USA > New Jersey > Historical collections of the state of New Jersey : containing a general collection of the most interesting facts, traditions, biographical sketches, anecdotes, etc. relating to its history and antiquities, with geographical desciptions of every township in the state. > Part 37
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ancient Stat .. House is seen on the extreme left; and Mercer Co. Court House, in South Trenton, on the extreme right. The above shows the appearance of Trenton, as seen from the extremity of the bridge over the Delaware, on the Pennsylvania side. The
SOUTH VIEW OF TRENTON, N. J.
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ing somewhat dissatisfied with that great man, he became aid to Gen. Put- nam, and was afterward appointed lieutenant-colonel. Col. Burr next turn- ed his attention to the study of law, was admitted to the bar in 1782, and commenced practice in Albany. In 1791, he was appointed a Senator of the United States, and in 1801, Vice-President.
In the autumn of 1806, a project was detected, at the head of which was Col. Burr, said to be for revolutionizing the territory west of the Alle- ghanies, and for establishing an independent empire there, of which New Orleans was to be the capital, and himself the chief. Burr was appre- hended, and brought to trial Aug. 1807; no overt act being proved against him, he was acquitted. Col. Burr died at Staten Island, N. Y., September 14th, 1836. " It is truly surprising," says his biographer, " how any indi- vidual could have become so eminent as a soldier, a statesman, and as a pro- fessional man, who devoted so much time to the other sex as was devoted by Colonel Burr. For more than half a century of his life they seemed to ab- sorb his whole thoughts. His intrigues were without number ; his conduct most licentious."
TRENTON.
TRENTON, the capital of New Jersey, is situated on the east side of the Delaware, at the mouth of Assunpink creek, opposite the falls or rapids, and is in 40° 13' N. lat., and 75° 48' W. long. from Greenwich, and 2º 16' E. long. from Washington. The first set- tlements, made about the year 1679, at the Falls of the Delaware,* by the Friends, were on both sides of the river. Those on the New Jersey side were on the low land at the mouth of the Assunpink, and on " the Plains," where Messrs. Norton and Laylor's farms and Mill Hill and Lamberton are situated.
The Friends, who had left England on account of the persecution raised against them for their religion, sought an asylum on the peaceful shores of the Delaware, where they have, undisturbed, enjoyed the privileges of reli- gious as well as civil freedom. For many years they had no public build- ings for worship, but their meetings were held in private houses.
" Governor William Penn, who, in the year 1683, issued an order for the establishment of a post-office, requested Phineas Pemberton carefully to publish the information on the meeting-house door, that is, on the door of the private house in which the society of Friends was then accustomed to meet. It was usual for Friends settled about the Falls, to assemble at the houses of William Yardley, James Harrison, Phineas Pemberton, William Biles, and William Beakes ; for the meeting-house at the Falls (or Fallsington) was not built till 1690, nor the one at Burlington till 1696, nor the one at Bristol until 1710." The meeting-house in Trenton city was built in 1739. (See date on the meeting-house in Hanover street.) This house has been oc.
* " The Indians called the falls and its vicinity Sankhican, from a gun or fire-lock, a name given by the Delawares to a tribe of the Mohawks, who occupied this section of country: they being the first who were supplied with muskets by the Europeans. Assunpink (creek) signifies Stone water, or 'stone in the water,' this being the first water or place where the Indians in going up the river found stone."-Communication from Thomas Gordon, Esq., of Trenton.
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cupied for the same purpose until this time. At the time of the separation in 1828, one part of the society left this house, and now hold their meetings in the building at the corner of Greene and Academy streets, formerly the Methodist church.
It seldom happens but that disasters of some kind befall the first settlers of a new country. Many of the inhabitants in the vicinity of the Falls were visited with sickness, and were removed by death, by a malignant fever, which prevailed among them in 1687, both in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Phineas Pemberton says that on the 16th of 3d month, [that is, March 16th,] 1687, there was " a great land-flood," and on the 29th, "a rupture." This is supposed to refer to the formation of the island at Morrisville, oppo- site the Trenton bridge, which was at this time separated from the main land.
The flood here mentioned is probably the same as that mentioned by Mr. Smith, as occurring in 1692 ; and there appears to be an error in one of the statements. For it is supposed that so great a rise in the waters as to over- flow the banks on the Pennsylvania side of the Delaware at the Falls, must have swept away the settlement on the low lands at the mouth of the As- sunpink ; and yet this is said not to have occurred until 1692. The lands on the Jersey shore might, however, have been much higher than on the Pennsylvania side; and probably they were, as they were tilled for many. years afterward.
