History of Woodbridge Township

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Adapted from

Leon McElroy's Materials

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WOODBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

1955

THIS BOOK IS THE PROPERTY OF

The Town of .(l^^fectJLu

Book No.

THE PUPIL to whom this book is loaned will

be held responsible for its careful use, and its

return in good condition.
IT MUST NOT be defaced, and, if injured or

lost, must be paid for by the pupil
PERMISSIONmust be obtained from the teacher

before taking it from the school-room.

Hammett Company, Publishers

Jr/t trod act io n

This History of Woodbridge Township, prepared by some of the
personnel of the educational staff of Woodbridge High School, will be
a most valuable addition to the course of study offerings in the social
science curriculum.

Grateful acknowledgment is made to those whose names appear
in the Foreword who were responsible for the preparation of this history.

May returns in a greater civic pride and a deeper respect for the
traditions of the Township of Woodbridge bring each person who
contributed to this history a partial reward for his contribution.

VICTOR C. NICKLAS
Superintendent of Schools

Woodbridge, New Jersey
August 15, 1955

^sroreword

This History of Woodbridge Township is condensed from the
writings of Mr. Leon E. McElroy, who considerately permitted this adap-
tation from his "Woodbridge in the 19th Century," for use with the
social science classes at Woodbridge High School.

We are very appreciative of this generous demonstration of civic-
mindedness on the part of Mr. McElroy, who has allowed us to quote
verbatim from his manuscript.

Grateful acknowledgment is made also to Miss Alida van Slyke,
head of the English Department, who read the abstraction and made
valuable suggestions concerning the nature and contents of the
material, and to Mr. James Brown of the Social Science Department,
who adapted the manuscript for classroom purposes.

JOHN P. LOZO, Principal

MARTHA J. MORROW, Head
Social Science Department

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The Township of Woodbridge is the oldest original Township in
the State of New Jersey. It was settled in the early autumn of 1665 and
was granted a charter by King Charles of England on June 1, 1669.
The charter, after describing the boundaries of the settlement, provided
that the "township called by the name of Woodbridge shall consist of
at least 60 families and as many more as they shall think fiO "that
the freeholders or a majority of them have^pOwer to choose their own
magistrates and justices of the peace and their military officers." The
freeholders were also given power "by the plurality of voices to choose
their own ministers" and being so chosen all persons should contribute
toward their maintenance, in addition to which two hundred acres of
upland and meadow were allocated for the use of a minister. Provi-
sions were also made for one hundred acres more for the maintenance
of a free school. All lands so chartered were exempt from taxes. The
charter further provided that "notwithstanding it shall and may be
lawful for any one of the said freeholders and inhabitants aforesaid
that are of a judgment in matter of religions to maintain any other
minister at their own cost and charges without being molested or dis-
turbed for the same." ''The township was also given power to erect and
ordain its own courts for the trial of civil and criminal matters; no
person was to be deprived of his right to a trial by jury. >

In matters of religion and the worship of God, the charter pro-
vided 'there is liberty of conscience granted to all persons as well as
to the freeholders and to all others that are or shall be admitted inhabi-
tants within the said corporation or township they taking or subscribing
to the oath of allegiance to the king, and fidelity to the lords proprietors."
The charter provides for an allowance of free trade with restrictions
against the imposition of a customs tax unless levied by the Governor,
Council, and General Assembly* that in case of invasion or insurrection
the inhabitants will join with other towns in the province for the defense -
and safety of the same; that the inhabitants will elect two deputies to
the General Assembly for the making of laws? that in case any one of
the inhabitants has a desire to remove and transplant himself to any
other place, he has liberty so to do and to dispose of his estates and
land to his best advantage. This then was one of the earliest bills of
rights granted in the Province of New Jersey which one of New Jersey's
historians rightfully refers to as "one of the most liberal ever given in
America."

The original boundaries of Woodbridge comprised the communi-
ties we now know as Carteret, Rahway, New Dover, Oak Tree, Bonham-
town, Metuchen, Milton, Avenel, Colonia, Iselin, Menlo Park, Fords,
Hopelawn, Keasbey, Sewaren, Port Reading, the eastern part of Rari-
tan Township, and Woodbridge proper.

— 3 —

In the-main, ithe original settlers came from England by way of
Massachusetts and Long Island. In the closing months of the summer
of 1665, Philip Carteret, having been appointed Governor of New Jersey,
settled at Elizabethtown, which he made the seat of his government.
He dispatched agents into New England for the purpose of inviting im-
migrants to settle in the province. Many accepted the invitation, and
several persons came from Newbury, Mass., to settle in Woodbridge.
Of these immigrants from Newbury, some returned while others re-
mained and became distinguished both in civil and military life.
Among those who remained were Captain John Pike, the ancestor of
General Zebulon M. Pike, who was killed in Canada in 1812; Thomas
Bloomfield, the ancestor of Joseph Bloomfield, for twelve years the
Governor of New Jersey; John Bishop, Sr.; John Bishop, Jr.; Jonathan
Haynes, Henry Jaques, Stephen Kent, Abraham Tappan, Elisha Ilsley
(Inslee), Samuel Morre, John Ilsley (Inslee), and others.

Dally in his history of Woodbridge records that it was so called in
honor of Rev. John Woodbridge of Newbury, Mass,. This reference,
which is probably in error, was accepted by Dally from the his-
torian of Newbury. The Rev. Woodbridge is never recorded as having
been in New Jersey and is known to have spent much time in England.
The emigrants to Woodbridge were Puritans who were naturally strict
adherents of the customs in force in the New England Colony of Massa-
chusetts, where the General Court at an early date disposed of the
matter of naming towns by ordering the naming of English towns in
New England. Most often the settlers requested permission to use
the name of a place where some of them had lived in England.

Many of th early settlers of Woodbridge came from Suffolk County,
England, about 68 miles northeast of London and in the vicinity of
Ipswich. Located about eight miles from Ipswich is the market town
of Woodbridge in the parliamentary division of Suffolk, England.
History records that Thomas Bloomfield came from Woodbridge, Eng-
land, to Woodbridge, New Jersey, by way of Newbury, Mass. He
acquired in 1665 from the Lords Proprietors a large tract of land.
Tradition has it that Thomas Bloomfield sailed up Papiack Creek with
his family and debarked at a point located between the road to
Sewaren and the road to Port Reading. He is known to have possessed
a nine acre meadow on the west side of the creek near the upland
called Bloomfield's Landing.

-Thus it can be accepted that because of the Puritan tradition as
exemplified by the Massachusetts General Court, Woodbridge derived
its name from its English namesake.

The story of Woodbridge in the 19th century can well parallel
the advancement made in the progress of our infant nation; «xot that
it was by virtue of such advancement destined to greatness, but that
it kept pace with the times even though the contributions of its citizens
were meager. From its very beginning in 1665, its residents rallied
to the call of constituted authority to repel the invasions of any infrac-
tions of the liberties of its people or the country; 'so we find Woodbridge

always represented in the armed forces from the time of the "unde-
clared war" on France at Tripoli to the present day.

SLAVERY

Slavery probably existed in Woodbridge Township shortly after
its settlement. The early records reveal that land was allotted to
fifty-seven of the original settlers in acreage ranging from 15 acres to
512 acres a person. Most of this land was devoted to farming pursuits
reguiring help in the fields, even in those days referred to as planta-
tions. In addition, domestic help in the homes was needed.

There is to be found in the "Concessions and Agreement" of the
Land Proprietors, Berkley and Carteret, 1664, a mention of slaves as
a basis for the allotment of land to their owners; Woodbridge came
under that agreement. There were also to be found redemptioners
of many classes and kinds who were sold on arrival by ship at Perth
Amboy and whose purchase price was used to pay their passages.
Until they had worked out their passage money redemptioners served
as slaves under the Proprietors. By 1738 the number of slaves in New
Jersey was 3,981.

