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Page 2 Scotch Plains History Glimpse - Revolution and Evolution

CHAPTER ONE Revolution, The Battle of Short Hills

On a trip to a family reunion, I decided, much to my nuclear family’s chagrin, to take a side pilgrimage to my pastoral roots in Westerly, Rhode Island. The Crandall homestead still stands with the stoic, toothless and earthly Irving Crandall still living in the house (the 11th generation to do so). I felt compelled to have my offspring see the weathered house, the family burial ground and surrounding land in its open glory before it changes. To pay off some back taxes my cousin several times removed, Irving, with no children, was forced to deed the land over to the Indians back in the early 90’s. Considering that the first Crandall died fighting WITH the Narragansett Indians against the Massachusetts Bay and Connecticut colonists in The Great Swamp Fight of 1675, it was more fitting than one might guess. So when Irving passes away the land will be forever changed. As I was driving home from the reunion on Rahway Road past the one of the blue historical marker signs marking the “Terry Well,” I noticed for the first time that the next two mailboxes past the well had the Terry surname painted on them. I knew that the well dated back to colonial times and it dawned on me that perhaps much like our family homestead, nine or so generations of Terrys have also lived on the land surrounding the well. It made me wonder what Scotch Plains was like hundreds of years ago. How was it was settled, what has changed and what has remained the same? Most residents in town know of the Stage House Inn, the “Gods Acre” burial ground outside the Baptist church, and the Osborne Cannonball house. However, most people probably do not know many other historic sites in town that have the blue signs. Being a weekend photojournalist, I thought that it would be a fun project to photograph many of these sites. The next step was to bounce the idea off Horace Corbin, the publisher of the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Times and The Westfield Leader. Horace was the visionary of the historical theme of this year’s “This is Westfield” annual publication. Over a cup of coffee, Horace said that I should not only take some photos but take a stab at scribing the article. I had that same queasy feeling in my gut when I have a good idea at work and the boss says, “That’s good, now run with it.” You realize that you just committed yourself to more work than you had bargained for. My heart said yes but my calendar said no. Like Edgar Allen Poe’s epic short story the Tell-Tale Heart, I thought I could hear my Blackberry calendar beeping in its holster louder and louder. In the end, I agreed and Horace said to contact Rick Bousquet, the President of the Scotch Plains Fanwood Historical Society and co-author (with his wife Suzanne) of the Images of America series, “Scotch Plains and Fanwood.” During our initial phone call, Rick charged into the fascinating history of Scotch Plains – the good, the bad and the ugly. Rick’s enthusiasm was growing as he discussed the historic places and people. Rick summed up the history of Scotch Plains as follows: “The history of Scotch Plains is a wonderful example of the growth of our nation as reflected in a small close-knit community. From the writing of the Declaration of Independence Page 3 Brooks Crandall through the Revolutionary War and all of the wars which followed, our humble community has made important contributions in the formation of a great nation.”

Rick suggested that I read “Under the Blue Hills – Scotch Plains, New Jersey,” the book by Marion Nicholl Rawson. Marion was born in 1878 and her father was mayor of Scotch Plains in the late 1870’s. In her book, published in 1956, Marion describes the endless rural beauty of the Scotch Plains of her youth and adds her own sketches to the book There is a tone of disappointment as she describes a rural village that melted into the Watchung Mountains at the turn of 20th century and was so dramatically changed by Route 22 and the housing developments that emerged in the 1950’s.

