their Inexperience and a declining market, but happy with the way things were going at Old Boonton, also because they were distracted by the pressure of Crane sold his half interest to Scott on August 28, 1824, creditors .who had resorted to litigation over the Mount for $2,000. Shortly afterward, Scott returned to Power­ Hope properties. In the midst of their fL'lancial troubles, ville where he built his mansion house - now, Sarah John Jacob, Jr., died in 1809attheage of 33, and Richard Frances Nursing Home - abou~ 1825-6. B. carried on the works until his death, at age 42, in With the erection of the new iron works, and the settle­ 1820, at which time h<' was Insolvent. ment of some 30 families of iron workers recruited in Neither of the Fae:-,,::h brothers had married, and their England in the years 1829-30, the new town of Booneton estates (and debts) descended to their sisters: Eliza M., Falls - later, simply Boonton - began to grow, and the who had married William H. Robinson of New York City little village down the river began to acquire the name, in 1801, and Gatherlne E., who remained unmarried. Old Boonton, by which it was afterward known. The heirs sold several lots out of the Boontoo tract in the amount of 528 acres in an attempt to raise money to pay Old Boonton's Last Years off debts, but this was Insufficient to prevent foreclosure of the mortgage. On August 18, 1821, the sheriff sold The coming of the Morris Canal sounded the death the remaining 1,912 acres of the tract to Israel Crane knell to any prospects Old Boonton may have had of be­ and William Scott for $8,050. coming an industrial center. Its pride, the old split­ ting mill, had long since been in ruins, and its dams and Crane and Scott waterwheels needed extensive repairs; most of the work­ ers had drifted away, and even the church had been torn Israel Crane, of Bloomfield, and William Scott, of down and removed to Montville. Any incentive to expand Powerville, made determined but futile efforts to re­ the works must have been pre-empted by the presence of vitalize the deteriorating iron works at Old Boonton. At the large works, built at a cost of $283,000, at Boone­ a cost of $20,000 a new and larger dam was built to ton Falls. Never again was Old Boonton to flourish replace one that had been washed out bya freshet. Dams as it had in the days of the senior John Jacob Faesch, at Old Boonton were subject to fairly frequent washouts We do not know for certain who William Scott left in

Rolling mill and pudding furnaces, looking west from Plane Street ...... , •.. ',· .•.. , .... . /;:~ .• . ·¥!!'~'- :-_:,w ... charge of the works when be moved away from Old Maurice Fitz Gibbon, a principal in the firm, moved l::loonton in, or about, 1825. It may have been Thomas his family first to nearby Ailanthus Hall (the former C. Wlllis who is known to have lived in the Ogden-Faesch Polly Board house), and later to the Ogden-Faesch mansion as late as 1834. mansion, where he resided at least during the summer At any rate, William Scott continued to own the prop­ seasons. He restored the mansion to a fine state of re­ erty until 1836, when be sold two lots, one of 165 acres pair, with embellishments in the "Queen Anne style" and one of five acres, comprising the Old Boonton and with Victorian touches. His was the last family Tract, to bis son, Elijah D. Scott. One writer states to occupy the historic mansion on its original site. that John Righter operated a forge and a grist mill at In the late 1890's the Old Boonton Tract, along with Old Boonton.for many years following the dissolution of other properties in that vicinity, including the Poor the Crane-Scott partnership. If so, it must have been Farm, was acquired by the Jersey City Water Sup­ under an arrangement with the Scotts, for owner­ ply Company for purposes of a reservoir. Fitz Gib­ ship of the property did not come into the hands of the bon, who bad obtained full title to the property, re­ Righter family until 1841, when Samuel F. Righter and ceived $85,000 in compensation. Pan, if not all of the Charles A. Righter purchased it from Elijah D. Scott. old mansion was subsequently used in building the Glaab Neither the small-scale operations carried on by Willis home on Malapardis Road. and the Righters, nor the establishment of the Morris Preparations for the reservoir included the building County Poor Farm nearby in 1837-8 did much to bolster of a great dam less than a mile downstream from Old the fortunes of the village. Boonton, and the clearing of the reservoir basin of all In 1875, Philip Wootton, of Boonton, purchased the buildings, structures, roads and trees. Only rem­ Old Boonton Tract from the RigJ:iter family for $10,000, nants of foundations and stone boundary walls were and after taking in two partners, James Holmes and left in the basin, and a new bridge was built across the William G. Lathrop, sold the property to Fitz Gibbon inlet to connect an extension of Washington Street and Messer, of New York City, for $15,000 on April 5, of Boonton to the displaced road to Morristown. In 1880. The new owners ert!Cted a large paper mill on the period 1902-3, after the dam was completed, the the site of the old forge, and carried on the manu­ waters began to rise, and even the barren site of Old facture of paper for something more than a decade. Boonton faded from view.

Office force in front of iron works, about 1873. Under window to the left of the doorway is o /ump of anthracite coal. Other oictures in o series taken ot this time show eight•yeor old youngsters in long leather oorans •

. ' -­' ,. -!~ I It :, ,.,,._;,.of. .flC..1•••u ~9ii~--,,y~tw,t'-·· ,-... ..---- ,,,. ,~. \.. "\'...._ \\ """". Cll'.1~' Isaac Predicts 'Boonton's Bound to Go Ahead' By MAUDIE FISCHER There was in Boonton in ;859, a man named And our present rallroad prospects-- Isaac s. Lyon. He worked for a time in New York Boonton's bound to go ahead. City and returned to the "beautiful and romantic Unle hillside village" of Boonton. He was a drayman with Soon you'll bear the snorting locomotive the soul of a poet, if not the precise vlg!liance of a Thundering along its Iron road; hlstortan. Then will come the New York millionaire, He fancied himself a historian, nevertheless, and And Join us round the festive board-- composed a 58-page booklet entitled "Lyon's Histor­ For Boonton's bound to go ahead! ical Discourse on Boonton." Actually, It appears Although some of his facts are indeed true ones, to be a record of seyeral speeches "delivered before according to present-day historians, In many cases the Citizens of Boonton at Washington Hall on the his enthusiasm for colorful stories overcame a zeal evenings of September 21 and 28 and October 5, 1867, for facts. Boonton was, In fact, named in honor of by Isaac S. Lyon, Ex,-Cartman." Thomas Boone, governor of. New Jersey in 1760. The Isaac was quite a man. In an appendix to the booklet, following excerpt from "Lyon's Discourse," Is more dated 1873, he rails against unscrupulous reporters fun. who had been writing ''trashy articles swindled from "There Is an old legend current among several old this discourse (and Incorrectly at that) •••by a parcel persons In this section of country that runs away of brainless literary Bohemians whose souls are back Into pre-historic times, to this effect. They say more diminutive than a sneak thief's." that•.•• one Winter, shortly after the first settlement He urges his fellow townspeople to "Invest your of the place, flour was so scarce In the neighborhood greenbacks in Boonton property." Everything was that all the people then :residing there bad to subsist coming up roses for Boonton, Isaac said. entirely on meat for several months. "Yes, the New Yorkers, with their fast horses "The men who worked in the Iron works -- It and long purses, wlll come •••• We will then kick appears, then, that there were Iron works th!!re poor old sleepy-headed Morristown out of our path at that early day -- all llved In a llnle circle of log and go on our way rejoicing." huts, from the doors of which they all threw their Indeed, he rejoiced so ecstatically he had to burst bones into the centre of the open circle after they into song. And this he did after his discourses to the had been thoroughly picked. These bones soon reared publle at Washington Hall. themselves Into a smalt pyramid, as a maner of He Includes the song In his "history" of Boonton, course. preceding It with a modest Introduction: "In the Spring a stranger visited the settlement "The following homespun song, manufactured ex­ for the purpose of spending a few days with a frtend pressly for the occasion, was sung by the writer In who worked there. On returning from the works to his exceedingly fascinating style••• he Is pretty strong­ ·their huts one dark night the stranger, not being ly Impressed with the belief that he Is about the only famlllar with the paths, stumbled over the ptle of person on the face of the earth who could sing at all: bones and bruised his shins. Boonton's Bound to go Ahead!" "On regaining his feet he Inquired, "What's the A parenthetical note advises: (To be said or sung name of this miserable place?" to any tune that suits It). It hasn't got a name,'' replied his friend. There ar,! 29 verses to part first and 25 to part ''Well, then," responded the stranger, shru1.glng second, but here's a sample. Make up your own his shoulders and rubbing his bruised shins, ' blast musle. my eyes, If I don't name it BONE-TOWN!" Messrs. Fuller and Lord now reign supreme, Such Is the spirit, If not the exact letter, of the dim With Mr. Go-ahead Lathrop, who's a ''whole team," and shadowy old legend, as related by some of the And with their enterprise and steam aged men of the present day."

Morris Canal and Banking Company

"The annual rt!pon of this Company has been received, There were expended during the year for permanent and shows It to be in a very flourishing condition. improvement of the canal and its works, $34,234.44, and The navigation was maintained to a later period than the capital received a credit of $9,596.69, leaving the usual, closing about the 20th of December, and the usual net Increase of capital for the year, $59,526.92, winter repairs were completed In time forthere-opening The financial repon shows the companytobe free from of na vigat Ion about the 1st of April. floating debt, etc., lea vlng a net balance of profit and The revenues for the year amounted to $303,152.38, loss of $10, 108,21. and the expenses to $135,814.51, showing the net earnings The Increased demand for anthracite coal, and the un­ to have been $167 ,339,88, an increase over those of last usual activity in the iron works in the vicinity of the canal, year of $18,896.38, notwithstanding the great flood last is expected to Increase their revenue greatly for the summer (the full history of which is also embraced In coming year." the report) which cut off all trade with the Lehigh Canal From "The Jerseyman" for about four months. May 2, 1863.

8 • • • And Industry Came

Dvring the panic of 7876, when many Boontonites were vnemployed due to the closing of the iron works, CJ silk mill wos bvilt. MCJnoger JCJmes SCJnsfield WCJS unsuccessful ond Pe/gram ond Meyer of PCJterson, took over within two years. In 1881 a new bvilding, shown here, was built. The mill pradvced 12,0:JO yards of silk dress goods per week.

A crumblinq negative portrCJys the crumbling remains of the paper mi//, which was bvi It on the site of the old Obadiah Baldwin forge. Production ceased here about 1895. • ') Where it all began The Giant Drew

In 1917 the economy of Boonton was given a boost when the firm of E, F. Drew & Co., moved to town and took over the old Knox Hat Factory. The company was established in 1907 in East Bos­ ton, Mass. in a small two-story structure. Today the complex which houses Drew Chemical By DICK LEWIS Corp., covers 25 acres and encompasses 90 buildings. A new laboratory will soon be built on an additional 80 acres, In those early days in Massachusetts the firm be­ came active as imponers of coconut, palm and other vegetable oils. By 1913 the firm had become one of the largest lmponers of coconut oil and in that year a branch office was opened in New York City. From 1913 to 1917 the firm experienced general expansion and construction of an edible oil refinery was begun in Boonton in 1917, The plant was a sprawling brick structure, its prin­ cipal addition to the local scene being two large smoke stacks - one of brick and the other of steel. The operation in 1917 could hardly be called mass production, With one small refining tank, employees managed to refine a limited amount of oil and then went into action to sell that on as quickly as possible. Money received from one railroad car of oil was used im­ mediately to purchase another car of oil to refine and thus the cycle was repeated, During the 10-year period from 1927 to 1937, Drew's expansion led to the formation of three associate cor­ porations: Wecollne Products, Inc.; Napthole, Inc. and the American Colloid Corp. The company, having specialized in coconut oil and its derivatives in the early years, now expanded operations in the general oil and chemica.l field through conver- sion of its by-products, . During the following decade, 193 7 to 194 7, the new refinery in Boonton brought about a considerable in­ crease in the company's edible business. Drew's growth since 1947 created a multiplant, mul­ tldivlslon corporation. ln 1949 a modem edible oil refinery was begun, This new equipment ls capable of

10 ·=11,~

Drew today • and more to"~·-·· come .. Chemical Company

processing several different stocks at once. At pres­ compounds for the dry-cleaning Industry; non-slip ent the plant unloads a tank car an hour on a 24-hour detergents for washin?; floors In hospitals, hotels and dally basis. restaurants; spot less rinses for dishwasher,;; hand­ In 1961 the firm was sold to Lehman Bros., an In­ cleansers; vitamins and other additives for tr-e animal vestment-banking firm and the name changed to Drew nutrition field; marine, animal and vegetabl~ proteins Chemical Corp., by which it Is now known. Drew manu­ for feed manufacturers; automobile radiator cleans­ factures a sweeping variety of products for other in­ ers; polishes and cleaners for car finishes; boiler dustries. There is almost no field which does not call water treatments for ocean-going ships; tank clean­ on Drew for some of its ingredients. ers with deep tanks automatically at sea; fuel oil ad­ The premium margarine on your br-,akfast table; ditives for conditioning heavy oils; the official parachute the cold water rinses, heavy duty color wash products finish used during the Korean War; cotton softeners and and fluff additives In your laundry soap; powder bleaches - other processes for the textile industry; oils and fatty all come from Drew research. products for the leather industry. Drew makes vitamins for the dairy industry; cleansing And it's all done here in Boonton.

Company Picnic. 1934 Boonton Molding Company

By DICK LEWIS

In 1921 the town of Boonton acquired what is now one of its prime industries, Boonton Molding Company, It was then that the newly established firm, a pioneer In plastics. scaned business by making battery cases. Events leading to the formation of the new company scaned In 1910 when a couple of boys got vacation jobs with the Boonton Rubber Manufacturing Company. As face would have it this was also the time that Dr. Baekeland tamed the reaction between phenol and form­ aldehyde, The fact that these two fairly common sub­ stances would tie together under certain conditions and turn into a product that was almost Indestructible had been known for years. Unfonunately, its very Indestructibility was the handi­ cap. le had just what was wanted In durability, but In the wrong place, and getting Into the right place seemed impossible. Dr. Baekeland solved the impasse by stopping the chemical reaction In its early malleable stage, placing the resin where It was wanted, and then releasing the reaction to go on to its infusible form. The product be-. came known as Bakelite. Boonton Rubber Manufacturing Company was trying a somewhat similar process and substituted the process they were trying for Bakelite resin and the new plastic molding industry was born, These two boys were not aware that they were getting jobs in a new Industry and by 1920 had become fairly ~~~-:i7f~;;+::p,4~:_ .. · versed In plastics, Then one of them talked coo much about the way the plant should be run and was fired. Af­ . ·.:..: ~; ·.-:., ter crying co find another job in the Industry the man, .·.> -~•-.~' ..... George K. Scribner, formed Boonton Molding Company. :-·• ..._ The first plant for making battery cases was just one small building in 1921. Each year some essential new services were added and new buildings were put up. To The war yeors • before recent expansion dace this has happened about 35 times and now the firm has three plants. There is one for office personnel, compression and Boontonware molding; another for In­ jection molding and the lase is a warehouse where the firm packs and ships their plastic dishes, known as Boontonware. There ls now something like a 130,000 square feet in all, with over 100 compression ancj transfer presses, 21 injection presses and all the auxiliary machines needed for present day produces.

~~ e Fly the Flag! i ~ Patriotic fervor burned fiercely in the citizens of ~ Boonton. On April 12, 1861, we read In "The Jerseyman," ~ published in Morristown, of the beginning of the Civil ar, when Major Anderson evacuated Fon Sumter, "The Nail Factory now presents an animated and pleas­ g appearance, Some 200 of those savage Iron eating achlnes have small flags of the stars and stripes pat­ rn affixed to their moving pans, as they ke!'P bobbing and down In ceaseless movement, help no doubt to The first building the flame of love for country, for home and honor." ~!e:~=-==-~=u>cu~u>~

12 Damaged negative shows paoer mill at edge of Rockaway River, before Jersey City reservoir was built

The Electronics Industry Boonton 's. Booming A new electronic instrument industry had been bom with the founding in 1922 of Radio Frequency Labora­ In 1860, the population of Boonton was 2,230, made tories. As the use of airborne radio grew, it formed the up of 419 families who lived in 326 dwellings. Aircraft Division which in 1928, with engineers Dr. So says Dr. William McCanhy, Assistant Marshal, Lewis M. Hull and Dr. Frederick H. Drake, became a who took a census and reponed it ln "The Jersey­ separate entity known as the Aircraft Radio Corp. man," on Oct. 13 of that year. The oldest person living in Boonton was 85 years old. 1n 1932, Stuan Ballantine, who was one of the coun­ Real estate was valued at $790,725 and the value of try's foremost electronic expens, left the RFL organi­ personal goods was $175,700. zation to establish a company for electronic research Even then, there were more people than cows, which and development which is today a manufacturing elec­ numbered 1,219. There were 719 horses and 388 work­ tronic measuring equipment under the name Ballantine ing oxen. "Other cattle" numbered 1,110. Laboratories. The value of all this livestock was $138,006. SoundE The Ferris Instrument Co. was also founded in 1932 like a prosperous place to live. by another RFL engineer, Malcolm Ferris and in 1934 William O. Loughlin, one of the original RFL staff, formed the Boonton Radio Corp. and concentrated on the But, Beware! development of measuring equipment which was in great demand by the radio industry. "The collectors of intemal revenue will soon commence issuing their notices to citizens liable to pay an income In 1937, Radio Frequency Labs built a new laboratory tax, Full particulars about the tax, and directions for and plant for the further development and productioo of making a statement in each individual case will be left aircraft radio and communicatioo equipment. at the residence of every citizen, Measurements Corp. was founded in 1939 by several Every person will be obliged to swear to the truth of engineers, including Jerry B. Minter and John M. van his statement. The income tax now to be collected in• Bueren, for the de-.:elopment and manufacture of elec­ cludes the period between the lat of July and last of De­ tronic measuring equipment. The concem was later cember, 1862. joined by Harry w. Houck, a radio pioneer. It will be 3 per cent on all incomes over $600 after deducting from the excess the amount of rent actually 1n 1945, John E. Johanson left Aircraft Radio Corp., paid by the party." where he had taken an important part in. the affairs of From"The Jerseyman," that concem, to form the Johanson Manufacturing Co. May 2, 1863 from "Know Your Town," 1951 Boonton League of Women Voters ~1....------""l!l

13 They Built Their Homes. • •

Ogden-Foesch House

Low House (Bania House) on Lathrop Avenue, Formerly Newark Turnpike

14 Farrand lack house, on lower level, ;ust before Montville line

Stone shack ad;acent to oaper mill. Probably occupied by mil/hands ~ ~ 1821-1884

c---J.._,/ ~

By Gene Newman

No individual has been more involved in the life and 'Statesman,' Pot riot and man of God' growth of Boonton than John Hill, statesman, patriot and man of God. A native of Catskill, N. Y., he came to Boonton ·in the town to givethemhelptosavethecountry, and continue to Township of Pequannock in 1845 aspaymasteratthe iron use those blessings we so long enjoyed under the Con­ works. stitution of the United States." He served as an elder of the Presbyterian Church and When t!le war ended in 1865, he returned to political superintendent of iti. Sunday School for more than three life and was elected totheStateAssembly. Tne following decades, He served in another capacity,asa member of year he was chosen Speaker of the House. the local underground railroad which aided fugitive slaves At the end of the session, with Speaker Hill depaning in their flight to freedom. for a Congressional election campaign, a bl-panisan By 1861, John Hill hadbeenpostmaster,townshipcom­ resolution waspassedbytheAssemblywhichreadin pan: mitteeman and Justice of the peace. In his new office of "Therefore resolved, that the thanks of this House be and state assemblyman that February,hewasappointedtothe are hereby tendered to the Honorable John Hill, Speaker of committee that greeted President-elect Abraham Lincoln this House, for the faithful and impanial manner in which when he stopped in Trenton en route to his inauguration. he has presided over the deliberations of this body, during He was defeated in his bid for a State Senate seat in the present sess Ion •• .'' 1862. Some said he had neglected his campaign in ravor He served four terms in the House of Representatives of his other activities. beginning in 1867 and ending in 1882, with a break in 1874 That is very possible. There was the church work and when he was elected to the State Senate. the John Hill and Co. Empire Stores on Plane Street and While In Congress he fought for postal reform and on Libeny Street which he operated with his panner, fathered the postal card. In a successfuleffon to reduce iron works Superintendent Wllllam G. Lathrop. the postal rate he was opposed by Congressman James A. It is a matter of record that John Hill made many Garfield who later became President. speeches during that period. But they were aimed at Though he had the ambition, desire and probably suf­ patriots and prospective soldiers, not voters. He spoke ficient suppon to become governor, John Hill's physicians to save the Union which was then in the grips of a ter­ warned that his declining health would suffer funherfrom rible war. a campaign and the strains of the office. Travelling the country lanes of Pequannock Township, He experienced the first symptoms oflllnesswhllead­ he preached a crusade, He instilled in young men's beans dressing the Presbyterian General Assembly in Saratoga, the principle that the nation must be preserved. N. Y. So effectivl! were his arguments that his was the only Returning home, he spoke toan anniversary gathering at township in the state that never resoned to the draft the Sunday School. This was his last talk with the congre­ system to fill its quotas. More than half its voting popu­ gation and it is recorded that, somehow sensing this, lation of l,~OOwenttowar. Manyofthese left the state to every bean was moved. enlist rather than wait in the long line of volunteers at His last weeks were spent on the porch of his home at home. Birch and Cornelia Streets where he received his many In a letter toa local newspaper during that period, John friends. Occasionally he would ride out in his carriage Hill wrote: "I think I speak the voice of the citizens of to see once more the people and the scenes he loved. this town when I say that we are all, Democrats and Re­ On July 24, 1884, he died. He is buried in the little publicans, firm for the Union, the Constitution and the cemetery on the hill, surrounded by many of those who good old flag of our fathers,andr.eadyand wllling to fur­ returned his affection and by soldiers who gave their nish all the men the government may call for from this lives for the principles they learned from him •

. 16 ' .. , ..._... . -·~~... ~~~~~~~f{ ":f:· .... Mayor and Mrs, Jomes Ho/mes lived in this house which he bequeathed to Boonton for o library, when he died in 1893.

