USA > New Jersey > Morris County > History of Morris County, New Jersey > Part 84
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97
352
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
and the smith shop of Thomas Conger. Mr. Derthick taught until 1820, when he notified the committee that he intended to leave the school, and, Mr. Bishop Davenport having offered stisfactory testimonials of his character and ability to teach, it was agreed to employ him at $1.50 per quarter for reading and spelling, and $2 for arithmetic, geography and grammar, and Mr. Davenport to board himself. In Mr. Davenport's administration a violent scene occured in the school. He forbade the bringing of guns to school, and attempted to whip Cum- mnings McCarty for disobeying. The latter attacked and beat the teacher, in the midst of the cries and the terror of the scholars. Mrs. Tuttle and her sister were both present.
September 22nd 1823 Silas H. Hazard offered himself as teacher and was employed at the same rates as Mr. Day- enport for English branches, and $3 per quarter for each scholar instructed in Latin-Mr. Hazard to board himself, and firewood to be furnished by the employers as usual. The directors of the Rockaway school met at the school-nouse March 4th 1824 and resolved to employ a lady for the six months beginning the first of April fol- lowing; to teach needlework together with reading, writ- ing, spelling, geography and English grammar, and rhet- oric and history if required. Mr. Hazard was to teach the Latin scholars at $3, $4 and $5 per quarter accord- ing to their advancement, and Miss Phebe Hazard was engaged at $1 per quarter for primary teaching and $1.50 for all the branches above, except rhetoric and history, which were left to be agreed upon thereafter.
This Mr. Hazard married Miss Delia Beach, daughter of Col. Samuel S. Beach, and died in the ministry out The first school-house at Greenville stood about a quarter of a mile east of the present school building. It was burned in 1840, and the new building erected three years afterward. After the old building was burned the log house toward Green Pond from Post's blacksmith shop was used as a school-house two or three years. west. On the 19th of September 1825 Miss Phebe Haz- ard having finished her engagement, Joseph McCord, a graduate of Princeton (class of 1825) offered to take the school and was employed, being allowed to charge for those scholars instructed in Latin and Greek $5 per quar- ter; in history, geography, spelling and rhetoric, $2; in Before the State law regulating public schools was in force the Greenville people had incorporated themselves English grammar $1.75, and in spelling, reading and writing $1.50; he to find his own board and lodging, and into a school, and Greenville has the oldest school incor- the regulations as to wood to remain as previously estab- lished.
On the first Monday in November 1827 Cyrus M. Hol- ley was employed, and we find no other record until 1830, when Samuel Bogart, William Jackson and E. B. Gains, school committee of Pequannock township ap- pointed at town meeting, set off school district No. 3, and from that time the school was under State law to a greater or less extent.
About the year 1836 a school-house in the rear of Mr. Kaufman's residence was built, and school was kept there for some years, there being some dissatisfaction with the management of the old district.
In 1838 so much of the school district as then lay in Hanover township was made a separate district, since known as Rockaway, and in 1843 and 1844 the academy was built in it for the accommodation of a public and a select school. This building was private property until 1859, when it was purchased by the district.
Our limits will not permit us to pursue the full particu- lars of each school in the township, and we are therefore obliged to say generally, that the education of the chil- dren of this township in the early part of the present century, although it was not very extensive or ornamen- tal, yet was so superior, when compared with other places in the State, that special mention was made of it in con- nection with Morris county. In 1828 the Legislature ap- pointed a committee, one of whom was the Hon. The- odore Frelinghuysen, to examine into and report upon the condition of the common schools in the State. This committee reported that Morris county enjoyed the ad- vantages of education more richly than any other in the State, and of the 69 schools then in the county seven were within the bounds of Rockaway township. In
many localities children were obliged to go two or two and a half miles to school, and tuition was from $1.50 to $2 per quarter, paid by the patrons of the school. The teachers were generally persons without families and boarded around by the week, in the families sending the most children to school. One of the qualifications for a successful teacher was ability to make pens from goose quills. These pens required daily repairs, or " mending " as it was called, and with the hard rubs of a novice in writ- ing kept the teacher at work every few minutes to keep them in good condition.
