USA > New Jersey > Morris County > History of Morris County, New Jersey > Part 53
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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
serves to keep the scales of the farmer's income and out- go measurably balanced. If the measures for draining this large tract of land are ever carried out, as recom- mended in the report of our State geologist in 1869, all the advantages therein set forth would no doubt be fully realized.
This township ranks as a decided dairy region. In this respect, however, it does not take rank, either in ex- tent or richness, with the southeastern portions of the State of New York. Perhaps it would better be classed as a stock-raising locality. Formerly, indeed, the fatten- ing of cattle was one of the main sources of safe income among farmers. Large quantities of upland hay were formerly carried to the markets of Newark and Paterson, but of late much of this product has been utilized at home in maintaining stock for the production, of milk. As to the rotation of crops best calculated to promote the largest production of upland grass of the first quality, some little difference of opinion prevails, but it is ad- mitted on all sides that exhaustion of the soil in cereals of any kind is a poor policy.
The rapid growth of the milk trade in this part of the county, and the extent of that enterprise, demand partic- ular notice. This business is the growth of the last quarter of a century The first can of milk sent to the New York market from this section was produced about the year 1840 on the farm of William F. Smith of Parsip- pany, who shipped it directly to the retailer. Finding the demand on the increase he associated himself with some of his neighbors, still shipping directly to the re- tailer. This was the humble beginning of what is now, perhaps, the leading agricultural pursuit of the township. This pursuit as now developed is conducted through some dozen firms, who daily ship about 200 cans of milk to the cities of the seaboard, realizing in return about $80,000 per annum. Whether the production of milk will long continue to be the chief agricultural aim of this region, or whether there will be a return to the old deal- ing in hay, depends much upon the facilities for trans- portation which may be hereafter developed. One thing, however, is certain; the high average value of lands in this township, $60 per acre, taken in connection with the fact that they are held exclusively for farming purposes, indicates no ordinary agricultural advantages.
THE IRON ERA.
As has been before stated, the people of Hanover township were at an early date engaged in the manufac- ture of iron. The proximity of iron ore, to be had by simply picking it up on the surface of the earth; streams of gentle declivity, flowing through a rolling country and offering power sites at little cost; a country well stocked with forests from which to make charcoal, and needy markets in a new and developing colony, were in- ducements which this region presented to hardy and ad- venturous men at the date of its settlement. We who live in this day of steam transportation may smile at the idea of an important manufacture being conducted in such manner as that in which tradition assures us the
business of this locality was conducted by those old col- onists. " The ore obtained at Succasunna," says tradi- tion, "was conveyed in leathern bags on horses' backs to the forges, and the manufactured article carried in the same primitive way to the markets of Newark and New York." Notwithstanding all this the business was so re- numerative as to induce the erection of at least three forges upon the Whippany River and two others upon its tributaries, one at Troy and another at Malapardis, while a sixth was located on the Hanover side of the Rockaway River at Old Boonton. Indeed, notwithstand- ing the tedious transportation of ore from the mines above Rockaway and Dover, and the further cost of con- veying charcoal from at least as great a distance, the last of these " old forges," that at Troy, hammered its last bar only a few years before the late rebellion, and remains of the ponderous timbers which entered into its construc- tion may still be seen upon the site; unused implements there lie rusting amid wild briars and ailanthus trees, while the gentle stream upon which it was built, still re- strained by the ancient dam, expands into a sheet of water that forms a lovely feature in a beautiful woodland scene.
The works at Old Boonton assumed at an early date a pre-eminence among these manufactories on account of the superior strength of the water power at that place; but the headlong and destructive waters of the river have, in a succession of freshets, swept away almost every ves- tige of the old manufactories there located. Bar iron was undoubtedly the exclusive product of these establish- ments with the exception of Old Boonton, but of the ex- tent, in capital, of this industry, and of the returns there- from to the locality, no reliable statistics are available.
Silas Tuttle, of Whippany, aged 90 years, has in his possession a lease dated A. D. 1765, from Garret Rapel- yea, of New York, to John and Joseph Tuttle, for the forges, without specifying number or location.