During the last guarter of the 18th century the agitation for the
abolition of slavery took root in New Jersey. As early as 1696 the
Quakers recommended that their members cease from further importa-
tion of slaves.

What may be said to be the first anti-slavery meeting ever held
in the United States was held in Woodbridge on the 4th of July, 1783,
seven years after the Declaration of Independence and six years be-
fore George Washington was inaugurated as President of the United
States. This meeting was held on the farm of Moses Bloomfield, a
surgeon in the Continental Army, located north of Freeman Street
where Barron Avenue runs through Prospect. Great preparations were
made for the event which had been freely advertsed in the neighbor-
ing communities. An ox was roasted whole, and a vast crowd as-
sembled to listen to the orator of the day, Dr. Bloomfield. At the
appointed time, Dr. Bloomfield mounted the platform, followed by his
slaves, fourteen in number, who took their places on each side of him,
while he addressed the multitude on the evil of slavery. At the close
of the speech, Dr. Bloomfield turned to his slaves, stating that, inas-
much as we as a nation had declared that all men had a right to
freedom, he could not consistently undo the principles of the Declaration
of Independence by holding slaves. He ended his speech with the
announcement, "From this day they are free." Tradition has it that
each of the slaves freed that day continued to labor for the venerable
doctor but for adeguate compensation.

New Jersey, in 1818, had attempted by legislation to curb the traffic
in slaves, but despite this law the "underground railroad" had opened
in New Jersey without fanfare. It was not until the passage of the
Federal "Fugitive Slave Law" of 1850, which brought slavery to the
front as an important issue, that the "underground" was seriously

— 5 —

considered. This law provided that United States Commissioners could
surrender a colored man or woman to anyone who claimed the negro
as a slave; that the negro could not give testimony; "commanded"
citizens to aid the slave hunters somewhat as a sheriff's posse would
search for an escaped murderer; and sought to destroy the under-
ground railroad by prescribing a fine and punishment for those who
harbored runaway slaves or prevented their recapture. Philadelphia
seemed to be the center for escaping negroes. At this point converged
a number of routes leading to Quaker farm houses along the Maryland
border. From there, across the Delaware River into New Jersey, the
slaves were sent under the care of trusted agents, whose most active
supporters were Quakers. Once across the river, the slave was sent
on his journey at night, generally to Canada, resting by day in barns,
cellars, and in the woods. When the sun went down, the slave emerged
and started across New Jersey by different marked routes. The prin-
cipal route, known as "Number 1", passed through Woodbridge
Township.

When the New Jersey Constitution of 1844 was adopted, it was
throught that slavery had at last been abolished; but the State Courts
had ruled that the relationship of master and slave existed by law
when the Constitution of 1844 was adopted and that the Constitution
did not destroy that relationship; neither did it abolish slavery nor did
it affect the laws in relation thereto existing at the time of its adoption.
The immediate effect of this decision led to the enactment of a law
approved April 6, 1846, declaring slavery as such was abolished, but
the old slaves were held to service.

IMMIGRATION

When Perth Amboy was settled, it was the hope of the proprietors
that it would be developed as the principal seaport or port of entry in
the colonies. It made a proud bid with New York for the honor. In
the early days of settlement it teemed with shipping activity. Strange
as it may seem to the observer of today, the Port of Perth Amboy wel-
comed thousands of immigrants from Scotland, Ulster, England, and
Germany during the period from 1682 until immediately before the
War of 1812, numbered among whom were many "redemptioners."
These persons, having no money with which to pay their passage and
anxious to reach America, sold their services for a term of years. In
New Jersey, redemptioners, when their term of service was out, were
usually given 50 acres of land to cultivate in their own right and, there-
after, became free citizens.

Many of the immigrants who arrived in 1837, settled in this
vicinity. It was during the period in 1854 that the Irish and German
element settled in Perth Amboy, Woodbridge Township, and Rahway.
These hardy people contributed much to the advancement of their
communities. The majority of those settling in this vicinity were em-
ployed in the clay mines and in the brick factories of Woodbridge
Township.

Immigration to this country was periodic and in spurts. Probably
the last great exodus from the British Isles to the United States was in
1873. In this year many more immigrants chose the Township for
their residence.

It was not until 1896, however, that the other countries of Europe,
especially those of Poland, Austria-Hungary, and Italy began to ar-
rive on our shores in large numbers. Many Hungarians settled in
the Township of Woodbridge during this period finding employment
in the extensive clay mines and the many brick factories. A great
number of these Hungarian immigrants had served in the army of
their country before their arrival in America. It was not uncommon
for the residents of Woodbridge around the turn of the century to wit-
ness them arriving wearing the familiar military boots, the short
jacket, and the hat with the feather.

TRANSPORTATION

Prior to 1800, the only roads used for travel through the township
were King George's Highway leading from the Raritan River at New
Brunswick through Bonhamtown; the Sand Hills and Fords to Amboy
Avenue at Main Street; a road from Perth Amboy now known as Am-
boy Avenue and St. Georges Avenue, to Newark, referred to in the
early part of the 19th century as the back or country road to Eliza-
bethtown; a road extending westerly from Rahway Avenue, now
Green Street, commonly referred to as the road to Uniontown (Iselin);
a road beginning at the mouth of the Papiack (Woodbridge) Creek
northwesterly through Sewaren and Port Reading to the Blazing Star
Road near Rahway, now known as part of West Avenue; and the
Old Road in Sewaren and Blair Road in Port Reading.

The Township of Woodbridge, situated then as now, was in a
direct line between Philadelphia and New York. Travel by road prior
to 1800 was arduous, long and tedious. As travel and trade- in-
creased between these two important centers, the demand for im-
proved roads became more insistent; and finally the argument that
"every person ought to contribute to the roads in proportion to the use
he makes or the benefit he derives from them" found favor in New
Jersey, and the toll or turnpike era began. Between 1801 and the
coming of the railroad era in 1830, many turnpike roads were char-
tered. An estimated 550 miles of this type road were laid. In re-
sorting to the pike road, the settlers here were only bringing into ex-
istence an institution developed earlier in England.

No road in the early days of the 19th century was safe for the
drivers of the mail coach or its passengers. This vicinity was no
exception to the rule. On February 1, 1819, at three in the morning
outside of Rahway on the turnpike road to Elizabethtown, The U. S.
Mail Coach was stopped by three masked and armed men. Two of
them seized the horses by their heads, while the third pressed a pistol
to the driver's breast and ordered him off his box, threatening to kill
him in case of resistance. Cutting the traces to loose the horses one

— 7 —

of the robbers placed himself at the door of the coach menacing the
life of the six passengers by demanding and obtaining their money
and valuables. On completing this, they ransacked the mail and
selected such packages as they chose and made off. Following the
report of the robbery, the postmaster at New York offered a reward
of $1,000 for their apprehension and conviction. Several days later,
two of the robbers were caught in New York. A week later the third
member, a Frenchman who had served in Napoleon's army, was
arrested at Lancaster, Pa. All three were tried in April, 1819, at Tren-
ton, convicted, and sentenced to ten years at hard labor. A similar
robbery took place several years later in August, 1826, at the Essex
and Metuchen Turnpike near Metuchen.

On February 28, 1827, the Legislature of Maryland chartered the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, America's pioneer railroad and the old-
est in the United States in the point of continuous ervice. In that same
year, efforts were made in the New Jersey Legislature to permit the
operation of railroads. Petitions were presented to the Legislature
for railroads from Trenton to New Brunswick; from Camden to Amboy;
from Easton to Elizabethport; and from Trenton to Easton. Efforts had
also been made to permit the construction of a canal between the
Delaware and Raritan Rivers. On November 6, 1827, James Parker
of Middlesex County presented a report to the Assembly recommend-
ing its construction by the State and introduced a bill to that effect.
The canal bill was passed, but the railroad bill was not. The canal
bill, however, was defeated in the Council.

