Search the site...

STREET TO THE LEFT
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • New Jersey
    • Radium Park
    • Meadowlands Cedar Forest
    • Hackensacks Main Street
    • Passaic >
      • Passaic's East Side Lower Dundee
      • Botany Worsted Mill
    • NEWARK >
      • Murphy Varnish
      • The Newark Castle
      • Morris Canal Route of Newark
      • Mount Pleasant Cemetery
      • Weequahic
    • JERSEY CITY >
      • FICKENS WAREHOUSE
      • MERCER STREET VIADUCT
      • The Island
      • Green Stamps, Jersey City
      • Durham-Duplex
      • COLES STREET BATHHOUSE
      • Parodi Cigars
      • St. Peters
  • PENNSYLVANIA
  • New York
    • Sloatsburg
  • Parks, Green Spaces , Water
  • Other Great Sites
  • Contact
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • New Jersey
    • Radium Park
    • Meadowlands Cedar Forest
    • Hackensacks Main Street
    • Passaic >
      • Passaic's East Side Lower Dundee
      • Botany Worsted Mill
    • NEWARK >
      • Murphy Varnish
      • The Newark Castle
      • Morris Canal Route of Newark
      • Mount Pleasant Cemetery
      • Weequahic
    • JERSEY CITY >
      • FICKENS WAREHOUSE
      • MERCER STREET VIADUCT
      • The Island
      • Green Stamps, Jersey City
      • Durham-Duplex
      • COLES STREET BATHHOUSE
      • Parodi Cigars
      • St. Peters
  • PENNSYLVANIA
  • New York
    • Sloatsburg
  • Parks, Green Spaces , Water
  • Other Great Sites
  • Contact

Bergen Machine & Tool Co. Of Hackettstown

2/24/2017

0 Comments

 
On  Main Street between Stiger and Bergen in Hackettstown now stands a CVS; the result of a long debate of what would become of the old Bergen Machine & Tool Co. which stood before it. 
Picture
​The story of the factory on Main begins with a company called American Sawmill Machinery which was founded in 1903.  In their heyday they were the largest makers of circular sawmills in the country. The company is often confused with being an actual saw mill when in fact ​they manufactured sawmills for lumber businesses.
Picture
“During the 1950s the company used another name, American Woodworking Machinery Co., for marketing, presumably to de-emphasize their sawmill roots. This name should not be confused with the earlier, and larger,  American Wood Working Machinery Co. The former name is associated with Hackettstown, NJ, and was used in the 1950s and possibly the early 1960s. The latter name is associated with Rochester, NY and Williamsport, PA (among others), and was active between 1897 and 1925.”
​http://vintagemachinery.org
Picture
An example of a machine made by them can be found here. 
Picture
HACKETTSTOWN, NEW JERSEY, JULY 9, 1943
Picture
Picture
In 1955, a new player was in town, the Bergen Machine & Tool factory. They moved the manufacturing part of their company to Hackettstown on the old Sawmill site and kept the sales office and warehouse on Franklin Avenue in Nutley. 
Picture
Bergen Machine and Tool years before demolition.
Picture
Picture
The company left New Jersey for Mountain Top, Pa., in 2003 and the building sat vacant. 
Picture
​In 2011, a broken water line that soaked and weakened support beams led to a portion of Bergen Tool building collapsing.  After that the building began to suffer from vandalism and neglect. 
Picture
In June of  2011 a new owner bought the building for $1.1 million who proposed demolition as the dilapidated building was beyond rehabilitation.


Residents fought against demolition of the front building stating historical significance, but eventually the brick building came down. 
Picture
Further Reading
Logging and lumbering; or, Forest utilization;.
History of the lumber industry of America
The Sawmill Museum​
0 Comments