Joseph Mount, also of Whippany, lately deceased, said: "I was born in 1778. I have seen old timbers said to have been a part of the old forge at Whippany. It stood at the west end of the cotton-mill dam, between the river and the road. A saw-mill and a grist-mill were built upon the same ground after the forge went down. [ have heard that there was a forge where the ruins of the Jefferson paper-mill now stand. There was one at or near the Halsey place, near Horse Hill, and another at Malapardis where the water is now drawn from the pond to supply the woolen-mill of E. R. Fairchild. The pond for the use of this forge covered 500 acres of land, and there were a great many pine trees standing in it. The Newark and Mt. Pleasant turnpike was laid out nearly through the middle of this pond. When a small boy I saw some of these forges in operation. They be- longed to the family of the late ex-Governors Mahlon and Philemon Dickerson."
E. R. Fairchild, owner and operator of the woolen- mill at Malapardis, now 74 years old, says: "I have always resided in this vicinity. My grandfather, Abra- ham Fairchild, has often told me that he carried iron
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OLD BOONTON IRON WORKS-MILLS IN HANOVER.
made at Stony Brook forge (Malapardis) to Newark on horseback, and in the same manner returned with a load of rye flour, there being at that time (1780) no road fit for heavy draught."
Isaac S. Lyon, in his discourses, gives some interesting scraps of history relating to Old Boonton. He says: "Our earliest authentic information with respect to this matter places the possession of the Boonton tract in David Ogden, Esq., an eminent lawyer of Newark, as early as 1759;" and that the place probably received its name from said Ogden, in compliment to Thomas Boone, once a colonial governor of New Jersey. The site came into possession of Colonel Samuel Ogden about 1765. In the year 1766 or perhaps 1767 he came to Old Boonton to take charge of iron works already established there, and considerably enlarged operations by erecting a roll- ing and slitting-mill. These branches of manufacture, being forbidden in the colonies by act of Parliament, were of course conducted clandestinely. With relation to this matter the Rev. Joseph F. Tuttle, late of Rockaway, writes: " The slitting-mill was carried on with great se- crecy. The upper part was said to be a small grist-mill, which was put in operation to blind the eyes of the sus- picious." Further particulars of this establishment may be found on pages 56 and 57.
Old Boonton was a post village as early as 1795, one Rodolphus Kent being at that time postmaster; but the office was in 1817 changed to Parsippany.
MODERN MANUFACTURES AND TRADE.
The manufacture of iron slowly retreated mountain. ward, driven thither by the scarcity of charcoal and the cost of ore carriage, and in the places once occupied by it gradually sprang up lighter manufactures more or less dependent upon water power. About the year 1810 Abraham Fairchild, Esq., the grandfather of E. R. Fair- child of Malapardis, set up the first carding and spinning machines in the township. They were brought from the State prison of New York, and were put into operation on the premises at present occupied as a woolen-mill by E. R. Fairchild and sons. This establishment has been enlarged from time to time, until it has reached its pres- ent dimensions. Power looms and other modern acces- sories have been added, and a good line of wares is pro- duced, which are much in demand for serviceable and respectable suits such as are preferred by farmers and their work hands. This is the only woolen-mill in the township.
About the beginning of the present century Jacob Gray and Cornelius Voorhees purchased of a Mr. Maher the paper-mill standing on the site of the present Cale- donia mill, which site had previously been occupied by a grist-mill. Shortly thereafter the property was sold to Joseph Blything, who by introducing the best machines then known soon raised the business to deserved prom- inence, having about 1830 put up the first " Foudinier" machine started in New Jersey. In 1843 Gaunt & Der- rickson purchased this site and that of the Phoenix mill, just above, rebuilt them and operated them until they | with the production of grain. Two of these establish-
were purchased by the late Daniel Coghlan in 1847. In 1855 Mr. Coghlan also purchased the Jefferson mill, near Monroe, and he operated it until it was burned down in 1861.
From 1860 to 1870 the Caledonia mill produced year- ly about two hundred tons of paper, chiefly of dark buff envelope. The Phoenix mill, which was at its rebuilding called the Eden mill, produced during the above named years from eight to ten tons weekly of white paper for Frank Leslie's pictorial, the Ledger and other journals. These mills are now in the possession of A. J. & R. Coghlan.