Those interested in the Camden-Amboy project, however, came
right back at the legislative sessions in November, 1828, with another
petition from the inhabitants of the State; and on January 17, 1829, the
bill was reprinted in the Assembly, read a second time, and was en-
grossed on January 29. When a vote for passage was taken on
February 13, the bill was again defeated in the Assembly. On Feb-
ruary 17, a vote was taken on the canal bill, which passed the As-
sembly. On January 7, 1830, a bill to establish the Camden-Amboy
Railroad was again introduced in the Assembly, which body on Jan-
uary 28 finally passed it. The canal bill passed in the Assembly on
the same day. Both bills were sent to the Council where on February
4, 1830, they were both passed. And so the first railroad and canal
in the State of New Jersey were projected.

In March, 1832, the railroad that was to serve this part of Middlesex
County was established and until 1870 was to be known as "The New
Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company." One of its original
incorporators was William Edgar of Woodbridge Township. The
incorporators were authorized to lay out, construct, and improve a
railroad not exceeding 66 feet in width, with as many sets of tracks
as deemed necessary: from a convenient point in the City of New
Brunswick through or near the villages of Rahway and Woodbridge
and within one mile of the market house in Elizabethtown; through
Newark by the most practical route; and thence over the bridge cross-

ing the Hackensack and Passaic Rivers to some convenient point not
less than 50 feet from high water mark at Jersey City. This is over the
present route of the Pennsylvania Railroad from New Brunswick to
Jersey City.

On December 5, 1835, the N. J. R. R. & T. Company was opened to
Elizabethtown by a trial run from Jersey City with the locomotive
"Newark" and four passenger cars containing stockholders of the com-
pany and the township committee of Newark, numbering one hundred.
The trip on this train was made from Jersey City to Newark at the
rate of one mile in three minutes and from Newark to Elizabethtown in
fifteen minutes. Regular train service to Elizabethtown was inaugurated
on December 21, 1835. The fare between that place and Jersey City
was twenty-five cents.

On July 7, 1836, the N. J. R. R. & T. Company was completed to
the east bank of the Raritan River directly opposite the city of New
Brunswick. On that day a trial run of thirteen cars attached to the
locomotive "New Brunswick" was made. The directors and invited
guests were received by the Common Council of New Brunswick and
elegantly entertained. The Common Council and a large number of
citizens of New Brunswick then accompanied the directors to Newark
where the greatest cordiality and good feeling prevailed. An address
had been delivered at New Brunswick by Cornelius Hardenburgh, to
which reply was made by General Darcy, the president of the com-
pany. Following the custom of the company, a hundred or more
ladies of New Brunswick, at the invitation of the directors, enjoyed an
excursion to Newark on Saturday, July 10. General train service be-
tween East Brunswick and New York was inaugurated on July 11, 1836.
On July 30, 1836, many people traveled over the road from New York,
Newark, and Elizabethtown to New Brunswick to attend the Rutgers
commencement.

In 1854, the Central Railroad of New Jersey had experimented
with an engine converted from the woodburning type to that of coal
for generating steam. This experiment proved so successful that on
February 24, 1855, the locomotive "Phoenix" of the N. J. R. R. & T. Com-
pany, which arranged to burn coal, staged a trial run from Jersey City
to Elizabeth with one passenger coach. The experiment proved suc-
cessful, so changes were contemplated to convert all engines on the
line from woodburners to coalburners.

It was in the Legislature of 1855 that Senator Ralph C. Stults of
Middlesex introduced a bill to incorporate the Perth Amboy and Wood-
bridge Railroad Company. Two prior attempts to extend a railroad
from Rahway to Perth Amboy had ended in failure. The branch we
know today in Woodbridge was finally conceived on March 9, 1855,
when the State Senate passed a bill to incorporate the railroad. The
attempts to construct the road met with setbacks, for it was not
until October, 1864, that the railroad was finally opened for traffic.

Aid from the N. J. R. R. & T. Company had been promised, provided
a right of way could be obtained. This was finally agreed upon after

— 9 —

some haggling. In the late summer of 1860, a plea was made for an
additional $5,000 stock subscription when the N. J. R. R. & T. Company-
agreed to go ahead with construction.

In 1861, an application was made for a new railroad from Perth
Amboy to Elizabethport. A bill, which was introduced in the Assembly
February 26, granted a charter to the Middlesex and Union R. R. Com-
pany. It was said that this railroad was advocated by the Camden and
Amboy because it would extend their road from South Amboy to the
Hudson River. New Jersey R. R. & T. opposed it because it would be
in direct competition with the Perth Amboy and Woodbridge R. R.
which that company had agreed to construct. The bill passed both
houses of the Legislature. It was the intention, according to the talk of
the day, that this railroad would be a river road and run along the
shore and over the meadows adjacent to Staten Island Sound to Eliza-
bethport. This road was to be begun within three years from January
1, 1862, and to be completed and in operation within ten years of
that date.

In 1871, the Camden & Amboy and all the smaller railroads in the
State controlled by them together with the Delaware & Raritan Canal
and the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad Company with all their in-
terests, were leased to the Pennsylvania Railroad for nine hundred and
ninety-nine years. The N. J. R. R. & T. Company passed into the hands
of the Pennsylvania system on February 27, 1867, which with the
earlier consolidation of the capital stock of the Camden & Amboy and
the Philadelphia <& Trenton, led to a new company called the United
New Jersey Railroad and Canal Company. These three companies,
together with the Philadelphia-Trenton Railroad, on June 30, 1871, ex-
ecuted to the Pennsylvania Railroad Company a nine hundred and
ninety-nine year lease which lease was validated March 27, 1873. In
this manner began the history of the Pennsylvania Railroad in New
Jersey.

On March 6, 1882, a public meeting was held in Masonic Hall for
the purpose of discussing a new depot for Woodbridge. The original
and then existing depot, built in 1873, was a small one with the plat-
form constructed high above the level of the ground so that passengers
could step from the car platform to the station platform. A prior re-
quest for this improvement had been made to the railroad and had
been answered by Frank Thompson for the Pennsylvania to the effect
that the application had been received and would be given early
consideration. The procrastination of the railroad led to the appoint-
ment at this meeting of a committee to wait on the railroad officials.
This was followed by the arrival of a special train in April with rail-
road officials to make a personal inspection of the depot, followed by
a letter saying that "if the people of Woodbridge will procure a deed
for additional ground required at the present station, the railroad com-
pany will accept it and give the people of Woodbridge a station and
grounds to their entire satisfaction." Thus the people of Woodbridge
in 1882 desiring a suitable station building donated additional ground

— 10 —

to provide landscaped approaches from the Green and Pearl Street
sides. It was not until 1885 that the actual construction of the new
depot was begun; by April the foundation was completed. The new
depot, which was constructed of brick, was opened to the public in
August, 1885, when Charles Numbers, the ticket agent, moved into the
living quarters over the depot. The station, which was erected on the
west side of the railroad, was demolished in 1939 when the grade
crossings in Woodbridge were eliminated.

In 1872 the Central Railroad was opened between Newark and
Elizabeth. Almost a year later the grading between Elizabethport and
Perth Amboy was nearly complete, and the track was being laid be-
tween East Rahway and Woodbridge (Sewaren). In July, 1873, lohn
T. lohnston on behalf of the Central Railroad of New Jersey purchased
the stock of the Perth Amboy and Elizabethport Railroad.

