USA > New Jersey > Middlesex County > History of Middlesex County, New Jersey, 1664-1920, Volume I > Part 25
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The recent appropriation for current school expenses was $29,960. The high school graduates are received in the normal schools and col- leges upon evidence of graduation. The citizens of Metuchen have always manifested a pride in the work of the public school.
Borough of Middlesex-For many years the district now included in the borough of Middlesex, which was formed in 1913, had but a single one-room school, known as Harris Lane School. This building, which is still standing, was erected over one hundred years ago, and is possibly the oldest existing school building in the county of Middlesex. The land on which the building stands was donated to the community by Mr. Hendrick Smock. The teachers were paid by the parents of the pupils attending, and the money for the erection of the school house was raised by public subscription.
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The Pierce, Watchung and Parker schools, all elementary, accommo- date the 500 school population with some difficulty. Population 1,852. At a recent meeting the district voted the sum of $112,000 for an up-to- date, fireproof school building with all modern equipment, much to the credit of the public-spirited citizens of the borough.
Mr. William Love has been in charge of the school supervision since the borough formation, and the results of his work are very commenda- ble. The name of Miss Nora B. Henderson, who taught in the township of Piscataway for a number of years and in the borough of Middlesex since its formation, a total experience of twenty-six years, is a household name in the community.
The men who were most interested in the educational facilities of the new borough were Max F. Wirtz, James V. N. Polhemus, Louis V. Poulson, Stewart C. Crouse, Clinton M. Cary, John L. Douglass, Bayard Naylor, Augustus C. Ramsey, Everett A. Gowdy, John H. Sebring and Joseph White.
The recent appropriation for current school expenses was $41,483, and this amount, together with the amount appropriated for the new building, makes a total appropriation of $153,483. The elementary school graduates attend the Plainfield and Bound Brook high schools. For its age, this young borough is exceedingly promising in educational matters.
Borough of Milltown-The village of Milltown was formerly a por- tion of East Brunswick and North Brunswick townships, separated by a stream known as Lawrence brook. The first school was located some- where back of the Methodist church. Later a two-room school on Main street, was erected.
Milltown was formed into a borough commission in 1888, and erected a four-room school building. Later, the borough commission became a full-fledged borough, and a fine modern eight-room school was erected on a desirable lot, donated to the borough by Mr. James Ford, a resident of New York City, who for many years was interested in Milltown. Later there were four more rooms added to the building, which at the present time is wholly inadequate for a school population of 600 chil- dren. Population 2,573.
The men who have been most prominent in the school supervision of the district are E. W. Merritt, Warren A. Roe, Harry R. B. Meyers, and the present incumbent, Stephen F. Weston, who very recently has taken charge. The teachers who have served for a considerable period in the school are Misses Eva Benham and Annie Merritt. Miss Grace Shaw is now completing her tenth year of faithful service. J. Milton Brindle, Howard S. DeHart and George Heyle have served more than ten years each on the Board of Education. The sum of $28,750 has been raised for the next school year, and the sum of $65,000 has recently been
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voted for the purchase of a playground and the erection of an additional school building. With these additional school accommodations, Mill- town school facilities will be abreast with boroughs of like population.
Borough of Roosevelt-The district known as Roosevelt was formerly known as Blazing Star District, No. 22, and a part of Woodbridge town- ship. The borough of Roosevelt was incorporated in 1906. At that time there was a thirteen-room school in Chrome section of the borough; a four-room school in the Carteret section, and a one-room school at the East Rahway section, which school was later discontinued. So marvelous has been the growth in valuations and population that in order to provide adequate school accommodations, addition after addition to the school buildings became necessary in order to accom- modate 2,000 children of school age. Population 11,047.
The borough has a teaching corps of about fifty teachers. Some seventy-five high school children attend the Rahway High School, and many of the high school graduates have attended the New Jersey Normal Schools and Columbia University.
The school supervision has been in charge of Miss Barbara V. Her- mann as supervising principal for the past thirteen years. The teachers who have served faithfully for ten years or more in said borough are Miss Catherine Hermann, principal of the Carteret section school : Misses Anna Devereux, Mary Devereux, Mary Connolly and Ethel Keller.