About the year 1700 the settlements were commenced by persons who purchased the lands from the original proprietors, or persons who had taken up the lands ; and most of the deeds for plantations in the different parts of the township bear date from 1699 to 1710.
From the year 1700 the settlement of the township increased by persons from Long Island, from East Jersey, and other parts. Messrs. Daniel How- ell, Ebenezer Prout, Isaac Reeder, John Burroughs, Charles Clark, Richard Scudder, Robert Lanning, John Lanning, Jacob and Isaac Reeder, Wm. Reed, Simon Sacket, John Deane, John and Abiel Davis, Jonathan Davis, and others, settled in what is now Ewing. as appears from their deeds and family records; and in April, 1703, Mr. John Hutchinson (only son and heir of Thomas Hutchinson, who died intestate) conveyed a lot of land to the inhabitants of Hopewell for a place of burial, and to erect a public meet- ing-house thereon.
This was, probably, the first house which was built for public worship in the township of Hopewell. It was occupied by the Episcopalians until their church was built in Trenton, and occasionally for many years after.
The ground was long used as a place of burial by many families. The remains of the widow of Col. William Trent were buried there. But few vestiges remain to mark the spot where stood the first temple of the Lord in the then county of Hunterdon.
The Presbyterians obtained a lot of land for a place of burial, and on which to build a church, from Mr. Alexander Lockart, who lived on the plantation now owned by the children of the late Dr. Joseph Olden. The deed bears date March the 9th, 1709. The land was granted in trust to Richard Scudder, John Burroughs, Ebenezer Prout, Daniel Howell, John Deane, John Davis, Jonathan Davis, Enoch Anderson, William Osborne, Jacob Reeder, Cornelius Anderson, John Siferons, Simon Sacket, George Farley, Caleb Farley, William Reed, and Joseph Sacket. Not long after this, probably in the year 1712, a house was built of logs for a place of
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public worship, near the spot on which the brick church now stands. In a few years after, the log building was taken down and a frame building erected, which was occupied until the year 1795, when the present brick church was built. We have no records to show with certainty the year in which the frame church was built ; but from an inscription on a tablet which was placed in the old stone church, in Trenton city, a little west of the present Presbyterian church, (which is a branch from the church in the country) it is pretty evident that it was built in the year 1726. The in- scription is, "Founded in 1712-built in 1726." These dates could not re- fer to the house in the city, because, even at this last date, there was scarce- ly one house where the city is now built.
Kalm, a Swede, who travelled in this country in 1748, says that his land- lord in Trenton told him that 22 years before, (1726,) when he first settled there, there was hardly more than one house. In August, 1814, Mrs. Je- mima Howell, (youngest daughter of Mr. John Burroughs,) who was born in the year 1725, informed the writer, that although she could not tell when the frame church [in Ewing] was built, yet she remembered that she had helped to scrub it, 70 years ago. She also well remembered, she said, when there were but two or three small houses where the city of Trenton is built ; and that it was woods from the neighborhood of the frame church to Stacy's (now Waln's) mills ; that they had only a foot-path for many years after : and that the farmers carried their grain to that market on pack-horses.
Kalm says, that in 1748 there were near a hundred houses in Trenton. The probability is, from the description he has given of the town of Tren- ton, that he included the buildings on the north and south sides of the As- sunpink. He says that there were two small churches ; one belonging to the Church of England, and the other to the Presbyterians. It is probable that these houses had been built but a few years. As Nottingham and Hope- well were settled almost entirely by Friends, there is reason to suppose that they were among the first to erect places for public worship ; and they prob- ably were, as their house was built in 1739 ; and in 1726 there were "no more than one or two houses" in this place. The large white brick-house, now standing on the corner of Greene (formerly Queen) and Hanover streets, was built in the year 1740. Nearly all the first buildings, in what is now the city, were on or near the York road, (now Greene-street, ) which led from Mahlon Stacy's mills. The Presbyterian and Episcopal churches were both branches of their respective churches in the country. Most of the Episcopal families at first lived above the falls, in the vicinity of the church they built on the ground granted by the Hutchinson family. As Mr. Thomas Hutchinson died before this ground was appropriated for a buri- al-place, the family selected a spot on the manor, where several of them, and others, were buried. This spot is about 15 or 20 rods east of the road, at the brow of the hill, and nearly in front of the old Manor-house, which was on the farm now owned by Mr. John Titus.