The first station built along the route of the Perth Amboy and Eliza-
bethport Railroad was at Sewaren, the contract for the building of the
depot and freight house having been awarded in November, 1874.
The work, started in the same month, was to cost $6,500. The station
was to be "something unique and perfect."

In August, 1890, after vainly endeavoring to secure better terminal
facilities from other roads over which the Reading was obliged to
send its coal and freight to New York, President McLeod of the Phila-
delphia and Reading Railroad determined that the Reading should
have its own freight and coal terminal in the vicinity of New York.
It was reported that the site chosen was in Perth Amboy. It was also
reported that the new terminal would be connected with Bound Brook
by a branch railroad. A total of 2,500,000 tons of coal was expected to
be handled yearly. But while Perth Amboy expected to have the new
terminal Mr. McLeod and William Hunter, chief engineer of the Phila-
delphia and Reading system, selected Port Reading as the site and
authorized the purchase of the property. The task of buying the neces-
sary property was given to Charles A. Klink, a representative of the
real estate department of the Philadelphia and Reading, who, in the deli-
cate task of quietly buying up the many little tracts of land comprising
the property, posed as a farmer. He was so successful in this character
that the entire tract of over 300 acres was acquired at farm rates before
anyone had suspected his purpose. Work from Bound Brook had
progressed so far that by July, 1892, the work of grading had reached
the "cut" between St. George's Avenue and the Pennsylvania Railroad
bridge between Avenel and Edgar. The track had been laid to the
docks at Port Reading in September, 1892, when the first shipments of
coal were received. From year to year the business increased enor-
mously over the one pier in operation; in order to facilitate all business
offered, the management decided to build another pier and provide
storage for one thousand additional cars. This work was completed
on January 20, 1897.

— 11 —

WATER TRANSPORTATION

Many of our enterprising citizens carried on a freight and pas-
senger service to New York out of Woodbridge Creek. We find James
Paton of Woodbridge offering in March, 1805, to sell his sloop "Mary
and Isabella" of 32 tons burden and suitable for river or coastal trade.
This sloop, incidentally, is one of the vessels believed to have navi-
gated Woodbridge Creek and Heard's Brook to the bridge on Rahway
Avenue, where James Paton maintained a store on the southwest
corner of Rahway Avenue and Green Street.

In the early days of the steamboat, as in the case of locomotives,
steam was generated by wood fires. In cases where it was necessary
to maintain an even headway, especially in heavy seas or against a
swift running tide, the pressure in the boilers was too great, with the
result that fires, explosions and bursting pipes caused much injury and
damage.

By a law passed March 7, 1844, the Township Committee was
authorized to raise by tax, or otherwise, a sufficient sum to be expended
under its direction in building a dock or wharf at the ancient public
landing place on Staten Island Sound, near the mouth of Woodbridge,
formerly Papiack Creek "on the northeasterly side thereof, to extend a
sufficient distance to accommodate such vessels and steamboats as
usually navigated the same." The ancient landing place was at the
mouth of Woodbridge Creek, on the location of the Shell Oil plant.
Before and after the passage of the 1844 law, difficulty in opening an
old road to that point eventually led to an abandonment of that site for
a dock built at the foot of the currently known Ferry Street in Sewaren,
known as Steamboat Dock.

In 1850 the "Thomas Hunt" operated out of Perth Amboy, leaving
that city at 7:45 A. M. daily. This steamboat is believed to have been
the first steamboat to use the facilities of the Steamboat Dock. The fare
from that point to New York was twenty-five cents. Because of the un-
pleasant experiences the passengers underwent in reaching New York
in December of 1858 and in the early part of 1859, due to the ice and
fog, agitation was started for the early completion of the Perth Amboy
and Woodbridge Railroad. Invariably during this period the steam-
boats would get caught either in ice jams or fogs in the trips up the
Sound, resulting in much discomfiture and delay to passengers. In
1859, the steamboat "Iolas" running between Keyport and New York
stopped at Sewaren for passengers and freight to and from New York.
The passenger fee was twenty cents. There were many other steam-
boats plying among the New York, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy and
Keyport harbors.

The era of the steamboat passenger traffic, however, faded with
the advent of the 20th century so far as the port of call at Sewaren was
concerned; thereafter, such transportation was in the form of excursion
boats which touched at Boynton Beach.

— 12 —

EDUCATION

Education was recognized from the date of the Township's exist-
ence. The Charter of 1669 provided for the laying out of one hundred
acres for the maintenance of a free school and for the erection of a
school house to be forever exempted from taxation. Up to 1862 no at-
tempt had been made to lay out or utilize the land. This neglect ul-
timately encouraged the location of "squatters" whose evident intent
was eventually to claim it. Drastic action had to be enforced to prose-
cute all persons who refused to quit these lands. Means were taken
for their future security when in 1701 a division of the common land
was publicly discussed, prior to ordering the free school lands to be
laid out. The actual division of lands, however, was not made until
June, 1707, when the school lands were laid out as a "common field"
to be planted with corn. In 1714, at a special meeting of the Freehold-
ers, a committee of four was appointed to take "special care" of the
school land, and a gift of two acres near Richard Skinner's, at Rahway,
was made for the building of a school house at that place. In 1715 a
resurvey was directed to be made of the school lands, which by the
original survey of 1701 had been located at Iselin and for the past few
years known as the Poor House Farm.

As the original settlers were Puritans, it is assumed that, following
the custom of that sect in the colony of Massachusetts, the original
school was maintained in connection with the church in the Meeting
House.

The first school teacher in Woodbridge was James Fullerton who
was elected to the position at a town meeting held March 3, 1689. It
is probable that he taught at the Woodbridge school until sometime in
1691, when an offer was extended to John Beacher to teach on trial for
six months and "until nine o'clock at night." Beacher was succeeded
by John Brown of Perth Amboy who probably taught the Woodbridge
children until 1695, when a tax was ordered levied to make up his
salary, which was in arrears. Whether Mr. Brown continued his voca-
tion or not under such circumstances is open to conjecture, but it is
assumed that he sought more fertile fields and that between 1695 and
1711, the children were without benefit of schooling. The next teacher
on record is George Eubanks, who was engaged in 1711, and probably
was the first teacher to ply his vocation in the famous Strawberry Hill
school house which is supposed to have been built around 1701 and
which was located in the vicinity of Amboy Avenue and Bunn's Lane.

The management of the school land was given from year to year
into the hands of committees appointed at the annual Town Meeting;
but for want of authority to settle the accounts properly, or to prosecute
persons committing waste and trespassing on the school lands, or to
build a school house, or to make provision for the maintenance of proper
teachers, application had to be made in 1769 for a charter regulating
the affairs of the trustees. Such a charter was obtained and signed by
William Franklin, Governor of the Province of New Jersey, at Burling-
ton on June 24, 1769, wherein John Moores, Nathaniel Heard, Moses

— 13 —

Bloomfield, Benjamin Thornall, Evenezer Foster, Joseph Shotwell and
Robert Clarkson, then acting as trustees through appointment at Town
Meetings, were constituted the first trustees under the charter as a
body politic under the name of "The Trustees of the Free Schools of
the Town of Woodbridge."

At the Town Meeting of 1766, the question of applying the interest
of the school fund for the "schooling of the poor people's children"
was voted down; but in 1789, the Town Meeting authorized the use
of the interest and from that year to 1824 directed the Collectors of
Taxes to "pay to the President of the school land the dog tax to be ex-
pended for the schooling of poor children." In the Town Meeting of
1825, the receipt of dog taxes was directed to the payment of damage
caused by sheep.

