USA > New Jersey > Essex County > Montclair > History of Montclair township state of New Jersey; including the history of the families who have been identified with its growth and prosperity > Part 7
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WHEFLER'S MILL.
the first ever made in this country. He made many changes and improvements in the machinery, utilizing the water power for spinning and carding the wool : the manufacture of the goods was all done on hand looms. Mr. Wildle employed about 100 hands. most of whom were brought from England. The manufactured goods were disposed of in the New York market, and Mr. Wilde was awarded a number of prizes by the American Institute Fair for the superior quality of his goods. Owing to the partial failure of the water power, which proved insufficient for the manufacture of heavy goods, they gave up the manufacture of these for goods of lighter weight, and engaged in the manufacture of white flannels of a high grade, said to be the best in the market. The firm became embarrassed during the panic of 1837, and the elder Wilde withdrew from the business in 1939.
John Wilde, of the New York firm of Wilde, Faulkner & Co., soon after occupied the premises and began the manufacture of calico prints, and disposed of their goods through Dennis Brigham & Co ..
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
who were subsequently obliged to take the business, owing to the failure of Wilde, Faulkner & Co. Dennis Brigham subsequently withdrew from his own firm and continued to carry on the print works until 1853.
The buildings remained unoccupied for some years, and in the interim the lower mill was burned. The remaining one was leased in 1556 by Grant J. Wheeler for the manufacture of paper and oakum. which was then done by hand. AAssociated with him were Jason Crane and James, the son of Israel Crane. under the firm name of Crane. Wheeler & Co. The business did not prove successful. and in 1.57 the firm was obliged to go into liquidation. In 1858 Mr. Wheeler organized a new firm in connec- tion with James C. Beach, under the name of I. G. Wheeler & Co .. for the purpose of carrying on the manufacture of straw board. These goods were previously made by hand and dried in the sun. The new firm invented a process for making a continuous sheet of straw board, and. by means of steam rollers, drying it at the same time. They were the original inventors of this process, by which they were enabled to produce the goods in quantities in excess of the home market. and they worked up a large export trade. Through the increase of production it was soon discovered that the goods could be profit- ably used for other purposes, and thus the demand was largely increased, and a better class of goods produced. I'nder the old process the goods brought but $40 a ton, while under the new-even with the increased supply-the price advanced to $140 a ton. The wonderful success that followed induced competition, and although the process of manufacture as well as the machinery was covered by letters patent, a failure to patent one simple machine, and the discovery that a similar proces- had been used in France many years previous, led to prolonged and expensive litigation ; and the price of goods fell from $140 to $50 a ton. Both Mr. Wheeler and Mr. Beach were men of great inventive genius, and but for the unfortunate oversight would have accumulated immense wealth. They made the material and constructed by hand the first paper car-wheel ever made in this country.
At the time they purchased the plant the waterfall of Toney's Brook was sufficient to furnish from 50 to 75 horse power, but the streams and rivulet- from which it was supplied were diverted in their course, and the water supply ent off, so that the firm was obliged to resort to steam power in addition. A successful business was carried on until isst. In the meantime the State Legislature having passed an act to prevent the pollution of the streams in East New Jersey, the successors of the old firm were indicted by the Board of Health and compelled to close the mill and remove their plant some miles distant to Waverly. N. J.
Referring to this stream and also what was known as Third River. Gordon tin 1-30) says : " These streams are the source of wealth to the township, and have converted it almost wholly into a manu- facturing village."
A few years ago, while excavating for the foundation of a steam-engine underneath Wheeler's mill, there was found. ten feet below the surface, a number of Indian relies, showing that the same locality had been used by the Indian- for the construction of arrow heads, cooking utensils, and articles of stone for grinding corn, etc. Some forty years ago a number of valuable pearls were found near the source of Third River-known as Notch Brook-one of which, it is said. was sold to Tiffany & Co., and by that firm to Empress Eugenie for $2,000.
CONSTRUCTION OF NEWARK AND POMPTON TURNPIKE .- BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT.