Mrs. John Hill

The Hill house, /oter the Boonton Club House They Built Their Firs~ Presbyterian Church

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the First Abolitionists. When Mr. Johnston was elected pastor, Presbyterian Church in 1907, the Rev. George Law several men withdrew and formed a Congregational Richmond presented the earlier history of the church. church, calling it the Free Church. Mr. Van Houten was "l have been told," he said, "that the first commun­ their pastor. ion service was celebrated beneath a great oak tree that A new manse was purchased in 1840 to replace the one stood on the site of this present church." sold during the bad years immediately preceding. The oaks were fine during the summer of the church's organization in July of 1832, but as winter approached, it In 1844 the pastorate of the Rev. Daniel E. Megie be­ was evident that a church was needed. The Iron Com­ gan. He served the church until 1872. In 1859 the con­ pany offered a gift of land and the church was built for gregation built a new church at a cosr of $7,500 and added wings on either side soon after. The Rev. Thomas $2,000, ready for use in the spring of 1833. Caster was minister from 1872 to 1894 and in 1889 the In 1836, the first manse was built at the corner of old church was bought back again and renovated for Brook and Cedar street. The house was later moved use as a Sunday School. from the lot to stand farther up the hill on Cedar Street. 1837 was not a gOOd year. Banks and men failed, The Rev, George L. Richmond wae called in 1901 mills and factories shut down. Pew rents were hard and during his ministry a poll was taken among the to get and the new church had to part with its minlSter, congregation, in 1914, to see who was in favor of free the Rev. Joseph Vance, who had been receiving $400 pews. The suggestion.was defeated. yea:i:ly. In 1947, it was decided to buy a new manse and re­ For a year and a half, the church was without a pas­ model the farmer manse for part of the church school, tor. In May, 1839, Mr. Johnston was called and Mr. The Chapel and recreation hall was remodeled and the Van Houten was also Voted for at the same parish meet­ interior of the church redecrated. A new manse was ing. Van Houten received about a third of the votes cast. built an the former John Hill property in 1955. ThlS was a time when the slave question was a sore The Rev. Robert A. Reighart ls the Present minister, point and Mr. Van Houten's supporters were ardent having come to the church ln the fall of 1954.

First Presbyterian Church, 7832. Building was sold in 7860 and known os Washington Holl. The c:ongregotion bought it bock in 7889.for use os church school. Churches • • •

.. .. f

... , ......

The Present Church

"New" church, built in 1860, taken from yard of Nathaniel A. Myers home about 1870.

19 Supervisor of construction was Theodore Ringliebandthe IA,.?·.~ cost was estimated co be $12,000. :.f- From the inception of the parish, Catholic education -"·.... was valued and Father Castet opened a parochial school a•~:~;.," in the church basement in 1865, ;;..'1· • ' The lay faculty included John Holland, who lacer in­ _; ·. .,. vented the submarine. Classes were held there until 1876, when the local mills were forced to close and men went elsewhere co seek work. The parish could no longer afford a school, From a congregation of 1,743 in 1874, only 256 remained in 1878, With the coming of the Rev. J. P, Poets as pastor in 1884, an era of improvement began. The mills were reopened and the Sisters of St. Dominic of Caldwell, who have been in charge of i:arochlal education in Boon­ ton since 1887, cook over four-room St, Mary's School. They shared the building which was built on the south­ west comer of Birch and Oak Streets in 1891, with Sc. Joseph',; Hall, the center of parish social life. The Sisters presently staff the spacious, modem, 300- pupll School of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, built on the nonheast comer of Birch and Oak Streets in 1926-27 by Msgr. Edward L. McDonald. Immigration from ,Eastern Europe and Italy brought many new members co str.:ngthen the parish in the early 1900's and its development has been continuous. The Rev. James T. Delehanty enlarged and redecorated the church in 1917 and foresightedly purchased land for the expansion of Sc. Mary's Cemetery, established on Wootton Street in 1858. In 1956 the Rev, James J, Daly Built in 1660 supervised the building of a new rectory and a new convene. 1967 finds the parish grateful to its pastor, the Rev. Ladislaus J. Flek, the present pastor, for restoring, beautifying and adding a transept co the old church to accommodate the present congregation of 900 fami!les. His assistant, the Rev. Wllliam P. Glennon of Whar­ Our Lady of Mt. Carmel ton, is the first native of Morris County to be assigned to the parish. Over the years the Church bas had the services of By Helen C. Dunn five visiting pastors and 11 resident pastors with 10 assistants. The first 1;achollcs who came to Boonton in the 1830's and 1840's valued their freedom of worship, After the religious persecution they had endured in Ireland, First church, 1647 they gladly walked co Madison (then Bottle Hill) to at­ tend the Churo:h of Sc, Vincent the Martyr, the first Catholic Church in Morris County, In 1841, the Rev. Dr. Newell visited Boonton Falls and said Mass for the small flock in the home of John McCanhy, who lived near the Canal plane, They also worshipped in the home of John Hyland on Libeny Street, The New Jersey Iron Company in 1846 offered its Catholic employees land for a church and cemetery on Birch Street, between Green and Oak Streets, Ap­ proval was obtained from Sc, Vincent's pastor, the Rev. Louis D. Senez, remembered as ••a dauntless yet gentle man, a man of prayer and self-sacrifice, whose parish embraced the Counties of Morris, Warren and Sussex." In 1847 a small white frame church was erected on the site of the present convene, with a cemetery ad­ joining, which, for the next 13 years, was served by visiting priests from Madison and Dover, The Rev, Dominic Cascet was appointed first resident pastor in 1860. He immediately responded co the needs of the growing parish by building the present church of hand-hewn stone, across the street from the old one, Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley, the first Bishop of New Jersey, laid the cornerstone In September 16, 1860,

20 Boonton Methodist Church

Methodist Chvrch, Lathrop and Vreeland Avenues

For many years Boonton was but a minor point In­ Trustees at that time were George T. Cobb, John cluded In one of the large circuits ridden by Methodist Decker, John H. Frampton, John Meyer, Samuel B. Shaubb, ministers In the early days of Methodism. Horace E. Taylor and William T. VanDuyne. By 1855 the Methodists living In Boonton apparently were served church had grown sufficiently to warrant a full-time by these preachers on their way to or from the Methodist minister, tlE Rev. J. Faull. church at Rockaway Valley. The parsonage near the church on the hill was llullt In Not until 1853, about 70 years after the first Methodist 1857-58 and 1n 1868 the deed to property on Main Street sermon was preached In the stone house of Jacob Demouth was conveyed to the Church's trustees by Dr. Ezekiel G. In Rockaway Valley, was Boonton an official charge of a parish. It was connected with Parslppany to form a Gains andhlswlfe. Thenewchurchwas dedicated Feb. 21, mission under the care of the Rev. c. Clarke Jr., who 1869. Records show thatthere were300 members and 300 was reappointed to that post In 1854. During h Is Sunday School pupils soon after. pastorate Mr. Clarke Interested the people In the erection During the Rev. James M. Tuttle's pastorate in 1872, the of a church building In Boonton. Principally through the steeple was erected at a cost of $2,000. efforts of Susan A. Scott of Powervllle, a church on Cedar The Church remained at this location for 90 years until and Liberty Streets was built. It acquired a large piece of property at the corner of True to custom, the Boonton Iron Works gave the plot Lathrop and Vreeland Avenues. In 1959 the present church of ground upon which the church was built, at a cost of building was built. The education building was added $2,000. In 1961 and a fellowship hall Is In the future plans,

~ The Church Beneath the Water ~ Although there are no records known to exist, It 1s In Josephine Ogden Condlt's scrapbook we read, "When 1rmerally accepted that the waters of the JerseyCity Rev. Ward Righter was searching records in the Sur­ Reservoir cover the site of an early Episcopal Church. rogates office In Morristown, he found on page 11 of Soon after Samuel Ogden started the Iron Industry the Record of Religious Societies -- 'We, the Minister, In 1765 he bullt his home and a church. Elders, and Deacons of the Reformed Dutch congrega­ Legend has It that the parson and schoolmaster was tion at Boonetown do certify that the said Congre­ known as the J oily Parson. Charles E. Willls in his ga tion Is named the ''First Reformed Dutch Congre­ book "Scouts of '76," describes both the parson and gation at Booneton" and we do hereby wish the same his church and calls it St. Bartholomew. to be recorded In the Clerk's Office of the County of Since Mr. Willis in his foreword explains that his Morris, State of New Jersey passed November 25, 1789. •" book Is fiction based on recollections, as well as Under the date, November, 1795, these signatures fact, and since there is no actual record of either the appear: Stephen Ostrander, VDM; Eiders, Lucas parson or St. Bartholomew's, local historians are Von Beverhoudt, Jae. B. Kannouss, Senr ,, Jacob Ro­ hesitant about confirming the legend. maine, Michal Cook; Deacons, Jacob Kannouss, Junr., In 1794 the Old Boonetown Church was used by the Frederick Millar, Henry Morrison. local Dutch Reformed congregation and united with Recorded 29 December 1795, C. Russell, Clk. Pompton to call the Rev. Stephen Ostrander who served About 1812 the Congregation, In order to have a until about 1801. Rev. W. P. KuyperR was In charge more central location, decided to build a new church until 1805. just across the Rockaway River In Montville. Con­ The New Jersey Register reported that the pulpit sequently, the old church "was taken down and such­ at Old Boonetown was vacant In 1810 and 1811. The parts that were found to be sound were used In the Rev. John Duryea 6f Fa1rf1eld also preached occasion­ new Church." ally at Old Boonetown Church. It was built about 1818 on land purchased from From a newspaper clipping of February, 1909, found Garret Duryea. &ll\i.U..------g

21 First pastor of the church was the Rev. Dominic Castet, who came to the small parish in 186D. He returned to his notive Fronce in 1868 and the Rev. Louis Gam• bosvil/e took his o/ace.

The Old The cornerstone of the originol Methodist Church building was laid in 1853 at the comer of Lib­ erty and Cedar Streets. In 1869, this building Methodist was built on Main Street and dedicoted on Feb. 21 of that year. At the time there were 300 members in the church and 300 children in the Sunday School. Activities continued at this Church location for 90 years. The church is now located at the Vreelond and Lathrop Avenue corner.

22 St. John's Church

The history of St. John's Church begins with a visit the following statistics: Number of families, 15: In­ to Boonton by the second Bishop of New Jersey, G. w. dividuals, 73: Bapcisms--2 adult, 2 infant; I Burial; Doane on Nov. 2, 1856. Teachers in Sunday School, 12; Children, 80; Volumes in Services had previously been held in a small building Library, 93; Offerings--For Sunday School and Library, on Main Street used by the Caigregational Free Church. $23; Missionary, $42. Tata! $65." On Nov. 9, the Rev. Francis D. Csnfield, doing mis­ He speaks of attempts co raise funds for erecting a sionary work at St. John's, Dover, was placed in charge. church building. 1n a frail, brown newspaper clipping, dated Dec. 8, 1881, "Again your missionary made a fresh effon and began Mr. Canfield's sermon celebrating the 25th anniversary of to solicit subscriptions••• little by little, for building••• the church is printed. Messrs. Fuller 8t Lord, (favorers of all good works), gave He says: ••1n a curious crowd of 150-175 individuals, the plot of ground and $1,000." your missionary, himself a stranger, cook his place. 1n The cornerstone of the church was laid July 8, 1863 and the course of six months the congregation melted down the complete building consecrated Oct. 13 of the same co 30 or 40 regular attendants. year. "ln my first repon to the Diocesan Convention (1857), The church was ofwood,capableofseacing200 persons. covering a period of seven months, I was able to present (Continued)

-~·. '' , ' " ' .. , -:'I . .., ,. ' t -_ : ~-- ·t~ :.-i ...... J,: ~l ~ ~-. \ •' .,

23 Cost, Including Stained glass, furnaces and furniture was $3,600. PARISH REGISTER. The Rev. Henry B. Wilson accepted a call to the parish on Dec, 4, 1907, and remained rector until his death, Mar. 7, 1923. In this long span of years his influence was felt on the town as well as in the parish. Mr. Wilson founded St. John's School in 1909 •. The school ls now lo­ cated in Mountain Lakes and was recently named Wilson School in honor of its founder. During the miniStry of the Rev. Victor G. Lewis, who came to St. John's in 1948, the intertor of the church was . renovated, the rectory rehabilitated and the remaining i { ,!" plain windows replaced with memortals in stained glass. ,t } }i l ,! "//t,.;"S, The centennial window, installed in 1956, is of interest J ! i .. because of the economic and historic highlights of Boonton ~"" ID .ct, •r,s:c-o ,,a /tr 7~ .. in It. r .r II ,, I# .1~7-11 It pictures the exterior of St. jollil's and is edged with llsf I.J f/1 .tn.n symbols of the Morris Canal, the Boonton Iron Works, 11n /llf.,16 the railroad locomotives and other scenes from Boonton's ,,,. Jp /n 'II I' /6 ,. ,t J.o 7.r /I J/3.IJ past. Present Rector is the Rev, Jack H. Thorn. 1W .,. /6J ,II ' II J. sn.n JC /O .r,U, II ~1 Jo /.Ill , 9 70 ''" JUI.Ii' J,o JI 4'1 ,r ~o /O 11'-f S"I ,,~1.fJ. 11.S s-o 1 .. ,, ,ti JS- •• 7. @@@@@@@@~@@~@@@@@@m~~@® <31 ~ <31 Early parish records of St. John's Episcopal le) <3f Church list the first confirmation c:/ass of five young ~ <3{ men and women: Anne B. Esten, Jessie Mc:Nair, 11:1 (3f Frances C. Norris, Emma Norvis and Edwin Bishop. le (31 The first wedding was that of John Wooten to Jane le C3I Crone on April 21, 1857. The marriage service was at le ~ George Ely's •· "the Wooten, Myers and Ely families ~ \:11 present Thomas Beddow and Paul Storer." 11:1 (31 The first child baptized was Adelaide A.Anthony le> (31 on Dec, 8, 78S6. Tragica//_y, the first funeral was of le) (31 the same child on March 17, 1857. le) (3f ~©m©~mmmmmmmmmmffimmm~mffi~~

Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Slovaks have been a part of Boonton's history since because of a more pressing building assignment. In April of 1886 when Andrew Kapinos arrived here from Derember, 1906, the 1ron works were destroyed by IClembark, Saris County in Slovakia (then Hungary). fire. The factory rebuJll ing came fir st and the church !Caplnos was befriended by a Serbian, Michael was finally finished, blessed and dedicated on June l.uJanovich, who had established a business here and 16, 1907. Msgr. Michael Flynn of Morrisb)wn repre­ helped the Slwaks adjust to the American way of life, sented Newllt'k Bishop John J. O'CoMor at the The Parish of SS Cyril and Methodius Church was dedication. Other church officials present were the organized on Aug. 13, 1906. The first pastor was .the Rev. Emery A. Haltinger (later Monsignor) of Passaic. Rev. Skutil, who came to Boonton In May, 1906, and In 1933 the founding pastor of the church died and was met by the Slovaks In the home of G. M. Hocker, Msgr. Andrew V. Stefan took his place, Those listed as founders of the parish Include Isidoi: Under his leadership a parish school was erected, P, Smith, VoJtech Stefaniak, Joseph Harnlk, John with School Sisters ot St. Francis teacbJng, Martancik, John Kuchta, Anthony Barnas, Andrew Prior to this, church organists were in charge of Vancura and Joseph Malcovsky. religious instruction and teaching of the Slovak lang­ The church was butlt by a contractor named E. B. uage to the youth of the parish. Those who accepted 1 Blowers, who promised to have the building finished this responsibility included Mary • Petrasek, Mary 1 by Jan. 1, 1907. The man died of a heart attack and !Crbec, Anna Kami Komini.ak, Elizabeth Barna, Mi­ his son, James Rlnglieb, completed the Job. chael Bindas, Edmund Sekera, John KovalcJJc and Ringlieb was held up In his work on the church others.

24 The Reformed Church of Boonton

The First Reformed Church of Boonton was organized service 65, and both the Ladies' Aid and Ladies' Mis­ on Feb. 2, 1868, with 21 members. First services were sionary Societies were well established. held in Miss B. F. Crane's schoolroom. The Christian Endeavor Society installed electric lights After meeting for seven months 1n Washingtoo Hall, a in the church building and the Ladies' Aid Society put a bullding was purchased from a Prt:Sbyterian congregation metal ceiling in the churchauditoriumduringthe ministry in Parsippany for $5,000 and moved to a lot donated by of the Rev.AlexanderMcKelvey, who came to the church in Nicholas N. Jacobus. 1904. The first minister was the Rev. Cyrus B. Durand. The high point of the Rev. Frank E. DePue's ministry During the ministry of the Rev. John W. Conklin, a (1910 - 1919) was the large Men's Bible Class attendance, legacy of $10,000 was received from Mrs. J::llza s. Crane, which often reached 200. ooe-half of which was used to build the present parsonage. In October, 1934, the Rev. Nicholas J. Burggraaff was By 1891 when the Rev. Alben DeWitt Mason began his ordained and installed as pastor. He was with the church ministry, the morning service averaged 70, the evening during its 75th birthday celebration. The 75th year was irulugurated on the first Sunday in February, 1942, with a special service attended by 160 people. During that ban­ ner year, new hymnals and chairs for the Sunday school room were purchased, the parsonage repaired and re­ painted and other improvements made. The Ladies' Aid Society was known for many years as The Sewing Society and members met in private homes. As the name implies, the women did busywork to be sold at the yearly fund-raising Fair. Each woman arrived at meetings with a sewing bag, satchel or basket contain­ ing her projects. The Society also raised money by sponsoring dinners, luncheons, fruit festivals, entertainments and other church socials. The group managed to raise sufficient funds in this way to carpet the church and lecture room, reconstruct the pews, recover church cushions and repair the parsonage. In early 1922 the ladies had gathered $1,800 to build kitchen facilities. After the first covered-dish luncheon held at the church, a grand total of $60 profit was realized. By diamond an­ niversary time, the annual fair and supper netted $900. Seventeen ministers have served the Reformed Church, with the Rev. Paul Babich coming to the congregation in March, 1964. ~ The Boonton Jewish Center

The Jewish people of Boonton organized a Boonton Jewish Welfare Association in 1938. They met in private homes and later used the Ruth Building on Main Street. They had no Rabbi in Boonton, but there was a teacher of Hebrew for the children. The original congregation consisted of about ten families, including the Rosenfelds, Londons, Fisch& Zuckers, Smiths, Patasnlcl

25 They Created

a Community .. • •

Crone Bras. ,General Store

. ' .,, _. - --- ~·-...,._. ◄, . --- •·---.;..:.~.- 406 Main Street At Cambe/l's Garage

Office an Main Street

27 A Shopping Tour Through This Delightful Region

By MAUDIE FISCHER

Being proud of itself is nothing new for the Town of Boonton. Back In 1915, the George w. Richardson Co., with offices on Broadway, New York City, published a sizeable brochure on Boonton. Mountain Lakes was tacked onto the last three pages, but the glory of Boon - ton was the theme. Its 16 plges were filled with "scenic views of this de­ lightful region." Cornelia Street, Washington Street, Spruce Street, all are much the same. The streets, which appear wider than they do tcxlay, were unJBved and showed faint rib­ bons of buggy wheel tracks In the dust. In one photo, a buggy is disappearing down Cornelia Street, past the octagonal house which G. v.s. Rickards built In 1855. A wide range of business and commerce is described In studied prose. Joseph P. Cullen, 804 Main Street, sold "player pianos, Edison's Masterpiece and records for all." Although "it is a well-known fact that of all amusements there is none that will drive away the blues so quickly as playing a piano," he warned, "when selecting a piano, the reliability of the dealer is a consideration as much as the price, especially when you are not living In a large city." In more mundane matters, Walter N. Van Fleet of 601 Washington Street stated that his "steam, hot water anr.l vapor heatlng ... has given satisfactory service wherever Introduced. He was proud of his boilers too, declaring they "have a high reputation." Modestly admitting to Installing heating plants in only the best places, the ad reads: "We would mention the office of Harry Salmon and Son, the residence of Irving Smith, Judge Salmon's apartment building, the house owned by Herbert Hitch­ 'Edison Miracle' cock and others." The M. M. Crane furniture store was located at Main and Washington Streets and enjoyed a reputation, self­ Indian Lung Remedy. Mr. Crane also sold fire insur­ ance on the side. proclaimed, as Boonton's Leading Merchant --44 "fears. Housewives could get prompt m·ornlng deliveries They competed with Mr. Cullen in selling pianos, and from Peter M. Kanouse who boasted his "delivery spread out to Include sewing machines, granite and service Is well organized and two wagons are kept tin ware, lace curtains, stove pipe and Dr. Kellogg's busy. Telephone orders are given prompt attention, there being two phones." Those were the good old days. "Mr. Kanouse does not advertLse to undersell all his competitors, but he does claim that, quality for quality, one can trade here to as good advantage as any store In the section." • Women stopped at 702 Main Street at The Misses Phillips for fancy goods, notions and dressmaking needs. The Misses Phillips described their patrons as "the leading families In Boonton, Mountain Lakes and vicinity," adding somewhat snobbishly that with these patrons, "price is a minor consideration -- it is qual­ ity that counts." For heavier sewing needs, the womenfolk bustled down to Robert E. Scholz, whose shop was Two Doors Below P. O., Boonton. He stocked brocades, tapestries and other materials for covering parlor suites and draperies. A versatile man, he was a manufacturer of "Scotch Holland side hemmed window shades, Chesterfields, fireside and sleeping Howard arm chairs, hair mat­ tresses, portieres and wall hangings." Opening In 1911, "he has secured a fine patronage from the leading fam­ ilies hereabout." If the man of the house were shopping, he might putt· Jacob Tredway putt down to the Boonton Auto Garage where Robt.

