NJ History Nerd Tour #3 ... Bergen County 22May-19

NJ History Tour #3 ...

Jim Aupperlee, Bill Bogertman, John Dyksen, Gary Link... Thursday, May 22, 2019, from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm (when it started raining)

This is my 3rd installment on our NJ "History Nerd" Tours...  

Our initial plans today were to visit sites and markers for:

1. Wyckoff Reformed Church (1806), Wyckoff, NJ
2. Baylor Massacre Site (1778), River Vale, NJ
3. The Hermitage (1768), Ho-Ho-Kus, NJ
4. Rev. John Henry Goetschius (1718-1774) Grave site, Bergenfield, NJ
5. Hackensack Green, Hackensack, NJ (including First Reformed Church-1686), General Enoch Poor's (1736-1780) Grave site, Archibald Campbell Tavern (1765), Peter Zabriskie Mansion House (1751) and Courthouse and Jail (1780))
6. John Zabriskie-von Steuben house (1752) at New Bridge Landing (1744), River Edge, NJ, the site of the Bergen County Historical Society.

What We Actually Accomplished:
1. Visited and toured the Wyckoff Reformed Church and Cemetery (1806), Wyckoff, NJ
2. Visited and toured the Baylor Massacre Site (1778), River Vale, NJ
3. Visited South Reformed Church and Cemetery, finding the Rev. John Henry Goetschius Grave site, Bergenfield, NJ.
4. Visited and toured grounds of John Zabriskie-von Steuben house (1752) at New Bridge Landing (1744), River Edge, NJ, the site of the Bergen County Historical Society.

The Wyckoff Reformed Dutch Church (1806) and Cemetery, Wyckoff, NJ

Rev. Andrew Kadzban guided us through a one (1) hour tour of the Wyckoff Reformed 
Church, inside and outside, including cemetery grounds.  

In 1805 the Church bought land (Oldest legible grave stone is 1796?). This church and Ponds Reformed Church, Oakland, NJ, were part of the same Classis?

Probably designed after other "local" Reformed Churches, likely the Old Paramus Reformed Church. The Church now sits on 10+ acres with Church, cemetery and Parsonage on 2 acres.  The Cemetery is still active.






















The present NJ Reformed Church in America (RCA) has four (4) Classis': 

1. Passaic Valley Classis includes churches in Wyckoff, Midland Park (Faith), Mahwah, Glen Rock, and Paramus;  
2. Palisades Classis 
3. New Brunswick Classis
4. Delaware Raritan Classis

This Church was built in 1806 and renovated in 1953 when part of cemetery was needed for expansion. Wyckoff Reformed Church is an historic building site. The graves-gravestones were relocated to the Church basement. The old building front originally had one door and now has two doors;  

Church Basement; Note the gravestones in walls. 
The floor slab says, "Re-interred 1953."

The cornerstone (picture of "A + D 1806") as well as the "corner stones" are brownstone (sandstone) and the rest is made of local field stone since it was less expensive.  

The walls are 3 foot thick, mortared with crushed seashells and stone. The original church was likely built with slave labor.  Pastor Andy took us for a tour of the building itself, including the basement where bodies were re-interred in 1955 to clear the back for the addition.

From back to front.

John Dyksen is friendly with a few of the RCA churches in the local Classis due to his status as Interim Pastor at Living Word Reformed Church in North Haledon, NJ.  He may also have a connection to  Old Paramus Reformed Church (1725) in Paramus, NJ., a potential Nerd Tour option.

Baylor Massacre Site (1778), River Vale, NJ

This site is unknown to many in NJ, but during the Revolutionary War, even George Washington knew of his Aid de Camp's death during this massacre in 1778. We wandered through this small County Park, reading the monument plaques and being awed by what happened here 230 years before.

The "Baylor Massacre" was a surprise British attack on September 27, 1778, against the 3rd Regiment of Continental Light Dragoons under the command of Colonel George Baylor. Baylor, a 26 year old Colonel, who had served as an aide to General George Washington before he was given command of the 3rd Regiment of Continental Dragoons. He died in 1784 at age 32 from complications of bayonet wounds received during the fight.