The School Board men who have served faithfully for more than ten years are Edward J. Heil, Matthew A. Hermann, Charles H. Morris, Frank J. Born, Patrick J. Coughlin, George W. Morgan and Valentine Gleckner. Appropriation has been made for current expenses for the coming school year of $83,862. The school system of the borough of Roosevelt is one of the most complete elementary systems in the county. Its equipment, including its home-making department, will compare favorably with any borough of the State, of the same population.
Borough of Sayreville-Prior to 1871 the village of Sayreville was a part of the township of South Amboy. In this year the town of South Amboy was incorporated into a borough by a special Act of the Legisla- ture. The remaining section of the township was named after James R. Sayre, one of the founders of the Sayre-Fisher Manufacturing Company, which at that time was the only industry in the township, but to-day it is conceded to be one of the largest industries of its kind in the world.
The school trustees of the district, which was then known as Dis- trict No. 37, advocated and erected a school building at a cost of $4,000, which was then and still is known as School No. I in said district. This district has recently been made the borough of Sayreville. At the present time, the district embraces three school buildings, the school property at Ernston having been taken by the Government during the war. The
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school population numbers about 600. The graduates of the elementary school attend high school in South Amboy and New Brunswick. Popula- tion 7,181.
Mr. Jesse Selover has been supervising principal of this district for fourteen years, or more, having acted previously as principal of No. I School for a period of five years. Among the teachers who have served faithfully and well for the past ten years or more, are Misses Mercy Hillmann, Emma Arleth and Catherine Samsel. Mr. James N. Blew, now deceased, served as a School Board man for a period of twenty years and Mr. George L. Sullivan for more than ten years.
The current expense appropriation for the coming year is about $25,000, and at a recent meeting an appropriation of $105,000 was voted for a new school building which has been greatly needed for a number of years. With the completion of the new building, the borough of Sayreville will have reason to be proud of its public school accommoda- tions and instruction.
Borough of South River-The borough of South River was formerly a part of the township of East Brunswick. Later it was made a commis- sion by special Act of the Legislature, and at a comparatively recent date it was made a full fledged borough. Until 1908 the three-room brick building, with several additions, met the school requirements. After that date the growth of the borough necessitated additional school build- ings. No. 2 and No. 3, buildings of considerable size, have been erected to meet the demands of the school population, and No. 3 is used for High School purposes. The school population is about 1,300, and the teachers number 36. Population 6,596.
Those most prominently in charge of the school supervision of recent years have been William Campbell, Francis P. O'Brien, Louis J. Kaser, William H. Connors, and T. Frank Tabor, who has been super- vising principal for the past three years. Among the teachers who have served long and well in this district are Misses Sarah T. M. Brown, Mary Stadler, Estelle Van Arsdale, Theresa Smith and Jessie Henderson. Their long term of faithful service justifies special mention. Mr. George Allgair has been a member of the School Board for twenty-four contin- uous years, and Rev. William J. Kern for a period of ten years.
The sum of $55,998 has been appropriated for the current expenses for the coming school year, and $155,000 for alterations to School No. I. School No. I, while among the most substantially built school buildings of the county, has become antiquated, and the Board of Education is planning to make either substantial alterations or erect a new building. When this has been accomplished, the borough of South River will have provided ample and modern school accommodations for the school popu- lation, which is increasing very rapidly.
Borough of Spotswood-The borough of Spotswood was formerly a part of the township of East Brunswick, and became a borough in 1908.
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For many years the one-room school taught by Miss Eugenia Dimmick was well known throughout the county for its high grade of work. Later an additional room was added, and Mr. Thomas G. Van Kirk became the principal. In 1901, the old school building was used for a fire department, and an up-to-date four-room brick building was erected across the road- way immediately opposite the old building. This borough has a school population of about 250, and at present necessitates half-day classes in some of the grades. Population 704.