We find that in a neighborhood where a school was maintained from seventy to eighty years ago a school is still in operation; and by reason of the growth of popu- lation additional schools have been established, so that the present number is twelve.
poration in the township, on record in the county clerk's office. It bears the date December 26th 1826, at which time Samuel M. Henderson, Gideon V. Boss, Christian Winters, Charles Treleaze and John Barton, trustees, took upon themselves the name of the "Trustees of the Greenville School Society of the Township of Pequan- noek, in the County of Morris," by that name to be for- ever thereafter known in law.
This was probably under the school law of 1794, or one of its supplements.
Matthias Zeek, who lives on the road from Beach Glen to Rockaway Valley, recollects a school-house standing above Lyonsville, near the Wingit or Farrand place; it was a log structure and stood in the woods. He then lived with Matthias Zeek at Durham forge, about three miles further to the northeast, and went to school in this old school-house over sixty years ago. The present school-house at Lyonsville was built about three years ago and accommodates Meriden and Split Rock.
353
REMINISCENCES OF EARLY SCHOOLS IN ROCKAWAY.
Mr. Zeek also attended school at the old Beach Glen found the teacher there ahead of him, engaged in build- ing the fires. After getting many expressions of sorrow from young Casterline for the conduct of the day pre- vious, Mr. Downs opened the school and administered a lecture to the children in general and to young Caster- line in particular, in the interest of order and comfort, and then, without reference to his own shortcomings, as- sumed his usual duties in the school. school-house, on the road from Beach Glen to Mer- iden. The old building stood on the opposite side of the road from the present one, which was built about 46 or 47 years ago but has been enlarged and improved since then. Miss Euphe- mia Kitchel, Electa Kitchel and Beaman Kitchel taught school there. At Rockaway Valley a school has been taught since schools were first established in the Mr. Casterline also attended school in the old red school-house at Rockaway (before referred to) while Ja- cob P. Stickle and John J. Derthick were teachers-both of whom he recollects very well. township, and it is among the oldest in the recollection of the early settlers. Mr. Zeek, one of our informants, at- tended school here. The original building stood where the present M. E. church is, and was torn down and a From Joseph J. Ayres, who resides on the road from Dover to Morristown, we learn that he first went to school nearly seventy years ago, in a school-house near Franklin, on the south side of the road, by Henry B. Palmer's present residence. It was an old house then, and was abandoned about 1820, and a stone school-house built in its stead, where the present new school-house stands, south of the Dover and Morristown road in the union district. This stone house was destroyed by fire new building erected over forty years ago. Alexander Kanouse, of Meriden, now over seventy years of age, went to school in the old school-house at Rockaway Val- ley long before it was removed from the present church grounds to where it now stands, above Ockebock's, as he called it, or near Dixon's mills. The teachers were all Yankees. Newman Carter, James Curren, Dennis Dixon and Timothy Sarner were among them. As a general thing Yankee teachers had the exclusive charge of in 1870, and it is said to have been set on fire by some schools in many parts of New Jersey from fifty to twenty years ago; but now home talent more than supplies all demands of education.
Judge John L. Kanouse, of Boonton, informs us of a school-house at Powerville, in which he taught in 1832. It was an old log-house at that time and stood where Mrs. Charles Righter now lives. It was formerly the residence of a Mr. Vanhouten, who carried on a tannery near Hop- ler's mills. Capt. William Scott owned the building and fitted it up for school purposes sufficiently for summer accommodation, but not for winter.
Coming to Denville, we infer that the school at this place is nearly as old as that at Rockaway. Joseph Cas- terline recollects an old building standing in 1812 where the present building is, or very near it; and in 1815 or 1816, when Mr. Casterline was about 19 years of age, a teacher by the name of Downs taught in the old building.
just been burned, and he took the Denville school for one winter. The building was open and very cold; the large fireplace with its ample supply of logs could not drive out the cold air, and Mr. Downs undertook to sup- ply the lack of heat in the rear end of the room by in- troducing a large iron pot, cast at the Mt. Hope works, as a charcoal burner. This was a great temptation to the boys to throw bits of paper on the burning coal, to raise a smoke, much to the annoyance of Master Downs. On one occasion the spelling class was arranged on the floor in a row, and young Casterline, who stood close by the fire kettle, dropped on some chips and papers which he had smuggled into class with him; soon the smoke was so dense that the order and comfort of the school were completely destroyed, and Mr. Downs, who was very hasty, lost his temper and left the school. Of course the children went home, and the cause was soon known -also the name of the culprit. Next morning Joseph was sent back to school by his father very early, and
evil-disposed person. A neat wooden building now oc- cupies the site. The early teachers to whom Mr. Ayres went were Charles Sammis, Daniel Lampson, Sylvanus Hance, Betsey Losey, and one Charles Jackson, who was a relative of the Lampson family. Abijah Conger taught the school occasionally, when the regular teacher was absent or sick, or no teacher was engaged. The children from the Franklin neighborhood went to the Denville school whenever the Franklin school closed. One of the Denville teachers was Anson Brown, who was proprietor of the Denville Hotel at the same time. Brown was very severe in his government of the scholars; on one occa- sion William Hinchman, one of the boys in the school, fell asleep, which so exasperated Brown that he and Hinchman had a hand-to-hand encounter in the school.