Brainards, New Jersey

10/31/2016

2 Comments

 
​At the far western side of New Jersey is the small community of Brainards, which was once known as Martin's Creek. Martin's Creek takes its name from the stream that empties out just across the Delaware on the Pennsylvania side, that area is also known as Martin's Creek. In New Jersey the railway station was also called Martin's Creek. Martin's Creek was the junction point of the Pennsylvania railroad.
Brainards New Jersey
​The name Brainards is taken from David and John Brainerd, who had their cabin across the river. The Brainerds  were a missionary to the Lene lenape that occupied the area in the 1790s. The area has since changed to Brainards instead of Brainerds. Named after missionaries, one would expect to at least find one church in town, this is not the case in Brainards. 
Picture
“David Brainerd was born at Haddam, Connecticut, in 1718. He was educated at Yale, licensed to preach in 1742, and was appointed missionary to the Indians within the Forks of the Delaware by the "Society for Propagating Christian Knowledge." He began his mis- sionary labors among the Indians in the Forks of the Delaware early in the summer of 1744. On the 13th of May, 1744, he came to Sakhauwotung (Martin's Creek) within the forks, and was respectfully re- ceived by the Indian king, who permitted him to preach most of the summer at his house.”
Picture
​Warren County, at one time, had large cement mills in active operation which helped in growing the towns up around them. The mills of the Alpha Cement Company helped to make the small town of Brainards grow by building company housing to attract the many Slavic immigrants arriving to become workers. The workers would then walk to work on the railroad bridge which crossed the Delaware River to Martin's Creek. Before this time the area had been mostly vacant and nothing which resembled a town or village. 
Picture
Broad Street is Brainard's main thoroughfare. It is lined with former company housing. Alpha would rent the homes to the workers for 9 dollars a month. For single men there were the boarding houses which were run by widows of factory workers who had died. By the time the 1960s rolled around, the cement companies decided operating elsewhere would be more cost effective. They sold the company housing to those who wished to stay for $900 a home or $1200 for a home with plumbing. Company housing is usually recognized when viewing the landscape as a whole in the little variation from house to house and simple architectural styling. I noticed this when i first visited Brainards, before i knew it had been a company town. Some of the Alpha company’s houses are on property formerly a part of the lot of George Depue who lived in a stone house one-eighth of a mile south of the station from 1850 until his death in 1897.
Brainards New Jersey
Brainards New Jersey
Picture
​The Bangor & Portland Railway delivered slate from quarries in northern Northampton County, Pennsylvania, to the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad junction at Portland. In 1885, a branch line was built to connect with the Pennsylvania Railroad at Brainards, New Jersey which at that time was called Martin's creek as well. The name was eventually changed to distinguish it from the Martin's Creek located across the water. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
The town also would have its dark times....
​On April 29, 1911, disaster struck the the area of Martins Creek when a Utica teacher's excursion train carrying 169 Up-State school teachers and friends were on the way to Washington, New Jersey. The train was hurled down a forty-foot embankment at Martin's Creek,  where it crashed and caught fire killing 12 people and injuring 101 others 
Picture
​On March 26, 1942 an explosion at the Lehigh Portland Cement Co. in Easton took 31 lives, many had been residents of Brainards. The cement company gave deceased workers' widows only $11 per month for about six years as compensation for the loss of their husbands.
Picture
​In 1945, it was the scene of a shooting after a fugitive escaped custody after being apprehended for the brutal slaying of his wife. Ernest Rittenhouse, 30, war plant worker had been a resident of the area and escaped back to his hometown to hideout after he murdered his wife with an ax and disappeared. The officers caught up to him and he somehow managed to wrestle the gun from the officers and shoot them both dead and jumped into the Martin's Creek to escape. 
Brainards New Jersey Murder
Now that the industry of the area is gone the town of Brainards is awaiting its next step, which is the development of its vacant parcels that line the Delaware River to spark life back into the once prosperous area. 
Links :
​David Brainerd
Martins Creek 
2 Comments

Buttzville

9/8/2016

0 Comments

 
Along the Pequest River and U.S. Route 46 in White Township within Warren County, New Jersey is Buttzville which is frequently listed on lists of odd and unusual place names. 
Picture
​Buttzville was not known as Buttzville until 1839, when Micheal Robert Buttz purchased the land from a miller who had used the property for a gristmill in its past. He soon opened a hotel and his descendants lived and worked in the town. Michael Robert Buttz named this little settlement Buttzville and that is still the name today.
Picture
1874
Picture
​Before Michael Buttz had come to Buttzville, he had a teaching gig near his former residence along the Delaware River before buying property in New Market and opening a saw mill, hotel and apple and rye distillery. He was also a justice of the peace and in the army. He sold it all in 1831 to George and John Troxall. He then took his chances in Politics and was elected on the Democratic ticket but finally gave up due to financial reasons. He next took his chances in Easton but again grew restless and made his final move to the Pequest River where he opened a grist mill, plaster mill and a general store. 
Picture
​By 1854, he sold the mill property to Elisha Kirkhuff. It, then, later passed hands to Linaberry and Anderson and then to Thomas Craig. 
Picture
Buttzville United Methodist Church
Buttzville United Methodist Church in Belvidere just commemorated 175 Years last year
​He would die there at the age of 72 and was buried in the M.E. cemetery. 
Picture
Picture
​Thomas A. Edison once had a manufacturing plant and quarry in the area. Edison would often stop at Craig's Store in Buttzville.  He and Tom Craig(also owned a store in addition the mill) became good friends. The original homes which were built in the last century are located off a street called Mill Street.
Picture
Location of Mill Street
Picture
​No members of the Buttz family live here today, although the name remains and many people still pass through and remark on the odd naming of the town. 
0 Comments

