Our Community Franklin Township Resources

Our Community Franklin Township Resources A Publication of the Franklin Township Public Schools, Somerset, New Jersey 08873 Revised 2016 Table of Contents Acknowledgements 2 The Settlement of Franklin Township 3 Where in the United States is New Jersey? 4 What County is Franklin Township in? 5 The Schools of Franklin Township 6 The Communities of Franklin Township 7 The Population of Franklin Township 8 The Franklin Township Seal 9 The Franklin Township Seal Crossword Puzzle 10 People of Interest: The Middlebush Giant 11 People of Interest: Guglielmo Marconi 12 Famous Landmarks in Franklin Township 13 The Symen Van Wickle House Cut-Outs 14-15 Famous Dates in Franklin Township History 16 Extended Activities 17 Franklin Township Pictures 18 Additional Resources: Helpful Websites 19 ***Please note the Franklin Township study guide and assessment can be found on Rubicon in the unit, Our Community: Franklin Township. *** 1 Revised 2016 Acknowledgements A committee of third grade teachers met in the spring of 2006 to revise and update the “Here’s Franklin Township” booklet. A very special thank you to Mrs. Margaret Ksiazak for her endless hours of additional research, typing, and collating in helping create this booklet. Committee Maxine Bell, MacAfee Road School Tracy Molinari, Franklin Park School Bina Rewari, Elizabeth Avenue School Tania Sodbinow, Franklin Park School Susann Springer, Conerly Road School Phyllis Bruno, Director Social Studies & Word Readiness Revised 2016 This booklet cannot be reproduced without the permission of the Franklin Township Board of Education 2 Revised 2016 The Settlement of Franklin Township People came to America for many different reasons. They wanted to own their land and start a new better life. They had very hard and difficult times in those early years. They were short of food and had bad weather while they were trying to build shelters and plant food. Many of the early settlers died during these difficult years. The first settlers in this area were from Holland, Sweden and England. As years passed, people came from other parts of the world too. Today, when we look around our school or neighborhood we can see people from almost every continent. Talk to your family and friends to try to find out what part of the world their ancestors came from . 3 Revised 2016 Where in the United States is New Jersey? Use the map to: 1. Find and label the states and major bodies of water 2. Find and color New Jersey 4 Revised 2016 What county is Franklin Township in? Using the map of New Jersey ● Color the county Franklin Township in Blue ● Color the county where the capital is Green ● Color Middlesex County Purple ● Color the most southern county Orange ● Color the smallest county Red 1. Franklin Township is in ___________________________County. 2. The county to the east of Franklin Township is _________________________. 3. The other four counties surrounding Somerset County are ___________________________, ___________________________, ___________________________,___________________________. 4. There are_______ counties in New Jersey. 5 Revised 2016 Schools of Franklin Township 6 Revised 2016 The Communities of Franklin Township Franklin Township is made up of eight communities. Communities are neighborhoods or areas which people share common background, geography, or other interests. Each small community gives the township a special character that many people feel is worth preserving. Most of the communities in Franklin Township have historical roots. Eight communities that make up Franklin Township: 1. East Millstone, 08875 2. Franklin Park, 08823 3. Griggstown, 08540 4. Kingston, 08528 5. Little Rocky Hill, 08540 6. Middlebush, 08873 7. Somerset, 08873 8. Zarepath, 08890 ● The community I live in is ___________________________. ● The community I go to school in is___________________________. ● Two rivers that border Franklin Township are ___________________________ and ___________________________. ● The canal that borders Franklin Township is called the _____________________________________________. 7 Revised 2016 The Population of Franklin Township For much of its history, Franklin Township was a rural community. A few small communities developed along the Delaware and Raritan Canal, the railroad, Route 27, and near New Brunswick, but most of Franklin’s residents lived on farms spread out through the town. Over the years, people continued to move to Franklin Township and the population continues to grow. New developments and new schools continue to be built. Today, as one travels through Franklin Township, he or she will see fewer farms and more suburban areas and even some urban areas. Look at the information below and design a bar graph showing population growth of the years. Year Population 1900 2,398 1920 2,955 1940 5,912 1960 19,858 1980 31,358 1990 45,000 2000 50,903 2010 62,300 1. What year had the biggest population growth? ________________. 2. List some ways that population growth affects a community. ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ 8 Revised 2016 Franklin Township Seal In 1798 Franklin Township was incorporated into Somerset County and into the state of New Jersey becoming legally the Township of Franklin. The area was probably named after William Franklin, last Royal Governor of New Jersey (1762-1776). Each symbol on the seal has a unique meaning. ● The 13 stars represent the 13 original colonies and New Jersey was one of them. ● The minuteman, with his three-cornered hat and musket, represents Franklin Township’s colonial heritage. ● The plow symbolizes that Franklin Township was originally an agricultural community. ● “A pas de geant” which is written on the scroll means in English “In the steps of a giant” or “with giant steps.” 9 Revised 2016 Franklin Township Seal Crossword Puzzle Across Down 1. The seal is made around the time of the Revolutionary _____. 2. This is written on the scroll held by the minuteman. 4. A pas de geant means in the steps of a _______. 5. Franklin Township is in what state? 3. There are 13 of these pictured 6. The man with the scroll is a soldier on the seal. known as a ____________. 7. New Jersey is one of the original ______________. 8. This puzzle is based on the Franklin Township _________. 9. Behind the man on the seal is a _________________. 10 Revised 2016 The Middlebush Giant Arthur Caley was born on November 11, 1824. He came to America and joined Barnum and Bailey’s Circus. He was known as Colonel Routh Goshen. P.T. Barnum called Goshen “The World’s Largest Living Man.” Both Barnum and Goshen told unbelievable tales about Goshen’s background. Goshen supposedly weighed 620 pounds and was 7 feet, 11 inches tall, rather a bizarre figure. Goshen died at his home on Amwell Road on February 12, 1889. He is buried in the Cedar Grove Cemetery in Somerset, New Jersey. Myths Surrounding the Middlebush Giant ● He could move a 1,700 pound cannon. ● He once crushed the head of an attacking grizzly bear with a rock that his companions would not even lift. ● It took an entire French army to capture him. ● He killed seven men in battle with a bayonet. Are these legends true? Write your opinions on the lines below. _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________ Draw a picture of the Middlebush Giant 11 Revised 2016 Guglielmo Marconi Guglielmo Marconi was an Italian inventor born in 1874. He is famous for his word in the development of wireless telegraphy, which led to present day radio broadcasting. Marconi’s work in Franklin Township with a telegraph center that helped provide signals for people overseas during World War I brought the radio era to the world. Giant telegraph towers built by the inventor once stood in Franklin Township. Messages to sailors and other military personnel during World War I were sent out to other parts of the world at this relay station in Franklin Township. In 1909, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for physics. Other inventions credited to his were directional aerials, the bean system of wireless, as well as experimentation with short waves. Somerset also figured prominently in World War I. In 1913, the Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company built a giant radio transmission station in Somerset and suspended a mile long antenna from a series of 440-foot-high steel masts along the canal route. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson used the station to broadcast an appeal to Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II to abdicate, an address that historians credit with hastening the armistice. The station has since been dismantled. Today at the corner of JFK Boulevard and Easton Avenue is the Marconi Memorial Park. A plaque honoring Marcini is on display. 12 Revised 2016 Famous Landmarks in Franklin Township The Franklin Inn Built in 1752 as a farmhouse of Anne Van Liew, this is believed to be the oldest house in East Millstone. It later served as a hotel and Inn for stagecoaches traveling between New York and Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War, British General Charles Cornwallis

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