Previous to 1800 the whole region of country comprising what was afterward Bloomfield township, was wholly devoted to agricultural purposes. and little or no business was transaeted in this locality, the farmers relying principally on Newark for their supplies. The construction of the Newark and Pompton Turnpike, of which Israel Crane was the projector, wrought in the course of a few years a great change. and West Bloomfield became the centre of traffic, and at one time drew a large amount of trade from Paterson and beyond. and bid fair to rival that town in importance.
The Newark and Pompton Turnpike Company was incorporated February 24, 1806. The ineor- porator- were John N. Cumming, John Dodd. Israel Crane. Noah Sayre, Isaac Mead. Robert Gonld. and
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
Nathaniel Douglass ; the commissioners, Andrew Wilson, Nathaniel Camp and Richard Edsal. Israel Crane was President of the Company. A part of the capital stock-four thousand dollars a mile-was made payable in work. The road was to cross the Passaic River, near Little Falls, and to pass through " the more convenient gap in the mountain near Cranetown." Starting from North Broad Street (near Belleville Avenue, Newark), it ran northwesterly direct to Bloomfield and Cranetown, thence over the First Mountain to Caldwell and Parsippany, crossing at Pine Brook, with branch from the west side of the mountain to Syngack ; there were four toll gates, six miles apart-one near the Morris Canal, another at the top of the mountain, another at Pine Brook, the last at Syngack (near the upper Passaic). The road cut diagonally through several farms, and thus aroused a strong opposition on the part of some of the farmers, which was finally allayed.
The road was not a paying investment, and became largely indebted to Mr. Crane for repairs, etc., and finally passed into his possession. After his death it was sold by his heirs to the Essex Public Road Board ; the Company still has, however, a nominal existence. Within a few years the road has been widened and graded, and now forms a beautiful drive through Bloomfield and Montelair, to the top of the mountain, thence to Caldwell, and is known as Bloomfield Avenue.
When the road was originally constructed Mr. Crane ent " the little turnpike "-the street past the present depot (now known as Spring Street)-from the turnpike to his store, and his business became very large and widely extended. He had a large quarry in Newark, where he employed a number of hands who obtained their supplies from this store. He also had a large cider mill and distillery, which before the days of temperance agitation were liberally patronized by the best class of people. A large peael production at one time was manufactured into brandy at the distillery, and the Jersey "peach brandy." became as famons as Jersey " applejack." The far famed Harrison. Canfield and Baldwin apples, which originated in this section, were shipped to every part of the country, and the eider made from these apples was said to be the best in the market. The Baldwins and Harrisons also did a thriving business in the manufacture of cider, and there was at one time upward of six thousand barrels a year of Newark cider produced, a large portion of which came from this locality.
The taunery of Smith & Doremus ( Matthias Smith, father of Charles and Melancthon Smith, and Peter, the father of Joseph and Philip Doremus), south of the Presbyterian Church, soon after 1807 brought its hides from New York, its bark from over the mountain, and sold its leather to the boot and shoe manufacturers of Bloomfield and Orange. Peter Doremis also did an extensive business in dry goods and groceries, and being located at a convenient point on the turnpike, near the present store of his son Philip, canght a great deal of the farmers' trade before it reached other localities.
Gordon's Cyclopedia, published in 1832, gives the entire population of Bloomfield township, which then embraced an entire area of 14,000 acres, and included the present township of Belleville at 4,309. " In 1832 the township contained 500 taxables and 206 householders whose ratable estate did not exceed $30; $2 single men, 17 merchants, 6 grist mills, 2 cotton manufactories, 5 saw mills. 4 rolling mills for copper, 3 paper mills, I paint factory. 2 calieo printing and bleaching works, one very extensive 40 ton vat. 3 woollen factories, and several very extensive shoe factories; 387 horses and mules, 862 neat cattle, above three years old. The township paid state tax $754.50, county $287.37, poor tax $1,200, road tax $1,200. The annual value of manufactured products probably exceeded $2,500,000."