School supervision has been in charge of Miss Anna Fitts, who has taught in the district for a period of twenty-six years, and has been act- ing as supervising principal for the past eleven years. The names of Roy P. Stillwell and Mark W. Swetland appear prominently as princi- pals of the school, immediately prior to the borough formation. Mr. John O. Cozzens has been a member of the Board of Education contin- uously for a period of forty-four years, and is the dean of School Board men of the county. Mr. Charles DeVoe has rendered many years of valuable service as a School Board man.
The sum of $3,027 has been appropriated for the current school expenses during the coming year. This district is in need of additional school accommodations. At least two rooms should be added at once to the present school building. The grounds are ample and well kept. The graduates of this school are transported by automobile to the James- burg High School.
Township of Cranbury-The history of the Cranbury schools dates from the organization of the first church in 1738. There is a record of an Indian mission school about 1756, established by David Brainard. Later, two district schools were organized, one known as the South Cranbury School, and the other as the Bunker Hill School. These schools were separated by a considerable lake, and continued to vie with each other until the new grammar school was built in 1896. The Board of Educa- tion closed the school at Cranbury Neck and Wycoff's Mills, and trans- ported the pupils to a central grammar school. This transportation necessitated an enlargement of the grammar school building to eight rooms, with a manual training room equipment.
In 1919, that portion of the township of Cranbury commonly known as Plainsboro, was set off by the Legislature into the new township of Plainsboro. This separation leaves one large elementary school building in the township, to which children are transported by a number of con- veyances. The graduates of this elementary school are transported by autos to the high school in Hightstown. The school population of Cran- bury township is about 250, and the corps of teachers is eight in num- ber. Population 1,083.
Valuable service was rendered during the two-school period by Miss Ella Davis (later Mrs. Amzi Duncan), and Miss Holmes. Miss Laura
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Scudder has been a teacher in said district continuously for a period of twenty-two years, and Miss Anna L. Ervin for a period of sixteen years. For the past eight years Mr. Floyd L. Evans has occupied the position of supervising principal of said district.
Mr. William F. Perrine and Howard J. Butcher have been board members continuously for over twenty-five years, and John V. B. Wicoff, R. S. Mason, E. S. Barclay, S. H. Perrine, D. J. Wilson and J. H. Conover have served on the Board of Education for a period of more than ten years. The current expense appropriation for the coming year was $13,300. This district requires additional school accommo- dations of at least two rooms and an auditorium. These improvements are now being considered by the Board of Education.
Township of East Brunswick-Some years ago, the township of East Brunswick included what is now known as the borough of South River, borough of Helmetta, borough of Spotswood, and a portion of the bor- ough of Milltown. The oldest building in the district is the Weston's Mills School, No. 2, which is still standing, but abandoned. It is situated near the location of the old tollgate on the New Brunswick and Old Bridge turnpike. There are five school buildings within the district, three of which are graded schools. The graduates from the elementary school are transported to the high school at South River and the high school at New Brunswick. The school population is about 500 and the number of instructors 12. Population 1,857.
The school supervision of this district has been in charge of Mr. John F. D. Heineken for a period of twenty-one years. Misses Kathryn A. Newmyer and Mae A. Newmyer have rendered valuable service as teachers continuously for more than ten years in this district. Nine years of valuable service was rendered by Mr. Harry R. B. Meyers as principal of School No. 7, Dunham's Corner, immediately prior to his election as supervising principal of the borough of Milltown. Dr. I. C. Crandall has served upon the School Board for twenty-one years, and Mr. Henry Warnsdorfer for more than ten years. The current school expense appropriation for the coming year is $8,500.
The townships of Sayreville and Madison send a considerable num- ber of pupils to the Old Bridge School, in which there is not sufficient room for desirable work, and, unless said townships erect additional school buildings for the accommodation of their pupils, it will be abso- lutely necessary for the Board of Education to enlarge the present school building at Old Bridge. The township territory remaining, after the formation of four boroughs, presents a difficult problem to the school administrators, the solution of which will ultimately be a consolidation of schools, with transportation.
Township of Madison-Madison township contains seven public schools. The building located in the Morristown section is undoubtedly
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the oldest building in the township. The school population in the district is about 400. The graduates of the elementary school attend the high schools at Jamesburg, Matawan and Perth Amboy. Population 1,808.