The Minesink Trail, Ashbrook Swamp and Native Americans

I have always felt that the American perception of history is biased towards when the European settlers came to the “New World.” That is, it is hard for most of us to visualize history before four centuries ago. Long before time-pressed soccer moms were gunning their mini-vans around town, before the first horseless carriage paraded down Front street, before British cannon balls were fired into the Osborne house during the Battle of Short Hills and even long before the white man settled in what is now the Scotch Plains in the 1600’s, Scotch Plains was a tranquil home to the Leni -Lenape (pronounced LEN-EE LEN–ALL –PEE) ten centuries ago. The next time you ride down Martine you can tell your kids that you are traveling on what used to be an ancient Indian trail called the Minesink Trail that went from the sea near Shrewsbury up through Watching Mountains to the Indian “council fire” in the area known back then as Minesink on the Delaware River (SEE MAP). Rick Bousquet told me that there was a Native American settlement near the Ashbrook Swamp and close near the Minesink Trail. Rick, Joe Liss (a life-long Scotch Plains resident), and I hiked into the Ashbrook Preserve to look at the settlement land of our town’s Native American forefathers. After a short walk, Rick scraped the soil and said this was Red Hill. A 360-degree gaze brought no signs of civilization and feeling that perhaps I was seeing the same unspoiled nature that native Americans saw many centuries ago. Rick explained that there were three reasons why the Native Americans settled in this area. The first was the area had a source of fresh drinking water. Next, this fresh water resource also attracted game to the area. The game represented a critical hunting resource for survival. These animals were like a walking Superstore of today providing meat, fur, and other necessities. The last reason for choosing this area has to do with geology. The rocks in this area had a different mineral base that was harder than most of the clay based rock we find in our yards. This different harder type of mineral base was ideal for making tools and weapons. Rick also added that the area is thought to be the northern most point of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Archeological digs have proved that there was also a Native American settlement near where the present day Stage House Inn is located. One of the fascinating things that was learned after the unearthing of a repository of shells was that the Native Americans were Page 4 Scotch Plains History Glimpse - Revolution and Evolution fond of oysters. The oysters were from the Raritan Bay. Next time you are at the Stage House for a gourmet French dinner, ask your waiter for Amboy oysters instead of Blue points or Wellfleet and see what reaction you get.

Great Scot

The area was first settled by Europeans in 1684 and became known as “Scots Plain” after George Scot. Mssr. Scot, perhaps one of America’s first real estate promoters, inspired many of his fellow Scots to come to this area by gathering letters that were written by early inhabitants into his document, “The Model of the Government of the Province of East Jersey in America, and Encouragement for Such as Design to be Concerned There.” Robert Fuller- ton, one the earliest European settlers, wrote a letter in 1684 from the plains of new Caesarea (Jersey comes from Latin Caesarea) where he described “a large plain under the blew hills,” watered with 2 or 3 little rivers. The Scots were enduring religious persecution by the English empire and the dream of coming to this fertile area gave them what must have been great courage to cross the dangerous and seemingly endless Atlantic Ocean. Many of the early let- ters describe the passing of souls as the Atlantic was crossed. By only nature’s breath without casino or midnight buffet they sailed into the most important port of the day in New Jersey, New Perth (Perth Amboy). A —— week journey if all went well, if not, a watery grave. Unlike the unofficial North and South divide that the state is divided into today, New Jersey was at that time divided into separate areas called East Jersey and West Jersey. West Jersey was centered around the Quaker influence of William Penn. East Jersey was centered around the cities of New Perth, Newark, Piscataway, New Brunswick and Elizabethtowne (Elizabeth). The area due west of Elizabethtowne was known as the “West Fields.” That area encompassed present day Scotch Plains, Fanwood, Westfield, Clark, Garwood, Cranford, Plainfield and New Providence and was purchased for a few guns, coats and wampum from the Indians. By all accounts the early white settlers got along well with the Native American inhabitants. The Indians shared knowledge of the land, local crops including corn and squash, and even shared their shelters with their new neighbors. The crops brought from Europe would not grow in America and the generosity of these men and women were vital to the survival of the earliest colonists. Page 5 Brooks Crandall

As payback these settlers brought with them the western land ownership doctrine. The European concept of land ownership was foreign to the Native Americans. Native Americans believed in a mother earth philosophy where the earth and its vast resources are respected and the land shared. How could someone own a part of the earth? Later, this fundamental cultural difference of land ownership was probably the root of the sometimes fatal conflict between the Native Americans and Whiteman of the area.

These settlers struck land deals for beads, furs and trinkets and a one way ticket into the oblivion of the western land migration for the Native American. It is sad that many of our town’s forefathers, probably without malice, but surely with western entitlement, were part of the story of Indians being pushed off their native soil. Marion Nicholl Rawson describes seeing fires in the Watchung Mountains when she was young that turned out to be the last Indian powwows and the end of Indians in the area of Scotch Plains.

The Town Centre

The Stage House Inn is one of best restaurants in the state of New Jersey today and when John Sutton opened the tavern in 1737, it was the largest building in Scotch Plains. The Inn became an important stop on the Sure Stage line, the coach service between New York and Philadelphia.

Turning the clock forward for a quick aside, Peter Davis an innkeeper in 1831 and a nefarious friend were responsible for one of the most infamous murders in the area. Hearing that a local farmer, Baltus Roll, kept a large sum of money in the house, they decided to go to his house in the middle of the night and rob him. They pulled “Baldy” out of his house, beat and robbed him, and left him to die in a puddle of ice water in the deep snow. His posthumous fame is that one of most storied Country Clubs in the country today is named after him, Batusrol. Marion Rawson describes how she and a friend used to ride their her bikes through Feltville (the deserted village) to visit the Baltus Roll house before it was torn down and the land used for the private golf club.