The first school-house at Mount Hope stood on the road leading to Hickory Hill. Agnes Walton says it was Downs was a clerk at the Mt. Hope furnace which had built by John Jacob Faesch, and that she went there to school in Faesch's time. After Faesch left Mount Hope Moses Phillips came there and had a new school building erected where the present house stands, near Michael Doland's on the road to Middle forge. Miss Walton went to school there, first to a teacher named Samuel Scriven. In 1824 one George Doland taught in this school-house. He was a brother of Michael Doland of Mount Hope. Robert H. Doland, a nephew of George, was an assistant teacher in this district from 1873 to 1880, and since then he has been principal of the school. This building was torn down and the present one erected about fifty years ago.
At Denmark, at the time the forge was worked by John M. Eddy, a school was organized by him and kept some time for the children living in that locality. There is no school at this time at Denmark. The Mount Hope dis- trict embraces it and Middle forge.
Under the State school law all these schools which we have named have become incorporated and numbered,
354
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
and come under the care of the county superintendent of public schools. The first system of public instruction under the State law was organized in February 1829. On the 11th of June 1830 John Sherman, William Wheeler and Francis Lindsley were incorporated as the " Denville School Association." Mr. Lindsley is the only survivor of the three incorporators, and still resides at Denville.
In April 1836 George Rowland, Jacob Powers, John B. Kelsey, Benoni Whitehead and David Cole were incor- porated as "The Trustees of the Rockaway District School-house No. 2," for the promotion of learning.
Prior to November 4th 1857 Rockaway Valley district was known as No. 9, and it must have been incorporated before that time, as we find a record of that date abol- ishing that district, signed by the trustees, and by J. V. S. Banta as township superintendent.
Rockaway East school district, No. 12, was incorpor- ated April 7th 1859, by William Boyd and Freeman Wood, trustees, and Joseph F. Tuttle, town superin- tendent.
Union district Nos. 6 and 13, part in Rockaway and part in Randolph, was incorporated May 16th 1860, by Charles J. Lampson, John A. Casterline and Silas S. Palmer, trustees, James H. Neighbour, superintendent of Randolph, and Joseph F. Tuttle, superintendent of Rockaway.
No. 2 (Rockaway) was incorporated July 10th 1851, by Cummings McCarty, Barnabas K. Stickle and John Dickerson, trustees, and John O. Hill, town superintend- ent. This district was afterward altered by the trustees and town superintendent.
Beach Glen district was incorporated May 4th 1852, by Columbus Beach, Samuel S. Beach jr. and Abraham F. Kitchel, trustees, and Lyman A. Chandler, town super- intendent.
The Mt. Pleasant district, No. 1, was incorporated by William F. Wiggins, Sylvester Kyner and Lewis W. Langdon, trustees, and A. D. Berry, town superintendent, on the 5th of May 1853.
There was also an incorporation of the Denville school district, No. 11, on the 24th of May 1854, with John Clark, Conrad Vanderhoof and Chileon Cook trustees, and A. D. Berry town superintendent.
Lyonsville district, No. 6, was incorporated October 9th 1854, by Daniel Lyon, John J. Crane and John U. Hendershot, trustees, and A. D. Berry, town superin- tendent.
On the 9th of March 1855 the Mt. Hope school dis- trict was incorporated as No. 3, by John E. Branin and George E. Righter, trustees, and A. D. Berry, town super- intendent.
Greenville district was incorporated under the last law on the 27th of April 1875, by the trustees, Daniel Shaw- ger and Abram Winters, and by Francis L. Davenport, town superintendent, as district No. 7.