In the year 1880 the site at Old Boonton formerly oc- cupied by the forge and grist-mill of Charles A. Righter, deceased, was purchased by a New York company, who erected thereon an extensive building and commenced the manufacture of paper. This enterprise is of too re- cent a date to have permitted its full development. It is now running chiefly on strawboard, of which it pro- duces from three to five tons daily. A small quantity of white and colored paper has of late been made. This establishment is now in the hands of Fitzgibbons, Mes- ser & Co., of 65 and 67 Crosby street, New York.
The manufacture of cotton goods was a few years since quite an important field of enterprise. This busi- ness was first introduced into the locality by Noadiah P. Thomas, a prominent citizen of Whippany, sprung from one of the oldest families of the place. As early as the year 1830 there were under his supervision three cotton- spinning establishments, placed at intervals along the Whippany River from a point above Eden mill to the present cotton mill dam. One of these having been destroyed by fire about the year 1835, he projected and carried into effect the erection and fitting up of a part of the present spacious building, now used a cotton-mill, to which subsequent additions were made until it attained its present dimensions. This mill is at present in opera- tion, making yarn, having recently been purchased by a Mr. Hunt from Hanning & Gosling, who had held it idle for a long time.
Flouring mills were formerly somewhat more numer- ons than at present, several of the ancient buildings hav- ing been suffered to go to decay. Early in the present century Colonel Lemuel Cobb, a prominent citizen of Parsipanny, constructed a raceway at considerable cost from the old academy lot, leading the waters of Parsip- pany Brook to a point near the road east of the residence of Mrs. Mary Board. Here he erected a grist-mill, which was successfully operated for a few years, but at the date of the earliest memories of those now past middle age was only a romantic ruin. Traces of the old raceway still exist, and its embankment, studded with ancient trees, stretching along the bank of a sylvan rivu- let, is a pleasant resort of a summer afternoon. One erected by the late John Righter in 1842 at Old Boonton was burned in 1872, and was never rebuilt. The decay of the flouring business is attributable to the greater profitableness of the milk and hay business as compared
1
224
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
ments, however, are in successful operation; one at Troy, the property of A. J. Smith, and one at Whippany, owned by William H. Howell.
In the beginning of the present century saw-mills were frequent along the streams of the township, and their sites may be readily detected by remains of dams. At present there are but four in operation; one at Whip- pany, owned by B. F. Howell; one at Troy, operated and owned by A. J. Smith; a third at Malapardis, owned by the Messrs. Young, and a fourth at Powerville, belong- ing to the Scott heirs. Within the recollection of men living a saw-mill was run by Abraham Doremus at Fox Hill, another by Peter Righter near the old graveyard at Parsippany, another by Edward Cobb half a mile below, near the residence of S. S. Barton, another a few hundred yards below, by John B. Cobb, and still another by Ben- jamin Howell, at Troy, all on Parsippany Brook, the first on the head waters, and the last on the edge of the lowland, below the grist-mill.
The distilling of cider spirits was formerly a consider- able pursuit, but the distilleries have faded from the lo- cality, the old building at Henry Ball's place near Power- ville being the only remaining vestige of a once profitable business.
The manufacture of shoes, introduced into the town- ship about 1800 by Josiah Quinby, was once a very con- siderable source of profit to the region, and niany fine farms are still owned by the descendants of those who bought them with the proceeds of this industry.
In Whippany, Troy, and other places there was for- merly a large business carried on in tanning leather; but not one of the tanneries is now in existence in the town- ship.
The slow but sure growth of these higher manufac- tures, which have succeeded that of iron, indicates clearly that with larger facilities of ready transport by steam their growth would be greatly augmented, and the many now unused power sites would be called into requisition. The expenditure of capital in constructing such facilities of transportation would be by no means a hazardous in- vestment.
The mercantile operations of the township are con- ducted through several stores in the various villages, most numerously of course where manfactures are located. Under the old iron regime these were generally in the hands of the manufacturers themselves, they being the only men of sufficient capital for the undertaking; but, in obedience to the law which enforces division of labor, these gradually became separate establishments, depcnd. ing on the manufacturing interests so far only as good will was concerned.
