THE TOWNSHIP OF BEDMINSTER

BY FREDERICK WALTER

1664 1964

N.J. TERCENTENARY

CONTENTS

New Jersey Page 1

Somerset Page 7

Bedminster

Page Page Peapack Patent 13 Prominent Citizens 73

Charter 15 Doctors 79

Village Names 17 Inns & Taverns 83

Government 19 Shops & Stores 89

Early Settlement 23 Industry & Services 93

Growth 29 Roads 101

Wars 33 Railroads 105

Churches & Cemet~ries 39 Airport 107

Schools 53 Post Offices 107

Public Library 61 Water Supply & Disposal 109

Recreational 63 Master Plan 109

Native Sons 67 Closing 111

with many illustrations and inserts

The terms "Bedminster Township", and "the Township" are used interchangeably to indicate the Township of Bedminster. The term "Bedminster Village" is used to indicate the former Lesser Crossroads, now the principal village where the Township Hall is located. Except where circumstances require the original spelling "Pl uckamin ", ,the present spelling is used, viz: "Pluckemin". Except when quoting, the North Branch of the Raritan River is referred to simply as_ the "North Branch". ' '\ \ \ \ \ \ '' '\ ' \, '' ...

The original dividing line between East and West Jersey was set by the Quintipartite Deed in 1676. The line was named after Keith the surveyer. He began at the southern end but stopped at the South Branch of the Raritan River. This point is sti II the westernmost point of Somerset County. NEW JERSEY

Under English law, discovery and conquest secured to the Crown the title to heathen and uncivilized countries. New Jersey was claimed on the grounds of both discovery and conquest.

On March 12, 1664 King Charles II granted to his brother, James, Duke of York,

the territory lying between the Connecti~ut and Delaware Rivers, and on June 23-24,

1664 t~e Duke of York granted that portion lying between the Hudson and Delaware

Rivers to Sir George Carteret and J oho, Lord Berkel y. Carteret had been Seigneur

(Governor) of the English Channel Island of Jersey (the Isle of Caesar), which he

stoutly defended when King Charles was there in exile during the regime of Cromwell.

The new grant was named "Nova Caesaria" or Kew Jersey.

Before these grants by the King and the Duke, small scatt.ered settlements had

been made in New Jersey by the Dutch along the North River (the ~udson) and by the

Swedes along the South River (t~e Delaware).

Lord Berkeley promptly disposed of his half interest in New Jersey to Edward

Byllinge and John Fenwick for £1,000. Byllinge's share was trusteed to William Penn

and two other Quakers (G. Lawrie and N•. Lucas). ·In 1674, after a temporary

reoccupation by the Dutch, to remove any do_ubts, -the land was officially regranted to

George Carteret and the four successors in title to Lord Berkeley. In 1676 a formal

division between the owners was made by a conveyance known as the "Quintipartite

Deed", by which George Carteret received East Jersey and the four others received

West Jersey. Part of the original dividing line, ,which ran from Little Egg Harbor to a

point near Delaware Water Gap and was known as the Keith Line, still separates

Somerset County on its southwesterly side from Hunterdon and Mercer. 2

1664

The Duke of York (later King James II)

granted what is now the State of New Jersey to

John, Lord Berkeley~ and Sir George Carteret

Lord Berke! ey sold to

Edward Byllings and John Fenwick

Byllinge' s share was trusteed to three Quakers: G. Lawrie N. Lucas W. Penn

1676

Formal di vision agreed upon by the five-party deed and dividing line set.

West Jersey East Jersey

3 trustees and Fenwick Sir George Carteret

Carteret died in 1679 and in 1682 his holdings came into the hands of "The 24 Proprietors of East New Jersey"

1702

The proprietors of both Jerseys surrendered their rights to Queen Anne 3

To attract seeders, "Concessions and Agreements of the Proprietors ... , ' were promulgated in Ease Jersey in 1665 and in West Jersey in 1676. These may be considered the Magna Carta of New Jersey. William Penn, who was one of the four principals of West Jersey and became one of the twenty four proprietors of East

Jersey, greatly influenced this situation and may be considered the prototype of

Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declarati.on of Independence and the Virginia Bill of Rights a century later.

In furt}J.erance of clear titles, Indian lands were purchased in the name of the proprietors. The considerati.ons,_ however, often were trifling. On the whole, New

Jersey had few problems with th.e Indians and the sett.lers tr.aded freely with them.

There were no Indian wars such as those in upstate-New York and nearby

Pennsylvania.

The seat of government of East Jersey was established at _Elizabet})town in 1665 and the first Governor was Philip Carteret, a cousin o'f George Carteret.

The first Assembly met in 1668. Government in West.Jersey began in 1676 with a

Board of Commissioners. Edward Byllinge became the first _governor in 1680.

The first Assembly met at Burlington in 1681.

In 1679 George Carteret died and in 1682 his executqrs sold his half interest in New Jersey for £3,400 to 12 parties, who each immediat~ly sold one-half th,eir interest to another party, making 24 associates, ,who became known as the "24 proprietors of East New Jersey". Their ownership was in common and transfers of their shares were made in quantities such as, ½ of I/24th., ·½ of ½ of 1/24, ·¾ of

1/8 of I/24th, -etc. Voting rights were in proporti_on to ownership.

In 1702 the proprietors of both East and West Jersey surrendered the right of gover~ment to Queen Anne, ,who united both Jerseys into one province with the same governor as New York. Edward Hyde, ·Lord Cornbury was the first Royal 4

New Jersey was one of the thirteen states which declared their independence in 1776.

At that time when the first State Constitution was adopted, there were thirteen counties:

Bergen, established 1682 by East Jersey

Essex, J ' 16~ J '

Middlesex, J ' 1682 ' J ,, Monmouth, " 1682 ,, Somerset, 1688 " (from Middlesex)

Cape May, ' ' 1692 by West Jersey ,, Burlington, ' , 1694 ,, Gloucester, " 1694

Salem, ' ' 1694 ''

Hunterdon, " 1714 by United New Jersey , , Morris, 1739 , ' (from Hunterdon) , , Cumberland, " 1748 (from Salem) ,, Sussex, , ' 1753 (from Morris)

The counties listed above included the entire state area. There was no change until the

State legislature erected eight additional counties in the period 1824-1857 by dividing and otherwise changing the lines of existing counties.

Warren 1824 Hudson 1840

Atlantic 1837 Camden 1844

Passaic 1837 Ocean 1850

Mercer 1838 Union 1857 5

Governor of both colonies together and met with the New Jersey legislature at Perth

Amboy in 1703. He served 5 years. In 1738 Lewis Morris became the first sole governor of New Jersey. He served 8 years and was succeeded by Jonathan Belcher who served

10 years. The last of the Royal Governors was William Franklin, a son of Benjamin

Franklin. He was removed in 1776 after serving 13 years. He remained loyal to the

King and died in England in 1813.

The first Constitution of New Jersey was drawn at a convention held in 1776,

and under it William Livingston was elected Governor each year until his death in 1790.

In that year Trenton became the state capital. The total population of the state by the

census of 1790 was 184,000 of which 11,400 were slaves. There were 13 counties at

the time. Three West Jersey Counties, Hunterdon, Sussex, and Burlington, ranked first,

second, and third. They had a combined total of 58,000 inhabitants. Somerset then

had 12,300 and Cape May had the fewest, only 2,600.

·Among the leading nien of Somerset in the Revolutionary period, not mentioned

elsewhere, were John Witherspoon and Richard Stockton who were signers of th~

Declaration of Independence; Joseph Hewes, born in Somerset, who signed it for North

Carolina; Captain John Stryker, and William Patterson, who became the second governor

of the state in 1790. ·

1664 1964 6

COLONIAL .,VU.LT~' Q{Btft,l~1LL!) SOMERSET , ,, "4:- BASK' RD; ,, ~ COUNTY ~ 't­ ftt

WESTf RN PRECINCT (MONTGONE~Y 1162) DlVl.510N LINE l6Br DIVIDED EA 1 AND Wt5T JER5EY

r

H.H. HE tN 5r. SOMERSET

In 1682, for governmental convenience, all of East Jersey was divided into four counties - Bergen, Essex, Middlesex, and Monmouth. The boundaries followed natural lines where possible and each county included one or more existing courts, some of which had been established as early as 1675. In 1688 Somerset County was created by severing from Middlesex its western part. The reason given at the time was that the farmers and the inhabitants of the upper Raritan Valley in their husbandry and the manuring of their lands were forced upon quite different ways and methods and had different interests from those of other parts of Middlesex County. The name, Somerset, was taken from Somerset County in England where Lord Berkeley had won the battle of Scratton in 1658. ·

Although a separate county, Somerset continued under the jurisdiction of the

Middlesex courts and did not have a separate court until 1714. The first Somerset court house and jail was ouilt at Six Mile Run (Franklin Park) where court was held as early as 1714. · This building was destroyed by fire in 1737 wit:h all early court records. A new court house and jail was then erected at what is now Millstone and then became known as Somerset Court House.. The British raiders, under Colonel

Simcoe, burned the second building in 1779 and again all but a few records were lost.

After a number of moves and temporary quarters, permanent court house and jail

buildings were completed in 1798 at Somerville, which was then part of Raritan.

Additions to the court house were made in 1849 and both buildings were replaced in

the period 1906-1909 by the present buildings.

The court house is the symbol of county government. Like many other New

Jersey counties, Somerset has required additional facilities and now has a large 8

1714 First Court House at what is now Franklin Park-destroyed by fire 1737

1737 Second Court House at what is now Millstone-burned by British 1779

1798 Third Court House at what is now Somerville.

1907 Fourth and present Court House pictured above. 9

office building as part of the group of its county buildings. Further requirements in this connection are being considered.

At the coming of the Revolution in 1775 the first call on New Jersey was for two battalions of eight companies each. Colonel William Alexander of Somerset commanded the First Battalion. He was soon promoted and became Major General of the

Continental Army, in which he was better known as Lord Stirling.

The first "Congress of New Jersey" assembled at Trenton in May, 1775. There were 87 delegates present from all counties. Hendrick Fisher was chosen President and Jonathan D. Sargeant, Secretary. Both men were from Somerset, which was represented by eight delegates.. At a meeting at New Brunswick, in February, 1776, because of the presence of the British on Staten Island, the Congress ordered the removal of the eastern treasury from Perth Amboy to the house of Peter Schenck in

Somerset and removal of the books to Burlington ..

Even before full-scale hostilities began, Somerset planned to be more self-sustaining by encouraging inland trade in wool, woolen yarn, wool cloth, wool cards, flax, linen yarn, gray cloth, and mountings for looms, wheels and reels. _

Weekly markets for these products were established at Princeton, Somerset Court

House, Bound Brook, Pluckamin and Bernardstown .. This Somerset plan was the model for the "cottage industries" plan later adopted in Ireland.

During the war Washington's Army passed through Somerset early in 1777 after

its victories at Trenton and Princeton.. It also passed through in 1781 on its way to

Yorktown. In the intervening years the Army held the high part of the county at all

times and successfully outmanouvered the British. The encampment at Middlebrook,

where the Stars and Stripes were first displayed, ranks with Valley Forge and Jockey 10

Somerset County, itself one of twenty-one counties, is divided into twenty-one separate municipalities, each having its own budget and tax structure, as follows:

established

Franklin Township 1735

Bedminster Township 1749

Bridgewater Townsh~ 1749

Bernards Township 1760

Hillsborough Township 1771

Montgomery Township 1772

Warren Township 1806

Branchburg Township 1845

Somerville 1863

Raritan 1868

Bound Brook 1869

South Bound Brook 1869 (originally Bloomington)

North Plainfield 1872 (originally a Township)

Rocky Hill 1889

Millstone 1894

P eap ack-Gl adston e 1912

Far Hills 1921

Bernards vi 11 e 1924

Watchung 1926

Manville 1929

Green Brook Township 1932 11

Hollow as one of the Army's historic winter quarters. At the time Washington's headquarters were at the Wallace house in Somerville. After hostilities ceased, he

wrote his farewell address at Rockingham, Judge Berrian's house at Rocky Hill in

Somerset.

There were many changes in Somerset's boundaries after it was first

established. As new counties were created and other changes made, the dividing

lines were adjusted from time to time, between it and the surrounding counties. In

this way Somer~et lost its two college towns, where Princeton and Rutgers are

located.

1664 1964 12

\ "<..

..,."'1!,;:::;;:::::::,--\ \ 110. ~ . Lamington\ \ ' J \ '\ ' \

Township of Bedminster, established in the N. W. corner of Somerset County in 1749. Peapack-Gladstone Borough was separated from Bedminster in 1912. BEDMINSTER.

PEAPACK PATENT

In 1701 a grant known as the "Peapack Patent" was made, which transferred in severality from the interest of the 24 proprietors of Ease Jersey to George Willocks and

John Johnstone, as joint tenants, lands within a line:

(clockwise) Beginning at the upper corner of George Willock' s thousand acres and ascending and including the Lamington River to its falls between two steep hills near the Morris County line; thence continuing Easterly to the head waters of the North Branch of the Raritan; thence Southerly following that stream to a point where it veers Westerly below the mouth of Mine Brook; thence to the top of the first mountain South of Pluckemin; thence following the crest of that mountain Southeaster! y to the Northeast corner of Ann West's thousand acres; thence Westerly along the North line of this land to the Ease line of George Willocks thousand acres, which lay at the conflux of the North Branch of the Raritan and Lamington Rivers; thence along his East and North line to the upper corner, which is the place of beginning.

The Indian title to the lands was extinguished soon after by conveyances from

three Indian chiefs and the Patent has since been the foundation of most land titles in

Bedminster.