Beach Glen district, No. 5, was altered on the 26th of a new dam across the Rockaway River, below the pres- November 1864, and Mt. Hope district on the 11th of March 1865.
On the 20th of March 1867, Hibernia school district, No. 4, was set off by L. W. Richardson, Aaron Van Bus- kirk and William Henderson, trustees, and F. Wads- worth, town superintendent.
The bounds of these districts are all given in the rec- ord of incorporation; but in many instances have been changed by the county superintendent of public schools, who has taken the place of the township superintendent, which latter office has been abolished. Lewis W. Thur- ber, of Dover, has been county superintendent of public schools several years, and is still holding that position with credit to himself and to the entire satisfaction of the schools, parents and teachers. All schools in the county are now numbered, from I upward, and the Rockaway schools at this time are named and numbered as follows: No. 10 Union, 11 Denville, 12 East Rockaway, 13 Rockaway, 14 Mt. Pleasant, 15 Mt. Hope, 16 Lower Hibernia, 17 Beach Glen, 18 Rockaway Valley, 19 Lyonsville, 20 Hibernia, 21 Greenville. Owing to the large number of scholars in districts 13, 14, 15, 16 and 20, a principal and assistant teacher have been employed in each.
At Lower Hibernia over $5,000 was expended in 1880 in a new and commodious school building, fitted up with steam heaters, and it has been under the supervision of J. Seward Lampson, of Dover, as principal since 1875. The new school grounds have been graded and very neatly arranged with walks, grass plats and flower beds- all the work of the children; so that they present an at- tractive appearance, entirely free from the usual un- sightly character of school-house surroundings.
In 1874 the total value of school property in the township was rated at $23,550, and the total number of children between the ages of five and eighteen was 2,155. The average monthly pay of a male teacher was $59.44, and that of a female teacher, $39.74. In 1880 the value of school property was rated at $20,000 (no doubt the re- sult of depressed valuations), and the total number of children was 2,307. The average monthly pay of male teachers was $48.60, and that of female teachers $34.04.
MILLS, DISTILLERIES, ETC.
There were several grist-mills in operation at conven- ient points in the early days of the township; in fact water power was so abundant that nearly every farm could get up a water supply of its own, and the "old mill" was to be seen a hundred years ago. We have not been able to learn which was the oldest of the many then ex- isting; but at all events, wherever a settlement was made a grist-mill was as necessary as a bake-oven. A whole day was generally occupied in "going to mill," as the customer had to take his turn and wait for the "grist " and take it home the same day.
We find that Moses Tuttle, of Mt. Pleasant, and Isaac Winchill were in partnership in owning a grist-mill at Rockaway prior to 1761; because at that time they built ent rolling-mills, for their grist-mill, then already erected, which was located at the Pond Meadow, and is now part
355
MILLS, DISTILLERIES AND HOTELS IN ROCKAWAY.
of the Halsey property, and used for a wagon house. The present mill property owned by E. D. Halsey was built by his father, Judge Samuel B. Halsey, in 1854 and 1855.
At Powerville the Hopler mill.was known prior to 1800, and was located above the present mill. In April 1802 Conrad Hopler sold to Joseph Scott, in consideration of $950, 19 acres of land and the mills (grist-mill and saw- mill), and on the 4th of March 1804 Joseph Scott sold one-half of this mill property to Benjamin Beach of Horse Pond, and the other half to his son John Scott. Benja- min Beach was the father of Dr. Columbus Beach, and was a large land-owner in and around Beach Glen, where he had a grist-mill. It stood in front of the present dwelling house on Dr. Beach's farm, and about the only visible evidence of its existence is the pond bed extend- ing up the Glen toward Hibernia. This mill was the most convenient one to that part of the township which lies around Hibernia, Egbert's Corner, Greenville and Mer- iden.
Martin Hiler built a grist-mill on the small stream east of his house, which is the old stone house on the left side of the road after crossing Peer's lock, toward Powerville. This mill has been out of use nearly fifty years, and nothing now remains of the structure. After Martin died his son Peter Hiler carried on the milling business in the same place.