There are in Whippany five well stocked and thriving stores; in Parsippany two, that of Melvin S. Condit hold- ing the rank of a first class country store, as does also that of Monroe Howell at Troy. Hanover and Little- ton have each a store, but these, being nearer to large centers of trade (Newark and Morristown), have by no means so large a patronage as the others men- tioned.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
Within the limits of this township there are eight build- ings erected for the public worship of God. These be- long to the respective societies as follows: Presbyter- ians, four; Methodists, three, inclusive of the tabernacle at Mt. Tabor; Roman Catholics, one, at Whippany.
WHIPPANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
The first religious organization in the county was formed and the first church edifice erected at Whippany. In the year 1718 one John Richards, a schoolmaster, do- nated a tract of land to the village by a conveyance from which the following is an extract: "I, John Richards, of Whippanong, in the county of Hunterdon, schoolmaster, for and in consideration of the love and affection I have for my Christian friends and neighbors in Whippanong, and for a desire to promote and advance the public inter- est, and especially for those who shall covenant and agree to erect a suitable meeting-house for the worship of God, give three and a half acres of land, situate and being in the township of Whippanong on that part called Percippon- ong, on the northwestward side of Whippanong river; only for public use and benefit, for a meeting-house, school-house, burying yard and training field, and such like uses, and no other." The church building, which must have been erected shortly after the date of the deed, stood on the northwest corner of the ground deeded as aforesaid. Mr. Richards, the philanthropic donor, died in December of the year set forth in the deed, and the stone which marks his grave is the oldest one in the burying ground.
The first pastor was the Rev. Nathaniel Hubbel, from Massachusetts and a graduate of Yale College.
He was succeeded by the Rev. John Nutman, also a graduate of Yale College. The congregation at this time (1730) extended over a wide range of country, embracing the territory now covered by Hanover, Whip- pany, Chatham, Madison, Parsippany and Morristown, and even reaching beyond the limits of these places. Not long after the settlement of Mr. Nutman a move- ment was made toward the erection of a new place of worship, as the building in which the society then con- vened was so dilapidated as to be unfit for use; and a sharp contention arose among the people of the different sections as to the location of the new building, should one be erected. This religious body being Presbyterian, the matter was referred and re-referred from synod to presbytery, but this procedure did not effect a reconcilia- tion. Morristown persisted in demanding a separate organization, which was granted in 1735.
The Rev. Mr. Nutman was succeeded by the Rev. Jacob Green. Early in Mr. Green's ministry (1755) it was decided that the old meeting-house should be abandoned; and to accommodate the widespread congre- gation two houses were erected, one at Hanover, near where the present church stands, and the other at Par- sippany, in the old burying ground of that place. By order of the presbytery, Mr. Green was to officiate at
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REV. JACOB GREEN- PARSIPPANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
both these places, which he did until 1760, when the or- ganization at Parsippany was permitted to seek a minis- ter for itself. Mr. Green's ministry continued until his death, which occurred May 24th 1790. He was a man of large and varied acquirements, learned as well in law and medicine as in theology. His salary being small he engaged quite largely in secular pursuits, at one time being interested in a grist-mill and a distillery. A letter was once received by him addressed as follows:
To the Rev. Jaeeb Green, Preacher, And the Rev. Jacob Green. Teacher. To the Rev. Jacob Green, Doetor, And the Rev. Jacob Green, Proctor. To the Rev. Jacob Green, Miller, And the Rev. Jacob Green, Distiller.
He was buried near the church in which he officiated for so many years, and over his grave is place a horizon- tal tablet bearing the following inscription:
" Under this stone are deposited the remains of the Rev'd Jacob Green, A. M., first pastor of this church; who died May 24th 1790, aged 68 years, of which 44 were spent in the gospel ministry in this place. He was a man of temper even, firm and resolute; of affections temperately steady and benevolent; of genius solid, in- quisitive and penetrating; of industry active and un- wearied; of learning curious and accurate; of manners simple and reserved; of piety humble, enlightened, fer- vent, eminent. As a preacher he was instructive, plain, searching, practical. As a pastor, watchful, laborious, ever intent upon some plan for the glory of God and the salvation of his flock, and by the divine blessing happily and eminently successful."
Mr. Green was succeeded in the ministry as follows: Rev. Calvin White, 1790-95; Rev. Aaron Condit, 1796- 1830; Rev. William Tobey, 1830-33; Rev. Samuel Mande- ville, 1834-38; Rev. Thomas Ward, 1839-41; Rev. John M. Johnson, 1841-49, 1855-68; Rev. George I. King, 1849-55; Rev. J. A. Ferguson, from 1869 to date.