In August, 1714, Mahlon Stacy sold his plantation of 800 acres, lying on both sides of the Assunpink creek, on the Delaware, to Col. Wm. Trent, of Philadelphia. Col. Trent was a gentleman of great respectability ; and was for several years speaker of the house of assembly in Pennsylvania ; and in September, 1723, he was chosen speaker of the house of assembly in New Jersey. In this year Wm. Trent and John Reading were appointed commissioners for the county of Hunterdon. Mr. Trent died at Philadel- phia, May 29, 1724.
The lot on which the courthouse was built, is now owned by the Trenton
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Banking Company, and their banking-house stands upon it. It was con- veyed to the Trenton Banking Company by the board of chosen freeholders of the county of Hunterdon, May 8, 1814; just 100 years after it was purchased by Wm. Trent, by whom, it is said, (I know not by what author- ity, except traditionary testimony,) the lot was given to the county. And it is probable this grant was made by Mr. Trent to the county about the year 1720 ; and that, in compliment to him for the gift, the place was called Trenton, or, as it was first written, Trent's town. Until this time, what is now known as the city of Trenton, and townships of Hopewell and Ewing, was known as Hopewell ; for the courts of the county, until 1719, were held at Wm. Yard's and A. Heath's, in Hopewell.
In September, 1719, the courts were held in Trenton. "It having been represented to the governor that the holding of the courts alternately in Maidenhead and Hopewell was attended with inconvenience, it was, in March, 1719, ordained that the courts should be held and kept in Trenton from the month of September next ensuing." The magistrates present at the first court in the county, held at Maidenhead, were John Banbridge, Ja- cob Bellerjeau, Philip Phillips, Wm. Green, John Holcomb, Samuel Green, and Samuel Fitch. Wm. Green and John Reading were the first assessors of Hunterdon, and Ralph Hunt the first collector.
The first grand jurors were Wm. Hickson, Daniel Howell, Robert Lan- ning, Henry Mershon, Richard Compton, George Woolsey, Joseph Reeder, jr., Thomas Standling, Richard Scudder, Timothy Baker, John Burroughs, John Titus, Samuel Everett, John Ely, and Richard Lanning. John Muir- head, high-sheriff, complained to the court in 1714 and 1717, and in June, 1719, and in March, 1720, that there was no jail for the county. In 1728-9 John Dagworthy, Esq., high-sheriff, complained to the court that the jail was so out of repair that escapes took place daily. " Ordered to be re- paired." In 1724 it was enacted that the supreme court for the county of Hunterdon should be held in July, at Trent's town.
About the year 1721, a log jail for the county was built at the forks of the roads leading from Trenton to Pennington, and from Pennington to the 8 mile ferry, nearly opposite the residence of the late Jesse Moore, Esq.
Although the sheriff complained to the court of the daily escapes from the jail, there do not appear on the records of the court many criminal cases presented by the grand jury. They found a bill, at one of the courts, against a man " for stealing a book called the New Testament ;" and at an- other court, against a man "for stealing a horse-bell." Besides these, but very few bills were found.
From the best information which can at present be obtained, it appears pretty evident that there were but very few buildings in the place, until af- ter 1730 or '35. About the year 1740, several buildings were erected. Mr. Plasket built the Friends meeting-house in 1739 ; and Obadiah Howell, the uncle of the present Obadiah Howell, sen., informed our citizen, Mr. Thomas Ryall, that he put the date of 1739 on that house himself, being then an apprentice to Mr. Plasket ; and that the brick house, corner of Hanover and Greene streets, was built by Thomas Tindall, in !740. In 1748, there were nearly one hundred houses in the place. The flourishing condition in which the town appears to have been at that time, and its ad- vantageous location for business, led the inhabitants to anticipate its rapidly increasing growth and prosperity ; and, supposing that both would be pro- moted by an act of incorporation by the crown, conferring borough privi- leges, in the 19th year of the reign of King George II., (1746,) Gov. Lewis
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Morris, and a number of the inhabitants of this district of country, sent a petition to the king, stating that Trenton was the head of sloop navigation, and that a variety of circumstances rendered the place favorable for busi- ness, and that its interests would be greatly promoted by such an act. Ac- cordingly a royal charter was granted for a borough, the limits of which are described as follows, viz : " Beginning at the mouth of Crosswick's creek ; thence up said creek to the mouth of Doctor's creek ; thence up the said creek to Keith's line, between East and West Jersey ; thence along said line, including Maidenhead and Hopewell, between Hopewell and Amwell, to Delaware river ; thence down said river to the place of beginning : to be known as the borough and town of Trenton." Thomas Cadwallader, Esq., was appointed chief burgess ; Nathaniel Ware, recorder ; David Martin, marshal ; and Andrew Reed, treasurer. The other burgesses were Wm. Morris, Joseph Warrell, Daniel Coxe, Andrew Smith, Alexander Lockart, David Martin, Robert Pearson, Andrew Reed, Theophilus Phillips, Joseph Decow, Samuel Hunt, and Reuben Armitage.