The upper portion of Ann West's thousand acres, which she purchased in 1693

adjoined on the East the lower portion of George Willocks' land and lay on both sides

of Chambers Brook. This portion later passed to the Duchess of Gordon and the tract

was long known as "The Duchess". ,

The earliest recorded transaction in the Township was the purchase in 1690 by

Margaret Winder of a thousand acres lying on both sides of the North Branch. She was

the daughter of Gov. Rudyard and after her husband, Samuel Winder, died, she married

George Willocks. 14

§~ ti..e. ~ 4 tY. .. §= 4 ~ 4 ~ ~ 1 = anJ. g~ K~ 5'4,.n.te,. 4

~ ~ &tc.. j"a all .to -wfiom ~,e. ~ Siall eo.m.e. §~. ~o,w v.e. .tiia.t. .w..e. of OU'£

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~ -i.n ffia,id '1nd -in ~.e.e.d. .to £-e eaaea and. ~ ~ .tfi.e. '1am.e. of .u{,e. j" a..w.n~ af

93~. .Ckt .w..e. ~ §,ia.nt .to .u{,e. 6.a-i.a gnfia..&aanA:6. of di.e. f ~p ~a-ul and

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a,i,e ~~ .c.o,n~ and. a.ppo,i.n.t.e.d a r ONln~_,c,,p ~ .tii.e. Ylam.e. a.f,o'L.e.6-a.c.a. j"a h~ Ud and

&njav tft.e. p~ a.f.an~d .to. tl{,em and ;fJ\.wi S~.Ql&a. fan~.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 15

CHARTER

In 1693 when first dividing the East Jersey counties into townships, Somerset,

being sparse! y settled, was classified as one township. The first subdivision was into

precincts-the Western, Eastern, and Northern-bur by 1790 the entire county area had

been divided into six townships - Bedminster, Bernards, Bridgewater, Franklin,

Hillsboro, and Montgomery. The names, Bedminster and Bridgewater, were derived from

places of the same name in Somerset County, England.

The Charter (letters patent) of the Township of Bedminster was made in the name

of King George II and dated April 4, 1749 at Burlington. It was signed by Gov. Belcher

and was recorded at Amboy in book 2 on page 181. , The recording fee was £ 4-3-0.

Bedminster Township occupies the northwestern corner of Somerset County. In

the charter its boundaries were stated as follows:

( counterclockwise) Beginning at the mouth of a Brook known by the name of Chambers Brook from thence up the said Brook to McDaniel's Mill* standing at the North West end _of the First Mountain from thence up a small branch of said brook to the Second Mountain and along by the West corner of Jacob Brewer's house and from said house running along a straight line to the mouth of Mine Brook where it empties itself into the North Branch of the Raritan River, then up the said Branch to the line of Morris County from thence along the said line to the falls of Laomatong from thence down said Laomatong River as the stream runs until it meets the North Branch and down said North Branch to the mouth of said Chamber's Brook where it first began.

Originally an area of about 33 square miles, the only change ever made in its

lines was in 1912 when the villages of Peapack and Gladstone were separated from it

and incorporated as a borough of about six square miles.

*This is an error in the Charter. It should be McDonald's Mill, which is corroborated by the description of the same line in the Bridgewater Charter. Because of the similitary of names there has been confusion between the grist mill of William McDonald on Chambers Brook and the saw mill of William McDaniel on the North Branch, where that stream runs through the middle of the Township. McDaniel's Mill later became Kline's Grist and Saw Mill. The road from Pluckemin to the mill was long known as Kline's Mill Road. 16

Municipal headquarters of Bedminster. With typical frugality the Township road equipment is housed in the same building. 17

VILLAGE NAMES

The origin of the names Lamington and Pluckemin has been of great interest.

The Indian name of the river which serves as the western boundary of the Township was Allamatunk or Alametunk, said to mean <

There are a number of theories of the origin of the name, Pluckamin, which in the 1880' s became Pluck=.min. One theory is that, like the Plaquemine in Louisiana, the name _was derived from the French word for persimmons. There is a complete absence of French names among the early settlers and the persimmon, a member of the ebony family, is essentially a souther tree.

Another theory is that the name came from a small village ( a clachan) in ·

Lauriescon, Scotland, named Pluck. Rev. Parfy of the Pluckemin Church learned this when he wrote to Scotland about 1900. That there is such a place, was confirmed in 1947, also that there is a Pluckim's Cairn among the place names of Galloway.

The first record of the name, Pluckamin, occurs in an old road book under the date of ·August 19, 1755, but the earlier name, "Bedminstercown", continued to be

be used for a short time thereafter. Attempts in the early 1900' s to change the name

to Viola or Linwood were stoutly resisted.

The road presently known as Lamingcon Road and as Main Street in Bedminster

Village had two intersections in the very early days. One, where the Peapack Road

crossed it, was known as Lesser Crossroads. There was little activity here as it was

not until some time after the Revolution that villages began to form at this crossing

and at Peapack. The other crossing was in an area which was active before and during

the Revolµtion and was known as Larger Crossroads. The road name is still the same

but the neighborhood, by use of the correct antonyn of lesser, is now known as Greater

Crossroads. In two centuries the Larger has become smaller and the Lesser much greater. 18

The fire company was organized in December 1953. There were 25 charter members. At first the equipment was housed in a barn. One story of the building was erected in 1958. The upper floor was added in 1960. 19

GOVERNMENT

Most of the Township records were burned when the home of Aaron Longstreet,

Town Clerk, was destroyed by fire in 1845.'

We may assume that like other Townships there were in the very early days, a

Town Clerk, two Chosen Freeholders, an Assessor, a Collector and an Overseer of the Poor.

The assessment roll of 1787 shows there were 139 separate farms of from 10 to

665 · acres and 56 taxpayers who did not own real estate. James Van Derveer was the largest taxpayer, having paid £17 on 665 acres. The assessment roll for 1947 (160 years later), which did not include Peapack-Gladstone, shows 131 separate properties of 10 acres or more and 152 smaller lots. The largest holding was 2452 acres.

In 1790 William McEowen was Assessor. His records show that there were 138 male freeholders including eight local or county officeholders.

In 1797 there were 152 ballots cast at an -election for council, assembly, sheriff and coroners. In the election of 1800, a Presidential year, there were 192 ballots cast.

At the time of the fire in 1845 the Township Committee consisted of five members, one of whom acted as Clerk. They were Peter Garretson, Aaron Longstreet, ·Cornelius

W. _Schomp, Abraham A. Ten Eyck and William J. Todd. The tax assessor then was

Ralph Davenport and the collector was Morris P. Crater. The Chosen Freeholders were

Henry Sloan and Derrick Lane. In 1852 the membership of the Committee was reduced from five to three, at which number it still remains. A separate office of Township

Clerk was established some time later. Recently the title of Mayor has been substituted for that of Chairman of the Committee.

The government has been simple, low cost and mostly nonpartisan for more than . a century, but changes due to improved transportation and to increasing population in

surrounding areas, gradually had their effect. Th~ ·faster tempo everywhere after the 20

The Old Stone House is at the foot of Old Dutch Lane in Bedminster Village. It was built by Johannes Moelich in 1751. It is the best-known old house because of the "Story of an Old Farm" written by a descendent of the bui Ider. 21

two World Wars made changes necessary al so in Bedminster' s placid way of life. In the past two decades a Police Department was organized, the Road Department was

expanded and the Board of Health undertook additional duties.

In the event of fire or accident the Township has al ways relied on volunteer organizations. Presently these are the Union Hook & Ladder Co., organized in 1901,

and the Bedminster-Far Hills First Aid Squad both stationed at nearby Far Hills. The

Pottersville Volunteer Fire Co. is located in the Township and serves its north west

corner and the surrounding area. These units receive municipal aid but their service

knows no boundary lines as does the service of fire companies in the surrounding area.

Anticipating a possible surge of building activity after World War II, the Township

Committee availed itself of the State enabling act and appointed a Zoning Commission.

After careful study of its report a Zoning Ordinance was adopted in December 1946.

This was followed by a Building Code in 1947.

Soon after, .a taxpayer brought suit, attacking the minimum residential requirement

of 5 acres throughout the greater part of its area. The court sustained the Township

and the decision in this case has since been cited in this and other states. The Zoning

Ordinance was revised and strengthened in 1956 and later the applicable parts of the

State Building Code were adopted.

When the Zoning Ordinance and the Building Code were adopted the Township

Committee consisted of Dr. Augustus S. Knight, Chairman, A. Layton Nevius and Henry

W. Gutleber. Harry M. McMurtry, w~o served 33 years in the position, was Assessor

and Vernon Hoffman, who took office in 1937 was and still is Collector. Long public

service in Bedminster has been the rule rather than the exception.

The cost of the government is still comparatively modest, the greater part of the

local tax being that of the School Board. The total tax rate is still among the lowest in

the County. 22

Farm buildings in good condition and one of the few remaining well sweeps in the State. Scene is in the rear of the Nevius homestead, built in the 1790's. 23

EARLY SETTLEMENT

Few of those who acquired large, tracts of land in the very early years actually

settled here. Many were favorites or relatives of those in high places. The first

settlers along the Lamington and North Branch Rivers were Scotch Irish. The first at

and near Pluckemin were German Lutherans from the Palatinate. These settlements were made about 1730.

George Teeple who emigrated from Germany about 1700 acquired from George

Willocks a large area lying east of the North Branch where he settled. His sons, John

and Christopher, were Pluckemin residents for many years.

Matthew Lane settled-east of Van Fleet's mills in 1748. He later moved to

Pluckemin and became its first postmaster in 1787.

Other settlers, before 1756, in Pluckemin and vicinity were John Appleman,

George Remer, Christian_ Falk, John Castner, Leonard Stright, Jacobus Van Derveer,

and Hendrick Van_Arsdale. Johannis Powelson came in 1767, John Boylan in 1760,

William McEowen in 1775, and later William Gaston and Abraham Brown, the last four

being of Scotch-Irish stock.

John Johnstone died in 1732 and included in his estate was the southeast corner

of the Peapack Patent, at and below where Pluckemin now stands. His son and.

daughter, Lewis Johnstone and Mary Johnstone Alexander, were his executors. Mary

was the mother of William Alexander, the "Lord Stirling" of Revolutionary fame. The

first sale of land by the executors was 500 acres to Jacob Eoff in 1741 which included

the site of the village of Pluckemin and extended to the top of the mountain on the east.

Eoff, a native of Holland, settled here and built a tavern at the village crossroads in

1750. At the time there were about a dozen houses.

George Willocks died in 1729 and left his property to his nephew and niece. The

first sale by the nephew, George Leslie, was a tract of 367 acres, north of Lesser

Cross Roads, to Johannes Moelich in 1751. Moelich, who came from Germany in 1735, had 24

Stately mansion near Moore's Bridge. Doctor Henry Vanderveer resided here in formal style with his sister whom he outlived. He died in 1868. 25 lived at several other locations prior to the purchase. Here he erected a sturdy stone house house with stone window sills and pegged oak floors, which has become a Township landmark and is now known as the Old Stone House. Similar to changes of some other

German names, the name, Moelich, was gradually transformed to Mellick.

Guispert Sutphin came to Bedminster about 1743, travelling from Monmouth with a yoke of oxen and a cart with his family, household goods, and carpenter tools. He first , purchased 300 acres, but changed his location several times. He played an active part in the stormy times of the Revolution and died in 1796.

The Todd family is recorded in Lamington as early as 1740. Col. William Todd and Major John Todd were officers in the Revolution. The Ten Eycks were early arrivals. The name appears in military and government records. The McCrea family came in the 17 40' s. Cornelius Lane who settled north of the Crossroads in 1756 moved to Lamington in 1769. In 1777 Jane McCrea, a daughter of Rev. McCrea, left Lamington and travelled to the upper Hudson Valley to meet a British officer whom she expected to marry. She was murdered and scalped by Burgoyne's Indian ·allies and a thrill of horror arose when this became known here. The story of another Scotch-Irish girl is that of Betty McCoy. She was stolen from Lamington by Indians and taken to Virginia.

She escaped and reached the Continental Army where she helped with sick and wounded during the southern campaign. At the close of the war she found her way back to

Lamington, where she lived alone in a tiny log house which neighbors built for her.

Before the Revolution, Pluckemin was the most compact of the settlements.

Because of its location it became the gateway to the Township and was the most important of the villages. The settlement at Lamington was more scattered. That at

Larger Crossroads was a small nucleus but it was a strong patriotic center in the

Revolution. Here pewter plates and dishes were collected for making bullets when . lead was scarce.

In the records of 1741 the name of Richard Potter occurs. He was the owner of 26

Johanni s Powel son came to Pluckemin in 1767. He built his homestead on what is now Country Club Road. A new and larger structure was built in the 1860' s •. The old buHding was removed in the 1940' s.

William McEowen house at Pluckemin. A small store at the north end was used as a supply depot at the beginning of the Revolution. The building was renovated and moved to another site. 27 a large tract on both sides of the Lamington River below its falls. He was the first

settler of that region.

The pleasant and fertile open areas were gradually dotted by homes and farms,

where among the early arrivals were: Daniel Axtell, 1740; J oho Craig, 17 40; Hugh

Gaston, 1750; Ephraim McDowell, 1750; John Wortman, 1750; John Colshee, 1755 and

Charles Duryee, 1755.

The foregoing has been an attempt to relate a few interesting details of the early

settlers, which would be representative of the different pares of the Township.

Ad in N. Y. Gazette and Weekly Mercury

May 30, 1768

House and lot of land whereon the subscriber

formerly lived - to be sold.

House well built - scone laid in lime & sand

30' by 40' - 3 rooms on a floor. 2 fireplaces, a

good well within 3 or 4 yards of door.

Lot 3½ acres - good stable & chair house, one

of the best gardens, small orchard planted 3 years.

Would be very convenient for a doctor as there

are none here - in the heart of a rich country.

Also have about 40 acres for sale about 1¼ miles

from house - good woodland near a sawmill.