28 Campbell, Prop., could take his order for ''the new didn't explain how they managed without a driver, but 1915 Ford, Overland or Hudson cars." offered "special attention to weddings, receptions and If his tastes didn't yet run to horseless carriages, all occasions." he could stop at R. o. Heath, Ham..ss Maker (also shoe The Tredways also ••moved fumlture •• promptly to any repairing) for "bamess oil, and cxher sundries, blan­ distance by careful men.'' kets, robes, whips and horse goods generally". Soon or late, the grim repear gets us all. Wllllam In the home improvement field, one bad to be wary. Brown, ••well known throughout this section of the Harry F. Lindsley at 605 Washington Street sadly re­ State," stood ready to serve. He was pictured with poned, "It Is. unfonunately true that there are some black bowler hat and long black coat in front of his electrical contractors who are ncx wholly competent establishment next to the French Milliners. and there -are some who are not wbolly reliable in other He furnished "carriages, caskets, robes and in fact respects, so it most certainly pays to be careful." everything ••• of the best, and satisfaction is guaranteed. Ezra O. Blowers, a building contractor at 155 North He has officiated at the services of many weil-known Main Street, asserted with considerable restraint, citizens." "There are many good carpenters in Boonton, but none On the cxher hand, "the superior excellence of the better than Mr. E. D. Blowers." service afforded by Mr. J.H. Dawson of 315 Main Peter Telfer, Mason and Builder, was located at Street" was not to be ignored. His patrons were of Comella Street and took pride in "a recent job--re - a very select character. This ''field of effort" received modeling of the Boonton National Bank, with the addi­ his personal supervision with "every facility for the tion of an entire new story." Buildings erected by prom pc and correct execution of commissions." The him "will stand all weather conditions and prove last­ Dawsons had been in this field of effon since 1852 when ing monuments to his skill." David Dawson established the business. Perhaps they have. After the Dawsons and the Browns get through with He built the Montville Finishing Company's mill, the you, William Garson must have his chance, Situated Lace Factory at Boonton, and buildings for the Bartons, handily at 445 Church Street, "Mr. Carson does curb­ Fred Gordon, the Zuckers, Boonton Transportation and ing and fitting up of cemetery lots at short notice." Garage Co. and the Farmers and Merchants Bank. He cautiooed that ''you can't buy an treasures ar a For out-of-town visitors, Jacob Tredway and Son bargain counter... a monument without artistic lines is (Hack Meets Train on Order), promised "by tele­ invariably a pile of stone." phoning here, a good horse and handsome carriage It seems people have been selling their wares in the will be sent promptly, with or without driver." They same way for years.

29 The Colorful Hostelries of Boonton

By GENE NEWMAN

We IDIIY Jive Without book ■ , •hat 11 knowl•dR'e bu· RTlevlng, to work to build a reputation for the hotel that reached We m11y llve wll hout hope. what 18 hope but deretvlntc; We rnay Jive -without love. what l1 p&Htoa but plntng, across the country and even into foreign lands. hut where ta the ma11 that c-an lh·e without dlatns. A cavern and dining room were added and Nellie's cooking drew in the many ''drummers" selling their This bit of homely philosophy, mixing rhyme and wares in the Jersey countryside. The theatrical reason, appeared on a handbill distributed by Fred greats appearing at the Lyceum Theater and Jenny E. Butters, proprietor of the Mansion House Hotel, Green's Opera House also sated their appetites at in 1914. Nellie's table. Sarah Bernhardt, Lillian Russell, A place of hospitality since the mid-nineteenth cen- Lillian Gish, Chauncy Olcott, John L. Sullivan, Gen- tury, the Mansion House, along with the other Inns tleman Jim Corbett and James Jeffries all stayed and restaurants of Boonton, have served the commu- the night with the Bowden's. nlty well and added to its fame and pr.,stige. Mrs. Duffield remembers seeing some of the fa- Mrs. Joseph Duffield, daughter of Dennis Bowden, mous guests In her father's hotel, John Bunny, a an early proprietor of the Mansion House, believes popular comedian of that era, was ••a great big fat that the establishment came Into being about 1850 jovial fellow and he used to give us quaners," she to house English immigrants who manned the iron said. Mr. Bunny must also have been wealthy for works. A 1904 mongage granted Mr. Bowden de- the Bowden's bad 10 children. scribes the premises as the same conveyed by the Matinee idol Maurice Costello and his wife took a New Jersey Iron Co. to Thomas Hcdgkins on Jan. liking to Mrs. Outfield's sister Dolores who used to 24, 1849. help the score of Irish girls working in the kitchen and Dennis Bowden made two imponant and wise de- dining room. cisions in 1880, thP 27th year of his life. He mar- "If I ever have a daughter, I'm going to name her ried Nellie Sban~,nan, ;.'1 Irish immigrant like him- after you," Mr. Costello told Dolores, ln a few years self, and he became propriei:or of the Mansion House he did and that Dolorc!S went on to theatrical fame at 811 Main Street. also. It must have been an inherc!nt Irish sense of hos- Edward I, Edwards (Govemor of New Jersey, 1920- pitality that brought success to the venture for nei- 1923) whose home was in Parsippany, and U. S, Sen. ther Dennis nor Nellie bad experience in the world Thomas Mccann frequently came to the Mansion House of hostelry. He had worked in the jewelry and rubber to panake of the 50-cent dinners of prime ribs or business and she bad been a domestic servant. lobster, Mrs. Duffield remembers that the menu, There was an early set-back In 1882 when the town which was never written but recited to each guest, voted itself dry. The couple moved that year to Pater- was often supplanted from the game bags of local son and engaged in the hotel business there until 1884 hunters. Regular diners often sent word ahead by when as Dennis may have put it, "Boonton came to runners to request some specialty that may not be its senses," and legalized liquor again. on the day's bill of fare. Retuming to the Mansion House, the Bowden's set Once a month the Morris County Business Men's

The Horry A. ,Griffith family is under the second portico ~rom right. fforry stands in front of the door, his daughter Phoebe and w,fe Anna are on the right. ,Photo wastaken in 1914, when he bought Mansion House from Fred Butters. AssoclatiO:t met at the Mansion House which meant a capacity crowd of up to 200 diners. Some of the hotel's 25 rooms, said Mrs. Duffield served as per­ manent homes for guests. There was Dr, Reynor the town's only dentist, whose office was in the old iron building now housing the Kimble Taxi Co. Another permanent guest, Clarence DeCamp, who had large real estate holdings in town, induced Mr. Bowden. to build an annex across the street. Mr, DeCamp occupied the living quaners on the second floor while the ground floor served as stables for the hotel's horses. Dennis Bowden died in 1911. His wife sold the hotel to Fred E. Butters in 1914. That same year it changed hands again, going to Harry A. Griffith, whose widow Anna is the present proprietor, Mr, Griffith bought 300 acres of nearby woodlands which he offered to his guests as "an ideal private playground" for hiking, riding, boating and fishing in a private lake, The Mansion House regj.ster from 1914 on bears witness that its fame had not diminished. Besides vaudeville performers such as the ••new" comedy team of George Burns and Gracie Allen, there were play­ ers from a new emenalnment medium. 1n large, brave script these pioneers signed themselves, ''The Fox Film Co.", "The Astra Film Co." and "The Silent· City Hotel Photoplay Producing Co." Some of their epics were shot rigbt on Main Street. "Mother Kanouse's" wonderful cooking and the fresh Mrs. Dorothy Offringa, daughter of the Griffiths re­ meat, butter and eggs that came down from Uncle Wil­ members, "a big fire built right on the trolley c:aclts liam Kanouse's farm in the Taylonown section, Ja­ and the trolley crashing through" in a scene that muse cob Kanouse died ln 1917 and the hotel went out of have brought tension co many nlckelodlan audiences. existence in 1920. During World War I the hotel served as a mustering The United States Hotel, a wood and frame build­ place for area e_nlistees. Lt. J obn V. Hinchcliff signed ing on Division and Main Streets was destroyed ln a for one group. He went on to become mayor of Pater­ spectacular fire ln 1889, The flames almost reached son which later expressed its graditude by naming a Mechanic Street and the building that was later to stadium after him, become the City Hotel. South Africa, Paris, London, Mexico, Cuba and Cana­ Standing lr majestic aloofness on a mountain pedes­ da are all represented ln the leather bound book with tal in the southwest. corner of town ls the Victorian many an anonymous "chauffeur" signed in, Inn, until recently the Puddingstone Inn. Originally Major James Doolittle registered as a dinner guest it was the private home of Gibson Vincent wbo, with ln 1930. His later exploits as leader of the "30 sec­ the assistance of his son-in-law Roben Campbell, con­ onds over Tokyo raid" and commanding general of the vened the Reserve Street residence into a restaurant 12th and 8th Air Forces are well lcnown but the cre­ and hotel which catered to the more affluent, Listed dentials of the ~uest in 1917 who signed himself "Prince among the prominent guests since the Inn's creation Andrew Sabato' may never be established, in about 1914, ls Mrs. Calvin Coolidge who summered . The Boonton Hotel at 111 Mechanic Street was oper­ there regularly. Under the present management of ated ln the late 19th century by Lemuel and Marla Elliott Kepler Jr., the Inn no longer serves as a hotel Kayhan former owners of the Montville Hotel. Mr. but continues its reputation for excellent cuisine. Kayhan remained proprietor until his death ln the 1920's, Their granddaughter, Mrs. Alhena Wagner, also remembers famous theatrical guests, the de­ licious meals cooked ~y her grandmother and the music WHY NOT SUMMER with which the Kayhans surrounded themselves. Hessey's band, available for patriotic and social oc­ in BOONTON? casions, performed concens on the hotel's veranda and serenaded the owners on their golden wedding an­ NEW JERSEY niversary. On Sunday evenings, Mrs. Wagner remembers, the Kayhan clan would gather at the hotel for suppers of "lar~e pans full of hardboiled eggs, salads and Ye Olde cheeses. • With supper finished, instruments were brought out and those who didn't play, sang, Mansion House "We looked forward to Sunday all week," Mrs. Wag­ ner said, On the corner of Main and Mechanic Streets in a Overlooking BOONTON FAtLS,famous three-story building now housing Frankel's Mens Shop the world over for scenery unsurpassed and the Marone Shoe Store was the City Hotel estsb­ anywhere In this country, lished at the turn of the century by Jacob and Mary­ ann Kanouse. Granddaughter Gladys Kanouse who was raised in the hotel i;.ecalls the ever-present stars and Hill, fram which the New York sky line stripes hanging before a gleaming brass-railed balcony. may be s,,n, aha the 1ou•ers of 1h, n,w Housing about 15 transient guests with facilities for Hudson Ri..,. Bridge. about 30 diners, the City Hotel's fame stemmed from

31 New Hotel Our new United States Hotel is the first es­ Ideal For an Hour or a Month's Stay tablishment of the lcind that has ever been opened in this place, and its beneficial effects to busi­ quaint beautiful ness generally have already been very sensibly A hostelry in the town of felt and appreciated by t111s·commun1ty. Boonton, N. J. Previous to its erection there existed nowhere in the village a place at which a stranger might Seven hundred feet above sea level obtain a meal of victuals or demand a night's lodging. The "United States.. is a first-class Surrounded by mountains and lakes. building of the kind, and is well conducted and patrcmized. Thirty miles from New York. Its erectioo was commenced in 1857, and com­ pleted in 1858, being about one year in building. rive minutes walk from station-two minutes It was first opened for the receptiat of the public by trolley. on Nov. 3rd, 1858, at which time it underwent a Attractive place for weekend parties. pretty good warming. The walls of this building are constructed of stone and cement, are 40 x 86 feet in their dimensioos, 31/2 stories in height, the whole built at a coat of some $8,000 or $9,000. It contains 42 rooms in all, the two largest of which are 22 x 40 feet and is capable of accommodating comfortably about fifty guesta. Modem improv~ents. Bath, dectric lights, etc. It is located cm the comer of Main and Di­ vision streets -- a not very desinble location Famed for hall a century for its exceptional home --and when fully completed will contain a hand­ cooking. some cupola on its top and a si:acious piazza· on each street. Mr. c. P. Chamberlain, its RATES gentlemanly landlord, is at present enjoying a liberal share of i:atronage from both the local Dinner • - • - • • 75c. and traveling public. Sunday Dinner • - • $1.00 From "Lyon's Discourse". 1873. Transient • • $2.50 per day ~ SPECIAL WEEKLY RATES ~~~"',r 'Long Live Boonton' By RHODA 'HASSON "Long live Boonton, and ditto its liberal and whole worthy Boontonlans soon expect to be able to say, this hearted citizens," said a letter to the editor. City on the hill?" The year was 1867, and although the letter writer re­ Then, on March 14, Boonton hit the front page of the mains anonymous, the sentiment is immortalized on True Democratic Banner, with the news of an Assembly brittle, yellowed, 100-year old pages of the True Demo­ bill to permit Incorporation of the town of Boonton and cratic Banner. to "revise the Boonton Cemetery Association." ln February of '67 the Banner, a Morristown news­ The April 18 edition spelled out "An act to Incorporate paper, noted that the long, hard winter had been a boon Boonton, in the County of Morris." It explained that por­ to Ice farmers. They had harvested a bumper crop. And tions of Pequannock and Hanover Townships were to be­ the use of new labor-saving machinery meant lower come a new town, and that people ••as may reside within prices, so that Ice was now within the reach of almost the aforesaid limits on the fl:rat Saturday of May next ••• everybody. and who are in all other respects legal voters, to as­ "Ice is no longer a luxury, but a necessity," the semble at Washington Hall in Boonton ...and then and there Banner proclaimed. by ballot and by a plurality of votes, elect seven trustees, Some of the news Items reported in 1867 were more a town clerk and two Inspectors of electlon ••• and they serious. They told of a Grand Jury indictment charg­ shall be ••• a body politic and corporate by the name and ing John H. Suratt with aiding and abetting John Wilkes title of 'The Board of Trustees of the Town of Boonton.'" Booth In the assassination of President Lincoln. They There was a postscrii;t to the election, and It appeared described the progress of the Pacific Railroad, which In the editorial columns of the Banner on May 9, 1867. It was rapidly extending from Missouri to the Rocky Moun­ said: tains. "We were quite stunned the other day on receiving the An advertisement that appeared in the Banner that year startling announcement that the independent charter elec­ offered a product that might be of interest to the Broth­ tion ticket of Boonton was triumphantly successful. This ers of the Brush of 1967. ticket was composed of about an equal number of Demo­ "Do you want whiskers or moustaches?," the ad. crats and Republicans, and that it should have taken asked. "Our Grecian Compound will force them to grow Boonton out of the powerful grip of the monster Com - on the smoothest face or chin in six weeks. Price - $1." pany (the iron works) which has so long held the nose of News from Boonton was sparse in the Morristown pub­ that flourishing and enterprising town down to its grind­ lication, and the editor heard about it, stone is an achievement over Radical (Republican) des­ "How is It," asked a reader, "that not a line appears potism that we hardly expected to rejoice over yet In your valuable sheet giving a glimpse of life and the awhile." sayings and doings of this thriving village - or, as the Boonton was on her way.

32 Through the Years With Boonton' s Finest

from the one-man rule

of' Boss-Papa'

F eh. 15, 1883 -- Marshall to a 15-man force leave town. If this order was James Gilmanin arrested and ignored, the marshall would use clubbed a horse thief. Threw his club -- never used a gun un­ him in Jail. less absolutely necessary -- and threw the disturber into Jall to 1883--Marshall Gilmanin was cool off overnight. lf a longer called to stop a riot in a tavern Jail sentence was called for, the on Brook Street. He went alone. prisoner was esconed under guard Although his friends were afraid to Morristown by train. he'd be beaten up, the marshal! marched nine men at gun point, down the street ahead of him. When help was needed to cap­ He threw them all in Jail to calm ture or handle a prisoner, Mar­ down. shall Gllmanin deputized private citizens. Often his son John served 1886--Fire ladders from Boon­ In this capacity for "Boss-Papa." ton fire stations were missing. A tough Irishman, Gilmartin was After Investigation, Marshall Gil­ a lifelong resident of the town and martin found that townsmen had lived on Bruok Street (now Boon­ borrowed the ladders to paint their ton Avenue) while raising his fam­ houses and neglected to return ily. After his wife died he lived them. No charges were made, at the Mansion House, a well­ but the ladders all found their way known hotel, until his death In back to their stations. July, 1927. Nov. 17, 1887--A canal boat was During his lifetime, he witnessed going up the Morris Canal. The the beginnings of Boonton's police captain and crew were drinking force. heavily. Following an argument, one of the crew shot and killed The Depanment now numbers the captain. Marshall Gilmartin 15 men, including Chief Charles overtook the boat at Boonton's McCoy and Deputy Chief Jot,n E. Pond Bridge lock and arrested Dunn. William Bednar serves the crewman. The murderer was as lieutenant of detectives and later hanged in Morristown. Wllllam Lewis ls lieutenant of uniformed police. Does it read like a synopsis of a television series? Actually, Other members are Sgt. Rob­ it's excerpts from early Boonton ert Banks, Sgt. Daniel Bonanni, records. James Gilmanin was Sgt. William Paterson and patrol­ Boonton's Town Marshall and its men Edward Bolcar, Anthony Se­ first Chief of Police. reno, William Grimes, Thomas Vnencak, Pascal DePalma, Anthony For a spell, Gilmanin was the LaSalandra and John Murlano. only lawman at a time when the Samuel Husk Is civilian clerk­ growing town was an echo of the dispatcher, o Id wild west. The depanment lias three radio Standard procedure for the mar­ cars and handled 2,815 regular shall when trouble threatened, was calls and 233 auto accidents In to give the offender 24 hours to Morsha/1 Gilmartin 1966.

33 These four operators connected Boonton with the rest of the world in the early 1900's: They could handle 720 subscribers' lines. The switchboard was installed in the Boonton National Bank Build­ ing, 612 Main Street.