Reference is also made to the villages of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield (designated as one village). "The chief part of the town lies upon the old road, but part of it on the turnpike. It contains about 1,600 inhabitants, above 250 dwellings, 2 hotels, an academy. boarding school, + large common schools, 12 stores, 1 Presbyterian church, 2 Methodist churches. [one in Bloomfield and one in West Bloomfield]; a very extensive trade is carried on here in tanning, currying and shoemaking, and the following manufactories are considered annexed to the town-two woollen factories, 1 mahogany saw mill, 1 cotton mill. 1 rolling mill, 1 calico print works, 2 saw mills for ordinary work. 1 paper mill, 1 grist mill."
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
A thriving business was done here in the manufacture of fur and other hats-all hand made --- and it is said that John Jacob Astor, of whom the skins were purchased, made occasional trips here to look after his interests. One of the largest mannfactories in this line was carried on by Capt. Joseph Mann and Nathaniel Baldwin, under the firm name of Munn & Baldwin.
The introdnetion of machinery and the establishment of large manufactories in the East, which supplied the trade throughout the country, wrought a material change in West Bloomfield : it ceased to be a manufacturing eentre, and became noted for its excellent boarding schools, and other educational advantages. A few years later parties from New York, who had sent their children here to be edueated, were impressed with the healthfulness of the locality and the beauty of its surroundings, and began to make this a place of summer resort. It was not, however, until the opening of railroad communication with New York City, that business men were enabled to avail themselves of its many advantages as a place of permanent residence.
The history of railroads in the counties of Essex and Hudson is contemporaneous with the history of the introduction of these great highways of travel into the United States and almost parallel with the success of railroading in England. As early as 1512 Colonel John Stevens, of Hoboken, published a pamphlet urging the government to make experiments in railways traversed by steam carriages, and, if feasible, proposed the construction of such a railway from Albany to Lake Erie : and long before George Stephenson, of England, who in 1829 "demonstrated that the locomotive was competent, not only to move itself, but also to drag a heavy load." Stevens had demonstrated its practicability by constructing a circular railroad track around the town hall in Hoboken, where he ran his locomotive for some weeks to the delight of thousands who witnessed the experiment.
The first railroad enterprise started in New Jersey was that of the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company, which was incorporated by the State Legislature on the tth of February, 1830. [The road ran from Camden to Amboy.] At the same time the Delaware and Raritan Canal Company was incorporated, and in 1531 the two companies were consolidated. The Paterson and Hudson River Railroad was chartered in 1-31, and subsequently became a part of the Erie Railroad. The New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company was chartered by the State Legislature in 1832. having passed the Assembly by a vote of 39 to 5, after a bitter fight on the part of its opponent, the Camden and Amboy Railroad and Transportation Company.
NEWARK AND BLOOMFIELD RAILROAD COMPANY.
The people of Bloomfield and West Bloomfield had witnessed the effect of improved railroad communication with other suburban towns in New Jersey for many years which followed the substitution of the means of rapid transit over the old slow stage coach.
It was not. however, until 1-54 that any actual steps were taken to open railroad communication between these points and New York. A few enterprising gentlemen of Bloomfield and West Bloom- field, after considering the feasibility of such an enterprise, obtained a charter from the Legislature for the organization of a company known as the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company.
The West Bloomfield incorporators were Zenas S. Crane, Grant J. Wheeler and William S. Morris ; those from Bloomfield were Joseph A. Davis, Ira Dodd (who afterward became the Superintendent), David Oakes. Robert L. Cook, David Congar and Warren S. Baldwin.
The Company elected as its first Board of Directors William HI. Harris, Grant JI. Wheeler and Jared D. Harrison, of West Bloomfield : Joseph A. Davis, Ira Dodd, Wright F. Congar and Jason Crane, of Bloomfield. The Board organized by the election of Joseph A. Davis as President of the Company.
The comparatively small population and limited means of the inhabitants of Bloomfield Township, and the difference of opinion among them as to the best route and termination, made it very difficult to get the necessary subscriptions to the capital stock. Some favored the route to the Morris neighborhood,
HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
while others insisted that it should terminate at West Bloomfield. After repeated and unsnecessful efforts to secure sufficient funds to build the road, the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company encouraged the belief that they would give financial aid to the enterprise so that the road might be built. Two of the representatives of that road, Dr. John S. Darcy and John P. Jakson-recognized as two of the leading railroad men in the State of New Jersey-were elected members of the Board of Directors of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company.