John Laf ercy, Hillsborough

or inquire of Cape. Richard McDonald, Pluckemin 28

Historic house in Pluckemin where Washington slept and the British officers captured at Princeton were held. The house was built by Matthew Lane and known later as the Teeple and then as the Fenner house. It was torn down about 1940. This is the house about which the story is told of Washihgton climbing the stairs on horseback. The marker is at the site where the house stood. 29

GROWTH.

The growth of the Township population has been slow .. Pluckemin had its expansion early. There were 35 dwellings in the 1840' s. Lamington, Larger Crossroads and Burnt

Mills have lost such non-residential nature which they may have had and are now blended into the surrounding countryside.

Peapack developed as a long straggling village on a north-south road along the brook of the same name. In 1808 there were only four houses. More soon followed and by the 1830' s there also were stores, blacksmiths and a school. By the 1880' s there were more houses and two churches and a number of industries. Another village,

Gladstone, was formed further north on the same road.

The Village of Lesser Crossroads was not settled until after the Revolution.

Although situated at a point where it had convenient access in all four directions, its

development was slow.

Albert and Capt. Joseph Nevius acquired 235 acres of the Axtell tract in 1794.

The old Nevius homestead which was built at the time and some of the old barns are

still standing in good condition. The well sweep with its old oaken bucket is one of

the few left in the state. The homestead has sheltered six generations of the Nevius

family. About 1827 part of the land was sold to Cornelius W. Wyckoff who built a

homestead across the road, which also is still in good condition and has been occupied

by five generations of Wyckoff s. A number of the other original houses on the main

street of the village are still in use.

After the new church building was erected in the midst of the village and the

school house was enlarged to four rooms, the name Lesser Crossroads was gradually

dropped. As it is central to the other villages of the Township and the Township Hall

is loca!ed there, it is now simply called Bedminster. 30

Generals Washington, Sullivan, and Knox attended the burial. The inscription is a study in the use of the pronoun "his." Dr. Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Independence. 31

Pottersville was first called Lamington Falls, then Potter, s Mills. The name became Pottersville when the post office was established in 1840. Sering Potter, a descendent of Richard Potter, the pioneer in this region, commenced the improvements from which the village developed. It is situated on both sides of the Lamington River, which here is known as the Black River, and thus it is located in Tewksbury as well as in Bedminster Township.

There was a gradual transition from rural farmsteads to large estates in the

1890' s and the early 1900' s. A number of enterprises such as Dunwalke Farm and

Hamilton Farms were undertaken by estate owners, which because of their nature did not disturb the typically rural atmosphere.

In 1840 the total population of the Township was 1589. Thirty years later it was

1881. In the next ten years it had receded to 1812 of which 140 were in Bedminster

Village, 135 in Pluckemin, 120 in Portersville and 235 in the village of Peapack.

In the 1940' s the total for Bedminster was about 1600, the same as it was 100 years before, when it included Peapack-Gladstone. The census of -1960 sho·ws a total of 2322 whereas Peapack-Gladstone had reached 1804. The increase for both taken together was about 150% in 120 years.

The County Planning Board estimac e for Bedminster in 1970 is 3400, an increase of about 50% over 1960. · The Township muse zealously guard its low density zoning in the coming years to maintain its unique position, which once lost can never be regained.

Census County Total Bedminster ·proportion

1840 17,457 9%*

1880 27,162 7%*

1920 47,991 3%

1940 74,390 2%

1960 143,913 1½%

*including Peapack-Gladstone 32

Site of the Artillery Park. 33

WARS

The coming of the Revolution found Bedminster beyond the area of direct conflict.

In the early days of the war, the British Cavalry made a raid on the village of Pluckemin.

Dwellings and stores were robbed and the doors of the church battered down, pews broken ahd the pulpit hacked with sabres. A second raid followed shortly thereafter, through and beyond the village to Van Derveer' s Mills on the North Branch, where Elias

Van Derveer was captured and taken away without coat or hat in mid-winter.

After the battle of Princeton, the Continental Army, when retiring to Morristown, rested for a day at Pluckemin. The wounded were distributed in village homes. The

230 men captured at Princeton were placed in the damaged church and the 13 officers in the Lane house (later the Teeple, th~n the Fenner house). Captain William Leslie,

seriously wounded in the battle, died on arrival. He was the son of the Earl of Leven of Scotland and was buried with military honors in the church cemetary on Sunday,

January 5, 1777. Generals Washington, Sullivan, and Knox attended the funeral, as did

Dr. Benjamin Rush, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was a friend of

the Earl's family and who later marked the grave.

In the winter of 1778-79, when the main body of the Continental Army was facing

the British at Middlebrook, the Artillery Corps lay at Pluckemin. The guns were parked

and the men's quarters were erected just outside of the village to the north. General

Knox, the Commander, was quartered at a VanDerveer house, about a mile north of the

village. The encampment of 49 batteries, 1607 men and many draft animals presented

an impressive sight. A line of field guns, mortars, howitzers and heavy cannon parked

parallel and near the road formed one side of a rectangle, with officers' and men's huts

forming the ends. In the rear a large Academy or Lyceum building looked down on the

parade toward the Park.

There were an armorer's shop, a laboratory and a gunpowder magazine. Muskets,

swords, bayonets, and cartridge boxes were repaired at the armorer's shop and the

laboratory took care of ammunition, signal lights, and fireworks. After the Army left, 34

Jacobus Van Derveer house, built 1754. General Henry Knox resided here when commander of the Artillery Corps located at Pluckemin 1778-79. 35

Middlebrook, it still kept up a regular intercourse with the commissary at Pluckemin.

A report made in February, 1779 shows great quantities of many different kinds of war material on hand at the park such as, cannon balls and shells, muskets, bayonets, swords, knapsacks, belts, etc. There were tons of cartridges and musket balls and a large quantity of powder.

For the speedy assembly of the militia of the surrounding countryside, Washington ordered a brush-filled beacon to be erected on the mountain in the rear of Pluckemin, to

be fired in the event of an emergency. Certainly Pluckemin was a scene of busy martial industry in those days. But, alas, a shortage of shoes and shirts was reported. :

On February 18, 1779 the first anniversary of the alliance with F ranee was

marked by a grant f ete" and ball at the.artillery park. A pa vi lion 100 feet long was

erected with 13 arches. Washington led the grand march with Mrs. Knox. 70 ladies were

present, including all the _first ten in the st ate, and between 300 and 400 gentlemen and

officers.

When Martha Washington travelled to see her husband for the first time after the

war began, the General left his Morristown headquarters to meet her at Pluckemin.

Other leading figures of these momentous times who had occasion to be in Pl_uckemin,­

were General (Mad Anthony) Wayne, Baron Von Steuben, Lord Stirling, and Major (Light

Horse Harry) Lee, father of Robert E. Lee.

In 1789 when Washington became our first President, he appointed General Henry

Knox as Secretary of War in his Cabinet. Thus, two men who had been closely associated

with Pluckemin during the war, were at the highest level of our government when it first

began to function.

After the Revolution there was no immediate lee-down of the martial sp1r1t. There

were general training days on which farmers were summoned from their plows and, with • others, assembled in Pluckemin. At the call of the bugle they marched out of the village

on the road to the north and then passed into a large field on the west side for military

exercises. Many veterans also came to Larger Cross Roads to drill on training days. 36

THE ACCOUNT OF THE HISTORIC CELEBRATION

AT PLUCKEMIN AS PUBLISHED AT THE TIME

The anniversary of our alliance with France was celebrated on February 18, 1779 at Pluckamin, at a very elegant entertainment and display of fireworks, given by General Knox, and the officers of the cprps of artillery. It was postponed to this late day on account of his Excellency General Washington's absence from camp .. General Washington, the principal officers of the army, Mrs. Washington, Mrs. _Greene, Mrs. _Knox, and the ladies and gendement, for a large circuit around the camp, were of the company. _Besides these, there was a vast concourse of spectators from every part of the Jerseys..

The barracks of the artillery are at a small distance from Pluckamin, on a piece of rising ground,: which shows them to great advantage. The entertainment and ball were held at the academy of the Park. About four o'clock in the afternoon, the celebration of the ALLIANCE was announced by the discharge of thirteen cannon, when the company assembled in the academy to a very elegant dinner. The room was spacious, and the tables very prettily disposed, both as to prospect and convenience. The festivity was universal, and the toasts descriptive of the happy event, which had given certainty to our liberties, empire, and independence. In the evening was exhibited a very fine set of fireworks, conducted by Col. Stevens, arranged on the point of a temple, one hundred feet in length, and proportionally high. The temple showed THIRTEEN arches, each displaying an illuminated painting. The centre arch was ornamented with a pediment, larger than any of the others; and the whole edifice supported by a colonnade of the Corinthian order.

The illuminated paintings were disposed in the following order:

The 1st arch, on the right, represented the commencement of hostilities at Lexington, with this inscription:- "The scene opened."

2d, British clemency. Represented in the burning of Charlestown, Falmouth, Norfolk, and Kingston ..

3d, The separation of America from Britain. A magnificent arch broken in the centre, with chis motto: "By your tyranny to the people of America you have separated the wide arch of an extended empire.''

( Continued on page 38) 37

At the time of the War of 1812 a recruiting officer was maintained at John Hunt's

store in Pluckemin. The Mexican War was considered in these pares as more or less ·a

matter concerning the Southern States and very little· activity was reported here.

During the Ci vii War, when the response to President Lincoln's series of calls

for volunteers slowed up, the Township Committee began to pay volunteers bounties of

$300 each. Later these were increased to as much as $800 in certain cases, depending

on length of enlistment. The money was raised by sale of Township bonds and the total

cost stood at $65,000 at the end of the War. This amount would seem to indicate that a

sizeable proportion of the local citizens participated in the struggle.

In the Spanish American War we find mention of a number of Somerset youths;

among which were two P·luckemin boys, Ensign Wilfred Powelson, who was in the group

which was rushed to inspect the sunken battleship Maine, and Gunner's Mate C. Stewart

Mott, who fought at Guantanamo.

Service in the- two world wars seemed almost universal among those of eligible -

age. The bronze memorial plaques erected on the school house grounds show that 60

local men served in World War I and 160 in World War II, of whom 9 diea in the servict.

The obligation for military service continued after World War II and there was no specific

call for the Korean conflict.

ccPluckemin Center - This is historic ground. On the open space facing us, where the different roads converge, Washington, Knox, Greene and the conquerors at Princeton have stood about, and talked over the needs and plans of the Revolutionary Army. Many of the ancient buildings in this vicinity are unchanged, save by the picturesque hand of

'time, since those doughty days.'' ·A. D. Mellick, Jr. Story of an Old Farm, 1889. 38

4th, Britain represented as a decaying empire, by a barren country, broken arches, fallen spires, ships deserting its shores, birds of prey hovering over its mouldering cities, and a gloomy setting sun. · Motto: ''The Babylonian spires are sunk, Achaia, Rome, and Egypt mouldered down; Time shakes the stable tyranny of thrones, And tottering empires crush by their own weight.''

5th, America represented as a rising empire. Prospect of a fertile country, harbors and rivers·covered with ships, new canals opening, cities arising amidst woods, splendid sun emerging from a bright horison. Motto: "New worlds are still emerging from the deep, The old descending in their turns to rise.''

6th, A grand illuminated representation of LOUIS the sixteenth. _The encourager of letters, the supporter of the rights of humanity, the ally and friend of ·the American people..

7th, the centre arch. THE FATHERS IN CONGRESS. Mocco: 'Nil desperandum reipublicae.''

8th, The American Philosopher and Ambassador extracting lightning from the clouds.

9th, The battle near Saratoga, 7th Oct.,_ 1777. ·

10th, The Convention of Saratoga..

11th, A representation of the sea-fight, off U shant, between Count D'Orvilliers and Admiral Keppie.

12th, Warren, Montgomery, Mercer, Wooster, Nash, and a crowd of heroes who have fallen in the American contest, in Elysium, receiving the thanks and praises of Brutus, Cato, and those spirits who in all ages have gloriously struggled against tyrants and tyranny. Motto: "Those who shed their blood in such a cause shall Ii ve and reign forever."

13th, Represented peace, with all her train of blessings. _Her right hand displaying an olive branch; at her feet lay the honors of harvest; the background was filled with flourishing cities; ports crowded with ships, and other emblems of an extensive empire and unrestrained commerce.

When the fireworks were fi~ished, the company returned to the academy, and concluded the celebration by a very splendid ball.

The whole was conducted in a style and manner that reflects great honor on the taste of the managers. _ 39

CHURCHES AND CEMETERIES

The first church attended by any residents of what later became Bedminster

Township was a log building erected on the mountain about a mile ease of Pluckemin.

Its congregation were German Lutherans and it was called "Im Gebirge" which translated is, "In the Hills". It was there before 1720 and, except for the hard climb, the site was a good one, being near the junction of three roads, one to Washington

Valley, one to Liberty Corner and one to Pluckemin. The first regular pastor was Rev.

Daniel Falkner, from before 1724 until 1731; then came Rev. J. A. Wolf, 1734-1745.

The last regular pastor of record was Rev. J. A. Weygand who was called in 1749. In the log church ·on the mountain was held on August 20, 1735 the "First Synod of the

Lutheran Church in America''. It_ was attended by pastors from nine congregations of

New York and New Jersey. Rev. W. C. Berkenmeyer of what is now Athens, N. Y. presided. A full record of the proceedings has been preserved. A rebuilt house on the old foundation of the pastor's house and a few crude gravestones are all that remain at the site. The first burials are said to have been in 1721 and 1723 ..

The first church within the township limits was authorized by the Presbytery of

New Brunswick in 1739 and built at Lamington in 17 40. A cemetary was laid out in which the first scone, that of Hephzibah Jones, is dated 1740. The congregation did not own the land at the time, but in 1743, wh~n James Alexander and Daniel D. Dunscar bought a tract of 600 acres at Lamington, they gave the congregation a deed for the church and cemecary lands. The Rev. James McCrea was the first regular pastor. The church building was enlarged in 1752. Rev. Jeremiah Halsey served from 1770 to 1780.