Johnsonburg,  New Jersey

9/8/2016

2 Comments

 
​One of northwestern New Jersey's oldest communities, is Johnsonburg once known as  "Log Gaol" , which means log jail due to it being the location of jail which was erected in 1753. It was once the seat of newly formed Sussex County in the 1750s before joining Warren County. The log jail was the first county building erected for Sussex.County. The town was renamed Johnsonburg after a store owner who had been of the Johnson family. 
Picture
​I found myself driving out to Warren County in New Jersey once again to see the small town which still retains its original general stores, mill and hotel. At one time  in the 19th century, it was a place of importance, a place where horse-drawn carriages moved up and down the streets and  the tavern became was an  important meeting place where court meetings and elections would be held.
Picture
Originally a stagecoach stop in which an east-west route carried mail from Dover, New Jersey to Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, and a north-south route which carried mail from Albany, New York to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the routes crossed through here and the town grew.
Picture
But the 19th century saw a new era, the age of canals and trains, which didn't make its way through Johnsonburg. The result was a town which grew little and remained stuck in the past. Many of the buildings were built in the 1800’s.
Picture
Map depicting Hardens Store in 1874
Upon entering the town I am greeted by the Hardin's Store, which dates to 1871 when is was built by Samuel Hardin, who had ownership of the mill at the time. 
Picture
Hardin's Store
The wheelwright shop still stands on Allamuchy Road. 
Picture
At the end of the road is the Johnsonburg Hotel with a store on its left.  I had a nice talk with the man who currently owns the hotel and hes been in the process of renovating it for quite some time.
Picture
Next to the hotel is the Old Stone Episcopal Church. 
Picture
Old Stone Episcopal Church
Drake & Mackey store is pictured below, which was built in 1860. 
Picture
Drake & Mackey store
Frelinghuysen Township Hall  which is housed in the former Presbyterian Chapel. 
Picture
Former Presbyterian Chapel
On the western edge of town is an old barn. 
Picture
Old Barn
Below is the Armstrong-Blair house.  The home first was owned by William Armstrong and then was was acquired in the 1840s by James Blair.  William Armstrong was a principal landowner at the time in the area and had control over the gristmill, tavern and a store.  Blair is responsible for the Greek Revival remodeling of the home. The wagon house of the property sits on the site of the old jail. 
Picture
Armstrong-Blair house
​William Armstrong was known as the village's pioneer merchant.
Picture
On Route 661 , I come to the mill which has been a focal point in the town since the 18th century.  It ceased operation in 1937. The large mill pond to the north was created by damming Bear Creek and connected to the mill by a short head race while an underground tail race returns water to the creek.
Picture
Mill
At the end of the town on the western side of Route 661 are the ruins of the Van Horn Farm which sits upon the site of the Petite tavern which was operated by Jonathan Pettit as early as 1753. This was definitely a surprising find after reading a 1874 map of the area. The site was destroyed by a fire. 
Picture
Picture
Picture
Covered by overgrowth, ruins of the Farm
Picture
On Allamuchy Road is the small ​Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery which was established in the mid 19th century, and contains a variety of 19th and early 20th-century grave stones. 
Picture
Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery
Picture
Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery
Picture
Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery
Picture
Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery
Picture
Johnsonburg Christian Church Cemetery
Johnsonburg today is a quiet residential neighborhood. 
2 Comments

    ABOUT THE AUTHOR

    Laura Gonzalez is a photographer, blogger and historian currently residing in Newark, New Jersey. 

    Archives

    April 2021
    April 2020
    March 2018
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016

    Categories

    All
    Abandoned
    Amusement Park
    Annadale
    Barrytown
    Bayonne
    Bay Street
    Bergen County
    Bloomfield
    Brewery
    Brickyards
    Bridge
    "Burlington County"
    Burlington County
    Canal
    Carlstadt
    Cement
    Cemetery
    Conrail
    Delaware River
    Delaware Water Gap
    Drawbridge
    Dundee Canal
    Dunellen
    Erie Railroad
    Essex County
    Estates
    Factory
    Gilded
    "gold Coast"
    Hackensack
    Hackettstown
    Historic Houses
    Hospital
    Hudson County
    Hunterdon County
    Industrial
    Inventions
    Iron Works
    Italianate
    Johnsonburg
    Kingsland
    Landfills
    "long Island"
    Lyndhurst
    Meadowlands
    Menlo Park
    Middlesex County
    Mill
    Milltown
    "Mount Holly"
    Mount Holly
    "nature Preserve"
    Newark
    Newburgh
    New Jersey
    New York
    Nutley
    Ohio
    Orange
    Orange-county-new-york
    Orange-county-new-york
    Palisades
    Passaic
    Passaic-county
    Paterson
    Pennsylvania
    Perth-amboy
    Philadelphia
    Plainfield
    Plank-road
    Quaker
    Rails
    Ramapo
    Rockland County
    Seaman's Retreat
    Secaucus
    Silk Mills
    Small Town
    Somerset County
    South Jersey
    SS Oregon
    Staten Island
    Strange
    Sussex County
    Swampland
    Thomas Edison
    Union City
    Union County
    Victorian Houses
    Walks
    Warren County
    Waterfront
    Weehawken
    Wheelwright
    Woolen Mill
    Zabriskie
    Zanesville

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.