Before 1800, New Jersey was classified among the sixteen States
forming the Union as depending upon church schools for the schooling
of poor children. An act to incorporate societies for the promotion of
learning was passed in New Jersey in 1794. In the year preceding,
subscriptions were obtained to build the Woodbridge Academy. Much
of the timber for this school was donated by the Trustees of the Free
School Lands. It was built and completed in May, 1794. The site oc-
cupied by this school was on the west side of Rahway Avenue and al-
most directly across from the building formerly owned by the Barrons,
the Boyntons and now by Dr. Rothfuss.

It was on the site of the Inn of Henry Potter on Rahway Avenue
that, on April 17, 1826, the Woodbridge Seminary or Elm Tree Institute,
was opened. All the preparatory branches of science necessary for
the farmer, mechanic, merchant, doctor, lawyer, or divinity student
were embraced by the course of instruction. Latin, Greek, Hebrew,
English, French and Spanish were taught, as well as arithmetic em-
bracing bookkeepping, algebra, trigonometry and geometry with prac-
tical application to surveying. Chemistry, botany and history were
offered. This school had an elaborate library, spacious lodging rooms,
and a large campus in the rear of the building for recreation.

In 1817, a law was passed by the State Legislature which provided
for the creation of a fund for the support of free schools. In 1820 the
townships of the State were, for the first time, authorized to raise money
for school purposes by vote of the town meeting for "such poor children
as are paupers belonging to said township and the children of such
poor parents, resident in said township, as are or shall be, in the
judgment of said committee, unable to pay for schooling the same."
In 1827 it was estimated that $50 was necessary to defray the expense
of tuition of eight poor children in the township.

By an act to establish public schools passed April 17, 1846, pro-
vision was made for the appointment of a State superintendent of
schools and for the election at town meetings of a town superintendent
who was, on and before the second Monday in May, 1846, to "set off
and divide the township into convenient school districts" with power

— 14 —

to alter and change as circumstances required. The pay of the local
superintendent was to be one dollar a day. He, together with the
trustees of each school district, was to select the text books to be used.
The first superintendent of schools in Woodbridge was Jacob B. Clarke,
of Rahway.

The School Act of 1846 provided that school districts might be
incorporated by adopting a name and a seal and causing the bound-
aries to be recorded in the office of the county clerk. When incorpor-
ated they could raise by a two-thirds vote any district taxes they might
desire for maintaining the school, purchasing land, or building school
houses. The first district to take advantage of this law was School Dis-
trict No. 1 which was incorporated April 19, 1852, under the name of
"The Colombian School." The section of the township now known as
Colonia caused its School District No. 3 to be incorporated April 22,
1854, as "Washington School." The school district at Fords, covering
the territory from Fords to Bonhamtown and from Fords to the Perth
Amboy line, was incorporated March 15, 1858, as the "Fairfield Union
School." On January 5, 1859, School Districts 11 and 12 in the north-
west section of the township were incorporated as the "Oak Tree
School." The uptown school district of Woodbridge, however, was not
incorporated until May 24, 1860, when it was designated "Jefferson
School District." The Iselin or "Uniontown School District" was in-
corporated April 6, 1861. The "Washington School District" No. 13,
formerly No. 3, was re-incorporated April 4, 1864. "Star School District"
No. 2, for the Carteret, Port Reading and Sewaren district, was incorpor-
ated in 1865.

In 1854, the Township of Woodbridge had seventeen School Dis-
tricts attended by 1,173 children between 5 and 18 years old out of a
total of 1,748 eligible between those ages. Nineteen teachers were em-
ployed, of which 12 were male and 7 female. The salary paid a male
teacher per annum was $375; female teachers received $180 per annum.

Late in 1861, the old Fairfield School at Fords was destroyed by
fire. This school, which was immediately replaced by a much larger
structure on the same site, was re-opened on May 27, 1862. The new
building which measured 45 by 30 feet was made of wood. It could be
divided into two rooms separated by glass doors. This building with-
stood the test of time. It was removed some years ago to a site across
King George's Road, not far from the original site, to make room for
the new modern school now known as School No. 7 at the corner of
King George's Road and Hoy Avenue.

The Jefferson School in Woodbridge opened on March 12, 1866.
The fact that the school was forced to close before the conclusion of the
school year was cause for calling a meeting which was held May 14,
1867, to raise money sufficient to carry on until then. At this meeting
but six taxpayers appeared; they voted to raise $500. It was also made
known at this meeting that 105 pupils were too many for one teacher
to handle, so it was voted to employ an assistant. The Jefferson School
was located on the south side of Main Street on what is now Columbus

— 15 —

Avenue. It was moved after the erection of No. 1 School to the corner
of Main and Pearl Streets where it was used for commercial purposes.
Later it was moved to a location opposite the Memorial Building.

On July 9, 1875, the Jefferson and Academy School Districts were
consolidated at a meeting held in the Masonic Hall preparatory to the
erection of a new modern grade school. It was originally planned to
erect the new school in the vicinity of Masonic Hall on the "square"
near the Pike House, but the final site chosen was that of the present
School No. 1, then known as Brown Street. On April 20, 1876, ground
was broken for the building, and excavating commenced for the founda-
tion. The plans for the building called for a style of architecture re-
sembling modern Italian in brick two stories high with six rooms on
each floor surmounted by a tower with a bell and town clock. The
cost of the building was estimated to be $25,000. The bell weighed 1,500
pounds. Inscribed upon the outside was the following: "School District
No. 24, AD 1776. C. W. Boynton, President; Howard Valentine, D. C;
William H. Berry and Charles Campbell, Trustees." "Wisdom is better
than gold." The placing of the bell was an invitation to the mischievous
youth of Woodbridge to ring the bell at unseeming hours. On October
30, 1876, the tower was adorned with a spire supporting a gilt weather
vane seven feet in length with the cardinal points of the compass below
in large gilt letters. On November 8, 1876, a large clock from the fac-
tory of E. Howard & Company, of New York, was put in running order.
The works of this clock, which cost $600, were placed 35 feet from the
dials which were six feet in length and which prevented the works
from being affected by the shaking of the tower when the bell was
being rung. The striking apparatus of the clock was operated through
a hammer which struck upon the outside of the bell.

Dedication exercises for the new school building were held on
January 20, 1877. When the school officially opened two days later,
over 400 pupils were in attendance.

In 1877, Woodbridge had seven schools in the township with a
total attendance of 1,278 pupils of which 794 were enrolled at Public
School No. 1. The other schools were at Locust Grove, Six Roads, Rail-
way Neck, Blazing Star, Uniontown, and Fairfield Union.

At the school election held March 21, 1899, an appropriation of
$14,000 was requested; and the voters were asked to vote an appropri-
ation of $5,000 for a new brick school house at Port Reading, the
Sewaren Improvement Company having agreed to donate to the Board
of Education a plot 100 feet square for the building.

The number of schools in the township for the next sixteen years
remained the same. In 1894 the school laws abolished the old form of
school district in charge of three trustees for the present form in which
all of the schools in the township function as a unit under nine mem-
bers of a Board of Education.

In May, 1895, the late Mr. John Love was appointed principal of
School No. 1, his term to commence with the opening of school in Sep-

— 16 —

tember. In 1900 he was made the first supervising principal of schools
in the township.

What we know now as the High School had its beginning in No. 1
School with a small group of students. What can be called the first
graduating class from Woodbridge High School completed a three-year
course about 1881 with the following pupils being given a certificate
of graduation: Sidney Pearson, Sadie Brewster, Clara Melick and Lulu
Bloodgood.

A new high school was not commenced until 1910.