In 1783 papers were filed incorporating "The Trustees of the Presbyterian Congregation

at Bedminster in the counties of Somerset and Hunterdon". Ac chat rime Rev. William

Boyd became pastor. He served until 1809. There were then about 80 members. In

1826 a new edifice was erected and Rev. William W. Blauvelt became pastor. He served

62 years until his death in which period the membership reached as high as 150. Rev. 40

Presbyterian Church at Lamington

Built 1826, replacing 1740 building in the cemetery. The bui I ding was turned around and moved to the opposite side of the road in 1885. This is said to have been done by one man, using horsepower, timber, and many bars of soap, proba~ly the greatest local feat of its kind.

~~-~~#.­

~

Receipt for rent of pew in new 1826 church, paid by two Pluckemin Presbyterians. The ''Presbyterian Church at Pluckamin" was not established unti I 25 years later. 41

Blauvelt' s length of service has never been equaled in these parts. His home became

the Manse for subsequent ministers. lq 1885 the church building was moved from the

cemetery to the ocher side of the road, remodeled and a lecture room added. Mose of

the early ministers are buried in the church cemetery, as are 30 to 35 soldiers of the

Revolution, including Washington's spy John Honeyman, who settled near Lamington

after the war.

Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church was founded in New Germantown (now Oldwick)

in 1714. Its first pastor was Justus Falkner. Its building was erected in 1749 and still

stands. It is the oldest Lutheran Church in New Jersey. In 1756 at a meeting of its

vestry, it was determined to build a church in Bedminstertown (Pluckemin) to be called

St. ~aul's Church. Accordingly a subscription roll was circulated the same year. This

is a most interesting _document, seven inches wide and nine feet long and was signed

by about 150 persons. Jacob Eoff, headed the list and donated the land for the church

· and churchyard. The total amount pledged was about £350. The corner stone was laid

July 4, 1757. Its facia, with a Latin inscription in the name of King George II has been

·placed on the front wall of the present church. The structure was of stone, 50 x 60 feet,

with a black walnut ceiling. There was a large parasol over the pulpit. In 1767 Zion

and St. Paul's were incorporated together. Services then were held at Sc. Paul's every

third Sunday. Among the early preachers was the Rev. Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, 1768-

1772, who a few years later, in Woodstock, Va., preached the ''time co fight'' sermon and

- left the pulpit to become an officer in Washington's army. Rev. William Graff succeeded

in 1775 and served 34 years until his death in 1809.

St. Paul's seems never to have prospered greatly. The building was badly

damaged by a British raid in 1776 and activities ceased entirely with the passing of

Rev. Graff. The walls of the building became dangerous and the churchyard was

neglected after the building was removed. With the establishment of the Presbyterian

Church, however, deterioration of the old cemetery area ceased. Here lie, many still 42

~ ...... ,.•• _ l" '~. . ~· . . . •. ~ .. ~.J;J:.4--:-...... '. .·. .,...... , .... ·.

~-..,,,...-:-~~ . i.., ..... ~~u~~~

~.

~ ,..._... .

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I , =~PP - ?,t- , ~ ~a~---·;. 1 t -~~~~ ~~~~- ~ ...

. . . .. ·~· - O\~---·i·~------·-·r.---- -~ ~ ~J.M.L«A.~ ...,_~i--a~~~~f:IJJ.~H ,. 'IV~·"' 11.uF~ 'ill~?!~ - -J &J -· --- . --. ,.... - - - ·- ... ------tJII'!· . . ,t: . ..,,-.•.~ ~~n~';.l-::Tf. :,d,._--~;/ + , ' f -~-~'O ~ ~: :~ fl((),11¥- ...... __ ... r . .•.. . . . ·--- •. ""•... -...... -----·-- ·' .--~---· ,~- ... ~lf---~/ ii,,- 2fJ. ··a. . . .,r ... •-: - . I , • • • • • , . .-.. -~f' ., ;: . . . ~- . . • ...,...... ,..,,....,.,.,.aA .... ,. ····• ... . - ~ . ►-~ ., • ·-• ..• "- :..:..,

Preamble and the first two signatures on the subscription list for the building of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Pluckemin. The list is only 7 inches wide, but 9 feet long and had 150 signers. 43

marked, the Eoffs, who donated the land for the church; the Teeples, who donated the

land for the first school house; the Castners, eight in number; the Moelichs, Malichs,

Malicks, and Melicks (the memory of whom has been preserved in the nStory of an Old

Farm"), the Weygands, three in one grave; James Hodge, a soldier of the Revolution;

Magdalene Jessup, Margaret Davis and the gallant Captain William Leslie at whose

grave the D. A. R. maintains a flag. There are many others, now unknown and unsung.

On December 25, 1758 at the Old Dutch Parsonage in Raritan (now Somerville)

officials of nearby Dutch Reformed Churches formed a consistory for the founding of a

church in Bedminster, where a number of members of the faith had settled. The first

meeting house was built in 1760 on land south of Lesser Crossroads which was offered

by Jacobus VanDerveer, who also donated timber and cash. Rev. Jacob R. ·Hardenbergh

was the leading figure and with Rev. Theodore Romeyn and Rev. John Duryee supplied

the pulpit from Raritan. In 1791 "The Dutch Reformed Congregation of Bedminster"

. was incorporated. The Rev. John Schureman became the first reg~ar pastor in 1801.

Charles Hardenburgh succeeded him in 1808. He was popular and during his time the

services became overcrowded. Under his sup_ervision a new and larger structure with a

bell tower was completed at the same location and was dedicated in 1818.

Rev. Isaac M. Fisher became pastor in 1821 and served 18 years. In 1840 Rev.

George Schenck began his pastorate. During• his time a parsonage was erected nearby

and the membership reached its maximum. In the period 1848-1852 the members living

in the Peapack area were organized separately and 82 Pluckemin members departed to

form a new Presbyterian Church in that village. The membership thus declined

considerably. It recovered somewhat with the growth of the village and it was then

argued that the church was not central enough. In 1897, during the ministry of Rev.

Thomas W. Jones, a new sanctuary was built in the middle of the village. The old

building was lost in an attempt to move it and the cemetery which surrounded it now

covers the entire site. Here are buried the infant child of General Knox, who resided 44

.... /.•. :,. ···w&iafilf 1lrt<··•· · ·->,vr-f'·' x:"'k'H•:,:;>•x;e::.,: •.

i· :@'.

The face of the corner stone of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Pluckemin has been placed on the front wall of the present church. The inscription is in Latin and broadly translated reads as follows:

"This Church (Edifice), consecrated to the worship of God, most Hol·y and most High, in the reign of his Maiesty George the Second, King of Great Britain, was planned (proiected) on the seventh of December, 17 56, and its cornerstone (foundation) was I aid on the 4th of July, 17 57, under the charge (supervision) of George Remer." 45 nearby when commanding the Artillery Park, the VanDerveers, who donated the land, and many of the pastors. Old scones bore the names of Blair, Hardenbergh, Layton,

Nevius, Powelson, Sutphin, Todd, Van Arsdale, Van Doren, Voorhies, Vroom, Wyckoff, and many ochers. Originally, because of the superstitution of some of the Elders, a

VanDerveer child and, because of a difference in faith, the Knox child, were buried outside the cemetery fence, but later the fence was moved to include these two graves.

After St. Paul's became entirely inactive, many Pluckemin churchgoers turned

to the Dutch Reformed Church just south of Lesser Crossroads. In 1818, before that

church was rebuilt, an unsuccessful effort was made to locate the new structure in

Pluckemin. In this period Sunday school and services by visiting ministers were often

. held in the lecture room of the Pluckemin Academy. In 1848, when a separate church

for the Peapack members was granted, the Pluckemin members requested that they be

treated likewise. Being unable to secure a charter from the Dutch Reformed Classis at

New Brunswick it was· decided to appeal to the Presbytery of Eliz~beth. As a result

"The Presbyterian Church at Pluckamin" was organized in February, 1851 and soon the

lands where St. Paul's had stood were purchased and in July, 1851 the cornerstone of a

new building was laid. It was dedicated in February, 1852 by the Rev. Nicholas Murray

D.D. of Elizabeth whose grandson, Nicholas Murray Butler was head of Columbia

University for 44 years.

The first minister was Rev. James Petrie who had come from Scotland in 1831.

He preached at the local Academy. before the new building was available. He was an

orthodox preacher, with a Scotch style of deli very and served until October, 1856. In

1857 he was succeeded by the Rev. Frederick F. Cornell, D.D., grandson of General

Frederick Frelinghuysen of Revolutionary memory and a nephew of the Hon. Theodore

Frelinghuysen, the ''Christian Statesman," was who candidate for Vice President when

Henry Clay ran for President on the Whig ticket in 1844. In 1863 Rev. Cornell was

succeeded by Rev. Thomas Carter. In that year a nearby residence was acquired aid 46

Dutch Reformed Church-Bedminster Village Dedicated in 1818 replacing previous building of 1760. Replaced in turn by a new building at a different location in 1897. 47 arranged as a manse. Rev. Samuel Parry (1873 - 1906) followed. He was a most dependable man and left an indelible impression. His long term of service closely parallels that of Rev. William Graff at St. Paul's in the previous century ( 1775 - 1809).

Next in length of service was the Rev. Wilbur A. Wagar ( 1938 - 1950) who carried on during the trying years of the Second World War. In 1955 the Rev. Howell M. Forgy officiated at the ground breaking for Fellowship Hall, the first construction on the church property in more than a hundred years. A Lt. Commander, he had served as a chaplain on a cruiser at Pearl Harbor in 1941. At chat time he gave the word co the crew to "Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition".

In 1851, land for a new cemetery was secured on the south side of the road co

Martinsville, about a quarter of a mile east of the village crossroads. In 1896, after most of the individual plots had been sold, additional land to the south and west was acquired and a cemetery wall with gates was erected. Fifty years later, in 1946, history repeated itself and again additional land was acquired and the wall rebuilt and extended. The total area of the cemetery is now nearly five acres. Many of the organizers of the church, subsequent members and local residents are buried here.

In 1838 a Methodist Church was organized in Gladstone. A church, parsonage, and cemetery were established on land given by John Philhower. There were 22 pastors in the first 40 years and many other difficulties had to be overcome. The Dutch

Reformed Church in Peapack began as an offshoot of the Dutch Reformed Church of

Bedminster Village. The corner stone of its building was laid in 1849. Dedication was

in the following year. Rev. William Anderson was the first minister and served until

1856. The edifice was enlarged in 1872, burned in 1873, and rebuilt in 1874, all in the

space of a few years.

After the close of the Ci vii War, Sering Potter, owner of the local mills to get her

with Philip Philhower led in the organization of a church at Pottersville. A petition to 48

Dutch Reformed Church-Bedminster Village Built 1897-extension with classrooms and many other facilities has been added in the rear. 49 the Dutch Reformed Classis was approved and the· corner stone of the building was laid in 1866. Many papers asse.mbled by Ida Alpaugh were sealed in a metal box and placed with the stone. Thomas W. Jones was installed in 1867 as the first pastor. A burial ground surrounds the church. Here lie the Potters and members of families of the name of Ammerman, Barker, Herzog, Hoffman, La Tourette, Lindabury, Philhower, Pickel,

Vliet, Wortman and others.

There were a number of unsuccessful efforts in establishment of churches in the

Township. In 1832 a small Methodist church was built in Pluckemin on the site of St.

Pauls. It did not prosper and never had a minister. In the re-arrangement of the area in

1851 the building was first moved to the rear and then, in 1858 it was moved forward to a new location where it became the public school. In 1912 it was sold to the Presbyterian

Church and has been used as a chapel and Sunday school. In 1838 the nFree Christian

Society" erected a stone church on the main street of Peapack. Not being successful, t~e building was conve·rted to a store. In 1850 Baptist missionaries had an establishment on the main street of Bedminster Village, but it soon fell into disuse and the project was moved to Chester. In 1851 in an endeavor to hold some of the members who were leaving the Dutch Reformed faith to join the new Presbyterian Church at Pluckemin, a chapel was built a few hundred feet south of the new church. It did not accomplish its purpose and eventually the building was used as a store..

Brief mention of early churches in Peapack-Gladstone has been included here as

these villages were an integral part of Bedminster Township at the time. Reference has

been made to the church cemeteries. There were also a number of slave cemeteries. One,

near the Foot of the Lane has been well preserved.. Another was located where the

Township Hall stands. Several others are completely gone. 50

Site of St. Paul's Fellowship Hall for Site of first school house Lutheran Church education and community 1791-1810 1756 needs dedicated 1956. Extension of twelve Site of Pluckemin Academy * classrooms to the rear 1815-1851 1963. Site of Methodist Church 1832 Former Methodist Church building moved here and became Public School 1858-1912 Presbyterian Church (above) Old Lutheran Cemetery Presbyterian Sunday School 1851 of 1756 ·in the foreground 1912-1956

* The academy was the equivalent, at the time, of the present high school. The Pluckemin classical and english academy at this site has sometimes been confused with the Pluckemin military. academy at the artillery park, where the grand ball was held in 1779. This site, a plot of about a quarter of an acre, acquired by the Church in 1912, has served for more than 150 years of eduction. Truly a "lot" of education. 51

Due to the pressure of increased attendance, additional Sunday school rooms were required at the Bedminster Reformed and Pluckemin Presbyterian churches in the mid-1950' s. A large annex was built at Bedminster. At Pluckemi n, the problem was solved by the erection of Fellowship Hall, followed in the early 1960' s by an addition to the Hall with 12 classrooms.