The common council were Joseph Paxton, Theophilus Severns, Benjamin Biles, Jasper Smith, Cornelius Ringo, Jonathan Stout, Jonathan Waters, Thomas Burrows, jr., George Ely, John Hunt, John Dagworthy, jr., Joseph Phillips, John Welling, William Plasket, Daniel Lanning, and Benjamin Greene. But the inhabitants not experiencing the benefits which were an- ticipated from their charter, they surrendered it to King George II., in the 23d year of his reign, (1750.)
In the year 1756, George II. granted a patent, incorporating the Presby- terian church of Trenton ; appointing Rev. David Cowell, Charles Clark, Esq., Andrew Reed, Esq., Joseph Yard, Arthur Howell, William Green, and Alexander Chambers, trustees, under the name of "Trustees of the Presbyterian Church of Trenton." In 1790, Trenton was made the seat of government of New Jersey. On Nov. 13th, 1792, the city of Trenton was erected from a part of the township of Trenton, with the usual corpo- rate city privileges. In the summer of 1793, the yellow fever prevailing at Philadelphia, the public offices of the United States were removed here .*
TRENTON CITY is situated on Delaware river, 55 m. SW. of New York, 30 NE. from Philadelphia, 10 SW. from Princeton, 26 SW. .. from New Brunswick, and 166 from Washington. In 1840, the population of Trenton and the borough of South Trenton was up- wards of 6,000. Of this number, there were in the city proper 4,035, the remainder in South Trenton. In the city proper, in 1840, there were 103 persons engaged in commerce, 571 in manufactures and trades, and 41 in the learned professions. The city is at the head of steamboat navigation, is regularly laid out, and has many handsome public and private buildings. The localities of Mill Hill, Bloomsbury, and Lamberton, combined in the borough of South Trenton, extending upwards of a mile down the Delaware, would, in a general description of Trenton, be considered as a part of the city. In the city proper, there are a state-house, 100 feet by 60,
* For the preceding historical notice of Trenton, the compilers of this work are in- debted to a series of articles recently published in the Trenton State Gazette, written by the Rev. Eli F. Cooley, pastor of the Presbyterian church in Ewing.
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built of stone, and stuccoed in imitation of granite, a house for the residence of the governor of the state, 2 banks, the state-library, established in 1750, a city hall, a lyceum, and 7 churches, 1 Pres- byterian, 1 Dutch Reformed, 1 Episcopal, 2 Friends, 1 Methodist, and 1 African Methodist. In South Trenton are the Mercer court- house and offices, the state-prison, 4 churches, 1 Baptist, 1 Reform
Bridge across the Delaware, at Trenton.
ed Baptist, 1 Methodist, and 1 Catholic. In 1840, there were in Trenton proper, 50 retail stores, cap. $196,300; 4 lumber-yards, cap. $4,900 ; 3 tanneries, 1 brewery, 1 pottery, 3 paper fac., cap. $30,000 ; 1 rope-walk, 2 flouring-m., 2 grist-m., 3 saw-m., 3 print- ing-offices, 2 binderies, 2 weekly and 1 semi-weekly newspapers ; total cap. in manufac. $247,800; 4 acad. 104 students, 10 schools, 314 scholars.
The Delaware and Raritan canal, forming a sloop navigation from Bordentown to New Brunswick, passes through Trenton, and is here entered by a feeder taken from the Delaware, 23 miles above the city. The canal crosses the Assunpink creek, east of the town, in a fine stone aqueduct. Above the falls, the Delaware is navi- gable for large boats as far as Easton, Pa., which adds much to the commercial advantages of Trenton. The railroad from Jersey City to Camden passes just east of the central part of the place. A railroad branches off at the depot, crosses the Trenton bridge, and continues down the west bank of the Delaware to Philadelphia. A company was chartered in 1831, with a capital of $200,000, for the purpose of taking the water from the river by means of a dam and race-way, and carrying it along and below the city, which has created a very extensive water-power for manufacturing purposes. The Assunpink creek, which divides the city from the borough of South Trenton, also furnishes considerable water-power.