WARS

The War of 1812 is not one which appeals to the enthusiasm of
one which arouses undue patriotism. Probably one of the most out-
standing figures in this war was Zebulon Montgomery Pike, who was
born near Trenton, February 5, 1779, but who spent his boyhood in
Woodbridge, the place of his ancestors. He was the son of Col. Zeb-
ulon Pike, one of the local residents who had distinguished himself
in the Revolutionary War. At the age of 21, he was a first lieutenant
in the army. When President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to the
Northwest, he sent Zebulon Pike to the Southwest. Their reports laid
the foundation for the great migration across the Mississippi and the
unfolding of all the mighty empire of the West. While on his mission
to the Southwest in 1806, he was credited with the discovery of "Pike's
Peak" in Colorado. In 1812 he was stationed on the frontier and in
the following year was made a brigadier general. He was killed at
York, capital of upper Canada, on April 27, 1813, by the explosion of
a mine in which several lives were lost. Just before he died, General
Pike gave his sword to his aide, Col. Donald Frazer. This sword was
offered to the New Jersey Historical Society in November, 1903, by a
resident of Georgia.

Another illustrious son of Woodbridge was Joseph Bloomfield. He
was born in the old Bloomfield homestead off Freeman Street near the
corner of Barron Avenue in 1753. When the Revolutionary War broke
out, he was studying law but joined in the cause of the colonists and
was commissioned a captain and later a major. He fought in the
battles of Monmouth and Brandywine. After the war, he resumed the
study of law and acquired a successful practice in Burlington, N. J.
The Assembly and Council elected him governor annually from 1801 to
1812, except in 1802 when there was a tie vote and the president of
the Council administered the affairs of the State. No governor of New
Jersey has occupied the exalted position of governor for the length of
time Bloomfield did. The city of Bloomfield in Essex County was named
after him on October 13, 1796. He died at Burlington on October 3, 1823.

It was not until 1815 that the subject of the War of 1812 was taken
up in Woodbridge. As a matter of fact, no mention was made of war
in the annual town meeting held April 12, 1813. It was necessary to
call a special town meeting on May 24, 1813, to take measures for the
defense "of our national rights pursuant to an extraordinary meeting

— 17 —

of the Township Committee on the 13th instant at which the Township
Committee was ordered to call this meeting to take into consideration
means of defense against the common enemy." This meeting was
held at the Inn of James Jackson where it was voted that seven hun-
dred dollars be raised by assessment "for the defense of this town
against the enemy."

On December 24, 1814, the treaty of peace ending the War of 1812
was signed at Ghent; but the news was not received in Woodbridge
until February 20, 1815, when cause for rejoicing was made by firing
a gun salute, the tolling of church bells, and the assembling of the town
folk in church.

The Civil War had begun with the surrender of Fort Sumter on
April 14, 1861. When the news reached Woodbridge, loyalty to the
cause of the North was made by a display of flags at the private resi-
dences throughout the community. On April 15, 1861, President Lincoln
made his first call for 75,000 volunteers. In Woodbridge, twenty young
men of the Pike's Guards left for war on August 26, 1861, in answer to
the President's first call. The number was much larger than Wood-
bridge's guota.

The members of the Pike Guard joined with the members of the
Clark Guard of Rahway and, on August 23, 1861, were mustered into
the Federal service at Trenton as Company "H" of the 5th New Jersey
Volunteer Infantry for a period of three years.

During its term of service in the cause of the Union, Company "H"
of the 5th N. J. V. took part in thirty-two battles, the most important of
which were the siege of Yorktown, Va.; Williamsburg, Va.; Fredericks-
burg, Va., and Gettysburg, Pa.

Under the call of President Lincoln for nine-month volunteers,
issued in September, 1862, a company composed almost entirely of
Woodbridge Township men was organized and was to be known as
Company "F," 28th (Middlesex) Regiment of New Jersey Volunteer In-
fantry. This company was recruited by Isaac Inslee, who was later
appointed captain of the unit. During the whole time the 28th New Jer-
sey Volunteer was associated with the army of the Potomac, it held
a position in the immediate front, at all times fighting gallantly and
suffering many casualties.

The Civil War ended with the surrender of General Lee at Appomat-
tox on April 9, 1865; and the news to Woodbridge, as well as to the
rest of the country, was cause for general rejoicing. The church bells
were rung at 6 P. M. and fireworks were displayed in the evening.

The next week Lincoln died. On receipt of this news, all the public
places in Woodbridge were draped in mourning, and flags were low-
ered to half mast. The train bearing the remains of Lincoln passed
through Rahway on April 24 enroute to New York City where the people
turned out in great numbers to pay tribute. The train stopped at the
Rahway station for a few minutes, so some got a view of the casket
through the windows of the car.

— 18 —

CLAY AND BRICK

Woodbridge is universally known for its fine clay deposits and its
by-product, brick.

One of the early settlers, John French, a dealer in bricks who was
elected a freeholder, was granted 15 acres of land in 1670 on condition
that he furnish Woodbridge men with bricks in preference to all others.
That Woodbridge did have brick makers in their midst in the early
settlement is verified by a reference to the "Molden Men's Lots" which
were located in Green Street somewhere near the home of the late
Peter Leahy. It is probable that these lots were given to induce them
to remain in Woodbridge to ply their trade. It is reasonable to suppose
that they made bricks from clay found to the south of Green Street, now
the route of State Highway No. 35.

In 1800 most of the brick to be had in this country were imported
from England. In that year common red brick, which was selling for
$8 per thousand in New York City, was difficult to get. Many years
later rich kaolin beds were discovered in Woodbridge and Perth Amboy.

In 1820, John E. Noe and Benjamin M. Noe offered for sale their
farm consisting of 88 acres "situated on the turnpike leading from New
York to Philadelphia by way of Staten Island adjoining New Blazing
Star Ferry and the Sound" where "there is plenty of clay for making
brick." In the same year 105 acres of land in the Port Reading and
Sewaren section of the Township were offered for sale.

In 1825, the old Salamander Works was established by Gage
Inslee and Rene Pardussus on the site presently occupied by the Wood-
bridge Lumber Company on Rahway Avenue. It early made stone
ware and fire brick, and was one of the most noted stoneware potteries
of that time in the eastern part of the State. It made three types of
Rochingham Pitchers, still in existence.

Clay was shipped from Woodbridge to Boston in 1816, but the real
value of the clay beds of Woodbridge was not developed until after
the Civil War.

In 1859, it was said that material for nearly 80,000,000 fire bricks
was at that time being sent annually into the market from Woodbridge,
Perth Amboy, and South Amboy. This clay also supplied all the alum
works in the county. About 2,000 tons a year were used for that
purpose.

In 1845, William H. Berry, a native of Maine, having an eye for
business, saw great possibilities in clay. He associated himself with P.
H. Lane, of New York, and purchased property near Hawks Nest Land-
ing, at the foot of Berry Street. He erected a plant there for the manu-
facture of fire brick. After the withdrawal of Lane in 1846, Alexander
Brown and lames Valentine became associated with this company.
The excellency of the Berry brick was established all over the country.
In 1876, facilities were available for making 1,000,000 bricks a year.
In addition to the manufacture of brick, many thousands of tons of
clay were exported by rail and water from Berry's Dock on Woodbridge
Creek.

— 19 —

In the autumn of 1866, the plant of Boynton and Company was in
operation at the mouth of the Woodbridge Creek, presently occupied
by the Shell Oil Company at Sewaren. Mr. Boynton, a native of Ban-
gor, Me., came to Woodbridge in the spring of 1866 to manufacture
drain pipe and land tile in association with his father and another busi-
nessman. Mr. Boynton was the first maker of hollow tile in this vi-
cinity. It was used chiefly in conjunction with iron rafters in the con-
struction of fireproof buildings. Mr. Boynton also manufactured a fire-
proof shingle with which many of the buildings in downtown New York
were roofed. His trade was confined principally to the eastern States,
but some of his brick and tile were used in and around the capitol
grounds at Washington.