Aaron Miller owned and operated a grist-mill and saw- mill at Rockaway Valley. He lived in the old stone house where the widow of Cyrus Dixon now lives. This. mill was lower down the stream than the present mill, which was built by Cyrus Dixon, and is known as Dixon's mills. The Miller saw-mill stood where the Dixon grist-mill is. Town meetings were held at the Miller residence for many years. Before the town was divided it required two days to vote at the fall elections, and one day was given for the Miller place, and one for Rockaway or Denville. The spring elections were held at Miller's every other year. No ballots were used at the spring election. The moderator mounted a dry goods box, or more frequently a cart, and decided the voting by counting the supporters of the candidates as the two groups stood on the opposite sides of a rail placed on the ground to divide them.
In 1820 Abijah Conger, who was a carpenter, erected a cider-mill and distillery on the north side of the road leading from Dover to Franklin, opposite the new dwel- ling house of Henry B. Palmer. The mill has gone down and no business has been carried on there for many years past.
A cider-mill and distillery was owned by Matthias Kit- chel near Denville, about 1820, and was carried on by him many years. He was assisted by Mr. Glover, then liv- ing on the Glover farm near Denville, and was the builder of the large residence on the farm, now used as the Cath- olic protectory school. Mr. Glover found a market for the product of this distillery in the South principally, and died in one of his visits to that part of the United States. It is related of him that he was very fond of healthy and retired location.
apple whiskey; he would occasionally call on Col. Joseph Jackson at Rockaway, who was a strictly temperate man and opposed to the drinking customs of the day, and on one occasion on leaving-not seeing the favorite bever- age-asked the colonel what he should tell his folks he had good to drink, and was told to report indulgence in a drink of Col. Jackson's spring water as the best his hospitality afforded.
John Hinchman, who was first to open a store at Den- ville, also built a cider distillery west of his store, near the present brick store.
James L. Davenport put up a distillery on his farm at Green Pond a few years ago and is now operating it. Thomas Green's distillery at Denville was erected about 42 years ago, and is the principal one in the township at this time. It is worked by steam power. George Ayres erected one 14 years ago, on the farm of his father, Wil- liam Ayres, east of Pigeon Hill, which is run by water power. These are the only ones existing in this township.
There were three tanneries: one at Denville, on the north side of the river near the Glover farm, worked by David Hill; one at Rockaway, near the old wheelwright shop of Beach & Son, opposite the Mount Hope ore dump, carried on by Henry Berry, father of Titus Berry, of Dover; and one near Mt. Pleasant, known as the Baker tannery, on the Jeremiah Baker homestead. Mr. Baker commenced his tannery in 1792, and carried it on personally nearly 70 years, when it came into the hands of his two sons, William H. Baker and Henry Baker. Jeremiah Baker died in 1861, aged 91 years.
HOTELS.
One of the first hotels opened in the township was erected in 1790 by Thomas Day, on the spot now occu- pied by the dwelling of James L. Davenport, at the upper end of Green Pond, and about an eighth of a mile from Mr. Davenport's present hotel. Mr. Davenport, who has kept the hotel many years, informs us that Mr. Day was not successful in his enterprise; in 1832 Enos Davenport, father of our informant, moved into the Day hotel, from Milton, intending to furnish it, but the next year moved back to Milton, owing to the many snakes infesting the premises, which rendered it necessary to keep a lookout wherever one went. Mrs. Davenport encountered in their yard a rattlesnake with nineteen rattles, which she dispatched. In 1833 John Allison, with the assistance of William Scott, opened this hotel. Scott was then working the Hibernia forge and mines, and coaling on several wood jobs in that neighborhood, and his hotel was made headquarters. In 1842 Allison built the Davenport hotel, near the lake, and remained until 1844, when James L. Davenport came there and en- larged it, and from that time to this he has been a popu- lar and successful landlord, known far and near. In the summer of 1881 he enlarged the house and improved it generally, making it able to accommodate at least one hundred boarders. His principal guests are sum- mer boarders, who are attracted there by the pleasant,
356
HISTORY OF MORRIS COUNTY.
David Smith, now 84 years of age, residing near Green Pond, says that the Denville Hotel was built by John Hinchman in 1811, and that he assisted in the raising of the framework. The original Denville Hotel was on the site of the residence of the late Stephen B. Cooper; Samuel Ketchum was the first landlord. Company train- ing day was observed there under the old militia law of the State; brigade training was at Dover or Parsippany. A toll-gate was kept across the Parsippany and Rockaway turnpike for several years in front of the hotel. David Menagh was proprietor of this hotel for many years, and was a kind hearted, obliging and popular landlord. He died in April 1871, His widow remained in the hotel until her death, about ten years later.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.