About half a mile from the central part of Trenton, is the beau- tiful covered bridge across the Delaware, justly considered one of the finest specimens of bridge architecture, of wood, in the world. This bridge, 1,100 feet in length, was commenced in May, 1804,
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and finished in Feb., 1806, at an expense of $180,000. It reflects credit upon Mr. Burr, its architect, combining, as it does, the three great objects, convenience of travelling, strength, and durability. The floor is supported by perpendicular iron rods hanging from the arches. It withstood the great flood of 1841, unharmed ; while the more frail structures of a later day were swept away. It ir cross- ed by the Philadelphia and Trenton railroad.
View of the County Buildings, South Trenton.
The annexed is an eastern view of the county buildings in S. ath Trenton, erected upon the formation of Mercer co. The large building in the centre is the courthouse ; that on the left, the sur- rogate's, and the one on the right, the clerk's office. These edifices are built of brick, in the Grecian style, and stuccoed. The steps are of granite, and the basement of sandstone. These buildings were finished in 1839, and cost, exclusive of ground, about $70,000.
Yard
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A. Observatory.
B. Entrance.
C. Porch.
Garden
Garden
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Plan of the State-prison.
The state-prison is situated in South Trenton, about three fourths of a mile below the central part of Trenton, within a few rods of
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the Delaware and Raritan canal, and the railroad from Jersey City to Camden. It consists of a main building, in which reside the family of the keeper, and his assistants. The two wings con- tain the convicts. These buildings are surrounded by stone walls, 20 feet high, and 3 feet thick, which enclose an area of 4 acres.
View in the central part of Trenton.
It is in contemplation, whenever it becomes necessary for the ac- commodation of additional prisoners, to build wings, which, like the present, will radiate from the main building. The prison is warmed by tubes of hot water, passing through the cells. In the coldest weather, the cells can thus be warmed to a temperature of 65°. They are ventilated by apertures in the exterior walls, and also by a flue from each cell to the top of the roof. The air is pure, the outlet pipes perfectly ventilating the building. These pipes are cleaned by water, about 15,000 gallons being daily used for that purpose. The prison is almost perfectly secure. Only one convict has ever escaped, and that when the walls were new, and the mortar soft, so that he was enabled to pry his way through.
"The convicts are employed principally in making shoes, chairs, and in weaving The earnings of the prison now exceed the expenses. This result has been, in a great measure, produced by the system of cash sales and purchases, and rigid economy in expenditures .* 'The provisions and clothing of the prisoners are, in all respects, suit- able to their wants; and their general health is good. The testimony of every suc. ceeding year is thus accumulating in favor of this system of punishment. The prisoner condemned to solitary confinement, at hard labor, has leisure to reflect upon the folly and wickedness which have consigned him to the walls of a dungeon, and to resolve upon a
* Report of the joint committee on the condition of the state-prison, for 1842.
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FRONT VIEW OF THE STATE-PRISON AT TRENTON.
The above view, taken on the line of the Delaware and Raritan canal and the railroad to Camden, shows the front wall of the prison, the main building, in which reside the keeper and assistants, and the roofs of the corridors, in which are the cells of the prisoners
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new course of action after his release. He is withdrawn from the contamination of guilty associations, and can hardly fail to deplore the errors by which he has been re- duced to so pitiable a condition. Both as a means of punishment and of reformation to criminals, the committee believe that the present system is admirably adapted to ful- fil the wishes of its friends and advocates. . . ... There is now attached to the prison a library of near 300 volumes, for the use of the convicts. The books are well selected, and the prisoners avail themselves of the privilege of reading them, with great alacrity. Their minds are thus engaged and exercised, and they are prevented from falling into that besotted and stupid condition, sometimes the result of solitary confinement.'"
The foregoing view is from a drawing taken near the Presbyte- rian church, looking westward. The first building on the right is the Presbyterian church, an elegant brick edifice. The next build- ing beyond is the city-hall, on the corner of Second and Greene sts. A few rods south from this place is the bridge over the Assunpink creek, at a locality of historic interest. The Trenton market is seen in the distance, standing in the middle of the street, and be- yond is the cupola of the statehouse.
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