•NUMDEI\ PLEASE'

34 to ring off by turning the crank, signaling the operator to discoMect, Each telepbor,e had Its own batteries in a comparanent below the mouthpiece. . Telephone connected to the Boonton switchboard, served Boonton, Mountain Lakes, Montville and To­ waco, By 1900, 36 telephones were in use. 1905 saw 155 and by 1915, 758 phones overcrowded the old switch­ board, A new one was installed on the third floor of the Boon­ ton National Bank Building at 612 Main Street In March. The new switchboard had four operating positions and was equipped for 720 subscribers' lines and 40 trunk lines to other offices. Not only was this new board of By MAUDIE FISCHER greater capacity but It was also of a new type known as common battery. Thereafter all current for talking was By 1885, anyone could make a phone call in Boonton. supplied by large batteries In the telephone office in­ The silk mill, operated by the Paterson-based firm stead of by small batteries at each telephone. of Pelgram and Meyer, had installed a telephone line to In 1915, a three-minute long-distance call could its home plant earlier, but until Oct. 29, 1895, the only be made from Boonton to San Francisco if you were public phone in town was at the S, s. Lyon general store willing to spend $20, By 1919 the same call would at the corner of Liberty and Main Streets. cost $16; by 1927, $9. If they're still around, you can The "Boonton Weekly Bulletin" reports in the Feb. call them after 8 p. m. for $1. 26, 18S5, issue: ''The Telephone is now in succe:ssful Cranks were no longer used for signaling, Lifting operation at S. s. Lyons Store.'' the receiver from the hook lighted a lamp In front of In those very early days, to get follcs used to the the operator at the switchboard, as at present, and the idei of talking into a gol-durn contraption, the Tele­ operators rang subscribers' bells by touching a button. phone Company held a kind of open house from time to A modern era had begun. time. They called it "free day" and you could crank The increase in the number of Boonton telephones has 'er up and call anyone at all, for free. You can't beat continued at a rapid pace and from time to time changes those rates. and additions to the switchboard have been made. On In 1895, however, the rush for service (11 subscribers) Aug. 9, 1930, facilities were added to take care of 475 ad­ led the New York Telephone Company to L,stall the first ditional telephones, and on Dec. 18, 1934, another addition Boonton switchboard in Mr. Lyon's emporium, with him­ was made, All coin boxes were then changed to the pre­ self as operator while business behind the counter was payment type (a nickel being Inserted to get the op­ slow. erator). Among the 3,300 souls comprising Boonton at the Boonton is now being served from the Morristown time, those who subscribed to this electronlccontactwith central office and has 12,285 telephones. the outside world included John H. Brown, who had the Back in March, 1885, an issue of the "Boonton Week­ easy to remember Boonton 1 number, The Delaware ly Bulletin" reported: "Mr. William Grubb tallced and LackawaMa Railroad came along with Boonton 2. through the telephone to his son at Bangor, Pa., on Mon­ Other early subscribers were Dr. Culbert Wigg and Wil­ day evening last, greatly to his satisfaction, Mr. Lyon's liam F. Meadowcroft, E. B. Dawson and Co,, J. Herbert store has been visited by many of our citizens during Dawson, Henry Salmon and Son, the past week, who have availed themselves of the tele­ For the excremely limited and cumbersome service phone." available, they paid about $42 yearly. An editorial comment added, "The telephone Is work­ By 1900, there were two kinds of senlce available. ing well and will no doubt be extensively used." Could For $50 a year you could make 500 "messages," An be, additional 10 cents per message was charged beyond that number. An optional service for $75 allowed unlimlteci calls within Boonton. The second location of Boonton's switchboard was in the Holmes Library at the corner of Main and Church !••···········•·*••··············••! streets, where Miss Mame Worman was the operator. I Saponax the Sweet I Of course in those days there was no service at night. The increasing number of telephones made it neces­ .,..... The winner of a prize medal at the New ...: sary to install a 20-drop switchboard, which was placed : Jersey State Fair in 1881 was Sweet Sap- .., in c. B, Lawton's shoe store in the Salmon building. ,_ onax. ,The yellowed ad in a December news- : The calls for the 10 subscribers were handled by Miss Elvie Doremus, later Mrs. Clyde Tillotson, - ::I: paper dated Dec. ,8, doesn't say what the 1: Before reaching its present location, there was one ::I: medal was given for,. but unquestionably, .., more move when the central office was. transferred to :I: Sweet Sapanax was the winner. , Invoking : 408 Main street. .,. authorities of the day, the stuff was called : Early switchboards were of the magneto type, and • "the only tooth wash endorsed by dentists.. .., the telephones were all wall sets. To make a call one :I: Harmless as water. ,Will positively cleanse .., turned a small crank at the side of the telephone, which ;!:,... and preserve the teeth and perfume · the caused a little metal shutter or "drop" on the switch­ :;;: breath. , Only 25 cts. , a bottle, at all drug 1• board to fall from a vertical to a horizontal position. stores.'.' The operator would note which "drop" had fallen and The Firm must have had a singing commer- plug in to find who was wanted. : cial, as well. A victorian hand points your :. The caller gave the number - or mqre often the name attention to: "A copy of Saponax Music free ..., of the person - desired, and the operator would make the 11: requested coMection and ring by turning a crank at the • of any druggist. Ask for it." :I: switchboard, -1;--;-..,...,...,...,...,..,..,..,,..,...,..,...,..,..-:-:--:-:-..,..,-,,-,-,..,..,....,...,.....,.....,..._ _, ... After the conversation, the calling party was supposed ittttttttttttttttttttttttttt!tttttttttti

35 f ··.' ; '·.: .,

The Fire Wardens pictured at a gay picnic outing, about 1900. Can you imagine haw stern they looked at a fire? First row, from left: unknown, Oscar P. Whitehead, Jaseohus Dixon, Harry Gordan, William Oliver, George Backer, Edmund P. Looker, unk~own. Sec_on_d row, from_ left: John Husk, Eben Lyon, Nathaniel Myers, David Whitehead, R.H. Richards, W,1/,am Pro/I, Gilbert Crane, Harry Gordon, Milos Lu;anovitz, William Salmon, A.W. Doremus, George W. Frutchey. (There Goes the Mill Bell'

By DICK LEWIS

The Boonton Iron Works had a large bell ln cupola The department Is run by a board of chiefs - a above the entrance which tolled the commencing of chief, deputy chief and a battalion chief who also each work day. It rang at noon time and at night lt serves as chief of the fire prevention bureau. told the workmen another day was done. There are 180 men In the five companies and each Another duty of the big bell was to warn of disasters company has a captain and lieutenant. In 1966 the -- fires and accidents were announced by the urgent department answered 113 fire calls. clanging of the mlll bell. The date of the department's Inception ts July 30, The cry, ''There goes the mlll belll" was accom­ 1891. panied by the rush of excited townsfolk, anxious to find There are Indications however that a fire company the cause for alarm. dld exist at the Iron works. Ironically, lt rang lts own death Jenell on Oct. 16, 1906, Charles F. Hopkins, a former chief of the depart­ when the works burned down. It rang to sound the ment made reference In 1897 to an old goose-neck alarm and lt was kept ringing during the fire, until engine and a hook and ladder wagon at the mills 1n the men were driven off by the Intensity of the names 1860. The women, whose men tabored In the mill, were The first account of a mill fire ls found In "The standing by, watching the vain efforts to save the mill. True Democratic Banner," published In Morristown. Finally, when the supparts were weakene~ bythet1ames, It reads: "May 21, 1951, About half past twelve the bell toppled and fell to the groWld. The women o' cloclc Monday night last, a fire was discovered break­ wept. Ing out of the main building (used as a rolling mill) •••• Today the Boonton Fire Department Is comprised The whole eastern end of the works as far as the water of five companies and lists among Its equipment five wheel, with the sheds on the south side •••were trucks, three pumpers, a 100-foot aerial ladder truck destroyed." a11d a salvage and rescue truclc. Capt. Edwin Bishop opened the gates and 1t11owed

36 the water to flow and rotate the water wheels, thereby Also, 100 fire buckets were distributed around town. saving them from destruction. In 1891, under the leadership of Mayor John I. When the mills were rebuilt, a four-Inch pipe was Kopp, the town moved ahead In this long-neglected placed to allow water :o flow from the canal to the · area. rear of blast furnace, with laterals leading to other "One need of this town to prevent a great calamity," parts of the works. There were times when the canal he said "Is to arrange for a plan to extinguish fire." was drained to make repairs and this left the works Everyone agreed, but nobody did anything. Finally, VUlnerable to fire for several days at a time. A on July 2 of that year, a disastrous fire swept the constant supply was needed. In 1866, the Arch Bridge home of Mrs. James Demerest on Grant Street. Evi­ was constructed as a viaduct to carry a large pipe, dently this fire had a marked effect on a number of laid from the pond above the dam, down "Lover's Boontonites, for a meeting was held in Hopkins Hall Lane" and across the bridge, to supply fire hydrants five days after the fire, to form some son of fire placed at vantage points throughout the iron works. organization. Robert Green was elected chairman The bridge was constructed by John Carson, Sr., a with Edmund P. Looker as secretary and 35 men grandfather of WllUam Carson. Mr. Carson died of signed up. injuries incurred when a blast went off prematurely A committee was formed to circulate petitions for when the approach to the mill end of the bridge was the signatures of the residents of t1\e town. On July 24 being filled. a report was submitted to the common C ou nc 11 on The last hydrant to be fed by this system was at the equipment and facilities, and on July 30 the Boonton mm office about where the Bethel AME Church pres­ Fire Department was _organized, with Jacob L. Hutt ently stands. elected chief and Robert H. Wilson, assistant. In 1869, a public cistern was built near the Pres­ The ordinance that formed the fire department di­ byterian Church for fire-fighting purposes and this was vided It Into two sections. Section 1 to be called the first step toward fire protection In Boonton. the Hook and Ladder Section and section 2 to be called In 1870, $200 were appropriated by the Board of Trustees to place two Iron pumps__ln the public cistern in Church Street, and 13 ladders were purchased and stationed around town. A second big fire occurred at the Iron Works on Aug. 24, 1873. Mr. Wesley VanBusklrk, a watchman in the employ of the railroad, discovered the holocaust which destroyed the large saw-mill, nail factory, cooper shop, three drying sheds, the large storehouse and a small hose house. Total damage to stock and equip­ ment was $100,000. In 1886, under Mayor James Holmes, a committee was authorized to open the well on Birch and Liberty Streets and place a pump there for fire use only.

Parade down Main S_treet, with Firen,,·, in the foreground. The building at left has l,een torn down. Rasmussen's Frozen Food Lockers ore there now.

37 the Bucket Section. A second ordinance passed April 7, 1892, provided that the firemen should be divided Into Engine, Hook and Ladder and Bucket companies. The Common Council at their meeting of August 5, 1891 passed an ordinance for the Issuing of construc­ tion bonds to build a fire house on land donated by John Maxfield on Main Street. · It wasn't until Jan. 4, 1893 that a resolution was finally adopted giving Boonton a water supply for drinking and putting out fires, and pumping equip­ ment was purchased In August of that year. The Harmony Engine and Hose Companies, No 2 were organized on Sept. 11, 1894, and were confirmed as pan of the Boonton Fire Department Immediately. Their first regular engine house was on the corner of Oak Street and Highland Avenue. The present Salvage and Rescue Company had Its stan with the former Fire Wardens. The Fire Wardens were established by the general fire ordinance In 1892 and had the powers of police officers for the duration of the fire. In May of 1907 the South Boonton Volunteer Fire Department requested to be taken Into the regular department and on July 1, 1907, by action ofthe Common Council, they became members of the Boonton Fire Depanment known as the South Boonton Hook & Ladder Company No. 2 and the South Boonton Hose Company No. 3 •

... The Water's Fine

By ALLAN MAC LEAN Some follc think this country started to go to pot when There were several drownings through the years, and the backyard pool replaced the Old Swimming Hole. along about 1950, Harold Barnes, publisher of the "North Well, it ain't so. At least not 1n Boonton. Town boys Jersey News,'' went on a crusade to have Deep Hole always had plenty of swimming holes and several are in fllled. use today, though the town has put In an attractive mu­ You can still get an argument whether it was a good nicipal beach near Pond Bridge on the Rockaway River. Idea, but the town fathers dia It, and dynamite changed In the old days folks swam In the shallow canal and in forever the profile of the Boonton Falls. Sunset Lake - Hillery's Pond, that was - but both are long gone for highways and houses. Mostly they swam Deep Hole was filled with Jagged rocks, and almost 1n the river. nobody swims there now. They say girls were less adventurous then, but many The trout still fight their way upstream to spawn each climbed the steep rocks In their starched petticoats to spring. If you're patient with your camera, you can picnic by the river and some of the braver ones swam, catch one flailing his way up the falls, like a bright too. streak of quicksilver. The place everybody remembers Is Deep Hole, bored Just below the falls Is 100-year-old Arch Bridge, by the rushing waters of Boonton's famous Falls. Today equally favored by young lovers and Sunday afternoon It Is part of Grace Lord Park. painters, It ls probably the most scenic spot In Boon­ They used to say it had no bottom, and If you got ton, caught under the Falls, you'd go down forever. That Further downstream is the Basin, which is still used wasn't quite true, but It was fully 30 feet deep and cold for swimming, although parents prefer the town beach a 11 year round. · with its all-day lifeguard. And below that is second You could dive in off the rocks, or swing from the basin and Indian Rock, which has caves In It, made by overhanging trees like Tarzan, to land with a soul-sat­ the water over the centuries, isfying splash. Sometimes, Just for mischief, you'd If you go there at twilight, you may hear a faraway swim underwater and wriggle up the rocks out of sight splash and then a iiggle floating up from the darkness to shiver dry while your friends waited for you to come below. Perhaps its the ghost of Old Boonton, skinny­ up. dipping in the Icy water.

38 Dr. John Grimes .Vital Link in the Underground Railroad

One of the outstanding figures of the pre-Civil War period in Boonton was Dr, John Grimes. He was dedicated to the cause of abolition and was a vital link in the under­ ground railroad chain which spirited about 40,000 slaves through New Jersey northward to freedom. He was not always a popular man, but seemed to prefer the dignity of standing on his ideals and principles to the approbation of his fellowmen, He was a vegetarian and attempted to encourage others to this diet by sponsoring vegetarian dinners and meetings in Liberty Hall which he built about 1844 on Main Street, John Maxfield, James S,NorrisandDanleIC.Norris were near the corner of Liberty Street. among those named in the Society. They met In a building The hall had a capacity of400personsand was used for near the corner of William and Main Streets, which was "song and dance, feast and frolic, wedding and funeral" known as the Free Church. according to Isaac Lyon, who chronicled Boonton history With the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law in September, in 1867. 1850, a feeling of public resentment ran high and the law Dr. Grimes was born in Parsippany in 1802. His was met with open defiance. There must have been a father, Jonathan Casper Grimes, was a feerless foe of change in the opinions of some of the townspeople, for slavery and it ls not surprising that his son inherited Dr. Grimes and his fellow-workers received greater these strong convictions. cooperation In their struggles. Among those who helped The young Dr. Grimes was not formally educated. In were William G. Lathrop, John Hill, Thomas Willis, Philip 1824, he decided upon the medical profession as his life's Wootton, George Ely, Charles B. Norris, Frederick Stone, work and studied under Dr. Stephen Fairchild of James Grimes, George Coates, Nathan Hopkins and his son Parsippany. He received his certificate at the age of 26. Charles F. Hopkins, In the "History of Morris County," (Lewis -1914) the A young nephew of the doctor's Josiah Quincy Grimes, procedure for becoming a doctor is outlined. A student came to work for his uncle In 1861, · The lad kept a diary would make applica1ion to a practising physician with whom which reveals some homely facts of life In Boonton 100 he desired to study, which was forwarded to the Morris years ago. District Medical Society. He writeF: After four years of study, the student would be examined by the Censors of the Society to determine whether a "Uncle John wants me, •• to keep the cirug shop and license to practice medicine should be granted. sometimes put out the horse, spilt some wood, etc,, Before coming to Boonton In 1833, Grimes practised for the consideration of five dollars per month. •• medicine in the village of Newfoundland for five years. "Took a walk about the canal this morning, saw them It seemed that he was on the unpopular side of nearly cast at the blast furnace, •• every public issue -- politics, religion, temperance and "At night I went to see the blast furnace, and took a diet. ride on the plane ••• He served as secretary In the Anti-Slavery Society of "Sold some arsenic to a woman this afternoon, went the state and published Boonton's first newspaper, "The swimming with Symon ••in the canal •••• ·Monthly Advertiser." Soon after he stopped publishing "In the afternoon a man came In and wanted to be the "Advertiser," he produced "The New Jersey Free­ bled, so Uncle stuck him In the arm and I held a man," from 1844-1850. Containing verylittlelocalnews, basin to catch the blood. When it got about one­ it told of the hardships ofthe negro and extolled the virtues sixth full Uncle stopt the operation and I emptied of temperance. · the basin in the street." · · The doctor had a crude printing press which he used for · labels, billheads and small jobs, It · also produced a The young man Joined the army when he became of age 48-page book called, "Right and Wrong in Boonton, No. 1. •• and he died Sept, 8, 1863, to the cause in which his family - It reported the· doirigs of the Anti-Slavery group in believed so strongly, Boonton, their problems and obstacles, from 1834-1840. A As a result of a long, serious Illness, Grimes lost a leg ., copy of t'1e book is in Rutger's University Library. in 1865 and.shortly after, an arm. He continued to work . : hi 1841, the anti".slavery element evidently had their as consulting physician and also managed his drug store• . fill of opposition from the Presbyterian Church, of which Dr. John Grimes died Sept. 12, 1875, having lived to see , a.number of them .were members•. • the downfall of the slavery which he BO vehemently de­ · · ·0n Api;il 19,, theFtrstCongregatlonalSocietyof Boonton plored and to receive the homage and respect BO long . \Yas µicorporated, . Dr •. John Grimes, George W. Esten, witheld by his fellow-townsmen •

39 'The Tourne Magic Words'

By HELEN S. HULL

"The Tourne, magic words! What small boy or old shut ln by other ranges of hills and blue-topped moun­ boy who bu ever lived wlthin walldng distance of thla tains; whlle Powervllle wlth its mllls, and Boonton wlth strange mountain wlll not stop and thlnk over the happy lts furnaces belching forth name and smoke, lle almost hours he has spent there." at the feet of the observer." These sentiments, expressed by Charles E. Wlllls ln Untll the early 1700's when the Proprietors of West hls novel, "Scouts of '76", go back a long way and lt ls New Jersey began to allot themselves land, the Tourne not dlfflcult to lmagtne why. had belonged to no one, But lt became a part of the The Tourne stands apart from other peaks ln the "Great Boonetown Tract" of 4,000 acres sold to Davld rldge, towering 392 feet above the Rockaway Rlver as Ogden ln 176!5 for hls son Samuel, the tronmaker. The this stream winds down through the valley to Power - ridge passed from Ogden to Faesch, thence to WUllam vllle Dam. Tales are told of friendly Indiana sharing Scott, through whom it was inherited by the Decamp the hunting there wlth early Dutch settlers. It ls sald farnily in 1874, where it remained for over 80 years, that game included bears, timber wolves, deer and an In 19!59, some 22!5 acres comprising the Tourne and occasional caribou. part of Rattlesnake Meadow were purchased by Mor­ Although lt ls steep on the north slde, easy ascent on ris County for a public park. the east made "let's go up on the Tourne" a dlverslon 100 years ago on a trlp down the Morrls Canal, as de­ Untll his death in 1948 at age 89, it was Clarence scribed ln these excerpts from Harper's New Monthly DeCamp who maintained the famlly responslblllty for Magazine, July, 1860: the Tourne. In the 1880's he sold stone from the quarry "l..eavlng the canal at Powervllle, we spent an hour for rallroad bridges, and it la said that he constructed climbing to the top of Tom (slc) mountain. The vlew the broad paths on the eut and south sides for a rall - from the apex amply repays the exertion of cllmblng. road spur along thls route between Boonton and Den - On one alde the valley extends for mlles away untll vllle.

40 This never came to pass, but the paths remained a The once prolific chestnut and elm which succumbed delight for wallcing or riding. to disease, and other hardwoods taken for charcoal for the iron furnaces, remain only in large rotted stumps. Except for a short time during World War n, when -They are, perhaps, relics of the forest known to the Army Jeeps on mysterious errands blocked off the paths Indians. to the summit, tile Tourne has always been free to all who would enjoy it. But this historic landmark Is now preserved. In 1961, the Rockaway Valley Garden Club Initiated During Mr. DeCamp's stewardship, picnickers or the development of the wildflower trail under the direc­ horse-back riders would come upon a shy and quiet tion of Mrs. Frank Hammond, well-known botanist and woodsmlln sweeping the paths or clearing brush. But wildflower expen. She was assisted by Mrs. Edward F. they seldom knew who It was; or that their enjoyment Evans of the Mountain Lakes Garden Club, which In was due to his generosity. 1964, officially Joined the project. rt was on one such encounter that Mr. Decamp told me that the original name of the mountain given by the Members of the two clubs make weekly visits to the Dutch settlers had been spelled "Toren" thelr word for Tourne, malntalnlng and developing the trail. The Mor­ "a tower.'' The present spelling is conceded to be a ris County Park Commission has donated bushes and colloquialism. plants. The two Clubs have also donated materials for the trail, which now has nearly 300 identified wild­ Now named "Tourne Park," the trails hre been flowers, shrubs and ferns. restored and picnic and parlcing areas Installed. Local garden clubs have introduced wildflowers native to this In this wooded oasis only 25 miles from New York mixed oak-hickory woodland which ts white with flower­ City, deer abound, the husky bark of the gray fox Is ing dogwood in spring, and a riot of color in autumn. heard, the rider flushes a partridge from the path, and Beech and maple grow on the southerly slopes, and the cry of the whip-poor-will rteee from the meadow. along the brook through Rattlesnake Meadow are head­ Generations to come will know the joy of the man­ high osmunda ferns. date, "Let's go up on the Tourne."

.A ~~8 Tlw Good Old Days Years ago - about 115 - at the "Academy" on School Street where the new school building is now being built, youngsters quenched their thirst from a hand pump in front of the school. Everyone drank from the tin cups which were chained to the pump. Berry Pies There are many older residents of Boonton who still smile in happy reminiscence at the mention of Bllly Mansell'e toy shop and candy store. It was in the store now occupied by the Castaway Shop on Birch Street -- very handy for the children at the school across the street. A still closer spot, popular with the penny-spending set, was Lizzie McNeil's candy store. For the big spenders, the older children with nickels, there was Berry Husk's bakery down on Main Street at the foot of School Street. The bolder children sneaked down there at recess to buy nickel pies, usually berry. Sometimes, the baker would fill a blg basket with warm pies which he would hand up over the retaining wall to hie eager buyers. Though his full name was Samuel Berry Husk, he is stUl remembered as Berry Husk.

41 Outgrowing the Little Red Schoolhouse

In Boonton-Free E,lucation For Rich and Poor Alike • . • A Morris County First By PEARL CLARK

Boonton's school system has a long and imposing his­ elementary and high school bulldlng adjacent to the old tory, going back to 1831 when the New Jersey Iron Co., school, the very last section of which was finally torn ln the same year l t rolled lts first Iron, provided a down ln 1927, school for the people ln the settlement of Boonton Falls. And now In this centennial year of 1967, a splendid Taught by Mlse Dean, whose salary was paid by the new bulldlng of 20 classrooms capable of caring for 600 Company, school was held in part of a dwelling on Plane students, ls being erected -- part of It on the precise Street, below the spot where Soldiers Monuments now site of that first free school, The 1897 version will be stands. The following year, again with the help of the torn down. New Jersey Iron Co., a school bull ding. was erected at the corner of Cedar and Liberty Streets, and here for 20 years the children of the mlll workers attended Another school, on property now occupied by the classes. house at 610 Lathrop Avenue, had been serving South This second schoolhouse stood amid fine trees near Boonton, which was In Pequannock Dlstrlct No. 6, a brook, at the top of the hill -- a situation which some­ since 1844. In 1868, the school lot was sold to Wll - 11am G. Lathrop for $200 plus another lot on Lathrop times on snowy winter days tempted the children to turn over their benches and use them as sleds, · Avenu" near Old Boonton Road, to which site (after­ Isaac S, Lyon taught here in 1834 and the last teacher wards known as the Purcell place) the school bulldlng was Marcus W, Martin, whose annual salary ln 1852 was $350. With the building of a new, two-story brick school - house in 1852, a block away, the older frame structure John L, Kanouse was sold, and eventually altered to become a dwelllng, which stands to this day, The scrolled fasclae, then ln popular use on school bulldlngs, are stlll to be seen as decorations on the eaves. This brick school, sometimes called Boonton Acad­ emy, was the original one at the School Street site. It stood In a grove of oaks facing the school Green, a land­ mark on lts lofty site. More Important, It was a land­ mark ln education ln the County, for through the efforts of John L. Kanouse It was the first, and for many years the only, free school ln Morris County.