God’s Acre

Many of the early settlers were buried around town in unmarked graves. So dig carefully as you plant your next bush you may strike some bones of our town’s forefathers. William Darby was a good enough soul in his own words, “ to allow graves to be made in the west corner of my farm to bury the towns dead” in what is now “God’s Acre” outside the Baptist church. The early underground inhabitants there do not have headstones. The oldest headstone that can be identified and is still standing is that of Sarah Frazee dated 1754.

The distinctive style and craftsmanship of Jonathan Hand Osborne is seen on many headstones. His handiwork is also seen on the headstone of William Darby dated 1793. Page 6 Scotch Plains History Glimpse - Revolution and Evolution The headstones of Scotch Plain’s revolutionary war heroes are clearly identified with newer base stones.

Before there was a Baptist church, there was a town meeting house on the Darby property. As members of the community passed away their bodies were buried around the meeting house. If you walk in the graveyard near the western edge you can see a large obelisk where the meeting house once stood. The meeting house was the center of the town and activity for many years despite being surrounding by the dead. Willam Darby also allocated land for the first school built in 1768.

Photo of darby headstone

The DeCamp family on Raritan Road maintained the tradition of burying their family members on family property for a few more years even after God’s Acre was established. The Decamp house still stands on Raritan Road but the family graves are on private property located near the end of Raritan Road at Westfield Ave. Back then, this family plot was located on some of the back acreage of the DeCamp farm.

See photo of decamp graves and Rick bousquet

By the mid 1700’s the village was an established hamlet with a post office in the Stage Tavern. The town still has the mail canon that was fired to alert “scotsplainsmen” that the mail was in.

Insert photos of post office and mail cannon

The community was a small cluster of homes near the town center and outer farms scattered out on the southern and eastern periphery. Many of the primary streets of today on the south side of town such as Cooper (named Tucker Lane between Rahway and Terrill for Moses Tucker’s farm and Cooper road between Terrill and Martine), Raritan (Rariton), Terrill (Teryl), Rahway (Short Hills) started as no more than paths between farms. (insert map)

One of the most interesting things I learned was that Scotch Plains was really the plains. There was not the abundance of trees that you see today across the town or even on the Watchung Mountains. The Watching Mountains stood proudly over the plains stretching all the way to the bay. (insert old picture)

In most of the town there is still the abundance of fauna in the area including wild turkeys, fox and the ever-present deer. I have seen several wild turkeys on Cooper Road and a fox just a month ago looking like he was a few minutes late for class heading for Coles Elementary School. After a deer fender bender and having the deer treat my flowers like a blue-plate special perhaps we should have a nostalgic venison roast dinner.

Insert pic of a deer in Crandall’s back yard) Page 7 Brooks Crandall

What must have been nice a hundred years or so ago was the salubrious country quiet. It must have been wonderful to hear the mellifluous sounds of nature rather than the drone of Route 22, weekend lawn mowers and gas engine weed whackers, the westbound ascending jets from Newark Liberty, and that all night four blast shrill of the freight train whistle that has invaded our community in the last year or so. Sometimes I wonder if living in Manhattan would be quieter. Ironically, I blast the “sounds of nature” on my digital player as I sit out on my deck just to get way from the mechanized suburban noise. Okay, I admit that when I am listening to U2 or another alternative rock band it really doesn’t matter due to the volume.

Half Way House

An important historic house still standing and occupied is “The Half Way” House. Unlike today’s meaning associated with drug rehabilitation, this house stands a testament to the location of Scotch Plains as it related to other important centers of commerce of the day. As the name suggests, it was located half-way between the port of Perth Amboy and Morristown. The house was a highway rest stop of the day. Travelers and couriers would stop to rest and freshen horses and take a break from a day’s journey.

War in the town. The early topography of Scotch Plains and the contiguous Watchung hills to the west had a major impact in the war for America’s independence. In June of 1777, Washington and his troops were camped near the Watchung Mountains below what is now aptly named Washington Rock (at the Middle Brook encampment). The British General Howe was trying to goad Washington and his troops into a decisive battle on the open plains where his superior numbers could have an advantage. Washington’s troops were in the way of his objective of moving through New Jersey to take Philadelphia. Howe was trying to make it look like he was leaving New Jersey to go to Staten Island. Washington and his officers were not fooled by the British plan.