The school administration of this district was in charge of Mr. Asbury Fountain for more than ten years. He was succeeded three years ago by Mr. Raymond E. Voorhees, the present supervising principal. Miss Marguerite Winter has given twenty-four years of continuous service in the Morristown district, and it would be difficult to overvalue her work in that community. Mrs. Lambertson (formerly Miss Bessie Warne), and Miss Viola Wilson have given more than ten years, respectively, of teaching. The School Board men, who have rendered more than ten years of service, are Edward Barker, John Otto, Michael Schulmeister and D. H. Brown.
Appropriation has been made for current expenses for the coming school year of $8,802. By reason of the proximity of so many school children living on the Madison township line near the village of Old Bridge, and the establishment of the sections known as Nos. I and 2, Brunswick Gardens, a new four-room school building is very much needed and should be located centrally, so as to provide school accom- modations for the children of these three sections. The Board of Educa- tion realizes the condition, and will undoubtedly meet the requirements of the law.
Township of Monroe-In the early days the township of Monroe had seven schools. The same school locations still exist with improved school buildings. The school population numbers about 300 pupils, and all of the graduates of the elementary schools attend the Jamesburg High School or Hightstown High School. Population 2,006.
The school supervision has been in charge of the following super- vising principals : Messrs. William H. Connors, Roy R. Stillwell, Harris A. Jamison and Raymond E. Voorhees, who is the present supervisor. Miss Rebecca T. Allen has rendered faithful service in this district for a period of twenty-nine years continuously. Mr. Daniel W. Clayton, Mr. George Mount and Mr. James H. Tilton have served upon the Board of Education for many years. Mr. Daniel W. Clayton was a charter member of the County School Board Association, and has been its treasurer ever since its organization. The current expense appropria- tion for the coming school year is $12,000.
The schools known as Gravel Hill, Dey Grove, Pleasant Grove and Old Church, should be closed, and the pupils transported to a new, up-to-date school building in a central location.
Township of North Brunswick-There are four school buildings in the township of North Brunswick, the oldest of which is Oak Hill, which is known to have been in existence for more than eighty years. The earliest record (1861), reveals the fact that George B. Wight, who later
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became the Rev. George B. Wight, was the teacher. Mr. Wight entered the Civil War, and later he became one of the best known Methodist ministers in the State.
The other schools are known as Red Lion, Livingston Park and Adams. The city of New Brunswick has recently taken a portion of North Brunswick township into the city limits, which will to some extent affect the attendance in the Livingston Park School. The graduates from the elementary schools attend the New Brunswick High School. The school population numbers 200. Population 1,399.
Mrs. Anna Williams has given seventeen continuous years of school service in this district, and Mrs. Ruckman (formerly Miss Mamie F. Tracy), has taught in this district for fourteen years. Miss Bessie M. Schoenly, the supervising principal, has been in charge for the past five years. Mr. Thomas W. Buckelew has been a member of the School Board for thirty years, and Mr. Edward W. Suydam has served for a period of over ten years.
The appropriation for this district for current expenses is $11,480. The board is wisely transporting the children from the Oak Hill school to the graded school at Milltown. It has purchased a valuable lot upon which to erect a new school building at or near Berdine's Corner. A new one-room school building has just been completed at Adams Sta- tion, which is known as an Italian settlement. This new building will give much needed relief to the Red Lion Graded School, which was greatly overcrowded.
Township of Piscataway-Fifty years ago, the township of Piscataway included within its borders what are now known as the borough of Dun- nellen and the borough of Middlesex. There were seven small ungraded schools, with seven teachers. Now there are three large graded schools and one ungraded school, with a corps of twenty-four teachers. The school building at New Market, South Plainfield and Brunswick avenue, are large and well equipped schools. The school population is about 1,000 pupils. The graduates of the elementary schools attend the high school at Plainfield, New Brunswick and Bound Brook. Population 5,385.