John L. Kanouse was chosen as first school superln - tendent of Pequannock Township under an 1847 state law abollshlng the previous system of three commlttemen. Boonton's hill area was ln District No, 7. Visiting all the dlstrlcts, talking persuasively attown­ ship meetings, John L, Kanouse strove to convince those early citizens that school conditions should be Improved. Those were the days of Irregular school sessions, un­ comfortable bulldlngs, uncertia.ln textbook sources, and poorly paid teachers who still had to board around in the homes of school patrons, Elected twice to the state leg­ islature, Assemblyman Kanouse fought for reform, and as a member of the committee on education In 1850 prepared the School Bill that was presented and passed in 1851, although he was not In the legislature to see the bill passed. Thus the new school being planned for Boonton at that time became •.he first free school ln the County, and lt was the envy of neighboring communities. An addition toward Main Street was added In 1864, and a second :tddltion toward Birch Street ln 1869. Then In 1897 the town voted $16,000 to construct a combined

42 School Street School, built in 7B97. At left, Harrison Street School students fine uo. The princiaal, whose name is un• known, stands at left, on stairs. Teacher is Miss Julia Peckham. The school was built in 1B75.

was moved. Until 1874 this small school functioned In extelor, It faced a spacious lawn where graduation cere­ Its new location. monies were held for 37 years. Six rooms were added In later years It was made Into the second story of a in 1924, The first principal was George Clark, who also house that has now grown to be a four-family residence. taught La tin, In fact, the upper rear windows of 319 Lathrop Avenue still have the arched lintels which Identify the part of the building that was old Schoolhouse No. 6. When a proposal was made In 1894 to erect a new Parochial classes In Boonton began In 1860 when building on the site of No. 6, the property was deemed the Rev. Dominic Castet and later the Rev. Louis Gam­ too small. An exchange of lots was arranged which bosville taught clanes In the basement of Our Lady of permitted the building of a larger school on Harrison Mount Carmel Church. One of the lay teachers who Street. Beginning In January, 1875 the Harrison Street asalsted was John Holland, who later achieved fame as School served South Boonton for 54 years. It was aban­ Inventor of the submarine. In 1876 these classes were doned soon after the new John Hm School opened In 1928, dlecontlnued, to be resumed In the 1880's when the Sis­ and It Is now the Boonton Jewish Center. ters of St, Dominic of Caldwell, assumed charge. A convent was built for them at Birch and Oak Streets. Diagonally opposite the convent a parochial building was erected In 1891, housing St, Mary's School and an audi­ John Hlll School, built to accommodate the children torium. The present elementary school on Oak Street, in rapidly growing South Boonton, was located on La­ with current enrollment of 324, was built In 1926. throp Avenue at the corner of Maple Street. Additions Since 1946 parochial classes have also been held were made to It In 1930 and 1939. The name was chosen under the sponsorship of Sts. Cyrtl and Methodlus to perpetuate the memory of a leading citizen whose Church, where Msgr. Andrew V. Stefan has been pastor service to Boonton during the Civil War period was out­ for 34 years. At first the classes were held In the standing. He Is remembered for his work In the Pres­ church butldlng and in 1952 the present school was byterian Church, where he was an elder for 39 years, built. Staffed by the Sisters of St. Francis, It has and for his YMCA activities. He later served four 185 students In kindergarten through 8th grade. terms In Washington as Congressman.· A rapidly Increasing school population following In the meantime the high school population was out­ World War II posed new problems for the town. Despite growing the quarters at School Street. A South Boonton the withdrawal over the years of students from various site was chosen on Lathrop Avenue, and here In 1922 the sending districts, Boonton Hlgh's enrollment continued first high school was built. Identified by Its fieldstone to grow. Formerly, students attended Boonton High

43 ... -;-_:- :, ; ~:..... '". \ .,, ; :- •. . .' ~~ 1j •/·'}"~~~ / """-r4;fj/-J A two-story brick school was built in 1852. Additions were built in 1864 and 1869. from Mountain Lakes, Denville, Parslppany, Boo,1ton re-christened with the honored name of John H111. Township, Montville Township and Lincoln Park. In 1851 there were 265 children between the ages of After a hotly contested referendum for a new high 5 and 18; the first high school graduating class In 1876 school was twice defeated In 1958, a third referendum consisted of only 3--all girls; In 1920, there were 22 passed overwhelmingly, enabling a new high school to graduates; In 19~5 there were 142. In 1960 there were be built In 1959-60. It went Into full use In the fall of 202 In the last class to graduate from the fieldstone 1961. high school. To achieve the present high school plant, the elemen­ When Boonton as a town became a hundred years old tary school building at Lathrop and Maple was taken over In March, 1967, there were 341 seniors coming along and greatly enlarged, with extensive facilities for shops, for June graduation. Of these, 90 were from the Town. music, an, a huge gymnasium and an auditorium of re­ That month the total high school enrollment was 1,549; markable beauty which Is enjoyed by the entire commu­ of these, 434 were from the Town. nity for concerts and other town affairs. The elementary The enrollment at John Hill School was 590; at School school students were transferred to the fieldstone high Street School, 411. The total enrollment in Boonton's school built in 1922, now adapted to its new needs and public schools reached the Impressive total of 2,550.

At the Boonton Free Academy, students oose f~r class oicture. Teacher, Miss Elfie Grimes, grand-daughter of Dr. John Grimes, is no bigger thon her students. She stands from the right, in rear, Phillio IVootton is third from right in reor. 1 --■11!1111: ---3:-:...... l"'--.... .,.~,:;•_,:• ••'Jl",.·';f.:.'"'•''··w.,. .. ,,_,.,. .. 11'·:,I ., ,;;,•, ' • , •.. •: ,.":::· - r. ~·,_ · ·~· ~-•·:r~ ::.tr.~ _,.,. :i:!~~-·· ;:,_ ~.i~ 1---·~~~•'-1... · : :,:· ,.;· •.:,·_·

, . .~:~::.- ..

_::iiitf'~S;'<,: (.. ;i:i;i,k-~ The Snows of Yesteryear

Those with any sense gave up the Idea of worlclng and For years, every snowstorm which settled ln the East lmmedlately got on another train for home. The really has been compared with the Infamous Bllzzard of 1888. smart ones hadn't even gotten out of bed, Most storms are duly recorded ln the local press, cussed An hour later, Conductor •Waddock arrived with . hls at for a day or two and then melt Into obscurity. 8 a.m. train, which hadtakenfourhoursto make the one­ But the grand-daddy of 'em all not only rates capital hour trtp. letters, but It has long been suspected that the snow gets It was Indeed a fearsome gale, with drifts piling head deeper everytlme some old codger snorts, "Thts ain't high by Monday night. It has been recorded that anyone nuthln' like '88." who ventured outdoors. that day "would not remain alive To set the record stralghtand give the Bllzzard Its due, here's the story as toldlnthe "Boonton Weekly Bulletin." for half an hour." As usual, the weather forecast was Incorrect. Some Tuesday, ·the snow kept up; that Is to say, It came things never change. down. The newspaper reports snow piled 15feet high and ''Fair weather followed with light rain or snow." one of the large chimneys of the Methodist parsonage was That doesn't sound bad enough to stay home from the blown down. The Catholic and Presbyter:an chimneys Sunday evening meeting. And no one dld. When they were seem to have suffered no damage, but !tis not suggested spiritually fortlfled for their various labors of the coming that there's a moral In this. week, Dobbin took them home again. Dobbin went to the Doors were blockaded and roads Impassable. One or barn and the folks went to bed. two milkmen, feeUng the heavy weight of their respon­ Those with Insomnia soon realized that the wind was sibility, ventured forth, "but were sorry they did." rising and the rain had turned to snow. Toward morning, the wind had coaxed Itself Into a gale. Those gentlemen For some reason, only a few voters turned up at the who made the family fortune In the Big City departed, as United States Hotel to cast their ballots. Perhaps lt was usual, for the 7 a.m. train. an off-year election. The darkening clouds and violent wind did nota uger well Businesses were closed and school was closed, much for a speedy end to the storm. to the dismay of the local small fry. People were out of The usual thunderous rush of western trains did not provisions. take place that morning, but Conduci:or Conover swung The article closes by going back to the railroads -­ aboard the New York· City commuter train on schedule, even by Thursday, only one track could be used and great The}' had not gone far before realizing that they could care had to be taken to prevent collisions. hardly reach Hoboken unaided. Another locomotive gave So next time someone scoffs at the 12-foot accumula­ a helping push, however, and In four hours they disem­ tion of snow on your front yard, remember you can't talk barked, cold and soggy In Hoboken, the businessman's back until at least another three feet. gateway to New York. William G. Lathrop When Wllliam Green retired as superintendent of the 40,000 slaves were aided in their escape to freedom in Boonton Iron Works, he was succeeded by a man whose Canada through the 12 routes through New Jersey. Some Influence reached Into every nook and cranny of Boonton of these slaves received help from Grimes and others life. In Boonton. William Lathrop was among those active in Wllliam Gerard Lathrop had already retired from an the work of the underground railroad. active business life In New York City and moved to a small Lathrop Involved himself In many areas of community farm in Rahway. responslbillty. He was trustee of school districts, director In 1848 he came to Boonton to accept the post of book­ 1n bank and savings Institutions and during the Civil War, keeper and by 1852 was made manager of the Iron Works, was treasurer of the Pequannock Bounty Fund. a field about which he knew nothing. Soon he mastered Before the strife-torn years of war, he was stmt as every aspect of the business to become an efficient and delegate from New Jersey to the Chicago convention which progressive manager of one of the largest iron works in nominated Lincoln. He went t~ -re favoring William H, the countr;y. Seward, but soon became convh . .:ed that Abraham Lincoln Everything prospered under his control and he retained was the best man. his position until 1876 when the Works stopped. Then he In the spring of 1863, he helped form the Union League was asked by the executors of J, Couper Lord's estate to of Boonton which was dedicated to suppressionofthe re­ look after matters and keep the Works in repair, which bellion and malntenanceofnatlonal unity. Willlam Lathrop he did until 1882. is listed as one of the Executive Committee of the League, In 1873 he built a massivestoneresldenceon the street He died on March 2, 1882, 1n the stately home he made that bears his name. He insisted that all who worked on for his family, having lived there for only ten years, it be residents of Boonton, thereby helping the unemployed of the Town. His home and ground!=! became the New During Lathrop's lifetime, Boonton grew secure, Shops Jersey State Fireman's Home In 1900. and mechanics were needed to meet the growing demands Dr. James Grimes, prominent abolitionist and editor of a growing population, streets were opened, churches of Boonton's first newspaper, '"rhe Monthly Advertiser," built and school established, The Town was acquiring a which he started during the summer of 1843, used his history for Itself. William G, Lathrop was an Integral part home as a station In the underground railroad. At least of that history.

45 ~ ~-. _.,.,,,., ..... ;.;- .• , _-;:. :,f:?;:,;,t;,::;;~-~~. '. :"#~~... · ..... •~--·-··,.· .~~t..~... :¥ii-'·

This oicture of the Arch Bridge is world famous. John C. Wotton whose hobby was photography, took it in 1939, The photo hung in the New York World's Fair that year, and in London and Paris shows. 46 _,.__ 7~~-~:-~.-~-..-=-~ ... - . .. ~~~•""',:t -<~.-:~]\:~:}:,~. '.._;/t~ -~

Water comes from the Canal down the flumes to the wheels of the mi /Is. This is in the vicinity of the upper parking lot.

Working on the dam at the Jersey Reservoir, about 1902

47

WHAT THEY WHY THEY ARE

The main Street of Boonton is called Main Street, North Main Street where it turns north, and West Main Street where it heads west across a bridge over the town pond. This is called. PO!ld Bridge. There never was anything high falutin' in Boonton about street names or anything else. There's The Hill (Old Newark Turnpike) after manager William G. Lathrop, section and The Flats. Hill Street runs up to The Hill, who died in 1882. William and Cornelia Streets are and so does School Street, which leads to the school. named for Mr. Green's two children. School Street School. Hlll street is probably named after John Hill, Plane The Presbyterian Church stands on Church Street, Street grocer wh.o helped create our present postal and the reservoir ls next to Reservoir Drive. It's system. He came to Boonton in 1821 and soon became somehow reassuring to taut nerves in a troubled world, active in local politics. He spent eight years in Washington Many street names still reflect the importance of as a member of the Legislature, Speaker of the House water - the Morris Canal and the fast-flowing Rocka­ and Congressman. He was also a religious man who way River - in the town's early days. conducted well-attended Sunday School classes. There's RockawayStreet,whlch parallels the river, Judge John L. Kanouse, who founded the county's and Lake Avenue (it used to be W~ter Street) near where first free public school on the site of present School it widens. The present River Road used to be River Street School, lends his name to Kanouse Street. Street; an older River Road, like the canal, lies buried Dixon and Dawson Streets are named for local mer­ under Interstate Route 287. chant-landowners. Glover Street for Paul Glover, a Myrtle A v en u e (Route 202) used to be called Canal foundryman in the mills. Street, and ran alongside the canal, opposite the tow Mechanic Street, as the name suggests, was the home path. The name has been retained for a short, dead­ of many small artisans - blacksmiths, wheelwrights, end street off Park Avenue. carriage makers - a character it has pr~eerved to this Boonton's renowned inclined plane is commemorated day. in Plane Street, which follows faithfully the steep ter­ Long ago, Daniel T, Peer divided a large tract of land rain that made the lift necessary. There used to be a between his two sons. The boundry line ls marked by Lock Street, which ran where Highland Avenue is now. Division Street. Boonton Avenue was once Brook Street, and if you Reserve Street ran along the edge of James Cooper put your ear to the pavement, you can still hear Crooked Lord's estate (reserve). He was one of the two pro­ Brook gurgling away underneath. Try about two blocks prietors of the iron works, and Grace Lord Park is above Main. named after his daughter. Dating from 1767, the town's oldest thoroughfare is Boonton's fiery patriotism during the Civil War Period Fanny Road. Originally, it was Fanny's Road, after (she overfilled her quota of recruits) produced names Fanny Thomas, who sold homebaked bread and pies like Sherman Street, Liberty Street and Union Street. to the colliers driving past in their wide-wheeled wagons, In more recent years, Vreeland Avenue was named Col, Samuel Ogden laid out Powerville Road in 1774. after the prominent farm family, well represented in Its original route, through what ts now The Tourne, nearby Towaco, Roes Drive was named for the late involved only one river crossing - the least possible Mr. George Roes, a former alderman who deeded large number. Bridges were expensive. traces for use as town park land. Many older streets are named for prominent land­ As the town grew, town fathers fell back, as always, owners, often men associated with the iron industry, on the names of presidents (nine of them) and trees In this category fall Wootton Street, after Philip Woot­ (14 of them). ton, an early plant manager who came here from Eng­ Today developers tend to name new streets after land in 1830, Green Street, after William T, Green, themselves. It may seem of little historical interest who was manager around 1840, and Lathrop Avenue, to us now, but in another 100 years - who knows? so The congressman blamed the Standard Oil Company for a rise in the price of oil from six cents a gallon ' • • Ulpable of to "10 or 11 cents." · Salmon was also a champion of constitutional govern­ ment for United States territories. He criticized Presi­ Someth,i-ng Different' dent McKinley for wrongly contending that the inhabitants of "Porto Rico" frt!ely panlcipated in their island gov­ Anyone who baa ever labored behind a horse-drawn ernment, when ''it 1a known they do not elect their own plow on a hoc summer day could understand how Joshua legislature, and the principal officials are theappointees S. Salmon felt during hlS childhood on a farm in Bartley. of the President." "I do noc intend to do thlS kind of work always," he More than half a century before Alaska was co become told a friend. "I believe I am capable of something dif­ a state, Salmon urged that the groundwork be laid for ferent t_han breaking up thlS stony land." statehood, and that Alaska be given "a territorial gov­ All of which is one way of saying that not even his fa­ ernment framed under the Constitution and regardful ther's wishes could keep Joshua Salmon down on the of every provision, limitation and restriction therein farm. He was determined co seek hlS fonune elsewhere contained." - and this he did. by eventually moving to Booncoo. Salmon's untimely death was a blow to Boonton and Joshua s. Salmon was lawyer, banker, state legisla­ to his colleagues In Congress - paniculary the McKin­ tor and congressman. The acorr. of his life is told In ley era's minority Democrats, One democratic col­ a book published in 1904, entitled 'Memorials of Joshua league, Rep. Ransdell of Louisiana, noted in his eulogy s•. Salmon," by the Rev. Andrew M. Sherman. that Salmon was the third Democratic congressman to Salmon was bom in 1846 in Mount Olive, grew up on die in a five-day period. Said he: his father's farm in Banley, and determined at an early "All belonged co the minority which could Ill afford age co become '•a lawyer and a statesman." He eamed to lose any of its members, and especially such shining a degree at Albany, N, Y., Law School ("an industrious lights, I felt consoled as a pany man, with the thought student, quiet and unostentatious "), and practiced for that 'the Lord loveth whom he chasteneth, • and the Demo­ two years in Jersey City before opening his own firm cractic pany was then receiving such severe punishment in Boonccn. it must surely be in favor above." After service in the state legislature, Salmon was Other eulogies were more non-partisan, however, and elected to Congress in 1900 as a Democrat during the one came from U. S, Sen. Dryden of New Jersey, who presidential term of William McKinley. He died of a noted: "He was a modest man. He made no attempt at stroke (or "apoplexy," as his biographer says) in 1902, display. Thert! was nothing spectacular or dramatic in not long after he had been nominated for a second term his life. He never attempted to carve his name high up in Congress. on the shaft of fame. He performed conscientiously and As a Congressman, Salmon drew a bead on the hottest well whatever was assigned to him ••• " issues of the day - the tariff and big business. In a cam­ He noted that Salmon was laid to rest in Greenwood paign speech in Morristown, where Democratic Presi­ Cemetery amid "the bea utlful hills of Boonton." dential candidate William J. Bryan was guest of honor, Salmon pin-pointed the issues this way: "I believe in equal rights to all and special privileges to none. One of our political panles favors special privileges by taxing the many for the suppon of the few 'Too Old to Bother . . • • • The present tariff gives large fortunes to the few by taxing the many. Its main purpose IS co increase the wealth of those already rich by robbing the poor••• Mary C. Jackson was a Negro slave. She died "Ocher deplorable conditions exist. Trusts and mo­ at 98 In the home ofJohnI,Koppof Williams nopolies prey upon the people. There are and can be no Street, Boonton, April 7, 1887. good crusts. When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, Mary re­ jected the Idea of freedom, conslderln~ herself "too old to bother about such nonsense.' An excerpt taken from her obituary in Get Your Sure Cure "The Jerseyman," published in Morristown, states: "Born In Whitehall, Morris County, belonging to Why did they let this one get away? Greater the family Nell Jacobus, she was given as a wed­ than penicillin in its curative powers and prob­ ding pr.:sent to the daughter of her master, Mary ably cheaper: "Great Germ Destroyer! Darby's Jacobus when she married Paul DeBow of Pomp­ Prophylactic Fhrldl" ton Plains. The ad lists but a few of the problems eradi­ "They taught her to read and write and per - cated forever with the use of the great disinfect­ mltted her to marry a slave from a neighboring ant and purifier. Contagion destroyed, sick farm, Henry Jacobus. rooms purified, soft white complexions secured, "When he died, lea vlng her with two children, impure air made harmleBB, purifies the breath, she married a slave named Jackson, owned by a catarrh relieved, scars prevented, smallpox man In Pequannock. eradicated, scarlet fever cured, ulcers healed, "In 1860, her master died and the four children cholera dissipated, ship fever prevented, anti­ took turns keeping their old nurse for a year at dote for animal or vegetable polsions, yellow a time. During this time she lived with fever cured." Peter D. Mandevllle In Uncoln Park; Mrs. And if any of the claims should fail, one final Catherine Doremus and Mrs. John L Kopp In use for the fabulous fluid! "In·casea of death Boonton and John Debow in Pompton Plains. in the house, it should always be used about the Called "Aunt Mary" by all, she lies buried In corpse--lt will prevent any unpleasant smell." Dutch Reformed Cemetery, Montville.''

