Name: Readington Township
Brand: Readington Township Historic Preservation Commission
SKU: 9780738556796
Price: 18.74 USD
Availability: InStock

Readington Township

9780738556796

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Readington Township was created by royal charter on July 15, 1730, as Readings or Readings Town. The township consists of 48 square miles and is the largest in Hunterdon County. The early settlement patterns of the Dutch, English, and Germans, who came to farm the rich soil of the Raritan Valley during the 18th century, established the foundation of the villages and hamlets of the township. During the 19th century, the development of railroad lines in the region created additional villages and helped to bring the township's produce to larger markets. By the latter part of the 20th century, most of Readington's inhabitants were employed in diverse industries throughout central New Jersey, and the automobile made travel beyond the villages routine. Like the generations of residents before them, today's residents remain closely connected to their village communities, and a significant portion of the township's land continues to be devoted to agriculture.

Edison Firefighting

9780738554914

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During the early part of the 20th century, five separate volunteer fire companies independently organized to protect separate sections of Raritan Township, currently known as Edison. The township was divided by fire districts, each containing elected fire commissioners with political and economic power. In 1926, the first career firefighter was hired, and since then, over 250 career firefighters have taken the oath. Edison Firefighting features images, memorabilia, and photographs from the early days of bucket brigades and horse-drawn carriages to current personnel and apparatus. Significant fires, explosions, and rescues that Edison firefighters confronted throughout the years are revealed within this fascinating book.

Sea Bright

9780738557625

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In the mid-1800s, a quaint fishing village, called Nauvoo at the time, was the largest fishery on the New Jersey seacoast. By the end of the 19th century, this fishing village had grown into the flourishing seaside resort of Sea Bright. Luxurious hotels like the Normandie-by-the-Sea, Sea Bright Inn, and the Octagon House were built, transforming the town into a haven for the wealthy, who built elegant cottages along its coast. The famous Pannaci Hotel and Restaurant became known as the "Delmonico of Sea Bright." Today Sea Bright continues to draw vacationers and residents alike with its glistening water and beautiful sandy beaches.

Branch Brook Park

9780738550381

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Branch Brook Park, located in Newark, was America's first county park. The park was established in 1895 as the cornerstone of the Essex County Park System. The vision for Branch Brook Park came in 1867, when Newark park commissioners retained Olmsted, Vaux, and
Company to identify a site for a park in the city. That vision matured into a reality that is now, 140 years later, woven into the urban experience of Newark and its neighboring towns. The significance of
Branch Brook Park has been nationally recognized with its placement on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places. Home to the Newark Cherry Blossom Festival, organized long-distance runs
and bicycle races, picnics, the Chrysanthemum Show, the New Jersey Symphony Under the Stars, boating on the lake, prom pictures, and sports activities from baseball to bocce to soccer and tennis, Branch Brook Park remains a constant source of great beauty.

Ridgefield Park

9780738512235

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Ridgefield Park is a collection of photographs and memorabilia that spans more than three hundred years. Although the community was originally inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Indians, Hendrick Brinkerhoff became Ridgefield Park's first settler in 1685. Surrounded by the Hackensack River and the Overpeck Creek, and in close proximity to New York City, Ridgefield Park has grown into a bustling suburb that maintains its small-town appeal. The village's strong history of community involvement, coupled with a unique form of nonpartisan government, make Ridgefield Park the distinctive and well-loved town it is today.

Florence

9780738512952

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Originally known as Mansfield Township's High Banks section, the township of Florence incorporated in 1872. The early farming community was laid out in 1850 by the Florence City Company. It then became a resort area for Philadelphia's elite, who traveled upriver by steamboat or by train on the Camden and Amboy division of the Pennsylvania Railroad. The early population was largely Irish, coming to work in the Florence Iron Works, established in 1857. Originally the Jones Foundry, the ironworks produced cast-iron pipe, Mathews fire hydrants, and cylinders for Baldwin locomotives. The foundry is still operating and has been a mainstay of the community for nearly one hundred fifty years.

Gund

9780738537108

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Gund, America's oldest and most recognized stuffed-toy manufacturer, has produced millions of quality toys for more than one hundred years. Since Adolf Gund launched the company in Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1898, Gund has prided itself on its founding values of quality, workmanship, and "huggability." The photographs in Gund document significant events in the company's history, including prestigious awards, lovable products, and important people. Gund was making stuffed bears four years before teddy bears became the namesake of President Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. From Snuffles the bear to Muttsy the dog, these plush playthings fill millions of homes and hearts.