During the Revolutionary War, the British had a huge advantage in army size and our Patriot army had to resort to the tactic of engaging quickly with small groups of soldiers, trying to shoot the officers and hiding in or behind trees. These tactics were thought of as “cowardly” by the British but were very effective. General William “Lord Stirling” Alexander the leader of a small band of such fighting men were constantly giving the British annoying bursts of battle.

The Battle of Short Hills

The British were frustrated that their plan to lure Washington’s army to the open plains did not work and were equally perturbed by the constant harassment by small bands of rebel soldiers. They finally had enough and decided to March after midnight in the early hours of June 26, 1777 from Perth Amboy to destroy Alexander’s band and cut off retreat passes for Washington to the Watchung Mountains. Alexander’s group was engaged Page 8 Scotch Plains History Glimpse - Revolution and Evolution directly in Metuchen in the morning and fell back tactically to make a stand near the Ashbrook Swamp. There were over 60 who were killed and 200 wounded in the battle. General Cornwallis” and his seven cannons were too much for the colonists as they pulled back towards the Westfield. However, this was part of the plan to keep the British away from the main contingent of Washington’s forces and give them a chance to get to the shelter of the Watchung Mountains.

As many duffers speed into the entrance of the Ashbrook Golf Course to play golf, or in my case, to make a contribution of a dozen or so balls into the hazards, they may miss a brownstone monument built in 1977 to commemorate the bicentennial of the battle. Unfortunately, some vandals have broken the glass that covers the sides of the monument.

See photo

It was indeed a stifling, humid day for a battle. So hot that after the battle the Red Coats went down Raritan Road and right on Short Hills Road (Now Rahway) past Tuckers Lane (now Cooper road) to the Terry Well. The Terry Well’s reservoir was a casualty of war as the British troops drank the well dry. The Short Hills refer to the hills going from Scotch Plains on Rahway Road into the present day Sleepy Hollow section of Plainfield.

Insert picture

Our Aunt Betty

Hearing the sounds of cannon fire and muskets a short distance away from her home at the corner of present day Raritan and Terrill, Betty “Aunt Betty” Frazee did what she could to help the cause of the Patriots – she baked bread. What she did not realize was that the wafts of bread baking were tugging at the noses of the British troops and drawing them into the one of the most famous encounters of the day. When Betsy heard the approaching horses she ran out to greet what she expected would be a weary group of continental soldiers. Instead she saw red - a sea of red coats. Generals Howe and Cornwallis approached her. Cornwallis said they had smelled the baking bread and asked in an aristocratic manner if they might have some loaves as it is a delicacy for their men. A panic stricken Aunt Betty Frazee offered a loaf with shaking hand and uttered perhaps the most famous line in Scotch Plains history, “You will understand that I give you this in fear, not for love”. Cornwallis, a self proclaimed gentlemen, and obviously surprised at the woman’s resolve said then that neither he nor his men would partake of it. The story of her courage spread throughout the colonies and was an inspiration to the cause of independence.

Insert photo of the house and the sign

The house still stands at the corner of Terrill and Raritan where long time Scots Plainers might remember was the grounds of the Terry Loo Zoo. The house is the focus of a major restoration project spearheaded by the Rotary Club and the Friends of Frazee. Ric Page 9 Brooks Crandall Detwiller, a historic architect form Massachusetts has been hired to work on the project. The project needs your help. They are selling t-shirts and taking donations. More information can be found at http://www.fsprotary.org/frazee.html or by joining the “Friends of Frazee House” by calling Pat Plante at (908) 232-2162.

insert old photo of Betsy and house before and after

The soldiers then made their way towards Westfield where they made a faithful stop at Simon Lamberts cider mill. They started drinking several barrels of what was know as “jersey lighting” or “applejack”, a fermented drink with a legendary kick that rivaled a horse. This indulgence caused the British soldiers to stop their march, make camp near the Ashbrook swamp and go on a plundering binge of several farms. John Littell’s farm was hit particularly hard where it was reported that he lost among several dozen documented items including ten chickens, 150 lbs. of tobacco, two cases of rum, assorted clothes, and three 150 lb. pigs.