51 Another Opening Another Show

share of headliners. Houdini dove masked and chained * Show Biz in Boonton into the Morris Canal to advenlse his act at the Lyceum. The fir: t prOduction was a drama presented by the Boonton (Washington) Comet Band in November 1890 * Independence Hall followed by a Grand Concen to Benefit the Boont~ Library, for which Reserved seats Could be Had at all DrL.:;stores. * 'The Perils of Pauline' George Bums played Boonton with his bride -to-be, Gracie Allen. He recalls it In his autobiography. By ALLAN MAC LEAN At first they couldn't find the theater. Nobody had told them It was on the second floor. Back when carriages had horses and music was ,, Th~ manager greeted them. "A talking act?" he said. something you made yourself, Boonton was a theatrical You 11 have to open the show. If there's one thing Fa­ center. ther can't stand, it's a lot of talk." Then they went out Vaudeville vied for the public's nickels with silent to borrow props from the townspeople. screen epics filmed at the brink of the Boonton Falls. Bums recalls the Lyceum as a do-it-yourself theater, Today only a single movte house is left. where the audience put up their own folding chairs. Public halls were the town's earliest theaters. When­ Later, the Harrises installed permanent seats and a ever a few Boontonites gathered together, they formed private box for themselves. a club and hired a hall. A yellowed program of June 15, 1908, advertises a The first was Libeny Hall, which still stands at Main "Prize Speaking Contest of the Boonton High School and and Libeny Streets. Dr. John Grimes built it sometime Grammar School In the Harris Lyceum Monday Evening in the stormy 1850's when they wouldn't let him hold at 8 o'Clock." Among the speakers was Lloyd Kayhan Abolitionist meetings in the Presbyterian Church. lts reciting "Jenkins Goes to a Picnic." wooden walls rang With all sons of "entenainments" In the next few years Vaudevillians gave way to movie as well as debate on the issues of the day. stars, then a new, breed. Local historian Peter Wendt Washington Hall, which burned only two years ago, can remember seeing P~rl White, Maurice Costelloand was the old Presbyterian Church built In 1832, sold and Francis X. Bushman In person. removed to a nearby Church Street lot when the con - Boonton, like surrounding towns, was the scene of gregation built a new church in 1859. · much early movie-making. The Vitagraph Co. of Fon It was a public hall for many years until they bought Lee shot westerns and thrillers here In the rugged sce­ it back and rechristened it Fellowship Hall. Hal Hazard nery along the ~nal and river banks. played there July 4, 1889, in "The Federal Spy." An out-of-town couple presented the Lyceum's first Independence Hall, several times a theater, was orig­ movies. The woman (remembered as Dolly) played the inally a large room over Peer & Davis's store a: 715 piano; her husband worked the cranky projector. Main Street. It too was built in the '50's. Today it is a Dolly was replaced by Luigi Oegajou, a gifted French­ large room over Vince Chadwick's Boonton Hardware man who played for all performances. He was known as Store, but the stage is still there. Frenchy. An 1864 photo shows "Independence Hall" lettered Along about 1910 a man named Fairchild reopened the across the board front. The Boonton Temperance So­ old Opera House as a movie theater, the Bijou. Most ciety met there, and Gapt. Edwin Bishop's First Com­ folks said Buy-Jou, Like the Harris Lyceum, It ran some pany, National Guard, practiced their drill in the smart vaudeville on weekends. gray uniform of New York's 7th Regiment. Tickets cost a dime for grown-ups and a nickel for the In 1890, Sarah Green bought the old hall, hired a kids, and you got a five-reel feature, a two-reel comedy Morristown architect to raise the roof and (sign of th,: and sometimes a newsreel for your money. They didn't times) renamed It the Boonton Opera House. Everybody sell popcorn In those days. always called It Sarah Green's Opera House. Frenchy's counterpart In the Bijou was Raymond A Fire Department Benefit In 1893 featured songs, Lyons, who supplied sound effects as well as music, recitation, sleight of hand by Mr. Kellogg (who also por­ whacking an old auto seat for gunshots and tumbling trayed a spiritualistic medium to great effect) and a glass In a barrel for wrecks. -The youngsters liked best mock trial In which ex-Councilman William H. Oliver when his timing was off. was more or less solemnly convicted of stealing Mayor In later years dances and basketball games were held Norrls's pet rooster. In the Bijou. Jacob Furstman, who ran a women's cloth­ Mrs. Alberta (Kayhart) Wagner can remember swap­ Ing store and liked basketball, helped organize the Boon - ping cold watermelon for tickets to the Minstrel Show ton Big Five there. one warm evening 65 summers ago. Her kitchen win - The movie boom also produced the short-lived Plaza dow looked out on the stage door, Theater in a tent-shaped one-story building on Div! - The splendors of the Opera House and Its 19-foot slon Street. It was opened In 1916 by the Gebhart fam­ ceiling were soon eclipsed. Storekeeper and former lly and burned down a year later. "Dutch" Oravlts and Councilman George Harris and his sons erected the his big brother used to go around town In a horse and even more glamorous Lyceum around 1896. wagon advertising the show. Tom down shortly after World War 11, the Harris Many a youngster sneaked off to see the 19-pan serl - Lyceum stood where the Boonton Diner Is now. The als of the day there: "The Iron Claw," "The Trey of ground floor was a ballroom (local belles learned to Hearts.'' "The Perils. of Pauline." waltz around Its four supporting pillars) and the theater In 1922 Clare Darress built Boonton's most recent was up an elegant winding stair. theater and the only one to survive. It's the St ate Its embroidered curtain showed the Boonton Fa 11 s, Theater today, but "Darress. Theater" Is still carved Indian Rock and a passing train, all taken from a photo­ In the facade. Mrs. Edward Lachman owns It now. graph. The scene was backward, but nobody minded that. The theater, like some others, Is built backward. When Vaudeville was In Its heyday, Boonton booked Its When you go In, everybody's looking at you, and you

52 have to turn around to see the picture. That's because and a magnificent organ, but neither has seen use in it is built into the side of a hill. many years. Talking pictures are shown there now, under management of Mr. George Oravlts, but none of When the Darress was new it had an orchestra pit them are made In Boonton.

Fourth of July

Liberty Daywlll be celebrated at Boonton with more than 8. Music by the Band. usual interest. 9. Benediction, The day will be usher~ in by the firing of cannon, In the afternoon at 2 o'clock, Company G, under Captain ringing of bells, and other demonstrations suitable for the James Plant, will parade and gothroughthelrdrilling ex­ occasion. The Naticrial Flag will be displayed from the ercises. Liberty Poles of the Village, at sunrise. At 3 o'clock the following exercises will take place: Among the events of thedaywillbea turnout, in a body, 1. Music by the Band. of the different departments of the Boonton Iron Works; 2. Reading the farewell address of Washington. comprising some 400 or 500 men. The procession will 3. Address by Rev. B. C. Magle of Dover, who has just form in front of Washington Hall at half past 10 o'clock, returned from a six weeks sojourn with General and move through the principal streets to the Grove, in Rosecran's army of the West. the following order: 4. Music by the Band. 1. Marshal and his Aids. 5. Address by Rev. L. R. Dunn of Morristown. 2. Boonton Washington Cornet Band, 6. Music by the Band. 3. National Flag. 7. Address. 4. Gap of Liberty. "At sundown the Bells will be rung, the National salute 5. Orator and Reader. fired, and the celebration of Liberty Day will conclude with 6. Clergyman. a grand display of Fire-works, consisting of Rockets, 7. Company G, of 27th Regiment, Gapcain James Plant. Roman candles, Bengola Lights, Batteries, Vertical 8. Different Departments of the Boonton Iron Works. Wheels, caprices, Chaplet of Flora, Date Tree of the 9. Citizens. Desert, Peruvian Cross, Chinese Bower, True Lovers' 10. Sunday Schools of the village and vicinity. Knot, Flying Pigeon, and the whole to close with a At the Grove the following exercises will take place: splendid exhibition of a piece of Golden Fire, representing 1. Music by the Band. the American Eagle, with the Star Spangled Banner draped 2. Prayer. around the shield, and the word UNIONstandlngforth like 3. Singing by the children. letters of gold, with a Mosaic Battery behind, Illuminating 4. Reading of the Declaration of Independence. the whole atmosphere, and sending forth crimson, blue 5. Music by the Band. and yellow fires, In splendid profusion, calculated to fill 6. Oration by Judge C. R. Wuggh of Newark. all hearts With love and enthusiasm for their Country. 7. Singing by the children. "The lerseymon," 1863 The Morris Canal

A boy rode the canal boats in the /wt Slimmers of yesterday. Today, George Westenberger remembers. b_y Charles O. Locke

Although these recollections are of a lad from pan where we went In the locks. These were where the Boonton Township and take place largely In the present Powervllle Fire House stands. Township, the canal boats are the boats of Boon­ There the boat slowed up and carefully entered the ton; and small boys are the same everywhere. lock and stopped and I'd watch the big doors close behind slowly. Then just as slowly the doors at the other end When I was a boy I rode on the Morris Canal. The would open to let the water out as the boat would sink to summer days when the canal was going seem long when the new level. I look back on them now. Here ts where they unhitched the mules and let them Above Boonton the Rocka"Way River makes a big loop cross on what we called the Donkey Bridge about a quarter in the township when It cuts through the valley around mile above where the dam Is now located. You can see The Tourne on the way down from Denville. MY. father's the old, round, stone piers thereto this day. farm was on the Inside of this loop, on Old Denville Road. Here the boat Itself would glide under the Powervllle In those days the canal was the biggest thing In my life. Road bridge and make a right turn Into the Basin which When I got on one of those boats about 75 feet long that was really a small• lake markedtodaybythe big low place carried 18 to 25 tons of coal, the two men who were the on the river bank where a lot of houses stand on the right crew would let me have the run of the place. Like a boy as you go nonhtothebrldge. The boat would drift through will do, I was everywhere - all over the decks and even another lock at the lower end cf the basin which allowed down In the cabin part, which was a neat little room, six the boat to reach the river, and then we'd enter the canal by nine, with a folding table and bunks and a two-lid on the other side. stove for cooking. But I think I got the biggest kick out of standing at At this point, of course, the canal changed sides with the bow of the boat, pretending I was captain. When I the river. Above the locks toward the west it was on did that I felt like Tom Sawyer must have felt on that the south side of the river - below It followed the other raft. side. The first mile from where I got on the canal went In I always got off at the next lock where the Pond Bridge a straight line East. Then would come the Interesting is now, and had two choices of walking back to the farm.

The end of an era. I could go back by the winding road past the Hillery home­ stead and the Hiler house, where the mayor of Power­ ville once lived, to the old Paper Mill bridge. I never saw the deed to my father's place but I have a hunch that William Scott or his father Joseph, who came over from Ireland about 20 years after the very first set­ tlers, owned the land my father bought. The old Scatt burying ground was just inside our westernpropertyline. The old graveyard is there to this day, a little hard to locate because of the brush and trees. But all the time m Y father owned the land he kept it looking fine just out of respect. It had a beautiful stonewall and an Iron gate. After my walk back I was usually ready for another trip down if it wasn't too late and there was a boat pass­ ing, but this didn't happen too often as there were only about two or three boats a day. It took four to five days for a boat to get from Easton, Pa., where the canal started, to Jersey City, but some­ times it took a boat a lot longer because of stopping on the way to unload coal. Not all the coal from the· Pennsylvania mountains reached Jersey City. Some was thrown off a factories on the way down, like at the old Powervllle Paper Mill that stood right where the new bridge cuts across the river below the dam and lower down at Clark's Coal Yard, which used to stand on the present site of the Boonton public parking area across from the new town hall. Sometimes a boat would hold up for an entire day to make a big coal delivery, both canal men shovelling steady for 6 to 7 hours. My father was known to everybody as Dutch Westen­ berger. His farm was the sole supplier of garden vegeta­ bles to the town of Boonton, Thefarm was 280 acres, and the canal cut right through it. It extended from the foot of the Tourne all the way to the river. The present road Old Denville Road was not there In those days for the old road was curving and followed the foot of the Tourne. On the low places near the river you can still see where my father had a three-acre field planted with potatoes and cabbages mostly. There was a bridge over the canal near this field but Duane Minard's cows on the other side of the river need­ was the man at the tiller of the boat who used his voice ed no bridge, They'd swim across and eat our cabbages, to keep chem on the job, corn and squash and have a regular feast until somebody Sometimes he'd yell at them If they stopped on the shooed them back. towpath to snatch something from a bush or overhanging My father's arrangement with the canal men was more branch, but generally they were little trouble, When they business like. The boatmen always needed fresh vegeta­ would come to the barrier on the towpath that marked the bles, so as they passed our farm they'd stop and dig up next plane or lock, they would stop without being told and enough cabbage and potatoes for the rest of the trip to Jer­ turn slowly around and then walk back past the boat till sey City. Then on the next trip down the boatmen would the towrope was stretched tight in the other direction. give the high sign to my father and he'd get the message, Then they'd hold back and snub the boat to a standstill, He'd hitch up a horse and cart and drive up to the bridge To me as a boy the planes were as wonderful as the to pick up several bags of coal the canallers had left in locks, The mules would be unhitched at the plane in Boon­ exchange for the vegetables, ton just beyond the Pond Bridge, starting to drop just There was never any account kept of these deals, about opposite Liberty street and reaching the lower end People trusted each other more then than today, I guess, of what is now Plane Street about to where the Boonton and generally were kinder to each other, National Bank is right above. I think my father lil:edpeoplearound him, He had come The boat was put on a cradle with rollers that fitted to America from Hamburg, Germany, where he was born. the tracks. Then the big cable was attached and the boat He was a master butcher, so we had our own meat on was hauled over a hump in the tracks, under which was the place besides the vegetables we raised and took to the big water wheel that turned slowly furnishing the market, Every Sunday for years my father had a clam­ power. Then the boat started down the long plane with bake on our farm. usually another boat coming up so that one counterweight­ People came for miles around and paid whatever they ed the other. could afford - 25 or 50 cents, There was pl.- 11:y for I've heard the story many times how on one of the first everybody, clams and beer and other food, These were trips the cable broke in Boonton and the boat got loose really big social gatherings and I think my father liked and went tearing down the plane, Jumped the tracks and them a lot, Once in a while If there was a canal boat landed on the top of some trees, The captain's wife and passing, the boatm~n wouldstop to have. a beer, leaving chlldren were aboard but not hurt and the wife said she their boat tied up, with the mules grazing. hadn't been even scared, It was her first trip and she Those mules that drew the boats were remarkable thought maybe it worked that way. !n some ways, They were driven at the end of a 40-foot Well, that was the Morris Canal as I remember It, rope, tandem, and all they had to guide and control them and wouldn't mind living those years over again.

55 They Fought Their Wars • • •

. ·, '-.•: ~ ' .·,:"._..~---~ ..r~·-· :~ ~ . :·,,;_. Members of the John Hill Post of Civil War Veterans, in 7892, in front of the Central Hotel Drug Store on Main Street, the present site of Newberry's Slore. Front row from left: John K. Darragh, Alonzo Steventon, James Freeland, Henry Courter, Jacob Hutt, Josiah Davidson, Elias Tucker, Ransom Matton, Eli Worman, Wal/ace Miller, J. Michael Schaarf, Capt. James Plant, John Condlan. Back row from left: William Worman, George Morgan, George Wardell, Joseph Steventon, George W. Heiler, Aaron Rader, William Gould, Char/es Blowers, Abraham Bleach. BOONTON and the CIVIL WAI\

~ ~ 1861 - 1865

56 By GENE NEWMAN Much of the credit for thia achievement must be T hough far removed from the battlefields, the little given to John Hill and his tireless efforts to instil: inaustrial village of Boonton was deeply involved in the patriotic fervor in the young men of ~he township, struggle between the States, both before and after the And he did not forget them once they were gone for attack on Fort Sumter. he made many trips to their camps to encourage them And deep hatred of slavery was nurtured by many of and offer h1a personal aBBlstance, its citizens. Prominent among these was Dr. John At the Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863, were two Grimes who published the town's firSt newspaper, The Union soldiers, strangers to each other and far re­ New Jersey Freeman, which was strongly abolitionist. moved in rank and background, .but destined to meet Opposit!on to slavery took an active form when Dr. years later 1n Boonton, Grimes' home on Main and Liberty Streets and the Pvt. George Washington Hiler, a 20-year old farmer Powerville Hotel operated by Nathan Hopkins were aet from Rockaway, was a mounted orderly in the 15th up aa stations on the underground railroad to harbor New Jersey Regiment which marched 35 mlles 1n 16 runaway slaves. hours to face the gathering army of Gen. Robert E. Dr. Grimes, aaaisted by hi& brother Jam ea, iron works Lee. Superintendent William G. Lathrop, John Hm, PhiliP So grueling was that Journey under the broiling July Wootton and others, auccesafully operated an escape sun that "the troops were kept awake by music from route through the Rockaway Valley, pastSplitRockand on the band and the beating of drums••• " The race was to Charlatteaburg and Newfoundland. won and the 15th and other regiments of the VI Corpe In defiance of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, groups pursued Lee into Maryland after his defeat. like this one transported more than 40,000 escapees Pennsylvanian Lieut. Col. John Schultze, later to be safely through N~w Jersey on their way to Can ad a. breveted Major General, was at Gettysburg as chief Both the law and private bounty hunters had to be evaded quartermaster of the II Corps which met and re­ since there was a reward on every slave's head rang­ pulsed Gen. Pickett's famous charge. ing from $50 to $800, The following November when President Llncoln came In his memoirs, Charles F. Hopkins, son of Nathan and to dedicate the national cemetery at Gettysburg, u. Col. a boy of 14 while working for the organization, described Schultze stood near him on the platform as he spoke his his fears while carrying groups of fugitive slaves to immortal words. freedom. It was a fear, he said, not of capture and Pvt, Hiler was tr. chat mighty ring of Union troops at punishment, but of failure in the face of terrible re­ Appomattox that rr.ade surrender theonlyalternatlveopen sponsibility. to Gen. Lee. He was discharged in June, 1865, and • The Township of Pequannock (of which Boonton was settled down with his new bride at 405 Williams Street, part) was predominantly Democratic in its eastern en­ Boonton. virons, while Boonton in the opposite quarter leaned There la a legend that sometime during the war, toward the Republicans and their backwoods candidate Gen. Schultze saved the life of a comrade named Brown in 1860, Abraham Llncoln. who was one of, or was related to the Brown Brothers, In February, 1861, with the Southern States in re­ renowned financiers of New York City. bellion and Confederate President Jefferson Davis threat­ It is believed that Gen. Schultze was awarded the ening in his inaugural speech, "'I'here is nothing left Congressional Medal of Honor for this heroic rescue, but to prepare for war," a train pulled into Trenton It la a fact that 1n 1882, these bankers had interests bearing President-elect Abraham Llncoln on his way to in the iron works at Boonton and asked John Schultze Washington D. C. to act as their agent. That year he moved into the On the station platform stood a delegation of New former estate of Wllliam G. Lathrop at 15 Comella Jersey citizens who wished Mr, Lincoln well and pledged Street. him their allegiance, In thlr group was Boonton's John Looking around for a coachman, he chose the for­ Hill, late of the underground railroad and newly-elected m er courier of fellow officer Gen. Wllllam H, Pen­ Assemblyman. rose, one George Washington Hiler. · Boonton was not unprepared wi'en Fort Sumter was The life and death of Richard Foster typifies the fired upon on- April 12 of that year. Since 1860 it had dedicated spirit of Boonton's volunteers. maintained a National Guard organiZatlon of about 80 Enllsting as a private in Company H In 1861, he men. These were mostly workers from the iron mllla served until severely wounded and captured In the and were led by Capt. Edwin Bishop, manager of the works Seven Daya Battle before Richmond in May, 1862. machine shop. After a period 1n Libby Prison he was exchanged and At the outset of the war this company tried in vain to discharged that October because of his wounds, be inducted en masae, The men were twice refused be­ Though returned to clvlllan life and having a good cause of a wave of individual enlistments which rapid­ war record to lean upon 1f he wished, he volunteered ly filled the State's quotas. the following year to help form and take command of a Finally the unit was disbanded and the men enllsted new PequaMock company. individually or in groups both in and out of the State. In In January, 1864, Captain Foster led the 103 men May, 1861, Capt. Bishop, with a few of his old command, of Company K southward to Join Grant 1n the last and Joined Morris County's Comoanv H bloodiest engagements of the war. By May 5 they were In January of 1864 when Pequannock'& Company K in the Battle of the Wllderness and suffered 17 casual­ was departing, a Morristown newspaper noted, "l'hls ties. is the second full company thls township has sent to the A few days later at Spottsylvanla Court House Cap­ war and makes 545 men since the war broke out, from tain Foster received a severe leg wound while leading a population of 6,000 and a voting population of his men in an attack on the Confederate breastworks, 1,100." In June he lay dying in a Washington hospital fol­ On a subsequent call, 79 more volunteers stepped lowing a leg amputation. His thoughts were far from forward and still others on a quoca which was can­ his ).>ersonal aacrlflce or suffering: celled by the war's end. ' In whatever way this may end I have tried to Pequannock Township saw more than· half Its voting do my duty, No men fought better than those population volunteer to bear arms and had the dis­ of my company. I am sorry I lost my leg. lf tinction of being the only community In the state which it had been an arm I could go back to them. 1 never had to resort to the draft to f!ll Its quotas. don't Uke to leave my boys,"

57 The War t:o End Wars World War I

World War I found Boonton a bustling, thriving com­ "Patriotically responding to the call, 260 men and munity, her Industries bumming with the production of women joined the various branches of service and served war material, and her citizenry swept up with the pa­ their country well in the World War, several of them re­ triotic.fervor of "the war to end all wars." ceiving medals or citations for valor. Two hundred and sixty sons and daugbrers of Boonton "A company of Home Guard was formed, efficiently served on military posts at home and on the battlefields drilled and trained to handle any emergency which might of France. Thirteen died for their country, and most of arise in this crisis. The membership of this organization these were returned home and laid to rest in the com­ was composed of those who were unable to Join the Army munity's four cemeteries. or Navy, or who were exempt because of physical dis­ In an entry dated April l, 1917, here's what the His­ abilities.•• tory of Boonton American Legion Post 124 had to say about Boonton at the outbreak of World War I: Boonton' roll of honor shows that Abraham W. Beddow, "At the time the World War started, our town of Boon­ Ambrose Curmingham, Harry L Riker, Thomas Taylor, ton wa11 a thriving community. There were numerous and Walter J. Barrett were killed in battle in France. factories employing a large proportion of our population. Joseph P. Bowden, a crewman aboard the U.S,S. Covington, Our town was an old one, having been settled in the year died when his ship was torpedoed. Augustine A. Ginder, 1685. We were incorporated as a town in the year 1867. Raymond Bernesconl, Harold Hildebrant and George "Our schools were excellent - public grade schools Brown all died of pneumonia, and Karl Rundquist died of (2), public high school, and a parochial school. Churches a heart ailment while serving in France. George N. Buis of all denominations were located in our town, contributing died of illness at a training camp, and Capt. Raymond Bell in a large way to the social as well as the spiritual wel­ was kllled ·in· a fall from a horse In Germany after the fare of our residents. Armistice was signed.