In 1866 M. D. Valentine and lames R. Valentine commenced busi-
ness on the present site of the M. D. Valentine and Brothers Company
plant near Spa Spring in the manufacture of lath brick, for which J. R.
Valentine had been granted a patent the previous year. This brick was
to be manufactured in scouring pipe, tile, and brick. By 1876 the plant
had grown to such proportions that it was capable of making 4,000,000
of these bricks in a year. Since its inception, this plant which has grown
to establish an enviable reputation in the manufacture of fire brick, is
known all over the world.

From 1887 to 1895, "The Florida Grove Company" in Fords; "The
Carteret Brick Works," "The Anness and Lyle Manufacturing Com-
pany," Perth Amboy; "The Stewart Ceramics Company," "M. D. Valen-
tine and Brothers Company," and the "Standwell Fireproofing Com-
pany," all had been organized to mine clay and manufacture brick
and tile.

MILLS

Because of limited transportation facilities at the beginning of the
19th Century, it was necessary for the residents of any given area to be
provided with their needs by those who produced them. The farmers,
who numbered many, provided those in the villages with meat, milk,
and vegetables for daily sustenance; but the wheat and rye which the
farmer also produced had to go to the mills to be ground for the making
of bread. Many farmers also maintained tan yards for the treatment of
skins to be used for leather. Saw mills had to be maintained to furnish
the material needed in the construction of homes and in the manufacture
of furniture. From the earliest days of its settlement, the Township of
Woodbridge had been provided with grist mills as well as fulling mills.
As Woodbridge expanded, the number of these mills increased.

Woodbridge boasted of having a copper mine within its original
borders at Uniontown, now Menlo Park, which was worked before the
War of 1812 by Thomas Edison. The ruins of this old mine which is
still visible are located on Mutton Hollow Road, which is the dividing
line between Woodbridge and Raritan Township, between the road to
Oak Tree and the Lincoln Highway.

— 20 —

FISHERIES

In the early days of settlement, the waters of Raritan Bay, Raritan
River, the Sound, Woodbridge Creek, and the Rahway River abounded
with fish of all kinds. Oysters, clams and other Crustacea were to be
had at all seasons. The fame of Perth Amboy oysters was recognized
as early as the middle of the 1750's. By the beginning of the 19th
Century, New York fishermen came by schooner to the Sound and
Raritan Bay to fish in competition with the fishermen of Middlesex
County. These encroachments grew to such alarming proportions that
at the annual town meeting held at Woodbridge, April, 1820, it was
unanimously voted to raise $100 by tax for the defense and support
of the ancient rights and privileges to the oyster grounds in New Jersey.
In September, 1829, the oyster beds in New Jersey off Perth Amboy
were pillaged by two or three hundred oystermen from Staten Island.
The planting of oysters near the mouth of the Raritan Bay had been
permitted by law, and $12,000 had been spent in developing the beds;
but the New Jersey oystermen were not sufficient in number to hold off
the descending horde so were forced to surrender. This resulted in
the indictment by the Middlesex Grand Jury of 30 of those who were
recognized as taking part in the affair. Demand was made by the
Governor of New Jersey upon the Governor of New York for their de-
livery to New Jersey. The matter was eventually adjusted by the en-
actment of laws to protect the industry at Perth Amboy which continued
thereafter to raise oysters for domestic and export use. Seven hundred
barrels are reported as having been shipped from Perth Amboy in one
day in October, 1878, for export to England. In 1894, however, the
oyster trade began to decline in Perth Amboy; and in November, 1899,
a boat load of Perth Amboy oysters was turned down in the New York
market as being of inferior guality. They were considered inferior to
the 1898 crop which had been bad enough but just good enough to find
a market.

POLITICS

On February 17, 1860, the Legislature passed a supplement to an
act to create the County of Union and thereby cut loose from the Town-
ship of Woodbridge and the County of Middlesex that part of Rahway
known as lower Rahway in which Leesville was located and, in addi-
tion, that part of Rahway called Milton.

In the early part of 1906, considerable interest was manifested in
the northeast section of the Township in withdrawing in favor of the
establishment of a borough. This was first made evident when at its
meeting of February 20, 1906, the Township Committee received a
communication from the Board of Education on a bill introduced in the
Legislature to incorporate a portion of the township as the Borough of
Roosevelt. A resolution adopted by the Township Committee will serve
to give some idea of the circumstances. It reads as follows:

"Whereas, Carteret has had at the expense of the Township as a
whole its just proportion of the improvements and is about to set itself
off in a borough that will increase the tax rate of the portion left which

— 21 —

is unjust to the taxpayers of the outlying districts who have had no im-
provements and have borne uncomplainingly their portion of the ex-
penses to improve said borough and the other portions of our town . . .
therefore, be it resolved that we the Township Committee of the Town-
ship of Woodbridge, the body representing the taxpayrs of said Town-
ship, take some formal action against the bill now pending in the
Senate for the protection of whom we represent." In accordance with
this resolution, the chairman of the Township Committee appointed a
committee to appear before the Senate Committee to protest against
passage of the bill; and if the bill were to be passed, to reguest that a
provision be included whereby the new borough assume its just and
proportionate share of the township indebtedness.

The act to incorporate the Borough of Roosevelt, which was ap-
proved April 11, 1906, was to take effect if a majority of the inhabitants
to be affected by the change approved by their votes. The date of the
election was set for May 1st. The results of this election showed that
381 inhabitants of the Carteret area voted, that three ballots were re-
jected, and that 377 voted in favor of the borough and one against the
change.

INNS AND COACHES

Probably no two institutions were so closely allied in the early
days of our settlement as the inn or tavern and the stage coach. One
of the first taverns set up in the Province of East Jersey was that of
Samuel Moore at Woodbridge in 1683, although the Proprietors in 1668
ordered "in consideration for the inconveniences that do arise for the
want of an ordinary in every town" a tavern in Woodbridge for the
relief and entertainment of strangers. Moore's Tavern, according to
Dally, occupied the site upon which Dr. Samuel E. Freeman's drug store
stood in 1873, which would fix the location at the corner of Green Street
and Rahway Avenue on a lot now vacant but in the occupancy of
George Lucas.

A mail system, the first established in the country, was devised
by Colonel John Hamilton of New Jersey, afterwards Governor in 1694.
This system was reported to and adopted by the British government. In
1729 the mail passed once a week between New York and Philadelphia
in summer and once in every two weeks in winter. This schedule was
continud until 1754, a period of twenty-five years. From 1754 the mail
system was rapidly improved; and in 1764, under Dr. Franklin's super-
intendence, James Parker, Comptroller and a native of Woodbridge,
under a heading "For the benefit of Trade and Commerce," gave notice
that a postrider with the mail would leave New York at 1 P. M. for Phila-
delphia and until further orders would leave each city every alternate
day "if weather permits." In this manner the trip between the two
cities was accomplished every twenty-four hours. The plan of trans-
porting the mails was in canvas bags and on the backs of horses.
The express rider, as he was termed, changed horses about every
twenty-five miles. There were in 1791, seven post-offices in this State
at Newark, Elizabethtown, Bridgetown, New Brunswick, Princeton and

— 22 —

Trenton. The Woodbridge post office was established in 1791, with
John Manning as postmaster and Cross Keys Inn as the location.

When the opening shots at Lexington started the Revolutionary
War, a courier was dispatched southward by the Massachusetts
authorities. It took him four days to reach New York. A fuller ac-
count was relayed on the same route two days later by a rider leaving
New Haven, Conn., on April 24, at 9:30 A. M. and arriving in New York
on Tuesday at 2 P. M. The dispatch rider started across New Jersey
arriving at Elizabethtown at 7 P. M. and at Woodbridge at 10 P. M.,
reaching New Brunswick at midnight. He was at Princeton at 3:30 A. M.
and in Trenton three hours later.