The design of that Company (The New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company) was to reap the benefit of a condition in the contract which had been made with the Morris and Essex Railroad Company at the time of building the bridge over the Passaic and the connection with that railroad. This condition was that the New Jersey Railroad should have the right of way for the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad alongside of the track of the Morris and Essex Company as far as Roseville or East Orange, without expense, which privilege the New Jersey Railroad estimated to be worth at least One Hundred Thousand Dollars.
Having secured this position with the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company, they were not disposed to push the enterprise to completion, but rather to pursue a Fabian policy of delay. They suggested the advisability of interesting parties in Boonton and Paterson and other places, without avail. Finally, when the Bloomfield Directors became impatient at the delays, a survey was made by the engineers of the New Jersey Company, who placed the cost of building the road at from $175,000 to $225,000, and the only proposition which they considered feasible was that the subseription to the capital stock should be increased to at least $75,000, when the New Jersey Road would endorse the bonds of the new company to say $150,000, and thus seeure the means for building the road.
The Board of Directors of the Newark and Bloomfield Road held several meetings, but made little or no progress. Finally, however, at a meeting of this Board, the representatives of the New Jersey Railroad and Transportation Company proposed that the Bloomfield Directors should be appointed a committee with power to secure the means for the construction of the road, and call a meeting of the full Board when that was seeured. They evidently thought it impossible for them to obtain outside assistance. Complications had arisen between the New Jersey Railroad Company and the Morris and Essex Railroad Company in reference to their bridge contract, and the latter company felt very much aggrieved at the conduet of the New Jersey Company, and desired to relieve themselves, as far as possible, from the valuable privilege for right of way which they had given for the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company along their traek.
The suggestion was made by their representatives to this committee that they would like to enter into negotiations with them for building the road. Thereupon a corps of their civil engineers was placed on the route from Roseville to West Bloomfield, and estimated the cost at $105,000, or abont one-half the eost estimated by the engineers of the New Jersey Company. A written contract was then entered into between the Morris and Essex Railroad Company and the Committee of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company, which provided that the Morris and Essex Company would subscribe $55,000 to the capital stock of the road, on condition that the Committee of the Newark and Bloomfield Road should increase their outside subseriptions from 840,000 to $50,000, the total sum according to estimates made ($105,000) to build the road. This agreement was made in writing and signed by the respective parties. A meeting of the full Board of Directors of the Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company was then called and the committee reported the arrangements which they had made with the Morris and Essex Company. The New Jersey representatives were greatly surprised at the results, and suggested more favorable terms. But the agreement having been definitely settled, according to the authority previously given to that committee, there was no opportunity for any change. The representatives of the New Jersey Railroad Company in the Board, finding that their " occupation was gone." immediately resigned. These vacancies were filled by Messrs. Bassenger and Faitoute, representing the Morris and Essex Railroad Company.
The work of grading and constructing the road was begun in 1855, and completed to its present
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
terminus in 1856. The $105.000 which was raised proved to be not only sufficient for grading and building the road, but left a balance sufficient to purchase a locomotive which was named the " Bloomfield." The trains commenced running to Bloomfield in the early part of the year 1856: the first trains were run to Montelair during the month of June of that year. The equipments consisted of one locomotive, two passenger cars, and one baggage car, which ran regularly between West Bloomfield and Newark, connecting with the Morris and Essex Railroad for New York. These equipments at the time were amply sufficient to accommodate travel.
There was a deficit of $330 at the end of the first seven months. When first opened the same person sold the tickets at West Bloomfield station and acted as brakeman on the railroad.