Early Commanders or Boonton's American Legion Post 124, which was formed Sept. 9, 1919.

A/ex Galloway, 1920-1921· Wi 1/iam Oliver, 1st Comril'ander · ; L' C. Higgins, 7933.;7934 ._.,: politicians and civilians came down the 30-odd miles from Washington to witness the spectacle. The grl.!en troops of both armies fought clumsily, with tlie Southerners finally victorious and the Federal army panic-stricken and routed. "The firing became plainer as we drew near the battle­ field," wrote Charles Hopkins, a 19-year-old private at that time. "Thousands of our soldiers were met on the way, Con­ federates as well, in small numbers. Citizens, slaves, Congressmen and other national officials, as though there had been a gala day, but they all seemed to be In a great hurry to get home ••• " The next year during the Peninsula Campaign, theUnlpn Army under Gen. George McClellan had still not estab­ lished winning ways, Though only a few miles from Rich­ mond, it was outflanked and badly pressed by Stonewall Jackson. Of this action, Charles Hopkins wrote, "We engaged the enemy in a hotly contested fight in which the writer was twice flesh wounded, and while falling back found Sgt. Richard T. Donnelly of my company, and my close friend, badly wounded with shattered leg. "He wanted to be taken from the field of carnage then raging like a holocaust of hell .•• 1 would not refuse my friend Dick in such a case and, under the terrific galling crossfire, carried him co a supposed place of safety ••. " Returning to the battle after his 1,200-yard dash, Pvt. Hopkins received a head wound so severe that his com­ rades reported him dead. He recovered sufficiently to make his way back to a field hospital. However, this was overrun, and he fell into Confederate hands only to be re­ leased in a few days with other walking wounded. Charles F. Hopkins Although he did not mention it In his memoirs, Charles Hopkins received the Medal of Honor for his daring rescue. He was notified later that his country's highest award was his for the asking, but he refused to apply tor it, and it was only through the pose-war efforts of Sgt. A Civil War Soldier Donnelly that he accepted the medal. He rtocovered from the head wdund and a resulting case of amnesia, and returned to his regiment, overriding the By GENE NEWMAN objections of doctors by personally petitioning Secretary On Feb. 27, 1865, at the Confederate prison camp in of War Edward M. Stanton. Florence, S. C., the last few hundred Union prisoners In May of 1864, with Grant in charge and Lee falling wertc! marched to the nearby railroad toawait transporta­ back towa.rd Richmond in a series of bloody engagements, tion to freedom. Only 24 were left behind, these being the two armies found themselves In a forested stretch considered hopelessly ill, defeated by starvation, disease of Virginia called the Wilderness. and despair. Twice wounded, the Boonton solider was ordered to the But one of those 24 was indomitable. Refusing to sur­ rear by hlR captain but refused. render to death, Cpl. Charles F. Hopkins of Boonton "I contended that to goto the rear was as dangerous as crawled from the vermin infested hospital shed and to remain with the company and remain 1 did." dragged his gangrenous legs across the frozen ground WIth only three days left in his enlistment he was toward the track... captured and began his long trip southward to "that Thus began the homeward Journey of this courageous abode of miSery, starvation and death" - Andersonville, soldier who had seen the war through from the first Ga. disastrous battle of Bull Run to the hell hole that was Surrounded by forests but barren itself of any trees Andersonville prison In Georgia, a place of slow execu­ for shelter from the elements, the compound, devoid of tion for 13,700 Union troops. barracks, was "of about 18 acres at this time and was Along the way Charles Hopkins received several enlarged July 1 to about 27 acres and one-third of this wounds, a strengthening of his belief in freedom, and the not habitable, being a swamp of liquid filth. Congressional Medal of Honor. The medal and his hand­ The Inmates, at one time as many as 35,000, shifted written reflections on this period of his life have been for themselves In the crowded "bullpen," using ragged handed down to his grandson, Thomas Hopkins, Town shirts for tents and lining up for hours for water from Clerk of Boonton. the polluted stream that trickled through the camp. A member of Boonton's National Guard Company G at the outbreak of the war, Charles was too Impatient to On four occasions this young stalwart attempted es­ await his unit's induction. Moved by the same fervor cape. On the first, a prepared tunnel collapsed before that led him and his father to work for the slave-liberat­ he could even enter. Taking a more subtle approach, he ing underground railroad, he became the first three-year improvised a Confederate uniform from sack cloth, and enlistee In the county and served with Company 1 of the posing as a guard, sauntered out the gate where he en­ First N. J. Volunteers. countered the man he was impersonating. His captor ad­ The Battle of Bull Run was the first major engage­ mired the stunt and did nottum him in but merely ·ushered ment of the war, and was expected to be the last. Many him back into the compound.

59 Repeating the ruse he was again apprehended and this 2. He slipped Into a coma, reviving on the 24th. He was time turned over to the commandant, Capt. Henry Wirz, told that during his period of delirii;m the 31 beds around who sentenced him to the "collar". Standing with neck him had each lost a patient almost daily. and feet firmly locked in horizontal boards, the device Left to die tb,ree days later, he clawed his way toward was adjusted so that almost the entire weight of the victim the railway statioo and was found by friends unconscious, was supported by his neck, on the icy ground. ''That punishment lasted eight long hours, butafterthe Of those who waited through that night for the train, first hour a semi-consciousness in a measure gave re- "a very large number lay stiff in death." Still others lief ••• " · died in Union hospitals, and tragically, two ships carrying Later, with 14 others, Hopkins escaped through a tunnel. 1,500 liberated soldiers went down off Cape Hatteras with Of the five in his group, ooe died from the rigors of the all hands. trek through the swamp, another was so torn by the But Charles Hopkins survived. Ona muddy April day he Rebels' dogs upon capture that he beggedtobe shot. His climbed aboard the Denville-Boonton stage. And though so wish was granted. frail and weak the first great bump serit him into the laps The three survivors were tied behind horses and run to of fellow passengers, Mrs. Wootton and Mrs. Barrett - exhaustion until one, falling, asked to be dispatched and "both of goodly proportions" - he made it home. was shot on the spot. Hopkins was returned with his com - He still had the doctors to contend with. Like their rade to the post, where he expected death as soon as Southern counterparts, the Morris County physicians held Captain Wirz recognized him, but the two managed to steal little hope for his life and insisted he must lose his legs. into the compound with a group of new prisoners. But he resisted. He kept bis life and his legs, and they In September, Hopkins, with many others, was trans•• carried him until his 92nd year, aiter having served as ferred to the Florence camp. Scurvy had set in and his Mayor of Boonton, fire chief, County Freeholder, post­ condition weakened until he went Into the hospital on Feb, master and Stace Assemblyman.

The Day of Infamy

World War II

The people of Boonton set aside June 29, 1946, for Its official ''welcome home" to the 952 Boonton men and wom­ en who served In the armed forces during World War II. Boontonltes were In every branch of the service during the war: 480 served In the Army, 219 In the Navy, 168 in the Army Air Force, ·54 in the Marines, six In the Coast Guard, 13 In the Merchant Marine and five women served in the Army Cadet Nurse program. In addition there were seven men and women In the Red Cross, Field Service programs and other nursing pro­ grams. The events of June 29 and June 30 were Boonton's ex­ pression "of pride and gratitude" to these returning men and women and Mayor Thomas J. Hillery said, "As hap­ py as we are today ••• so we are sad In the absence of those missing from the ranks," There were 25 mlsslngfrom the ranks that day: Jerome L, Arnou, Francis J. Bednar, Joseph J. Beradlno, Daniel E. Bott, Arthur C. Davenport Jr., Robert J. Decker, Thomas N. D!Cenzo, Andrew J. Dzlorny Jr., Richard D. English, Fred B. Estler, Donald Foley, Joseph R. Hop­ kins, Carmen J. Lanclano, Clarence McCain, Philip J. Manella, Albert R. Mltchko, Ernest Muriano, Charles P. Ofsonka Jr., Sol Petroff, Fred K. Rieve, Frank E. Scerbo, John E. Taylor, Robert w. Vanfleet and Joseph J. Zlbura. Welcome home Included a parade, ceremonies at the high school athletes field, luncheon and a softball game. Special services were held in all the Boonton churches,

60 ·Riverside Hospital

Although Riverside Hospital became a part of the Again, in 1964, the number of beds was increased and Boonton scene relatively recently, it has grown rapidly a deep therapy X-ray unit and electroencephalograph was and, with the dedicated efforts of many has become a busy installed. At the same time the recovery room was en­ 102-bed community health care facility, serving almost larged and a concentrated care section, a solarium for 4,000 patients annually. pediatric patients and a physiotherapy department were With a staff of 175 employees, Riverside cares for added. patients from more than 16 communities in Morris County. Riverside ts planning ahead to be prepared to meet the During 1966 nearly 8,500 persons were treated in River­ community's need for health care facilities. In 1965 side's emergency room. Medical and surgical clinics a master plan was completed and, currently, the hos­ are held weekly. pital's architect Is completing plans for additional beds In conjunction with the Visiting Nurses Association of and anc lllar y facilities. Morris County, Riverside Hospital has a home care program that Is helping patients to be better prepared to return to their homes and to return earlier than they might otherwise. Also In cooperation with the Visiting The Kiwanis Ambulance Squad Nurses Association, Riverside conducts widely ac­ claimed courses for expectant parents. By ALEX MARTANCIK The hospital has sponsored a refresher course for nurses that has enabled Its graduates to return to nurs­ The need for an ambulance In Boonton was r~cognlzed ing with an up-to-date knowledge of medical information by many, Including Dr. I. Norwood Griscom, whobrought and nursing techniques. It annually offers scholarships the matter to the Kiwanis Club in 1938. Prompt action to girls graduating from Boonton area high schools who was taken and Lnyott Root and Edgar J, Hobbins were plan on nursing careers, authorized to purchase a second-hand vehicle at ar. Riverside opened its doors in 1955, but an historical Initial cost of $50. account must begin in 1944 when the first thought was In 1939 a new ambulance was purchased, thanks to given to providing Boon~on and surrounding communities the fund raising efforts of Edgar Hobbins, Ger a Id with a hospital. During the next six years, 10 sites were Fowler and Henry Boyd, considered, and a survey was conducted to determine the The club decided to build an ambulance headquarters need for hospital facllltles In the area. and In 1947 purchased property on Holmes Street. With help from more tnan 1,000 volunteers, a financial Building materials, financial aid and volunteer labor campaign with a goal of $650,000 was begun In 1951. created an attractive and well-equipped center, By 1954, $717,952 in cash and pledges had been received. A second ambulance was purchased In 1953 to serve On May 9, 1954, ground was broken. The first patient the great increase In calls from Boonton, Boonton Town­ was admitted to the hospital on Nov. 2, 1955, marking ship, Mountain Lakes and Montvllle Township. the end of the beginning. During the first 15 months of service, the first ambu­ In 1961 a maternity wing was added, tncreastngthe total lance responded to 319 calls, number of beds by 50 per cent. In 1962 a storage bul.lding Up to December, 1966, 15,881 calls have been made; was constructed and the lobby, coffee shop, and offices volunteers have given 135,758 hours and travelled 261,- were renovated. 046 miles to serve the Boonton area,

61 Look to Tomorrow l "' :.,.,...; • ~- - .. 1 • ,.., . .

,...... ;;;-· -.. :,;.: ~-,.,~ ,-

Oesp/te their garb and demeanor, these dandies are sons of the 20th Century, not the Gay '9:Js. Beards a-bristle, ,they ore members of the 1967 Boonton Board of Aldermen. Their formal portrait puts a fitting touch to the town's Centennial Celebration, Front row, left to right, are William Edwards, Emidio Cacciabeve, Mayor Alfonse W, Scerbo, Arthur Generoso, and Arthur Eckardt. Standing in the rear ore Town Clerk Thomas Hookins and Aldermen George Ross, Harold Mc­ Cormick, Gabriel Ezzi and Louis Chisena,

Everyone who grew a beard, everyone who put on a Gay '90s dress contributed mightily to the success of Boonton's Centennial. Below: the Sisters of the Swish, whose period frocks and bonnets lent color and charm to the Boonton of 1967.

64 The Brothers of the Brush • those gay blades of modem Boonton. gave Moin Street that air of dignity reminiscent of a by-gone age. The beards came in all shapes and styles • mutton chops, van Dykes, and full-blown.

A lat of work, a lat of pride, and a groundswell of community spirit went into Boanton's Centennial Celebration. Pictured here is tire official Centennial Com­ mittee that gave direction to scores of other citizens who made the celebration a dazzling success. The ladies up front are Mrs. Robert Krawiec, Mrs. Susan L. Cop_pr;,la, and Mrs. Evelyn Eckardt. In the rear: committee chairmen, Jack Wooton, William McCready, Michael Bindas and Everett B. Dayton. the tasty leaves, unaware tbat the law had changed their dietary habits, The tender seems and rustling leaves, so tempting to Old Dobbin and Forest King, were now off llmits to horse and mule alike, The previous evening, the town fathers had appointed R. P, Ralston and Robert Green co administer ordinance number 6-18-2, entitled, Protection of Shade and Or­ namental Trees, It said: "If any person or persons whatever shall tie a horse or horses, mare or gelding. mule or mules, to any shade or ornamental tree standing on the streets or public grounds, he shall upon conviction be subject to pay a fine not exceeding one dollar ($1). "If any shade or ornamental tree or trees shall be injured by any horse, horses, mare or gelding, mule or mules being left standing by or tied co said tree, ths owner thereof shall upon conviction be subject to pay a fine not exceeding fifteen dollars ($15)," Today, 100 years later, many nostaligic: Boontonians would gladly replant trees and shrubs and revel in the picture of browsing horses and mules. Many an older resident may remember a fellow named "Sparrow" Peavy whose Job it was to tidy up the streets with his broom and sh-Jvel. Beginning with the 1867 ordinance, Boonton placed a respect upon the beauty of its shade trees. Today, the Shade Tree Commission is composed of Mrs. John Mol­ Shade Tree Laws ler Wootton, president; Leslie Booth, secretary; Harry Haldt, Lewis Champion and the Rev. Carl Kullberg. One ornamental tree of local fame, incidentally, is the paulownia tree,, native co Japan •. The tro.,es were Stem From first brought to Boonton in 1835 by William G. Lathrop, and some - perhaps a dozen in all - can still be found in "the hollow" near Morris Avenue and the Rockaway Leaf Rwtlers River, and on Reservoir Drive, near the foot of Sherman Street. All was not well under the spreading chestnut tree on In the spring, the trees are lovely with lavender blos­ Boonton's Washington Street on May 29, 1867. The wait­ soms. No. one seems to know if they were ever tasty to Ing line of horses and mules at the blacksmith shop eyed horses and mules.

Boonton Swings Amul Scenic Beauty

In November of 1956, Mayor Edward Toner appointed ect and may prove to be an incentive to other towns to five members to a newly formed Recreation Commission, do likewise, This is used by all the neighborhood chil­ Under him and succeeding mayors and boards of alder­ dren. men good progress has been made, Making good use of With the cooperation of the Boonton Board of Edu­ the scenic beauty of the Rockaway River with it's gorge cation a playground was set up at John Hill School and and falls, plans were develcped for a public swimming a Little League Baseball field la.id out, The board also beach and for Increased use of Grace Lord Park as a granted permission for the public use of its tannis playground, courts after school hours and on weekends from early Recently ,the Chamber of Commerce, with the co­ spring until late fall, operation of local people, erected a bandstand where Recently, with the cooperation of the Street Depart­ weekly concerts are held during the summer. ment, a section of the Old Morris Canal on North The Commission next turned its attention to using the Main Street was restored and will serve to remind young old Morris Canal bed for a playground, Two skating and old of the history of Boonton, rinks were installed and basketball and tennis courts were laid out. With the continued help and cooperation of the Town A small child who said "the swings and seesaws are Fathers and people, we will go on to greater use of what too big for me'' was the inspiration for a small chil­ we already have or hope to have at Ross Park and on the dren's playground with colorful animal rides, an easily smallest plot of unused land in town, Presently our boy operated merry-go-round, and glider swings set up in and girl scout troops are clearing areas at Ross Park a nice suMy spot by the falls where a young parent might for use in outdoor activities, relax while a child played, This proved so successful When we hear a group of Golden Agers have a sing that it will serve as a model for future neighborhood or along; see an octogenarian improve his golf stance at a pocket playgrounds, the second of which was recently clinic, or a two-year-old bravely ride a duck, then we opened on Kanouse Street, feel that our efforts of the past 10 years to serve the At the Public Housing project on Plane Street we in­ people of Boonton have been fruitful, stalled a playground; the first installed as such a proJ- The Recreation Committee

66 Boonton's Town Hall, a model for surrounding com­ munities, was completed in 1965 at a cost of some $400,000. Of neo-colonial design, the two-story structvre is at the intersection of Main Street, Washington Street and Lathrop Avenue. It provides an official meeting room, a commvnity room seating 720, meeting, kitchen and garage facilities for the Fire department, andaffices for most of the town departments. Also inclvded is a modern police headqvarters. Boonton - Something Special

Never had there been a year quite like 1967. It was But the Centennial Ball wasn't all. The calendar Boonton's 100th year, and there were those who said sparkled with such events as the start of the beard­ It was her best. From January through June 4 the cal­ growing contest of the Brothers of the Brush, The rival endar was crowded with events that all said the same Sisters of the Swish showed up at ,a Board of Alder­ thing: "Happy Blnhday Old Boonton!" men meeting to challenge the Brothers to a member­ One highlight was the Cf'ntennlal Ball on March 18. ship contest. Originally scheduled to be held at Boonton's own Vlc­ And when the Brothers pitched a stag beer bust, torlan Inn, lt had to be qutclcly shifted to a ballroom in the Sisters broke It up with placards Eoclalmlng the Whippany because the Victorian was swept by fire flve vlnues of temperance. A band played 'Onward Chris­ days before the dance. tian Soldiers." As one writer for The Cltlzen put It: ''It was many a Then there was a Centennial fashion show, and a long year since the old lady had been to a ball. Long ago Brothers of the Brush dinner dance, and a U, S, Navy she had folded away the trailing gowns, the lace and os­ Band concert, and an old fashioned family picnic on trich plumes of her girlhood. She wouldn't be wearing Memorial Day, and a Jubilee Dance, and an anniversary them again. parade, and a religious heritage day, with a community "And then - for a few brief hours - Time looked the hymn sing that closed out the Centennial calendar. other way, whlle Old Boonton danced at her 100th birth­ All In all, Boonton celebrated her cherished past and day party." the glory of her future with a festive zest that few com­ More than 400 well-wishers drank to her health In munities could match. pink champagne. They were dressed ln vintage gowns, tall silk hats, cut-aways, and snappy military uniforms Commenting on Boonton's community spirit, The Citi­ from the wars of long ago, Flashbulbs blazed as Mayor zen edltorlallzed: Alfonse Scerbo and Mrs. Scerbo rolled up to the door In "The amazing element ls not that a centennial com­ a horse and buggy, · mittee made such ambitious plans for the people of The Harmony Fife I!, Drum Corps, drawn ,UP stiffly In Boonton, but that the people of Boonton are plunging ranks, blared on their trumpets to herald the arrival of whole-heartedly Into the fun and excitement of the cel­ Canadian Consul-General R. G. C, Smith. An elaborate ebration. We don't think It could happen In too many birthday cake was cut up by the sabres of Mayor Scerbo other towns. It takes something special, and Boonton's and Centennial Chairman Jaclc Wootton. got It,"

67 1\rrana 14nhge No. 6ll. JT. & 1'.. a.

1862 1967

Regular Communications Second and Fourth Thursdays at 7.30 P: M.

MASONIC TEMPLE 219 Church Street Boonton 334-9745 BALLANTINE

Electronic Measuring Instruments Since 1932

NEW Model 323 TRUE-RMS Voltmeter

PRICE $520

Model No. 323 is o solid state instru­ ment capable af measuring from 70 microvolts to 330 volts at frequencies from 10 cycles per second to 20 megacycles per second. It may be operated from the internal re-chargeable batteries or from the power line.

BALLANTINE LABOBATDBIES, INC.

90 Fanny Road P.O. Box 97, Boonton, N.J. BOONTON and DREW CHEMICAL SHARE BIRTHDAYS

In 1917, when Boonton was half a century old, Drew had just moved to town. Our fledgling plant grew steadily - sharing its growth and prosperity with the community. New products were developed, new people hired, and new buildings con­ structed.Now celebrating our 50th year in Boonton, Drew Chemical is proud to be a part of Boonton's economic well being. We're still growing, And so is Boonton.

DREW CHEMICAL C0AP0RATl0N MANUFACTURERS OF CHEMICAL SPECIALTIES ANO VEGETABLE OIL DERIVATIVES A good company to work with ... A good company to grow with.

We 're glad we live in Morris County.