The pastors of the four churches in Bedminster Township at present are:

approximately

Rev. Arthur W.· Nelson Pluckemin 600 members

Rev. George W. Crumley Jr. Bedminster Village 300 members

Rev. William Yeager Lamington 150 members

Rev. .J. David Muyskens Pottersvill e 75 members

The four pastors listed above, together with the membership listed below,

constitute the Tercentenary Committee of the Township:

Webster B. Todd, Jr., Chairman

Mrs. G. _Wilbur Westervelt, Secretary

Mrs. Richard M. Colgate

Mrs. Fred V. N. Eick

George R. Layton, Jr.

Robert M. Lunny

George E. Ray, Jr.

Mrs. Abram W. Ten Eyck

Frederick Walter

Norman Wittwer 52

Dutch Reformed Church at Pottersvi lie

The original building of 1866 53

SCHOOLS

Pluckemin is said to have been one of the first three places in the county to have a school. In December, 1791, John Teeple, the village blacksmith, and his wife,

Margaret, who were married in 1756, gave a small piece of land adjoining the churchyard, on which a modest school was erected. This was replaced about 1810 by a school house about a mile west of the village. The Teeples died within a few hours of each other in 1813 and were buried in t})e same grave a few feet from the land which they gave.

In 1815 a subscription paper was circulated for the purpose of building a

"Classical and English Academy in Pluckamin.'' Additional land was bought north and west of the Teeple gift, ,and a two-story building was erected. Another subscription paper was circulated in 1837 for the purpose of "painting, ,enlarging and furnishing a bell in the academy in Pluckamin. '·' One of the teachers in this academy was William L. Dayton, who later became a U.S. Senator and was the candidate for Vice Pr~sident with John C. Fremont of California, when he ran for

President on the first Republican ticket in 1856. In 1851 the Academy was discontinued and replaced by a small building (a former Methodist Church built in

1832) which, in 1858, became the local public school and so continued until 1912.

At that time a three-room school house was erected nearby on Burnt Mills road,

which served until 1958.

Rev. :William Boyd kept a classical school for young men at his home in

Lamington before 1800. He was a slave owner and his house was located on the

bank of the river. John Herod and Stoffel Logan taught at a school at Peapack in

the 1820's. It is believed that in the early days Folkert Dow organized a school in

Lesser Crossroads but in 1816 Rev. Charles Hardenbergh organized the first formal

school with a regular teacher. It was located about where the present school stands.

Common school was downstairs; -an Academy was upstairs. Ferdinand J. Van Arsdalen

was its first teacher. ·Another teacher was Jacob T. Skillman, who eventually became 54

Interior views of a one-room school house

Pluckemin 1858-1912 a doctor in New Brunswick. Peter I. St~ddiford taught in the Academy which was the

High School equivalent of the time. It was discontinued about 1830.

Neighborhood schools were established as the population increased. These were mostly one room affairs with one teacher V{ho taught different subjects to different age groups in the s~me room. All schools were privately supported. An organized free public school system did not emerge unti.l the 1830's and then was under the control of the Township Committee. Such school records as had been kept

-were lost in the Longstr·eet fire when the Township records were destr.oyed.

· In 1844 there were nine schools and 254 scholars. In 1867 the number of schools had reached the maximum of twelve. There were an estimated 225 scholars

' . and the budget was $1,850.00. ·By 1879 there was a reduction to ten schools, but the number of scholars· had increased to 255 and the budget to $2,800.00.

The locations of school_ buildings at var~ous times were designated as:

Burnt Mills Larger Crossroads Central Lesser Crossroads Duchess Peapack Foot of the Lane Pluckemin Holland Pottersville Lamington Union Grove

An interesting side-light is that Mary T. Cheney, teacher at the Foot of the

Lane School in the late 1830' s, when on a summer vacation in New York City met

Horace Greeley, the founder of the New York Tribune. They were married in

Somerset soon after. She died a few days before Greeley was defeat~d when he

ran for President against General Grant in 1872. Greeley died a few weeks later

from the shock of both losses.

The first week-long "Teachers Institute" in which Somerset County

pioneered, was held at Somerville in June, 1849. At that time the State

Superintendent spoke on education and Horace Greeley spoke on temperance.

Such meetings were then held annually at different places. In the period 1861 to

1874 two were at Peapack and one at Pluckemin. 56

Pottersvi lie school house bui It 1912. Closed 1958. Since used as temporary quarters by a scientific research group. Now acquired by the Pottersvi lie Fire Co.

Pluckemin school house built 1912. Closed 1958. Since used as temporary quarters of the Midland School for brain-iniured children. Now to become an additional facility for the Township. 57

School districts with Boards of Education, having separate taxing power subject to the voters approval, -were not established in Somerset County until the late 1860's. Board members are now elected for three year terms and those chosen, often parents, must unselfishly serve the public interest. Members sometimes serve for more than one or two terms, the outstanding instance in the present century being that of George C. Lindabery who served for 36 years, during 25 years of which he was

President of the Board.

The number of separate schools declined as transportation improved. This trend was accelerated with the advent of school buses and, at the close of World War II, the only schools remaining active were at Bedminster Village, Pluckemin, and Pottersville, each of which had been replaced by new buildings in the early 1900's. Each school taught all eight grades and the students desiring to go furt4er were transported to

Bernardsville or Somerville high schools.

Because of the separation of Peapack-Gladstqne, the change of many farms to estates, and the availability of parochial and private schools in n~arby towns, ,the total number of pupils in the three remaining schools was only 160 or an average of

20 to a grade. The total number in t4e same grade in the same school, however, varied from two to ten. To remedy this situation it was decided, in 1946, to integrate the grades. As there were eight teachers and eight class rooms, the first and second grades were• located at Pluckemin, the third and fourth at Pottersville, the fifth to eighth grades at Bedminster Village. All higher grades were transported to

Bernardsvi1 Je High School. A unique bus interchange arrangement was developed and opposition to the plan, based on too much transportation of small children, was soon overcome by the obvious educational advantage - - each age group being t~gether, both in t4e class room and on the playground. 58

Four-room brick school house bui It in Bedminster Vi II age, part in the 1920' s and completed in 1933. Replacing one room school house .of the 1800' s (above). S9

By converting an unused room in the Pluckemin building into a pleasant class room, the Board was able to add a kindergarten class, making nine grades in all, on the local level. The home-room plan was adopted for the upper grades and each teacher became a specialise in certain subjects. Before making all these changes the Board had creat~d the position of School Superintendent.

An inevitable increase of the school population and the advanc~ges of having a large central school were foreseen. Several proposals to build at a new location first a~ a cost of $648,000 and then $475,000 were defeated by the voters in 1957. In 1958 a hond issue of $335,000 was approved to enlarge t4e Bedminster Village School on land that had been acquired some years before, Upon compleci_on of chis work, the

Pottersville and Pl uckemin Schools were closed.

As the changes were developed, the realization came that Bedminster schools had been behind many otl;ters. The reaction, st~mulated by the tempo of the ti.mes, created demands for what may be called fringe benefits such as, shops for boys, sewing rooms for girls, art and music lessons, modern gymnasium, playground equipment, and nurse's room. These· and the additional teachers required for them and for growth in school population caused a heavy increase in school taxes.

in 1944.the tax for operation of the schools amounted to $23,000. In 1964 the tax for operation was $273,000, an increase of a quarter of a million dollars in twenty years. About half of this increase was due to the greater cost of tuition at high school; the remainder to larger payroll. An increase in transportation costs and other matters was off set by increased state aid. The present number of pupils is 275 in the local grade school and 150 in high school. Bedminster now spends more per child for education than most of the other districts in the

County. 60

Consolidated School

New structure with large auditorium and many modern facilities, built 1958 and combined with the existing Bedminster Village school which was completed in 1933. All Township school classes have been concentrated here. 61

PUBLIC LIBRARY

A local lending library for the convenience of the general public was originally started in 1957 by members of the Bedminster P. T. A. Three shelves in the This n'

That shop of the local supe~market were cleared for books and the operation was conducted by the staff of the store. The original collection of books was donated by residents or purchased by the P. T. A. In 1960 the books were transferred to the local public school, where the upper grades have always had a small library for reference and the supervision of both were combined.

The service had been extended to include Far Hills and in 1962 the entity was incorporated as the Bedminster-Far Hills Public Library Association .. Books from the

County Library at Somerville are available by request. The activity increased and to relieve the school, the library was transferred in 1963 to desirable quarters in the

Dutch Reformed Church annex, where volunteers take turns as librarian.

There are now 800 members and circulation has reached 1000 and the collection of books owned is 4000. As expansion continues the problems of a permanent home and a paid staff must be faced .. At present, the Township, the Borough of Far Hills

and many local citizens and groups contribute to the enterprise.

Board of Education 1964

Charles W. Logan, President Arthur P. Hopper

Mrs. Charles Ashmun Charles F. Meyer

James P. Beard John D. Munro

Mrs. Basil Cleland William F. Vanderventer

Robert E. Gitzendanner Miss Mary Bowker, Secretary

School Staff

Jacob H. _Snyder, Administrative Principal

William Stout, Assistant Principal

sixteen Teachers and a Librarian 62 PROGRAMME of Fourth of J tJly Celebration, 1825, at Pluckan1in, N. J. The procession \\·ill for.m in double file in front. of Mr. Eoff's Hotel in the f,)llowing order: Officer of the day in front. Captain Tom's Company, Captain Taylor's Company, Band of Music, Captain Kenedy's Company, Captain Gaston's Company, Captain of 1.iberty, Orator, or such other clergy . as may attend, Standa1·d Declaration of Independence, Com­ mittee of Arrangement or Arrangements, Staff. · Then Conduct.ors of Vocal Music, Lady Singer_s, Gentle­ men Singers, Ladies in. general conducted by l\Ulitary Officers in Uniform. The procession ~dn n1arch up the Main . Street tQ :the : Head of the To,vn, theH ·counter March ·upon their· right: and march to the Stage. When the front of the procession , arrives within 15 paces of the stage, .they will halt, the

Military face inward and present arms. T·he procession will 1 then march through. · . . : The Officer of the day and his adjutant will conduct t}J.e ' orator to the Stage, with dra\\'.Il . Swo~ds ;. the Declaration of Independence to be read : on .the Stage. The Officer of. the day in front of the Stage, the ·Captain of Liberty sta­ tioned on the right, The Standard on the left of th~ S_tage, The Staff .in a circle in fi~r,nt of the 8tage, the Con1mittee. of Arrangement or Arrangf.. ments in another .circle in front of the Stage, Band in. a circle . nex_t in fr_ont, Vocal Music to occupy the front seats, the Ladies . on the right and Gentlemen on the left of the. stage. Exercises~ . 1st, Praye_r. 2nd, ·ode~ ·:vocal ·Mus1c. 3rd.· Declaratio11 ·of Independence. 4th, Music by the Band. 5th, Oration~ .

6th, . Music by the Ba rid. Jth,. Pi·ayer.. -8th, Ode, Vocal ! Music. 9th, Benediction~ · . · · · · · ·· · · Citizens in General.· Th_e p·rocessio11 will then form in• the order and' march to the. Bowt'r ,.· ,v here' the· Gentlemen will : seat themselves arou~d' the taLle~ Captain Gaston will file • off ,vith his Company and conduct the Ladies to Mr. Eoff's · long room, where they ,vill ·be .provided fqr,. and· ,attended to by Young Gentlemen appointetl for the purpose. Captain . Gaston and Company will then return to the Bower and take· their seats at the table.". . · Refreshments were served. ,)ration deliveted. Ode:: sung. But, .for \';ant of ~pace, they are here 01nitted. ·

Fourth of July in Pluckemin 63

RECREATION AL

Bedminster Township is known as the hunting country of the Essex_ Fox Hounds, which had been established as a drag hunt in Montclair and the Oranges in Essex County.

When that area became urban, the dogs were moved to Peapack at a point near the present

Bedminster line .. Here in the period of 1913-15 drag hunting was abondoned and replaced by the exciting sport of chasing the live fox.

The great open area of Bedminster is ideal for this sport and a cordial relationship has existed between the hunters and the farmers and estate owners, whose lands they transverse. A horse has become the passport co enter most private lands.

Polo also became a popular sport.. A field was laid out at che junction of the Stace

Highway and River Road where match games were held in the 1920's. Because of the

traffic problem due co large attendance, the sport was transferred to another field near

Burnt Mills. le was not revived after World War II .. However, the horse is still "King"

in Bedminster. Private jumps are maintained and residents participate in the horse

·races and horse. shows· in nearby Far Hills.. Bedminster has been represented by its

horsemen and horsewomen on prize winning teams at many events including Olympic

Games.

A group, known as the Tewksbury Foot Bassets, hunts the hare on foot with basset

hounds. It cou'siscs largely of Bedminster residents and most of its activities are in the

Township. le is the outgrowth of the Somerset Beagles formed in 1888, combined with

the Vernon Beagles in 1912. The dogs are supported by donations from many interested

citizens. The kennels are on a large estate in the northwestern part of the Township.

The first golf course in Bedminster was the long forgotten one in connection with

the Kenilworth Inn at Pluckemi n in the late 1890' s. The Zoning Law permits a golf

course in a residential district and an up-co-date one is being developed on an estate

at Fiddler's El bow on the North Branch.

About 1910 an attempt was made to operate a professional summer resort in the

Burne Mills section. A building with more than twenty bedrooms was erected. Its clash 64

1890's

1960' s

Equestriennes 65 with its surroundings, its lack of outdoor facilities, and difficulties of transportation, did not contribute to its success. Its demise was appreciated by its neighbors .. The building was used as preliminary quarters at the time of the establishment of the Walter

D. Matheny School for physically handicapped children. The structure has since been removed and the property now is used as a nursery by a landscaper.

The Brady Camp for underprivileged children is located on the Black River near

Pottersville.. It is presently operated by the Boys Club of Newark. At the opposite end of the Township near Pluckemin a Y.M.C.A. day camp is located with a sylvan path to

Echo Lake, which has been the local fishing, swimming and skating pond for more than a century.. Under proper supervision a number of small lakes. have been created in the

Township due to the quest for fill required for the new highways. These should add to the recreational facilities and serve for fire protection in their area ..