Wood-Ridge

9780738535562

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Located in northeastern New Jersey some twenty minutes from Manhattan, Wood-Ridge was incorporated in 1894. Once a place of farms and woods, the borough was transformed first in the 1920s by Sunshine City, a thousand-house development, and then in the mid-1900s by the renowned airplane-engine manufacturer Curtiss-Wright Corporation, which built its headquarters here. Wood-Ridge highlights early landowners-among them the Brandenburgs and the Brinkerhoffs-and later people of accomplishment, including Grace Castagnetta, Frank Lovejoy, and Frankie Muniz. It also looks ahead to the proposed redevelopment of Westmont Station.

Berkeley Heights Revisited

9780738537528

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Berkeley Heights Revisited continues the journey that was begun in Virginia B. Troeger's first book, Berkeley Heights, published by Arcadia in 1996. With unique photographs, the majority dating from the 1940s to 2004, this book reveals the faces, places, and celebrations of one of Union County's most vibrant communities. The last chapter offers a selection of photographs by Joan L. Rotondi, who took a picture somewhere in Berkeley Heights every day during 1995 and 1996.

Warren Township

9780738589688

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Like so many other towns in central New Jersey, Warren Township has changed dramatically over the last 40 years.

Gone are the billowing fields of corn and hay, the sheep and cows lazing in the sun behind the dairies and the barns. It is difficult to imagine the Warren of yesteryear, when a few thousand hardy farmers followed the immutable seasons of planting and harvest, and life revolved around the township's many villages--Mount Horeb, Coontown, Mount Bethel, Union Village, South Stirling, Smalleytown, Warrenville, and Springdale. This delightful collection of over 200 photographs culled from family albums and the extensive archives of the Warren Township Historical Society shows a township that is fast disappearing. Caught on imperishable film are wonderful images of one-room schoolhouses, simple country homes, plain churches, and streetscapes of unpaved roads, country inns, and towering trees.

Lawrence Township

9780738590448

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Since the development of photography in the mid-nineteenth century, the camera has been used as a tool of both discovery and preservation. Photographs bring alive our picture of the past and can open a floodgate of memories and nostalgia or inspire curiosity and a sense of history.

Collected in this delightful visual history are over 200 photographs, which bring to life the rich and diverse history of Lawrence Township, New Jersey, from the Victorian era to the Great Depression. Some of the best and most telling images are those which simply give us a picture of "how things used to be," which seem to have frozen for posterity a moment of a certain way of life, which has long since disappeared. In this exploration of daily life throughout Lawrence Township we see a barge landing at Port Mercer, a blacksmith shoeing a horse in Slackwood, people from all walks of life at work and play. In the faces of these people we can see how a strong community spirit helped Lawrentians to adapt to the changes of the twentieth century.

Deptford Township

9780738511641

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Discover how New Jersey's Deptford Township outside Philadelphia has progressed from an agricultural community to an important Gloucester County town over the last century.

Known mainly for its pig farms and ice production in its early days, Deptford Township remained rural until after World War II, when residential building exploded and local malls, movie theaters, restaurants, and other commercial development put the community on the map.Deptford Townshipexplores this area's history with tales of Revolutionary War scout and hero Jonas Cattell, who was born and buried in Deptford, and the Clement Oak, under which the Lenni Lenape held council meetings.

Locally, the logo of a hot-air balloon celebrates North America's first aerial flight, which took place in 1793, when Jean Pierre Blanchard traveled 15 miles from Philadelphia to land 46 minutes later in a clearing on Clements Bridge Road. Also included are images of Deptford Day and the notorious honey hunt, a fundraiser held for the Almonesson fire department in the 1930s and 1940s.

Wyckoff

9780738511412

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From its idyllic rural origins to the buildup of small-town commerce and today's modern suburb, Wyckoff and its hidden history are revealed through the vintage photographs included in this volume.

In 1770, the first Wyckoff settlers were deeded land in what was to become Franklin Township. Spawning several other towns, such as Ramsey, Ho-Ho-Kus, Oakland, and Franklin Lakes, Franklin Township was renamed Wyckoff in 1926. Wyckoff has evolved from its early rural Dutch heritage to a thriving community. Today, Wyckoff is a blend of old and new, and a strong sense of history persists in the area. With views of historic stone houses, early businesses, and community activities and festivities, Wyckoff creates a sense of what nineteenth- and twentieth-century life was like in the township. Early settlers with names like Quackenbush, Terhune, Van Houten, Ackerman, Pulis, and Van Blarcom still have descendants living here. Longtime residents will remember local landmarks such as Appert Field, Turtle Pond, Harned's Store, Zabriskie Field, and Lemmerman Farm. Evidenced by the many houses of worship, volunteer organizations, and long-running celebrations like the Memorial Day parade, Wyckoff has maintained its rustic charm and community pride while growing into a popular northern New Jersey locale.