Aircraft Radio Corporation ~ Boonton, New Jersey ~ SINCE 1934 HELPING BOONTON TO GROW

EVERYTHING IN CARBON AND GRAPHITE

AERO-SPACE ELECTRICAL CHEMICAL Refractory Graphite • Pyrolitic: Graphite • Carbon Brushes • Contacts • Conductive Graphite Heat Exchangers • Rupture Disks Missile & Nucrear Components • Carbon Brush Se_rings • Air-Depolarized Primary • Porous-Metal Filters • Fluidizotion and Graphite Cloth • Carbon-Graphite Fi• Carbon Cells Plates • Porous Molds bers * Vitreous Carbon MISCELLANEOUS ELECTRONIC MECHANICAL Graphite Electrodes for E lectri col-Di schorge Varistor• • Thermistors • Jig & Fixture Carbon, Graphite and Metal-Impregnated Machining* Cutti.ng and Gouging Electrodes Materials• Fuses• Resistors• Flashers• Self~ubricating Bearings • Bushings• Seal for Air-Blast Processing • Fuel-Cell Elec­ Voltage Regulators Faces • Piston Rings • Rod Packing• trodes * Bulk-Handling Porous-Metal Plates Clutch Rings • Crucibles • Components • Air Silencer, ~nd it's a good place to warlc. THE CARBONE CORPORATION 400 MYRTLE AVENUE, BOON TON, NEW JERSEY 07005 20 I • 334-0700

Compliments of a friend: Electricity - one of the best you' II ever have.

Jersey Central Power & Light/New Jersey Power & Light Headin;i For Our 50th Anniversary \'le Con;iratulate Boonton On It's 100th

THOMAS BRACKIN INC.

"Since 191B"

One Boulevord Mountain Lokes 334-1316

"The Agency That Service Built"

Saluting and Serving Boonton ;%;;,~ ~· OF MORRIS COUNTY

YOUR HOMETOWN NEWSPAPER "BECAUSE YOU LOVE NICE THINGS"

compliments of

MEASUREMENTS

A McGraw-Edison Division

MANUFACTURERS OF PRECISION ELECTRONIC TEST EQUIPMENT 1924 1967

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOWN OF BOONTON ON ITS 100th ANNIVERSARY Burnett & Hillery, Inc.

Serving the Boonton Area with Chrysler Products since 1924

1163 MAIN STREET BOONTON

"Never Your Competitor - Always Trade In Confidence"

SAFFLOWER OIL SCREENING OIL SOYA BEAN OIL TUNG OIL SELECTED FISH OIL OITICICA OIL FATTY ACIDS-ALL TYPES LINSEED OIL COCOANUT OIL

Complete line of DRYING OILS AND CHEMICALS prompt service - any quantity from one convenient source

T. F. MC ADAM INCORPORATED

DRYING OILS - CHEMICALS

BOX 313 - 518 MAIN STREET BOONTON, NEW JERSEY DE 4-B200 (N.J .) RE 2-3B77 (N. Y.) Area Code 20 I Area Code 212 CONSTANT PROGRESS Our Wish To Boonton

Wm. J. SCERBO and SONS, Inc.

PONTIAC • TEMPEST • JEEP

3469 ROUTE 46 PARSIPPANY

335-1313

TREDWAY'S EXPRESS, INC. Main Office 512 MYRTLE AVE. BOONTON 335-0100

' ... :_.. • •. "- t : '< 1' ~ t_ ~ -. DIRECT SERVICE " "'' •t- >- TO AND FROM ALL POINTS IN NEW JERSEY NEW YORK and PHILADELPHIA

Vineland Terminal East Windsor, N.J. New York Terminal BUTLER & LINCOLN AVES. PROBASCO RD. & RT. No. 33 131-135 BARROW ST. Boonton Fe~d &.. Supply co..znc. 487 DIVISION STREET e BOONTON, N. J. 07005 e (201) 334-0320

SINCE 1904 John C. Wootton, President John M. Wootton, Vice Prns. Ruth M. Wootton, Treasurer Abigail W. Painter, Secretary

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE TOWN OF BOONTON ON ITS 100th BIRTHDAY

Sporting Goods ---, L-:-,;:: Schwinn Bicycles Trophies ~ -\ Automotive Accessories Hobbies Dutch Boy Points . ,j

...... ','. In Business Since 1907

MARCELLO BROTHERS

30 I MAIN STREET 334-2155 BOONTON COMPLIMENTS ELECTRONICS of SINCE 1922

RFL was founded in 1922 by R. W. Seabury, President of the now dissolved Boonton Rubber Company. RFL became a research and design laboratory for radio receivers, vacuum tube de- 1 velopment arid aircraft navigational equipment. RFL was the first "electronic" firm in the Boonton area. Many of the familar local names in the electronics industry are off shoots of the old RFL. Which is why Boonton is often called the "Cradle of the .Electronics Industry".

Our modern plant is located adjacent to the Aircraft Radio Corporation airfield on 17 acres 1300fllll!TO~ in Boonton Township. The RFL Instrumentation Division, the Thermocontrol Division and Com­ MOLl)l~6 munications Division manufacture a diversified line of precision, electronic equipment. COMV4~~ •~c.

MAKERS OF Baan1:anvvare l=INEST 01= ALL MELAMINE OINNER\NAAE

FACTORY OUTLET

300 Myrtle Avenue Boonton, New Jersey RFL Industries, Inc. POWERVILLE ROAD BOONTON, N.J. 07005 Congratulations From

MORRIS COUNTY'S OLDEST COMPLIMENTS BUICK DEALER

OF ••serving Morris County Jor 40 years" BUZZONI & SCHNEIDER CONSULTING ENGINEERS SCERBO BUICK

1575 ROUTE 23 BUTLER, N. J. 219 DIVISION STREET

BOONTON ESSENTIAL OIL AND CHEMICAL CO.

INCORPORATED IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTURERS

Boonton Plant Main Office 94 FANNY RD. 47 5 I 0th Ave. BOONTON. N.J. NEW YORK I, N.Y. DEerfiel d 4- I 600 (212)594-3232

BUTERA and PERRON ENGINEERS - CONSULTANTS

CIVIL• SANITARY• STRUCTURAL• ELECTRICAL

Water Supply and Treatment Sewerage and Sewage Treatment Industrial Wastes Treatment-Incineration Rate Studies-Investigations and Reports Municipal Engineering Swimming Pools

47 5 Speedwell Avenue Morris Plains, N. J. 538-8826 JOHANSON MANUFACTURING CORP.

ROCKAWAY VALLEY ROAD, ROCKAWAY, N. J.

Congratulations To The Town Of Boonton On Their Centennial Year COMPLIMENTS OF 'fie /BOONTON-MOUNTAIN LAKES SAVINGS ~ ASSOCIATION

INSURED SAVINGS

409 MAIN STREET BOONTON, N. J.. ESTABLISHED 1889

Branches: KINNELON, N.J. • TOWACO, N.J.

Continued Success To The Town Of Boonton

BOONTON AUTO PARTS

201 MYRTLE AVENUE, BOONTON (Since 1920)

334-2517 Best Wishes WALTER J. BARRETT Congratulotions from Council # 1954 Samuel Oxman and Edith Oxman KNIGHTS of COLUMBUS BOONTON STATIONERY Boonton, N. J. AND GIFT SHOP 712 Main Street, Boonton

HOUDAILLE CONSTRUCTION ~ Congratulations to Boonton MATERIALS, INC.• n,~ ... - eubeldlery of ' on their 100th Anniversary

AS THE BEST INTEGRATED PRODUCER of con­ struction materials in this area, Houdaille Construc­ CONKLIN FARM tion Materials, Inc. offers contractors, builders, and "do -it -yourselfers" many distinct advantages in service, quality and price. MONTVILLE RIVER ROAD· WITH AN INTEGRATED NETWORK OF producing units stracegically located in western New Yo.de, eastern Pennsylvania and throughout northern and central New Jersey, Houdaille has the capacity and flexibility to meet your needs completely and eco­ nomically.

10 PARK PLACE, MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY 539-1000 Happy Birthday Boonton CONGRATULATIONS BOONTON

TOWN TELEVISION Earl W. Mabey

Black Top Driveway RCA VlaOR Seal Coating ENTE:tTAINMENT PRODUCTS DIVISION also Back Hoe - Bulldozing Snow Plowing Fi II - Sand - Stone Featuring Color Tele, sion Top Soil

AMY and VINNIE PALAZZO 696 BOONTON AVENUE BOONTON 132 DIVISION STREET BOONTON 334-4072 334-0214

Congratulations

"MOVE THE TRED Way" Compliments of Coast to Coast Moving - Carefol - Courteous

GOTTHELF KNITTING MILLS, INC.

Men's and ... adies' Sweaters Put the entire j_ob in our horlds ••• relo)[, take it _eosy, and be sure. Competive pricing, call for free estimate. FACTORY OUTLET FLOYD W. TREDWAY

INCORPORATED 607 Myrtle Avenue Boonton

550 Myrtle Ave. DE 4-0500 COMPLIMENTS OF COMPLIMENTS

David Young Ill William F. Barnish and

Rd. #1 DOVER, N. J Harry L. Sears

V. J. MINI & SON Compliments of

ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS AND MOTOR REPAIRS NELSON C. DOLAND, SR. NELSON C. DOLAND, JR. 915 Main Street, Boonton Congratulations on Your CENTENNIAL BIRTHDAY CONGRATULATIONS and best wishes for a Prosperous Future TOWNSHIP AUTOMOTIVE

Auto Repairs • Body & Fender Repairs THE WOMAN'S AUXILIARY

TO

North Main Street, Boonton RIVERSIDE HOSPITAL 335-7611

SEVEN DECADES OF COMPLIMENTS OF SERVICE TO MORRIS DIXON BROS. COUNTY

FUEL OIL & HEATING SERVICE

1015 Main Street Boonton

fVl ~-~ Agency ~ Incorporated

INSURANCE REAL ESTATE 1000 MAIN ST. BOONTON 334-6000 C. & S. CONCRETE CORP.

CONGRATULATIONS POUR CONCRETE FOUNDATIONS FOOTINGS a CONCRETE FLOORS•

CURBS a SIDEWALKS

13 ALYEA STREET NEWARK, N. J. 64~3787

COMPLIMENTS

BOONTON HARDWARE CO. INC. SHOP-RITE of BOONTON, Inc.

715 Main Street, Boonton MYRTLE AVE., BOONTON 334-1222 VINCENT CHADWICK, OWNER SHOP-RITE of LINCOLN PARK, Inc. 153 MAIN STREET, LINCOLN PARK Congratulations From the Officers and Members of the Best Wishes SOUTH BOONTON FIELD CLUB SCHNABEL-JEWELERS 718 MAIN ST. BOONTON 622 Main Street Boonton 334-9783 334-2152

Best Wishes to Boonton on KAMENSKY-HOMESTEAD their 100th Anniversary Fuel Oil Co., Inc. CLEANSE-0-MATIC 656 Myrtle Ave. Boonton 600 Myrtle Avenue, Boonton 334-1879 334-3299 Del's Village Shopping Center, Boonton 334-2211

Congr.atulations to The Town of Boonton CONTINUED SUCCESS TO on their 100th Anniversary THE TOWN OF BOONTON BOONTON SINCLAIR Assemblyman Joseph J. Maraziti 223 Wasnington St. Boonton 335-0770

Wishing Boonton A Happy 100th

VICTORIAN INN A. LAURENZI GIFT SHOP 1 RESERVE ST. BOONTON 509 Main St. Boonton 335-5811 CHIANl'S IODY SHOP COMPLIMENTS TO BOONTON

Auto Body & Fender Reparis Auto Painting - Expert Refinishing COUNTRY CLUB ICE CREAM CO. • PARTNERS JOSEPH P. and JOSEPH F. CHIANI 210 Crosby Avenue, Peterson 334-2895 278-8100 121 Moin Street Boonton

Best Wishes Best Wishes For Another 100 Years NATIONAL SASH WEIGHT CO. FERRIS INSTRUMENT CO.

Plane St. Boonton 110 Cornelia St. ' Boonton 334-07B0

\qb1~- THANK YOU ~ For Your BEST ANNIVERSARY WISHES HELP I VALLEY MOLDING CO., INC. BOONTON LODGE #1405 Boonton, N. J. Crippled Children Committee

Congratulations from BLANCHARD AGENCY INC. ZIMMERMAN BAKER & CO. INSURANCE EXCLUSIVELY "More then 60 years of specialized service"

510 Mein St. Boonton 334-1213 334-f044 105 Wi II i cm Street Riverside Athletic Club

512 Main Street, Boonton OFFICE SUPPLIES AND EQUIPMENT 334-9795 8~ Mt. Prospect Ave. Best Wishes to Boonton Newark, New Jersey 07104 on their 100th Anniversary

DELMHORST INSTRUMENT CO. Best Wishes

MOISTURE DETECTORS AND HOPE CHAPTER tf78 MOISTURE MEASURING SYSTEMS Order of the Eastern Star 607 Cedar Street, Boonton 219 Church St. Boonton

In Appreciation to Boonton LESTER G. ACKERlIAN on their Centennial Celebration '.Di1puuiti9 Upl:id.a.lli from BOONTON HANDBAG CO., INC. 76 Monroe St. Boonton 334-8353 334-2400 908 Main Street Boonton

CONGRATULATIONS Catholic Daughters of America COMPLIMENTS OF

COURT JOAN OF ARC #425 ROBERT CATLIN & ASSOCIATES

301 Hill St. Boonton City Planning Consultants BEST WISHES TO THE TOWN OF BOONTON ON ITS HUNDREDTH ANNIVERSARY RASMUSSEN Quality Food Center PARK BEAUTY SALON 1137 Main Street, Boonton

MAR~ARET FALDUTO Del's Village Boonton GROCERIES - QUALITY MEATS 334-3106 ZERO STORAGE

Continued Success

ROCKY'S FLORIST JOHN PISARCIK REAL TOR 360 HAWKINS PL., BOONTON 125 MADISON ST. 245 PARSIPPANY RD. 335-3333 BOONTON PARSI PP ANY 334-0444 887-7373

OUR ONLY TWO LOCATIONS IN BOONTON AND PARSIPPANY

Best Wishes Congratulations from your Home Town Sewing and Vaccuum Center COLUMBIA INN BOONTON SEWING MONTVILLE & VACUUM CENTER From Mary and John Linda 312-314 Main Street Boonton 334-0467

HAPPY CENTENNIAL

from Boonton's Dodge Boys Best Wishes for the next One Hundred Years Henry, Frank, Carmen and Tom Corigliano

ANCHOR SUPPLY CO. CORIGLIANO MOTOR SERVICE INC. Route 46 Denville 213 WASHINGTON ST., BOONTON CONGRATULATIONS TO BOONTON ON IT'S 100th ANNIVERSARY

Best Wishes For The Future

BOONTON PHARMACY

503 Main Street Baantan 334-0477

The best for the next- I DD years CONGRATULATIONS

J&B AUTO PARTS MANSION HOUSE

502 Myrtle Avenue Boonton 811 MAIN STREET BOONTON 334-0121 334-9757

Best wishes and continued success COMPLIMENTS OF BOONTON POST 11124 CONTE ELECTRIC AMERICAN LEGION & AUXILIARY 1004 Main Street Boonton 334-3272 P.O. Box No. 124 Boonton

BOONTON'S NEW PROFESSIONAL BUILDING ROGER'S TEXACO STATION West Main St., Boonton 538 Myrtle Ave. Boonton Extends Congratulations to Boonton on their Centennial Year DORA G. COOK, M.D,. Congratu Ioti on s Andrew J. Preston, P hannacist PRESTON DRUGS KIMBALL - CLARK PUBLISHING COMPANY

Del's Village Shopping Center, Cor. W. Main St. Division Street, Boonton BOONTON 334-0787

Best Wishes To Our Hometown on Boonton Centennial Year BOMONT NEWS & TOY CENTER

504 Mytle Avenue, Boonton NARCISE'S REST AU RANT· 334-9719

Best Wishes to Boonton on their 506 Myrtle Avenue Boonton 100th Anniversary 334.0004

Greetings to the Town of Boonton CONGRATULATIONS on it's 100th Anniversary From LUIGI SCERBO and LARRY from MAURICE, JUDY and BRIAN SAUL GROBOIS GROBOIS SHOE SHOP L. SCERBO LIQUOR STORE 111 Monroe Street Boonton 613 Main Street Boonton 334-3364

Best Wishes From Ed and Howard Rosenfeld arid the Boys from the CONGRATULATIONS BOONTON, MORRISTOWN, NEW YORK Del's Village Shoppl11 Center EXPRESS 99 Fanny Road, Boonton 334-1054 Nati:,nally Known Aluminum Windows and Doors FIRE FIGHTERS Every Type For Every Purpose EQUIPMENT CO., INC. ·Ray F. Youngs, Manufacturer's Agent 366-4466 ALUMINUM PRODUCTS CO. Route 10 Denville 231 MADISON STRErT BOONTON 07005 334-2149

BOONTON ELECTRIC SUPPl Y CO., Inc. DUNHAM'S AUTO BODY Designers & Builders of Fine Automobiles Industrial Commercial Residential INSURANCE & COLLISION WORK

334-5050-5051 126 Mechanic St. Boonton 266 Myrtle Ave. Boonton 334-5580

DALE-RANKIN HANOVER, N. J. PARAMUS, N. J. Beach Precision Parts Co. 201-887-1212 201-445-7111

MT. VERNON~ N. Y. 120 Mechanic Street, Boonton 914-699-3u00 Congratulations to Boonton YARDVILLE, N. J. THOROFARE, N. J. 609-586- 1650 609-848-7 444 on it's 100th Anniversary Celebration

CONSTRUCTION EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES

Compliments of Congratulation to the IMS CARBIDE SPECIALTIES TOWN OF BOONTON From DIVISION OF INDIANA GENERAL CORP North Main St., Boonton Twsp, Boo ■ to ■ Slo,ak Cat~ollc Sokol, l ■ c. COMPLIMENTS OF BtDNAR'S MARKET

WORMAN'S INC. 235 Boonton Avenue, Boonton 334-4900 WINES AND SPIRITS

Elcock Avenue Boonton Congratulations to Boonton 334-1920 on their 100th Anniversory

Congratulations to BOONTON Best Wishes to Boonton on their 100th Anniversary DN THEIR 100th ANNIVERSARY From the From B&Y TAILORING & CLEANING Comet Business Service 103 Williom St. Boonton 334-0592 334-2899 112 Mytle Avenue, Boonton

Best Wishes from ••• Congratulations to Boonton •.• Ralph and Toot Looking forward to the next 100 yeors CASSIE'S SERVICE STATION MAIN PHARMACY

302 Boonton Avenue Boonton comer Main St. and Myrtle Ave., Boonton 334-3798 334-0519

S. Cerbo & Sons, Inc. FISHER BROS., INC. 117 Washington St., Boonton Building Materials 334-4200 Congratulations to Boonton 1855 Route 46, Parsippany on their Centennial Anniversary 334-4300 BOONTON GOLDEN DRAGON Happy Birthday Boonton From 414Main Street Boonton 334-2663 THE DARROWS

HICK'S MOVING & FURNITURE STORE VILLAGE SWEET SHOP

818 Main Street Boonton 624 Main Street Boonton 334-9706

ED KELLY SERVICE STATION RITA B. MURPHY

411 West Main Street Boonton Realtor 334-9813

MANFREDONIA BAKERY F.H. SALMON 5 & 10

125 Mechanic Street Boonton Del's Village, Boonton Denville

MECHANICAL INSTITUTE KEN'S SERVICE CENTER

311 Mechanic Street Boonton 556 Myrtle Avenue Boonton 334-2500

COHPLIHENTS OF THE Di GUISEPPI BROS. me. EXCAVATING CONTRACTORS LEE COMPANY Earth Moving Equipment

Route 46 Denville Route 46 Mountain Lakes 627-5200 334-6218 627-0689 BOONTON SMOKE SHOP BIX SERVICE CO.

307 Main St. Baantan 240 Route 202 Boonton 334-9754 335-1667

CASTELLANA BROTHERS RICHARD E. CABANA D.D.S.

807 Main St. Boonton Hawkins Place Boonton 334-9099

BAND BOX CLEANERS INC. TOWACO MANUFACTURING CO.

226 Myrtle Ave. Boonton 131 Mechanic St. Boonton 334-1244

JOHN J. BIDER D.D.S. LAKELAND GLASS

114 Camelia St. Boonton 233 Myrtle Ave. Boonton

BOONTON HOTEL FAIRFIELD DAIRY FARM

111 Mechanic St. Boonton 334-0633 334.9775

BOONTON LANES KOHNER CHEVROLET

720 Myrtle Avenue Boonton 473 Bloomfield Ave. Caldwell

DEL'S VILLAGE HARDWARE KIMBLE'S TAll SERVICE

Del's Village Shopping Center Boonton 404 Main St. Boonton 334-0615 334-0905 • 334-1844

BLOCK'S MARKET KUFT A'S WINE & LIQUOR STORE

720 Main St. Boonton Main Rd. 334-0881 334-3458 A lot of water has flowed under this brid~e since the Town of Boonton was founded.

The Arch Bridge

We are pleased to extend our very best wishes to Boonton on their 100th Anniversary, and we are proud to be an integral part of this fine community.

~ TCNEI · TRUST COMPANY NATIONAL BANK Member Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation - __ -· -~ . . -

Boonton Boonton T ownshiµ 334-0800 334-6341

11'0 TSTATE BANK of North Jersey

"Your Hometown Bank - with all the Services"

Mmnber Federal Depooit Insurance Corporation

Lincoln Parle Pine Brook 694-5100 221-2060