The Far Hills fair grounds are on the banks of the North Branch just ·across the stream from Bedminster Village.. A ski course has been established alongside Route

206 at the Peapack border. The run is in Peapack but the cow machinery is located in

Bedminster. The course serves a wide area and is well patronized in season.. The

National Encampment of the Boy Scouts has been welcomed on a large estate in the south.west part of the Township ..

Bedminster' s streams abound in fish. In season, those that are stocked by the

State, are open to all fishermen. In its woodlands and broad open spaces. deer, small . . game, and many varieties of birds hold forth, but there has been a great ~etback in wild life in the section of the Township where the new super-highways are being constructed. In the open season many hunters, from places not so careful of their natural resources as Bedminster, are attracted here .. This problem has been controlled by proper posting and judicious granting of permission .. 66

Essex Hunt Club - buildings and grounds - Peapack 67

NATIVE SONS

Among the native sons of Bedminster who achieved noteworthy mention elsewhere were:

Derick Lane, born in 1755 between Vliet' s Mills and Larger Cross Roads, served with distinction in the Revolution and emerged with the rank of Colonel. He moved to

New York State in 1790 and was one of the founders of the city of Troy.

Rev. Isaac Van Arsdale Brown, DD.,_ LLD. was born in 1784 at Pluckemin .. He graduated from Princeton in 1802 and founded the well known Lawrenceville School for boys in 1808. He later became a trustee of Princeton and was one of the incorporators of the Theological Seminary there.

Rev. William A. McDowell, DD.,. born in 1789, began his education at Lamington

and graduated from Princeton in 1809. He served as pastor in a number of places including nine years in Morristown and ten in Charleston, S. C. In 1833 he became

Secretary of the Board of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Church and lived in

Philadelphia to the end of his days.

William Gaston, whose grandfather came to this country from Ireland in 1720 had

a harness shop in Pluckemin and lived a little west of the village.. He was married to

a daughter of John and Margaret Teeple. His son William who was born there about

1790, moved to the South, where he became a wealthy cotton merchant ..

William Boylan of the "Capt. Bullion" family of Pluckemin, born about 1800,

went to North Carolina when a boy and 1ater became President of the State Bank of

North Carolina and of the Raleigh Railroad, now part of the Seaborad Air Line.

J oho Van Dyke was born in 1807 in Lamington. He moved to New Brunswick in

1830 where he became an attorney and counselor, and then the Mayor. He also served

two terms in Congress 1846-50. In 1860 he mo_ved to Trenton and was a high court

justice there. In 1868 he went to Minnesota where he served in the state senate and

then became a district judge until his death in 1878. 68

Essex Hunt Club packs 69

Rev. Morris C. _Sutphin, DD. was born in 1836 and had his early classical training under Dr. Blauvelt of Lamington. From 1860 to 1866 he served at the Spring Garden

Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia. He then accepted a call to the Scotch Presbyterian

Church of New York City. Because of ill heal th he was compelled to resign in 1872.

He died in 1875.

Ellis A. Apgar was born in 1836 at Peapack. He was a graduate of Rutgers. On the creation of the State Board of Education in 1866 he became the first State

Superintendent of Schools. In this position he was able to influence many changes for the better, in school buildings, furniture, etc. For efficient operation he established the office of superintendent in each county.

Frederick H. McDowell was born near Pluckemin in 1851. He left at age 15 for

New York City to complete his studies and later became a mining engineer. He was author of a number of articles on mines and mining.

James Brown, Jr. may be considered a native son .. His parents came from Ireland in 1850 when he was an infant in arms. They settled in Pluckemin where he attended school and received his start in life. Later he moved to Somerville where he became head of the Somerville Woolen Mills. In 1899 he was one of the founders of Somerset

Hospit'al and was its first President. In a broad and liberal spirit he continued his interest in the church and village of his youth. He refurnished the sanctuary, replaced the horse sheds, removed two unsightly shops standing alongside the church building

and presented the land to the congregation .. He died in 1925. '

Stories of the achievements of other native sons who went abroad in later years

or who are still abroad have not been attempted.. 70

Over the hurdles they go 71

James Linn was the son of Alexander Linn, a prominent citizen of the Township and

County. The name first occurs in 1756. The family homestead was on property adjoining the Township line at Mine Brook. The father died in 1776 and was buried in Lamington.

In the same year the son was appointed one of twelve magistrates for the county .. He next appears in 1790 as Major James Linn, an official of Bernards Township. He served in the State legislature in 1796-1797 and in Congress in 1799-1801, where he represented the district which included Bedminster. He was Secretary of State of New Jersey in 1809.

In the Presidential election of 1800 Thomas Jefferson defeated John Adams but as there was no separate ballot for President and Vice President he was tied with Aaron Burr, who was his own running mate for Vice President. Under the Constitution the decision had to be made by the House of Representatives voting by states. On the first ballot

Jefferson had eight states and Burr had six, two states being tied. In the election Adams had carried New Jersey but the five representatives in Congress from New Jersey placed the State in the Jefferson column by a vote of 3 to 2. Linn was one of three who supported

Jeff er son from the fir.st to the last ballot. Had he or either of the two other supporters

voted for Burr, the result would have been seven states for Jefferson, seven states for Burr

and two states tied - a complete impasse.

The entire house membership was in attendance. Couches were brought in for the

infirm and indisposed who could not travel to and from the capitol in mid-winter. Feelings

ran high. It was the "lame duck" session and the Jefferson supporters were in the

minority except when the vote was counted by states. Nine states were required for a

majority. The matter was resolved orily two weeks before inauguration day by the

influence of Alexander Hamilton who persuaded some of those voting for Burr to vote

blank on the _36th ballot and thus give Jefferson ten states to Burr's four.

James Linn, a native of Bedminster, deserves great credit in this crisis. He died

in 1821. · (Hamilton was killed by Burr in a duel at Weehawken, N.J. in 1804.} 72

Pluckemin's Stone Mystery

65 massive stones, a ton or two each, in a row more th an 150 feet Ion g in a now overgrown section north of Pluckemin. What purpose did they serve? 73

PROMINENT CITIZENS

Prominent citizens of Bedminster in the early 1800' s as recorded in the histories of the period include:

Col. John Mehelm, born 1733, settled in Pluckemin after the Revolution. He became Surrogate of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties. · He died in 1809. :

William A. Van Dorn born in Peapack in 1781 •. After a trip to see the world he returned home where he had a farm, a mi 11 and a lime kiln. He introduced the first threshing machine in these parts. He died in 1871.

Peter J. Lane was born in the McCrea house in Lamington in the early 1800' s, and continued to reside in the Township.

Martin La Tourette was born in the Township in 1803. He was a life time farmer and resident and took some part in local affairs. He died in 1880.

John McDowell was born 1810 in the Township and went to school there. He was an elder of Lamington Church.

John G. Schomp who was born in 1812 and came to Bedminster in 1830, was a farmer who also served as Township assessor and collector.

Frederick H. Lane, born 1813 in Hunterdon, purchased a beautiful estate in

Bedminster in 1855. He was a member of Lamington Church and died in 1873.

Cornelius W. Schomp, born 1816 in Hunterdon, settled at Lesser Crossroads and in 1845 purchased an estate and rebuilt the mills thereon (Schomp' s Mills). He was a member of the State Legislature 1855-56.

William Heath born at Mine Brook in 1817 lived near Burnt Mills. Politically he

1_, was active as a Whig.

Abraham Smith was born in 1830 at Mendham. He became an apprentice in the carriage maker trade at Lesser Crossroads and lacer started his own business in Peapack.

He was a co-founder of the Smith family reunions in 1876 which drew tremendous annual

gatherings. 74

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Doctor bi II and checks of yesteryear 75

Elias Brown, born 178~li ved in Pluckemin at the southwest corner of the crossroads and owned considerable land to the south and west of the village. He married Joanna

McEowen, who lived at the southeast corner. He was an energetic man and specialized in administration of est ates, surveys, preparation of deeds, contracts, etc. and related legal work. He was familiarly known as Squire Brown. A son James G. Brown left home to go

West and settled in St. Louis in 1849 where he established himself in the dry goods jobbing business. He became a partner in Dodd, Brown & Co. which house maintained a branch in

New York City. Another son of the Squire, J. Mehelm Brown, who graduated from Rutgers in 1829, became a member of the Bar. He continued to reside in Pluckemin and outlived

all of his classmates. The Squire died in 1857 and was buried in the then new

Presbyterian Church cemetery.

Dr. Augustus S. Knight, born in 1864, was a graduate of the Harvard Medical School

and remained for a time as a member of its faculty. He became as~ociated with the

Metropolitan Life Insurance Company at Boston in 1892. He was transferred to New York

in 1899 and appointed Medical Director in 1901. In this capacity, in 1914, he established ·

the company's sanitorium for employees in the foothills of the Adirondacks, on Mt.

McGregor near the cabin in which General Grant died. He retired from his duties at the

Metropolitan in 19 34. ·

As a resident since the 1920' s first in Bernardsville and then in Bedminster, Dr.

Knight engaged actively in public affairs. He served as Commissioner of Institutions

,__ in Trenton and as President of Somerset Hospital in Somerville. He was appointed to

the Bedminster Township Committee in 1930 and later became its Chairman. An

experienced organizer he guided the local government during the difficult period of World

War II and in solving the immediate post war problems. He was active until his death

in 1948. 76

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ORGANIZED•APRIL, 1871.

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found in an attic during renovation of old structures in Pluckemin 77

The difficulty of naming the prominent citizens of the recent past and the present time is obvious. First there is the question of definition of prominent and then there is the possibility of error of omission. When travel to the big city became more convenient in the 1890' s members of many banking and brokerage firms began to establish their homes in Somerset Hills, a large proportion in Bedminster.

This financial group was interspersed by executives of business, commerce, and industry, by professional men and men in the fields of publishing, public utilities and other endeavors. Unlike the inen of the previous century most of them had made their mark elsewhere before they came here. A list of these latter day settlers, would look like a small section of Who's Who in America.

However, one should be named. C. Douglas Dillon who was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Kennedy holds the highest office in the land ever held by

a resident of Bedminster Township. The only previous cabinet officer was Henry Knox

of Boston, our first Secretary of War, who was a resident of Bedminster for a few years

during the Revolution. ·

Bedminster citizens who were Township or County officials in 1790:

Thomas Berry

Robert Blair

John Boylan

Robert Gaston

Maj~ Richard McDonald

William McEowen

Guisbert Sutfin

John Workman 78

1945

1949

Improvement in Pluckemin' s Main Street by removal and set back of old houses. 79

DOCTORS

Old World ideas of medication and care of the sick were brought here by the first settlers. Professional care was crude or nonexistent. The local minister was often a fair doctor. Women were mostly called upon to attend the sick and they officiated at all childbirths. The growth of medical knowledge was slow and for a long time reliance still continued on the traditional herbs and roots.

Medical schools and colleges were few. Many country doctors learned from others to whom they may have been apprenticed or associ aced and from their own experience when practicing. Their income originally was not from fees but from the charge for medicines they prescribed and furnished. A satisfactory local exchange of knowledge was not accomplished until county medical societies were established. The first in

New Jersey was that of Somerset, which was organized in 1816.

The best known of the early doctors of Bedminster was William M. McKissack.

He was born in Ireland in 1754 and was a resident of Pluckemin in the late 1700' s. He was highly regarded as· a physician of good judgement and skill and had an extensive practice which required much traveling. He became a most active member of the Somerset

County Medical Society when it was organized. He died in 1831. His son William D.

1781-1853 and his grandson Peter D. 1824-1872 were doctors also.

Henry Van Derveer, born 1776, became a doctor and enjoyed a large and lucrative

practice in the Township. He was able but eccentric and did not marry but lived with

his sister in their handsomely furnished mansion on their large estate just _north of

Pluckemin. He outlived his sister by many years and died in 1868.

Cornelius C. Suydam, born 1799, was graduated from the University of Pennsylvania

and began practice in his native Bedminster. He became a physician of consummate

judgement and skill. In his later days he was chiefly a consultant. He did not marry

until later in life and at that time moved to Liberty Corner. He died in 1859.

Dr. Augustus '1/. McDowell was a son of Rev. William A. McDowell. He was born

in Morristown in 1820 during his father's ministry there. He completed his studies at 80

Log and earth dam 1817 Rebui It 1890' s

New concrete dam 1911 Buttressed 1924

Echo Lake Dam, on the Bedminster-Bridgewater boundary line, water power here used at different times in the 1700' s, 1800' s, and 1900' s. 81 the Medical College of Philadelphia and began his professional career in his father's native Bedminster in 1840. He served in the Civil War as a surgeon and was discharged in 1865 with high honors. He resumed his practice and also became the local historian of his time. He wrote many articles for <

The foregoing are short sketches of the early doctors of note. Others of equal or perhaps greater abilities followed but they may have been taken more or less for granted because of the general improvement of medical science and the development of the modern hospital. Bedminster lies in an area served by three large hospitals.

Among the names of the more recent past is that of Dr. John B. Beekman, born in 1854, who came to Pluckemin in 1885 and bought the old Boylan house. He became much interested in the welfare of church and village and was the local doctor for many years. Later he moved to Bedminster Village where he died in 1940.

Another, Dr. Frank L. Field, born in 1870, was one of the noted physicians of

Somerset. He came to· Far Hills in 1905 and then to Bedminster in .1913. He had a large practice until late in life. He died in 1962.

Other names which should be mentioned are Dr. John Crawford who served the community in the 1920' s and 1930' s; and Dr. Matthew John Powell who since the rriid-1940' s has been called upon in local emergencies, is a member of the Board of

Health, serves the School Board and has a large and growing practice. 82

175-year o\d \andmark at the former Lesser Crossroads has been a gathering place for local celebrities 83 INNS AND TAVERNS

In the early days inns and caverns served as public meeting places for ocher than church matters, as stations for stages, as polling places, as headquarters on training days and for the dissemination of news. Those serving regular meals were called

"Ordinaries".