The school supervision has been in charge of Mr. Alfred Wilson (now principal of one of the largest schools in Newark), and Mr. William F. Mets, who has occupied the position of supervising principal of the township for the past fifteen years. Misses Meta F. Soper, Carolyn Van Pelt, Harriet I. Gregory and Mabel A. Bowers, and Mr. Frank Meskill, have taught successfully and continuously for many years in the district. Among the men who have served more than ten years upon the School Board are: Everett Marshall, A. G. Nelson, John Geary, J. F. Ten Eyck and F. O. Nelson. The appropriation for the approaching year is $47,141. By reason of the increase of school population in South
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Plainfield, another graded school building is required to provide the school accommodations demanded by law. The Board of Education is already considering such a building, and when it shall have been erected, Piscataway school district will have reason to feel proud of its public school facilities.
Township of Plainsboro-What is now known as the township of Plainsboro has had only one school building in its territory for many many years. The rapid growth of the community required buildings providing four school-rooms. The people of the district have voted $50,000 for the purpose of erecting an up-to-date four-room school, of Princeton stone, with spacious auditorium, home-making department, shower baths, electric light, with ample recreation grounds. School population of this district is 125. Population 800.
The school supervision has been in charge of Mr. Floyd L. Evans, who has acted in the capacity of supervising principal for the past ten years. Miss Luella Hults has taught in this community for a period of ten years. Mr. John V. B. Wicoff, who as a young man attended the old one-room school, has for many years been the firm and progressive friend of the public school interests of Plainsboro, and together with Mr. H. W. Jeffers, was largely instrumental in the formation of the dis- trict.
Appropriation has been made for current expenses for the coming year of $4,000. Since the recent formation of this new district, which includes a portion of the territory of Cranbury and South Brunswick townships, a number of prominent men have become interested in the character of the school facilities and the government of the township; among them are Mr. Henry W. Jeffers, superintendent of the Walker- Gordon Dairy Farms, and a number of officials from the Rockefeller Institute. This locality catches the educational echo from old Prince- ton College. Graduates from the elementary department are transported to the Princeton High School. The school facilities of this new town- ship are full of promise.
Township of Raritan-The township of Raritan, prior to 1904, con- tained ten school districts, nearly all one-room school buildings. In 1904, the borough of Metuchen was formed, and in 1906 the borough of High- land Park was organized out of the territory of Raritan township, thus removing from the township all the graded school buildings. In 1908, a movement for larger and better schools was begun, which resulted in the building of two four-room school buildings in the following year. The population in the Piscatawaytown-Lindenau section grew so rap- idly as to necessitate an up-to-date eight-room brick building, which at the present time is inadequate. The school population is about 1,100, and is distributed so widely over the district that transportation is required in several directions. Population 5,419.
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For a number of years, Mr. Thomas G. Van Kirk was supervising principal of the district. He was succeeded by Mr. Charles Runyon, who has acted in the capacity of supervising principal for the past sixteen years. The names of Wilfred R. Woodward, Miss Dillie F. Thornall, Miss Susan M. Fillips, Mrs. Charles Runyon (formerly Miss Jennie E. Serviss), Mrs. Elizabeth L. Swackhamer, Mrs. Charlotte R. Haas, Miss Clara E. Runyon, Mrs. George Carman (formerly Miss Josephine Flana- gan), and Samuel R. Brash, are worthy of notice for long terms of service, especially Misses Susan M. Fillips and Dillie F. Thornall, who have taught in the district continuously for twenty-eight years; and Mrs. George Carman and Mr. Wilfred R. Woodward, for a period of twenty- four years. The administrative line of work has been largely con- trolled by William T. Woerner, who has been a member of the board continuously for thirty-six years, William Carman, 35 years, and Jerry W. Letson, who served on the board for a period of more than ten years.
The appropriation for the coming year is $60,000. The district has recently raised for new buildings $250,000. It is proposed to pur- chase a desirable lot of considerable size on the trolley line between Metuchen and Fords, and erect an up-to-date eight-room building, and to add six or eight rooms to the Piscatawaytown building. When these improvements shall have been made, the district will have excellent school facilities, considering the awkward territory left in the township after taking away the borough territory of Metuchen and Highland Park.
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