The present neat and commodious church edifice was erected during the pastorate of the Rev. S. Mandeville, about the year 1835.
PARSIPPANY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
In point of age the next congregation in the township is that of the Presbyterians in Parsippany, erected into a distinct organization in 1760. A church edifice had been built in 1755 in the old burying ground of the village. This lot had been deeded for the purpose in the year 1745, by George Bowlsby, and contained two and a quar- ter acres. The following extract from the body of this old conveyance, still in the archives of the church, exhib- its somewhat of the religious feeling of the age and the community:
the people called Presbyterians which are or shall be and continue in unity and society of those Presbyterians in Hanover aforesaid and parts adjacent, who shall meet and assemble themselves together on the premises above mentioned to worship God in the Presbyterian manner. Provided always, and it is the intention and meaning hereof and of all the said parties hereto, that no person or persons who shall not belong to said society, or join with the major part of them that shall meet together at the place aforesaid, shall have any rights or interest in the said piece of land, meeting-house or any part thereof, while they shall remain out of the said society of Presby- terians, or shall not in a constant and common way meet at the place aforesaid with them and join with them in their public worship."
Tradition informs us that the first building erected was of logs and quite small. Somewhere between 1755 and 1773, probably but a little prior to the last date, a new meeting-house was built, which stood near the front of the present graveyard, and was still standing within the memory of some of the oldest citizens of the place.
After the separation of this body from that at Han- over, in 1769, Dr. Darby, who was both a theologian and a physician, supplied the pulpit of the church until 1767, when Rev. James Tuttle was called and installed as pas- tor of the church at Parsippany and that at Rockaway. His ministry lasted until his death, in 1770. After an interval of three years he was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Grover, who continued in the pastorate until 1799, when he was succeeded by the Rev. Samuel M. Phelps, who remained until 1815. Rev. John Ford then com- menced his ministry, which extended over the long period intervening between that date and 1857. During his pas- torate, in 1828, the present substantial brick house of worship was erected.
In the early part of the ministry of Mr. Ford the peo- ple were startled one Sunday morning to find, upon en- tering church, that the walls of the sacred edifice had during the week been decorated with ludicrous carica- tures of the prominent members of the society. The religious feeling of the place was, of course, greatly shocked, and surmises were abundant as to who might be the perpetrators of the outrage. No reliable solution was arrived at until nearly a quarter of a century after, when it transpired that two mischievous medical stu- dents, then under the care of the late Dr. Stephen Fairchild, had perpetrated the rather unjustifiable joke upon the congregation. The two lads at the time took their seats demurely with other churchgoers, and lis- tened attentively to the discourse, which was delivered by the Rev. Barnabas King, who in the course of his re- marks illustrated the emptiness of earthly aims by refer- ring to the " shadows on the wall."
" To have and to hold the said piece of land, contain- After the resignation of Mr. Ford Rev. J. F. Sutton officiated as pastor for a short time. During his ministry, and owing to strong opposition to his installation and settlement, a dissension arose, which resulted in the withdrawal of a portion of the congregation, who were organized under the name of the First Presbyterian Church of Parsippany-the older organization bearing ing two acres and one quarter &c., unto said Ichabod Tompkins &c., to the use and uses hereinafter mentioned and expressed, and to no other use, intent or purpose whatsoever; that is to say, to the use and uses, benefit and behoof of the people belonging to the religious society of people commonly called Presbyterians in the township of Hanover aforesaid and parts adjacent, for- ever, and for a place for the erecting a meeting-house upon, and for a burying place for the use and service of the title of the Second Presbyterian Church of Hanover.
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HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
The seceding body, after building a church near the post office in Parsippany, finding themselves unable to support a minister, finally disposed of their church build- ing, which was purchased by the Reformed Church of Boonton, removed thither, and is now occupied by that body. After the separation the pulpit of the primitive church was successfully filled by the following pastors: Rev. A. R. Wolfe, Rev. F. F. Judd, Rev. A. M. F. Brown, Rev. Mr. Board, Rev. L. Boutelier, and Rev. Dr. C. C. Parker, who died in the ministry in February 1880.
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