The Township's first inn was that of Jacob Eoff in Pluckemin ac the northeast corner of the village crossroads. le was the meeting place of a Council of Safety during the Revolution. When Washington's Army was quartered nearby, its boniface was able to dispense hospitality to many leading men of the country.

After Jacob's death in 1780, the tavern was kept for a short time by his maiden

sister, Sarah. She, in turn, was succeeded by Jacob' s son, Christian, who built a new tavern, a long low building called the "Barracks", on the northwest corner and abandoned

the old structure to his brother, Cornelius, who occupied it as a residence. It was destroyed

by fire in 1814.

In the early part of the 19th century, Schooley' s Mountain was a fashionable summer

resort. ·Aristocratic families of Philadelphia, traveling in their own conveyances, would

stop at New Hope the first night and at Pluckemin the second night and on the third day

reach Schooley' s Mountain. Coaches with family coat of arms emblazoned on their panels

and drawn by four or six horses were not unknown in Pluckemin in those days.

In the mid-1890' s James Brown, Jr., acguired the site of Eoff' s original inn and all

of the land east of the highway and south of the village to and including Echo Lake. In

an endeavor co make Pluckemin a health resort in its own right, instead of an overnight

stop, Mr. Brown built Kenilworth Inn on the same corner where the first inn stood. The

new inn, which opened in 1899, had 20 bedrooms and five baths. A casino, with a

beautiful dance floor, was added; also a separate building with bowling alleys and an

overnight lodge for hunters. Several nearby cottages became part of the group.

A 9 hole golf course was laid out on the open land to the south, and water for the

inn and golf course was piped from Echo Lake. Several fire hydrants were installed at 84

SPECIJ.tL J.tTTR~CTIONS.

The drives in almost any direction are interesting. There are private drives over the mountains ; also drives to Somerville, six miles ; Bernardsville, six mi]es ; Peapack, six miles ; Mendham, Morristown and Lake Hopatcong. An attractive Nine-hole Golf Course. The water used on the table is from the celebrated Cu]m Rock Springs,which are about one mile from the house. The water is bottled at the springs, and is served on the tables. It is a perfectly pure drinking water. What is wanted by intelligent persons, and what they are becoming more and more desirous of, is not only wat~r that is delicious to drink, but water that is wholesome and perfectly safe. The Culm Rock Spring Water meets aU these requisites, and is rapidly increasing in popularity as a table water. The Inn is run in every way first class. The kitchen is in charge of an excelleut chef, and is supplied with everything the best in the season. The rates are reasonable as possible, with good service. All the rooms are light and airy with pleasant views frt>m the windows, and neatly and comfort­ ably furnished. The rates are $3.00 per day, or $12.00 to $18.00 per week. Special an·angements will be made for families with children. High altitude, dry mountain air, freedom from malaria. Light airy rooms, good service, rates reasonable. The Inn. opens May 15th, and remains open until November 1st. For rooms and rates write, KENILWORTH INN, Pluckamin, N. J., or JAMES BROWN, JR., Somerville, N. J. Trains from New York, D., L. & \V. R. R. ferries, Barclay and Christopher Streets. Seven trains each way daily. If more convenient, guests may be met at Somerville Station, C. R. R. of N. J., by wiring or telephoning.

Kenilworth Inn Twenty.bedroom house opened 1899 on site of Eoffs original inn 85 the crossroads. A large ice house on the shore of Echo Lake supplied the needs of che . inn.

In the 1840' s, when Squire Elias Brown of Pluckemin was president of the Somerset

County Temperance Society, the local trend was away from chat of the early inns and caverns. Pluckemin became entirely dry after the Civil War when its two inns closed their doors through the efforts of Rev. and Mrs. Carter. Kenilworth Inn was run on the temperance plan, and spring water was served at the table. We find, however, a 1904 headline: ccVillage of Pluckemin is no longer dry-former temperance inn gets a license to sell liquor.''

The operation of the inn had not been a financial success and a new management was seeking a solution. The change did not improve the situation materially, and the business was eventually discontinued. Later the building became the local district headquarters of the State Police. It was destroyed by fire in 1928.

In 1775 an inn was opened at Larger Crossroads by John Sutphen. The wagon master of the army kept his horses in Sutphens stable. He and Sutphen conspired and by a sale of horses to the British obtained valuable information for Washington as to the movements of the enemy .

. When the army passed through Bedminster on the way South, before the victory at

Yorktown, Washington and the generals who accompanied him and their staff dined at

Sutphens Inn.

Another inn was opened across the way from Sutphen' s by John Finley. A record shows that the election of 1797 was held at Finley's Inn. It had frequent changes of ownership and did not long survive. There has not been an inn or tavern at Larger

Crossroads for more than 125 years.

In 1786 John Melick was established in business when his father Aaron built a tavern for him at the northeast corner of Peapack and Lamington Roads, (the Lesser

Crossroads). This tavern was the gathering place for local celebrities and in time 86

Voorhees and Ammerman Store at Pluckemin destroyed by fire 1892

"New" store in the mid 1890' s replacing store destroyed by fire 87 became a famous landmark. The building was moved back, enlarged and renovated by various owners over the years but it still stands at the Crossroads as the nBedminster

Inn" after more than 175 years.

A tavern was kept at Lamington in the early days. It is said that on SuQday s after church, the people usually gathered there and partook of cake and beer. There was a hotel at Peapack in the 1880' s.

At present there are only two on-premise liquor licences in the Township-that of the Bedminster Inn and that of the Pluckemin Inn, which was established after repeal.

SOME PRE-REVOLUTIONARY PRICES

EOFF'S INN s d

brandy sling 1 0

3 pints spirits 9 8

2 grogs 1 9

1 gill 10

½ pint 1 8

1 pint gin 4 0

2½ gills bitters I 0

JOHN BOYLAN'S STORE £ s d

rum per gallon 5 6

molasses ,, " 2 6

sugar " pound 8 , , , , tea 5

, , L,, coffee ' , 1 9 ,, butter " 1 0

nails ' , ' ' 11

broadcloth per yard I 7 0 ,, , , calico 5 3 , , corn bushel 4 0 88 i

. BOU(iHT -_- J0RN ·· L. ·-., 00L1LIVER ~ffl~al~11 in ffi11B food~, fi11oe~11i~~'* : .

. .•

1.•

.... -, i

A Dutch Reformed Chapel erected in 1852 converted into a general store in the 1890' s 89

SHOPS AND STORES

Providing the necessities of life by raising food for themselves and their animals and making their clothing were naturally among the very first occupations of the early settlers. Stores of v.arying degree where products from ocher points could be distributed sprang up in the different villages of the Township.

John Boylan, called Captain Bullion, opened a store at Pluckemin before the

Revolution. He also had a business at Vealtown (Bernardsville), one at Annin's Corner

(Liberty Corner) and one at Van Derveer' s Mill. These four, under one management

were perhaps the first chain of stores in New Jersey.

A general store was conducted by Jacob Vosseller in 1768. He sold wagon wheels,

barrels, raccoon skins, shoes, stoves, and tallow as well as everyday requirements. The

business was converted into a shoe and leather establishment in 1785.

William McEowen kept a store in his house at the village crossroads. When the

war came he was a commissary for the army. On one of the British raids all the boots,

shoes and clothing ·on hand were carried a way.

About 1800 a local store was kept by George I. Bergen. In 1806 he was succeeded

by John Hunt. In these days there was more business of a mercantile and public

character carried on in Pluckemin than in most other places in old Somerset. Wills and

ocher documents were written here. The price for writing a bond was one shilling, and

for a mortgage, one shilling six pence.

A business directory at the time of the Civil War shows general stores conducted

by J.B. Vanderveer and by W. S. Van Zandt, who also handled clothing.

In the late 1880' s a complete ·~ountry store was conducted at the northwest corner

of the crossroads by Voorhees and Ammerman. The buildings were destroyed by fire in

1892. Isaac Newton Voorhees, the senior partner, celebrated his 100th birthday .. at

Bedminster Village and died in 1963. A store building which stood on the northeast

corner was moved to the northwest corner to replace the one destroyed, and has served

until the present day. There has been a long succession of storekeepers at this corner, 90

General store at Pottersville, established 1890. Storekeepers of same family have also been local Postmasters for several generations. 91 the principal one being Arnold Owens who conducted the business from 1904 to 1927.

In the 18901 s, a building, fronted with imposing columns (which was originally erected as a Dutch. Reformed Chap el) was converted into a general store by John L.

Dolliver. There usually were two or three stores to supply the village and the

countryside, but, since the advent of the automobile and later the supermarkets, a

single general store has sufficed. In recent years an off premise licensee, the

Colonial Liquors, was included at the same location. Pluckemin has been a small

center for antique dealers, of which there are four at present.

There was a small store at Kline 1 s Mill. This survived until the end of the

1800 1 s. ·Another was at Bromley 1 s (Burnt Mills) in 1760 which did not continue after

the burning of the mills. There is no record of the date of the fire. A modest store is

. located at Lamington. It was burned and rebuilt in the 18901 s. A general store at

Portersville has been operated by the same family for three generations. At one time

before its separation from the Township there were four stores in Peapack.

At different times there were two or three stores of various kinds in Bedminster

Village, the outstanding one being the general store of Honnell and Bunn near the hotel

at the Crossroads. Most of these have now been replaced by a small supermarket

(Green Groceries) which has been located on the highway, convenient to all parts of

the Township. This began as its name indicates but it has since expanded to include

all kinds of groceries and many other products customarily carried by grocers and

general stores. 92

PLUCKAMIN

Business Directory in the 1860' s

W. S. Van Zandt Dealer in General Merchandise and clothing ,, , , J. _B. Vanderveer

Stephen Beach Justice

A. C. Powelson Carriage Paint er and Trimmer

Jos. S. _Powelson Cabinet, Sash and Blind Manufacturer

D. C. Ammerman Wt and Carriage Mfr. :

T. M. McCullough Blacksmith ,, S. :C. Irving

D. H. Wortman Harness Manufacturer

E. D. Lockwood Restaurant

J. W. Teeple Cooper

John Van Zandt Farmer , , Hugh Gaston , , D. C. Gaston , , I. Gaston 93

INDUSTRY AND SERVICES

The first and most important of the early industries were usually the grist mills and the saw mills. These were necessarily located on streams where sufficient water power was available. In the 1840' s there were still 6 grist mills and 5 saw mills active in Bedminster.

The North Branch after being joined by Mine Brook soon turns west and enters the

Township. Van Derveer' s Mills were located just beyond the turn. Here stood a few houses and a store. William McDaniel's saw mill was located further downstream as .,, early as 1744. Later this was replaced by Kline's Mill.

At the junction of the Lamington River with the North Branch an early settlement was called Bromley. Mills were established here before 1755 by Leake. They were destroyed by fire but the date is not known. The place has since been called Burnt

Mills. Here later a woolen mill was erected where cloth was manufactured for several years. In 1792 a fulling mill was established in this general neighborhood for the processing cloth.

A grist mill stood on Peapack Brook before 1800. · Van Dorn' s Mill was built there in 1808. The first Peapack blacksmith was William Logan. His shop was opposite the school house. In 1814 Peter Doren erected another and in 1836 Ferdinand Van Dorn

erected still another. In the 1880' s there were two grist mills, three blacksmith shops,

three wheel wrights and a distillery.

The limestone quarries at Peapack became the source of a large local industry.

Lime-burning started as early as 1794. It became extensive about 1830 and by 1880

about 200,000 bushels of lime were produced annually. There were then six perpetual

kilns and nine set kilns. The product is used for mortar and plaster and by farmers in

their fields.

There has been little industry in that part of Potcersville which is situated in

Bedminster Township. An early grist mill, and lacer at various times over the years an

agricultural implement manufactory, a foundry, a machine shop and places for carding 94

MILLS IN OLD BEDMINSTER INCLUDING THOSE ON THE FAR SIDE OF BOUNDARY STREAMS

In the early days there were mills on the Black River, which further south becomes the Lamington, on Peapack Brook, on the North Branch and on Chambers Brook which separates Bedminster from Bridgewater. In the records are:

Potter's

Wortman's

McCann's

Vliet' s

Leake' s (afterward Burnt Mill)

Van Dorn' s (Peapack)

Allen's (afterward Schomp's)

Van Derveer' s

McDaniel's (afterward Kline's)

Van Fleet's

McDonald's

There is mention also of a second mill at Peapack and the bark mill of Johannes Moelich. 95 wool, weaving blankets and making patterns and shoes, mostly in the Hunterdon County section, have doubtlessly reflected in some measure on the growth and prosperity of the village as a whole.

The Moelichs who came to Lesser Crossroads in 1751 built a tannery along Peapack

Brook east of their stone house. They were experienced canners of leather and grinders of bark. A bark mill with a huge wooden wheel was erected on the brook. The raceway was still visible after a century. There were 18 vats below the tannery building and part of their residence was used. as a drying and finishing room. The business was continued by

Aaron Melick until his death in 1809.

Perhaps the first fatal accident in local industry was when Elizabeth, a child of two and a half years, was crushed by the big mill wheel in '!768. Her gravestone is alongside of those of her parents in the churchyard at Pluckemin.

Not far from the cannery and the bark mill, also on Peapack Brook were Allen's grist and saw mills, which afterwards became Schomp,s Mills. The flow of the brook at times was inadequate to turn three millswheels and the idea was conceived to augment

the flow by diverting water from the nearby North Branch which was separated from

Peapack Brook at this point by a rise in land called the cc Hogback". A dam was

constructed on the North Branch and a tunnel cut to the brook. Financial embarassment

because of this undertaking forced the sale of Allen's Mills and the tunnel became known

as the "Folly".