When George Washington left Mount Vernon for New York to take
the oath of office as the first President of the United States, he left
Philadelphia on the morning of April 21, 1789, arrived at Trenton that
afternoon, and that same night journeyed to Princeton, where he spent
the night. Accompanied by Governor William Livingston, Washington
(on the 22nd) proceeded to Woodbridge where he spent the night at
the Cross Keys Tavern, then located on the northwest corner of Amboy
Avenue and Main Street on the site presently occupied by the Knights
of Columbus. This famous old building still stands, having been
moved to a new location to the rear of the original site on the north
side of James Street. On the morning of April 23, Washington left for
New York by way of Rahway and Elizabethtown.

Prior to 1800, several taverns dotted the main roads in the Town-
ship, the oldest of which is believed to be Cross Keys. Built before the
Revolution, it was situated on the main post and stage road between
Philadelphia and New York. It was first maintained as a hostelry by
William Manning and was the scene of all public events in the village,
being used as the place of the Town Meeting from 1824 to 1848. In
this same house General Lafayette was entertained in 1824.

Almost as famous was the tavern conducted by Thomas, James,
and Charles Jackson on the road to Rahway and Blazing Star (Carteret).
This tavern, which was known as the Elm Tree Tavern, was located on
the west side of the road to Rahway, now known as Rahway Avenue,
a part of which is still standing at No. 531, a few feet north of Grove
Avenue. This inn was also the spot chosen by the inhabitants for the
holding of the town meetings from 1800 to 1803, 1810 to 1820 under the
Jacksons, and from 1821 to 1823 under Henry Potter. An ancient elm
which stood in front of the old tavern was cut down in February, 1837.
The trunk, which was hollow, measured 32 feet in circumference and
accommodated 15 men, who stood upright within it.

Probably the best known tavern in the Township, besides the Cross
Keys Inn, was the famous Pike House, so called because the turnpike
roads to Rahway and Blazing Star (Carteret) passed its front door at
the southwest corner of the road (now Green Street) to Uniontown. In
1848 when the Cross Keys Inn ceased to operate as a tavern, the Town
Meetings previously held there were transferred to the Pike House

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where this annual meeting was to continue to 1874. In the 1920's the
old Pike House, which was known in its later years as the Woodbridge
Hotel, was demolished. The site is now occupied by a gas station.

Probably one of the last hotels to be built in the Township during
the nineteenth century was the Sewaren Hotel which was erected about
1878 to accommodate the people from the city who for years made
Sewaren their annual vacation spot. The hotel continued to be oper-
ated as a summer retreat until about 1913 and then was forced "to give
up the ghost." It was demolished shortly thereafter.

BRIDGES

At a town meeting held September 22, 1669, a good, serviceable,
stout bridge was ordered to be constructed over Papiack Creek below
the "Meeting-house Green." This was the first bridge ordered built in
the settlement. It was for the convenience of the many early settlers
who lived on the upland along the Sound.

It was not until 1850 before a bridge was built over the creek con-
necting what is now Sewaren with the village of Woodbridge.

POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS

As we approach the nineteenth century, we find the following vil-
lages scattered throughout the Township designated Blazing Star or
Rahway Neck, now Carteret; Leesville, Bridgetown, Milton, Lower
Rahway, now Rahway in Union County; Pleasant Mills, now in the
Inman Avenue section; Uniontown, or Perrytown, now Iselin; Metuchen,
Bonhamtown, Sand Hills, Florida Grove, now Keasbey, and Wood-
bridge.

The law which brought Lower Rahway into the County of Union
went into effect on the second Monday in April, 1860. The last meeting
of the Township Committee of Woodbridge at Rahway was held at the
Mansion House on April 16, 1860, where (in the past) it had often met
to transact business and settle accounts.

On March 16, 1870, the Legislature passed an "Act to establish a
new township in the County of Middlesex, to be called the Township of
Raritan." Thus Raritan Township was made up from a part of Piscat-
away and that part of Woodbridge now called Metuchen.

The last piece taken from Woodbridge was in 1906, when the
Borough of Roosevelt was created by the Legislature. Thus, in 241
years of its existence, in the face of the many attempts made consist-
ently to cut it up, it gave up outer slices to Perth Amboy, to Union
County, to Raritan Township, and finally to the Borough of Roosevelt.

NEWSPAPERS

lames Parker, who was born at Woodbridge in 1714 — another il-
lustrious son of Woodbridge — established the first permanent printing
house in New Jersey at Woodbridge in 1751. He was a business asso-
ciate of Benjamin Franklin. In 1758 he established and printed at

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Woodbridge "The New American Magazine," the first periodical of its
kind edited and published in the colony and the second magazine
of its kind on the continent.

When the Stamp Act was passed in 1765, Parker issued and pub-
lished from his Woodbridge press, the most spirited denouncement
of the Stamp Act in the American Colonies in the form of a newspaper
designated the "Constitutional Courant." This paper, which was sold
on the streets of New York for one day, was suppressed by the authori-
ties. The paper, however, was reprinted and distributed in Boston and
Philadelphia. Parker died in Burlington but was buried in the Presby-
terian Churchyard in Woodbridge.

BARRON LIBRARY

When Thomas Barron of New York City died in 1875, he remem-
bered his native town by bequeathing to Dr. Ellis B. Freeman, the Rev.
George C. Lucas, and Dr. John C. Barron of New York, the sum of
$50,000 in trust to be applied by them to the purchase of ground on
which to erect a building as a "free public reading room and library"
and to supply the same with books and other reading matter. He also
authorized these men to make application to the State of New Jersey
for an "Act of Incorporation," but this was not done until 1889.

The opening and dedication of the library were held September
11, 1877, at which time the deed for the land was delivered to the
trustees as a donation from John C. Barron in a presentation speech
made by that gentleman.

MISCELLANEOUS

The annual event hailed as "Salt Water Day" was ushered in
during 1855. This day was also known as the "Harvest Joy Day" and
the "Great Washing Time." Always held in the month of August on
the third Saturday, it brought the farmers and their employees together
at the water spots on the Raritan River and the Bay to indulge in salt
water bathing. The origin of the custom is unknown but was probably
instituted to provide a holiday for the farmers after the reaping of the
grain harvest. The day was usually celebrated at the Perth Amboy
and Florida Grove Beaches.

Florida Grove continued to operate as a resort and picnic grounds
until the turn of the nineteenth century when it was abandoned to the
clay and brick industry. Florida Grove Beach was located where the
plant of the National Fire Proofing Company at Keasbey stands.

About 1875, Acker's Grove on Staten Island Sound was opened.
It catered to picnics and fishermen. This establishment continued to
operate long after the passing of Boynton Beach. It was a popular
bathing spot for the younger set of Rahway and Woodbridge until it
had to surrender to the encroachment of industry. Some years ago
the site was acquired by the Royal Petroleum Company.

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C. W. Boynton, who owned an extensive water front on the Jersey-
side of the Sound, made improvements to his grove and erected a num-
ber of bath houses. It was then designated as Boynton Beach and was
said to have the best and safest bathing beach along the Sound at low
water and egual to any other at high water. The popularity of this
resort was far-reaching. For some years it provided for the annual
visitation of thousands by rail and steamboat from New York and the
northern cities of New Jersey. Boynton Beach, which also catered to
the fishermen from the city, maintained a boat house on the grounds
near the steamboat dock for their convenience until the pollution of
the Sound drove the fish and fishermen to other quarters. This famous
old resort, which boasted of one of the finest dancing pavilions in the
State, was destroyed by fire on May 30, 1917, after forty-one years of
honorable existence. In 1927 the site of the old beach was sold to
the Shell Oil Company and is now covered with tanks.

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