Bordentown

9780738511306

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Originally known as Farnsworth's Landing, Bordentown was settled in 1682 by Quaker Thomas Farnsworth. A natural hub of transportation for its key location on the Delaware River between Philadelphia and New York City, Bordentown flourished in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Internationally known artists, writers, and inventors called Bordentown home; industry thrived; and many private schools, including Bordentown Military Institute, were highly rated. As residents do today, the people of early Bordentown took great pride in their city. With some two hundred vintage photographs, Bordentown explores the city and its fascinating people from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. Thomas Paine, the father of the American Revolution, considered Bordentown his home, as did Francis Hopkinson, designer of the American flag and signer of the Declaration of Independence. The John Bull steam engine was shipped from England and assembled in Bordentown by Isaac Dripps. Joseph Bonaparte, brother of Napoleon, lived happily at Point Breeze, his estate in Bordentown. These stories, along with many others, are portrayed by the well-preserved historical photographs and informative text of this volume.

Brielle

9780738554938

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When incorporated in 1919, Brielle was a summer tourist destination with a fledgling recreational fishing industry. The Manasquan Inlet permanently reopened in 1931, ensuring Brielle's status as a center for recreational sportfishing. Anglers flocked to Brielle to participate in tournaments, party boat passengers drove "down the shore" to enjoy a day of fishing, and a fleet of sportfishing
boats grew at the docks. The personalities and stories of individual anglers are as varied as the fleet of vessels, from the anonymous fishermen who fluked along the Manasquan River to Lou and Eugenie
Marron, a husband and wife team whose record-setting swordfish catches in the late 1950s remain unbeaten today. Exploits of Brielle anglers are recorded in fishing journals and sporting magazines from coast to coast.

West Long Branch Revisited

9780738549033

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West Long Branch Revisited is the long awaited follow up volume to Helen-Chantal Pike's first pictorial narrative. Here she tells the stories of the well-landscaped properties, storied summer cottages, and families who gave the borough its distinctive country character. Nestled between the Atlantic Ocean and the fertile farmland of New Jersey's coastal plain, West Long Branch has always had a town-and-country personality. It was tilled by the descendants of some of the original settlers into the early 20th century, and later it developed a distinct commercial hub and an industrial area. Concurrently, prosperous New Yorkers originally drawn to cosmopolitan Long Branch developed bucolic vacation homes in this small town. They created a vibrant community that can still be found today. Following World War II and the rise in post-secondary educational opportunities, various cottages were converted to classrooms as West Long Branch evolved into the town-and-gown community it is today.

Fords

9780738510439

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Fords is part of the state's oldest original township, Woodbridge, chartered in 1669. The area was once a prime area clay-mining region, and the bricks made from that clay helped put the township on the map. Originally known as Sling Taile, Fords borders Hopelawn, Keasby, Iselin, Menlo Park Terrace, and Edison. Settled early by immigrants from Ireland, Italy, and other European countries, Fords was an agricultural community until the twentieth century, when local industry flourished. Fords exhibits vintage photographs of the very early Cutler House, old shops in the business district, local churches, Dalina's Tavern, and the Fairfield Union School. The book also includes images of the trolleys, which were later replaced by the motorcar, and of the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike, both of which pass through town. Drawn from the collections of longtime residents, local libraries, schools, organizations, and churches, these photographs, along with the well-researched text, bring the past to life.

Old Bridge

9780738509921

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Old Bridge Township, located in Middlesex County, was originally part of South Amboy from the time of its first settlement in 1685 to its secession in 1869. It began its independence as Madison Township, a name it retained until the 1970s, when it was changed to Old Bridge. Its large size and geographic diversity have led to the formation of numerous villages, ranging from bayside fishing hamlets to interior farming communities. Some of these villages, including Laurence Harbor, Cliffwood Beach, and Browntown, are still widely known, but others exist only in the memories of the township's oldest residents. With hundreds of vintage photographs and postcards, Old Bridge illustrates the development of this township-from isolated farmlands dotted with villages to a modern suburbia of more than 50,000 people. It also traces the rise and fall of the vacation industry on the Raritan Bay and the discovery of Old Bridge by land developers after World War II.