At the crossroads an old forge was built about 1770. A wheelwright and a wagon

shop for farmer vehicles and a second blacksmith followed. These were still there in

the later 1800' s, one blacksmith shop surviving until the 1930' s.

A large office structure was erected in the business zone of Bedminster Village in

the late 1950' s. It was occupied by the Lockheed Electronics Co. as a research center

and more recently by the Ingersoll Rand Co. for a similar purpose. The Peapack-Gladstone

Bank has established a branch nearby. 96

Kline's grist and saw mi II on the North Branch replaced McDaniel's sawmill erected in 1744. Kline's store and residence nearby on map of the 1860' s. 97

Col. William McDonald's mill on the ravine of- Chambers Brook was erected before

17 49. Here grist was ground until after the Revolution. A story is cold chat on one of their raids the British stopped at the mill and chat the Colonel saved it by serving food and broaching a keg of apple brandy. Another version is that McDonald was a former

British officer and that the raiders paid him a friendly vi sit, hence the food and brandy.

Bryan Lafferty settled in Pluckemin in 1756, and built his house close to Chambers

Brook, on the other side of the road and brook from McDonald's mill. About 1800 John

Davenport, a native of England came from Connecticut and purchased the Lafferty property. He lived in the house and built an extensive tannery where he used sumach and prepared it for morocco manufacturers. He later acquired the McDonald property and rebuilt the dam, a high earth and log affair, which flooded about two acres of the adjoining property to the east.

By a deed recorded in 1817 he acquired title to the land so flooded (the Echo Lake property) for $80.00. The description runs from a locust tree co a large rock, to a heap of

scones, to a sapling and so around for 13 courses. Mr. Davenport died in 1830, but the old

house was not torn down until 1879. The well, with its long sweep and the lilac and rose

bushes, were still in evidence in recent times.

From the business directory of Pluckemin in the 1860' s we find that there were

wheel wrights, carriage painters, a cabinet maker and sash and blind manufacturer, three

blacksmiths, and a cooper.

About 1895 James Brown, Jr., acquired the Echo Lake property and proceeded to

erect a two-story factory building, 200 by 90 feet, for the Somerville Woolen Mills, in which

he was much interested. The build'Ing was placed along the stream below the dam, so that

maximum advantage of the water power could be taken. There also were a number of factory

sheds and out-buildings. Three employee cottages were erected in 1898. It is not known

what change, if any, occurred in the business or the product, but in 1905 Mr. Brown transferred

title to the Somerville Mfg. Co. a corporation which functioned until 1910. 98

Somerset Woolen Mills 1898

Superior Thread & Yarn Co. 1911

Views from the Bedminster side of industries across Chambers Brook where McDonald's Mill stood before 1749 99

The Superior Thread and Yarn Co. purchased the entire property in 1911. Part of the deal at the time was an agreement to continue supplying water from Echo Lake to the Kenilworth Inn. The new owners had an engineer draw plans for a concrete dam, which was built in front of the old earth dam. Several water basins and filter beds were laid out. This business was in operation, with varying success, until 1921 when the plant was closed and remained idle for about three years.

In 1924 the property was purchased by the Somerset Aniline Works, a manufacturer

of coaltar dyes, which it distributed to dyers of piece goods. The plant was renovated,

a new boiler was installed and the dam was butressed. Business began in January, ., 1925, and prospered. The nature of the soil, however, was such that the waste water

could not be absorbed and much of the dye residue escaped into the stream. Settling

tanks were built and other efforts made, none of which solved the problem satisfactorily.

In 1931, at the request of the Fish and Game Division, the operation was discontinued

entirely.

These three. successive industries gave employment opportunities in varying

degree co the villagers of Pluckemin without disturbing the serenity of the village

itself. In 1937 the factory buildings were removed and the machinery sold. ·The

foundations were covered with fill excavated from the lake.

Industry is not permitted in Bedminster under the present Zoning Ordinance. In

the aggregate, chose acti vicies which were connected with horse transportation were

the equivalent of the four or five service garages and gas stations of today. There

are now also two automobile sales agencies in the Township.

\., 100

Office building in Bedminster Village occupied as a research center with bank and telephone bui Idings nearby 101

ROADS

Indian trails were the first roads hereabouts, as elsewhere in the U.S. These were widened into roads for wagons by the early settlers. The crossing of the North Branch was at first a ford which, at high water, it was necessary to avoid by traveling along a lane around the bend in the river.

The need for ways to church, blacksmith, mill and market brought about an increase of the number of roads and the improvement of the existing ones. Plank and corduroy roads began to appear in the late 1700' s but Bedminster' s roads remained mostly dirt and gravel.

The important early ro~ds such as the "Great Road" and the "High Road" which connected Bedminster with places outside, were laid out by the State or County. The

Peapack Road, which entered the future Township at the cr~ssing of Chambers Brook and continued along its eastern side to Peapack, became the main north-south artery. The main east-west artery, laid out in 1745, entered at the bridge over the North Branch and then crossed the P.eapack Road at Lesser Crossroads and continued westward along the north line of Major Daniel Axtell's large tract to Larger Crossroads and thence to

Lamington and New Germantown (Oldwick). There are early records also of the east-w_est roads which are now known as the River Road and the Burnt Mills Road.

Little improvement in road building came until the time of John L. MacAdam in the early 1800' s, who invented the broken stone and gravel road, named after him. ·At that time, travel was by individual conveyance but, by the latter part of the century, a

stage coach was operated from Somerville to Peapack. It carried passengers, parcels

and mail. Ac first it was run by John Stephens, later by Charles Wikoff. George R.

Layton was the first to operate a motor bus to and from Somerville. In the 1920' s and

1930' s a bus l_ine from Morristown to Somerville passed .. through the Township oo a

regular schedule, but its patronage declined as ownership of individual cars increased

and travel reverted to individual conveyances. 102

Wikoff stage at last stop in Bedminster on the way to Somervi lie. 103

le remained for the automobile co give impetus to the cause of good roads. The most used roads through the Township were paved with concrete in the early 1920' s and became known as Stace Highways 31 and 32. Now they are known as U.S. Highways

202 and 206.

Route 202 was formed by linking together a number of roads which pass close co places of historic interest from Maine to Delaware-such as the site of the Charter Oak in Connecticut, Stony Point in New York, Valley Forge in Pennsylvania-and in New

Jersey, Washington's Headquarters in Morristown, Jockey Hollow, the Wallace House in .,,Somerville, the campground at Middlebrook, Washington's Crossings and Bedminster and Pluckemin with their historic cemeteries, the Knox house and the site of the

Artillery Park.

lt is unfortunate that the section between Morristown and Somerville became the most heavily traveled part of U.S. 202 in New Jersey. A number of buildings in Pluckemin were neglected as their owners sought other fields. Its Main Street was not intended for the increased traffic. Soon after the end of World War II, a gro~p of citizens began the renovation of buildings which had deteriorated most. From 1945 to 1950, six structures were removed from the State right-of-way on the west side of the street. Also during this perio~ a number of village properties were acquired by new owners and improved

by them. These changes increased visibility for traffic and allowed the village to regain

much of its original appearance.

One of the new superhighways, Route 287, was planned to parallel this section

and thus relieve it of the heavy through traffic. However another superhighway, Route

78, running east and west, crosses !.,,Route 287 at Pluckemin and the intersection, which

is entirely within Bedminster Township, is understood to be the largest in New Jersey.

There has been great interest in maintaining the village and it is hoped that having this

giant complex of roads will not detract from the historical significance of Pluckemin. 104

Reconstruction of the main road in the Township in the late 1890's, Charles H. Wikoff, Supervisor. 105

RAILROADS

In the 1880' s the Rockaway Valley Railroad was constructed across the northern part of the Township. It was mostly a freight line with stations at Gladstone and

Pottersville. It had only four engines and was not profitable. All service was discontinued in 1915.

Another railroad, the New Jersey West Line was projected to run from Millington through the south tip of the Township from Pluckemin to the Lamington River, headed for points west, but this did not materialize. The West Line was reorganized as the

Passaic and Delaware R.R. in 1882 and in the early 1890' s it was extended to Peapack and Gladstone, which were then still part of Bedminster Township.

By the mid 1890' s the schedule provided for eight trains daily. There were one morning and two evening express trains which made the trip between Hoboken and

Gladstone in an hour and a quarter but local trains, then known as '' accomodations'', took an hour and a half or more. Because of the many greenhouses at Murray Hill, all ----·· express trains stopped there as well as at Bernardsville and Summit.

The tim~ required for the ferry trip to Hoboken varied with the elements-wind,

' tide, fog, ice floes, etc. The old sidewheel ferry boats on the Barclay Street line were replaced by new boats with twin screw propellers about 1900. ·

The running time was reduced when the trains were electrified in 1931. The 40 mile ride to Hoboken is among the most pleasant in the Metropolitan area. A club car is attached to the principal eastbound and westbound daily express trains.

The station at Far Hills is the,., center for Bedminster' s rail travelers. The sign

at the station reads «Far Hills - Bedminster". 106

Giant complex of roads in Bedminster, looking East at the Pluckemin interchange. Route 78 (East-West) and Route 287 (North-South). 107

AIRPORT

In the mid 1940' s an airport was developed on a large flat area along the North

Branch at the south end of the Township. The airport's government rating is Class 2 and it has the necessary buildings including hangars for the storage of private planes. ' There is no ·regular schedule but local trips and flying instructi9ns are undertaken. Its operations have been quiet and it has added to the prestige of the Township rather than otherwise.

POST-OFFICES

There were only three post-offices in New Jersey in 1752. One of these was at

Perth Amboy, a trip to which on horseback from Bedminster is described in the "Story of an Old Farm''. Later New Brunswick and still lacer Raritan served the local citizens.

Mail service improved as roads became better. The first post-office in the Township was at Pluckemin. Matthew Lane was the first Postmaster. He was succeeded by

Jacob Losey who held the position for ·about 45 years.

Later, post-offices were also established at the other villages. John Skillman was the first Postmaster at Lamington, Jacob Van Doren at Lesser Crossroads, William

A. Van Doren at Peapack and Sering Potter at Portersville. The last named served for nearly 50 years, as did one of his successors, George C. Lindabery. The post-office at Lamington was closed in 1907. ·

There are now three post-offices within the limits of the Township-at Pluckemin,

at Portersville, and that at Bedminster,..,. Village, designated simply as Bedminster. A few sections of the Township are served by R. D. routes but many residents of the estate country patronize the post-office at Far Hills which is convenient to the railroad station. cc Far Hills, New Jersey" has become an address of distinction. . 108

:··:-~'.)r·-·:: .

. ,•' .· :·

Engine and combination car of the Rockaway Valley R. R. (the Rock-a-bye Baby) Pottersvi lie 1895 109

WATER SUPPLY & DISPOSAL

The growth of the Township, s population, although modest, has been due mostly to the spreading out of the villages. This has brought the problem of water supply and disposal. In Bedminster Village and Pottersville the supply problem was solved some years ago. Water mains were laid and fire hydrants installed. Land on the North Branch for a treatment plant for Bedminster Village and a right of way to the site were acquired.

'At Pluckemin the water supply from local wells seems adequate for family needs but there is no provision for fire protection. As there al ways is the danger of pollution of wells, a sewer system is most urgent.

·A report by engineering consultants on these matters and the prospective cost is now under consideration by the Township Committee.

MASTER PLAN·

. · The old highways never seemed to divide the Township but the new non-access superhighways all but cut off three different sections. The largest of these sections . contains about 3000 acres at the southern end where the airport is located. The next largest section includes the village of Pluckemin and its immediate surroundings. It contains about 1000 acres. The smallest section is also cut off from the other two. It contains about 50 acres. There are no buildings on it, but the Bridgewater sewer has been constructed through it lengthwise and a holding tank has been installed. The sewer easement must be taken into consideration in any plans for this doubly isolated section,

which may for all practical purpos~s be considered as part of Bridgewater.

As there will be several points of easy access from the new superhighways to the present Township roads, it is feared chat pressure may arise for changes in zoning, which

would result in an increase in local traffic. To control such a situation in an orderly way,

a Master Plan for the future development of the Township as a whole is now in preparation. 110

Somerset Airport at the southern end of Bedminster 111

CLOSING

The writing of this booklet was occasioned by the Tercentenary of New Jersey but it is intended primarily as a history of the Township of Bedminster.

It has been compiled from numerous history books, booklets, newspaper articles,.. clippings, letters and other sources believed to be reliable and from the background gained by the writer during his family's residence at Pluckemin for 40 years, for 16 years of which he served, mostly concurrently, as a local Church Trustee and as a member of the Township School and Zoning Boards.

The work is an attempt to narrate the events from early times to the present day in each of a number of categories and to include some interesting sidelights. For the more human side, such as the joys and sorrows and the every day affairs of the early

settlers, the writer recommends the nstory of an Old Farm" by Andrew D. Mellick, Jr. or its second publication by the Rutgers University Press under the title of "Lesser

Crossroads" in which life in Bedminster in the early days is so interestingly set forth.

1664 1964

Illustrations are from the collections of old pictures of a number of local residents,

including that of the writer, supplemented by current photos by Carmine. 112

THE TOWNSHIP OF BEDMINSTER 1964

Township Committee

John Kean, Jr., Mayor

Abram W. Ten Eyck

Albert E. Winkler

Frank P. Robertson, Clerk

Assessor and Secretary of Board of Heal th Earl Smith

Collector Vernon Hoffman

Treasurer Mrs. _Abram W. Ten Eyck

Engineer Leslie M. Apgar

Overseer of the Poor R. Downing Owens

Counsel Edward D. Bowlby

Magistrate Raymond J. Woolman

Chief of Police Vincent E. Kavanaugh

Building Inspector Joseph A. Kouflie

Supervisor of Roads Arthur S. Pickel

Board of Adjustment Raymond Schapley, Chairman

Planning Board DeCoursey Fales, Chairman

Civil Defense Samuel Freeman, Director