Although at first there was a small deficit, yet the Company did a profitable business, and 87,000 tickets were sold during the first year ; at the end of the second year a small dividend was declared by the Company to its stockholders. The Morris and Essex Railroad Company, having a majority of the stock,
THE OLD D., L. & W. R. R. STATION.
proceeded to elect a majority of the Board of Directors, and so manipulated the expenses of the road that it practially absorbed all the income, and proposed in exchange Morris and Essex stock for the stock of The Newark and Bloomfield Railroad Company, which the individual stockholders accepted, so that the road finally fell into the hands of the Morris and Essex Railroad Company. When the lease was made by that Company to the Delaware. Lackawanna and Western Company it included the Bloomfield branch, which has since been operated by that Company.
Continnous trains from Montelair to New York were not run for several years after the road was built, and not until the Montelair and Greenwood Lake Railroad Company was built. It is believed by persons who are familiar with railroad enterprises that no piece of road of the same cost in this country produces a larger net revenue than is received by the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western from the original Bloomfield branch.
THE NEW SETTLEMENT-"QUI TRANSTULET SUSTINET"
With the opening of railroad communication, the influx of New York and other business men began. Among the earliest settlers were William H. Harris, Grant J. Wheeler, Frederick H. Harris, Dr. J. J. H. Love. Julius II. Pratt. Henry A. Chittenden. Stephen Parkhurst, Henry Nason, William B. Bradbury, Robert Hening, N. O. Pillsbury, Joseph B. Beadle, Samuel Wilde, Dr. H. H. Lloyd, and others.
These men formed the nnelens of the new settlement. They bought their little farms at $150 to $300 an acre, hoping to enjoy the quiet repose of a delightful and healthy country village, little dreaming of the great developments that awaited them. Could they have foreseen the changes that a few years would bring-that their farm lands would be worth as much per running foot as they paid per acre, they would have mortgaged all their possessions if necessary, and doubled their purchases. They
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HISTORY OF MONTCLAIR TOWNSHIP.
builded better than they knew, and soon their plowshares were beaten into (rail) road shares, their pruning hooks into silver hooks; the beautiful country villas took the place of the old farm houses; the familiar well sweep disappeared, and the song of the "Old oaken bucket which hung in the well" was heard no more; the apostles of temperance laid an embargo on JJersey cider and Jersey "applejack "; the mills were closed, the "grinders ceased because they were few," and the piercing shriek of the locomotive reminded the farmer that the husking bees as well as the honey bees must take their departure, for the " city folks " had come to stay.
The newcomers brought with them new ideas not at all in harmony with the old. For nearly half a century this locality had been known as West Bloomfield, and the old people held the name in the greatest veneration because it was associated with General Bloomfield, who gave the original township its name. The new settlers, however, found it very inconvenient. Their letters frequently miscarried, and either stopped at Bloomfield or went to West Bloomfield in New York State. Strangers visiting the village, thinking it a part of Bloomfield, would purchase their tickets and check their baggage thereto. A public meeting was held in 1860, and a change in the name decided upon. Several names were suggested, but among those which received most favor were Eagleton, Hillside, and Claremont. On referring to the map of the United States it was found there were several places of the name of Claremont ; the difficulty was solved however by Mr. Julins II. Pratt, who suggested reversing the name and calling it Montelair. This suggestion was favorably received, but when the matter was put to vote it was found that Eagleton had 73, Montelair 57, and Hillside 7 votes. There was nothing legally binding in this vote and the majority of the property holders were in favor of adopting the name of Montelair. They first induced the railroad managers to change the name of their station. A petition signed by a large number of the property holders was put in circulation by Mr. Robert M. Hening, and through his personal influence with Mr. Casson, the Assistant Postmaster General, the change in name of the post-office was adopted in 1860, the name of West Bloomfield being dropped and that of Montclair substituted.
The name of Montelair is unique. At the time this name was selected it was nowhere to be found on the map of the United States, and it had even been obliterated from the map of Europe, During the Franco-Prussian war a'correspondent of the New York Herald discovered on the banks of the Rhine, in Germany, the ruins of an old castle formerly known as Montclair, which was destroyed during the crusades by Theodore Baldwin, the founder of the Baldwin family. That his descendants should have been one of the founders of this locality which has perpetuated the name is a noteworthy fact.
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