Insert old drawing and new picture of Littrell House on Raritan

The next morning the continental Morgan Rangers delivered a stealthy hangover to the British killing almost 2 dozen men. The British marched to Westfield and realized they were not going to engage the main contingent of Washington’s army. They marched back to Perth Amboy looting and burning houses along the way and crossed Staten Island. They decided that they would not be successful cutting off Washington’s route to the safe haven of the Watchung Hills and more importantly, that Philadelphia could not be taken through the Jersey hornet’s nest. This was an important victory for the United States of America and it happened right in our backyard, not under the Nordstrom’s woman’s department at the Short Hills Mall as someone once told me. If Howe had been able to cut off Washington and inflict heavy casualties and march directly to Philadelphia, the Yankee cause might have been lost.

During the battle, The Osborne house took a cannon ball and the earned a new nickname of the Osborne Cannonball house for the next three hundred years. Today the building is the headquarters of the Historical Society of Scotch Plains and Fanwood and is located across from the Stage House Inn a few steps down Front Street from Martine contiguous to the Town Square.

Insert Photo.

Rick Bousquet also mentioned that Lambert Home on Raritan also ingested a cannon ball that was discovered a century later.

Sea Captain Brown’s 13 Star houses still stands around the bend form the Frazee house. The 13 stars represent the 13 colonies.

Page 10 Scotch Plains History Glimpse - Revolution and Evolution The Rhode Island house on the bucolic Clarks Lane has a distinctive New England gambrel roof line.

The next century

The Central railroad

When the Central railroad was built between Elizabeth and Somerville in early part of the 1800’s the railroad proposed a stop in Scotch Plains and the townspeople refused. There was a stop in Westfield and the next stop then became Plainfield. This stop was instrumental in the development of Plainfield into the powerful Queen City, perhaps the most desired town in New Jersey of the day. Later, the Fanwood station was added and the homes that were built around it have become the Fanwood historic area.

Green Brook and Seeley’s Pond

A great unspoiled area to hike is the land behind Seeleys Pond and just east of the dam on Green Brook. My son Grant and I easily traversed the low water creek by the dam and made our way up the hill. I was pleasantly surprised to find marked trails and impressive cliffs that rise about about 75 feet straight up to the blue mountain ridge. It is a shame that the land is sandwiched between Rt. 22 and the heavily traveled and noisy New Providence Road. Unfortunately, the tall trees block the view eastward that was mentioned so often in accounts of yore. Marion Rawson spoke of a tower that was on the ridge for viewing towards the town center.

Seeleys Pond is so named now because a prominent businessman who had mills on the Greenbrook near the banks of the pond lived in a stately Victorian house. (see photo). I found the remnants of the foundation several paces back from the pond. It must have been one of the most fabulous spots for a house that a nature lover can imagine. I also found another foundation about 200 yards south of New Providence road from the dam. This might have been ……

Which town was first …. This needs to be explained

A landmark lost

A great architectural treasure was lost in town when School #1 burned down in 1974. The most famous design firm in this country’s history McKim (Charles) , Mead (William Rutherford), and White (Stanford) designed the school and it was symbol of the prominence of a proud community. M,M &W designed Boston Public Library, The Mead Library (NY), The University Club (NY), The Rhode Island State Capital, the old Pennsylvania Station in NY and the Newport Casino (Now the Tennis Hall of Fame) See photo Contrast this architectural gem to the façade of today’s Scotch Plains Fanwood High School built in 1958. It is too bad we cannot change the drab exterior of our senior

Page 11 Brooks Crandall high school to match the endless and bountiful spirit of the bright students inside. The lifeless broken clock outside tells me it is time to do something to make this building a symbol our proud towns.

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Catch 22

The bucolic paradise of Marion Nicholl Rawson’s youth is lost. Until Rt 22 was finished, the town of Scotch Plains had a country feel much like you see now in towns further west like Liberty Corner and Oldwyck. Rt.22 connected the town to the bigger cities to the east and a straight shot into the Big Apple. The road attracted builders and a flurry of suburban development in the 50’s and 60’s. Although Rt 22 got “Plainsman” closer to the city it also basically cut the body of the town off at the shoulders of the Watching hills. The connection to the hills was lost.

Although Scotch Plains not does have the rural beauty described in “Under the Blue Hills,” Scotch Plains does have a rich history to savor with several historical sites in tact and an exciting restoration in progress with the Aunt Betty Frazee house. The catch 22 is that a highway destroyed a rural New Jersey town and created a truly diverse American suburb. Scotch Plains is a true American melting pot where diversity can be embraced. More importantly, that highway provided the ability for many people (including myself) to have the American dream of owning a home in Scotch Plains.

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