On the night of September 27, 1778, British Major-General Charles "No-Flint" Grey mobilized the light infantry, grenadiers, as well as the two other British regiments, totaling 650 red coats, and during the early hours, approached a small collection of homes, barns and farms, including that of a suspected Tory Cornelius Blauvelt.  Of a company of 116 Continental officers and men, 69 were killed, captured, or wounded. The dead, all bayoneted, tallied 15. Those troops who survived the night were brought to a makeshift hospital and prison at the Reformed Church of Tappan in Tappan, NY. (see our Nerd Tour #4)

The Circle consists of Plaques describing the context
and actual events of the 1778 Massacre

News of Baylor's Massacre quickly spread around the colonies and back to England, inspiring outrage and revenge on the American side, and shame on the British side. What incensed the Americans was the news that most American solders had surrendered, yet they were brutally bayoneted, despite their cries for quarter. 

Originally the site of a tannery, the property had eventually lain fallow for nearly 200 years, its history forgotten once a commemorative marker and the mill stone were removed. The remains of some of the murdered dragoons were said to have been entombed in tanning vats on the property, but their exact location was unknown. It was an unfortunate end for patriots who'd given their lives for our young country, but at least their final resting place was a placid one, near the meandering Hackensack River.

Note the stone gristmill wheel in the background.

The site was threatened in the late 1960s, when a builder made plans to subdivide the tract for a housing development. Local citizens raised the alarm, and the county hired three college students to research the claims, interview older residents who remembered accounts of the massacre, and dig within the site for any evidence that would support the assertion that soldiers were buried there. The team ultimately found six skeletons, a belt buckle and other artifacts, confirming the importance of the site.

Standing at the center of the park is the famous millstone from the Haring farm - moved first to the Holdrum School in River Vale and loaned by the school to the county in 1972 to become part of the historic site.

Grave Site of Rev. John Henry Goetschius (Johannis Hendricus Goetschius) at the South Reformed Church (1728) and Cemetery, Bergenfield, NJ (1718-1774)

Original 1728 Building

SOUTH CHURCH is descended from the first Schraalenburgh congregation established in 1723. The first church building was constructed beginning in 1724, and fully completed by 1728. This was approximately 36 feet square with a Dutch hip roof ascending to a central belfry and steeple.

The Church itself wasn't open, but we wandered through the cemetery and eventually found what we searched for.

In Dutch, "The
House of the Lord
Built in the year 1799
I Samuel 7:12, 
Has assisted us again
Psalm 84:2
How sweet
Are Your Homes
O Lord of Hosts
Rebuilt 1866"

One of the older Dutch Reformed Churches in NJ and USA, this being the SOUTH church, which split with members building in Dumont, NJ the NORTH Reformed Church. 

Bill wanted to view this church cemetery to visit Goetschiu's grave. Ancestry.com claims him as a distant relative of William Bogertman through his paternal grandmother, Zwaantje "Sadie" Kooistra. 

Also of interest to Bill was the contrast of the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut Dutch Reformed and English Presbyterian churches response to 1) the Great Awakening (1730-1740) and he 2)American Revolutionary War (1775-1783). 

     ..."The war was brought home with a shock when Washington, in retreat from Fort Lee passed before their very eyes, and from that time on, their lands were to lie between the opposing forces. It was soon evident that, in Schraalenburgh at least, the people who were willing to stand up and be counted for America were the members of Domine Goetschius' old church, and that the Tories, now that the British army had arrived, were the members of the opposing conferentie church." --from Adrian Leiby The Huguenot Settlement of Cchraalenburgh. The History of Bergenfield, New Jersey.

While never a pastor of South Reformed Church, Goetschius's was a very influential Pastor and leader among the "English" Presbyterian and Dutch Reformed Churches throughout NY, NY and CT. 



His appeal lay in his charismatic demeanor, his preaching skills, and his pietistic theology. In Reformed circles on both sides of the Atlantic, a rift had developed between the urban, orthodox traditionalists on the one hand, whose theology, according to their critics, had grown scholastic, and pietists like Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen on the other hand, who called their members to a life of godliness and spiritual fervor.



Controversy surrounded Goetschius throughout his career in the Middle colonies, and the factionalism he engendered sharpened the divisions between revivalist and non-revivalist factions during the Great Awakening (1730-1740 with major leaders such as George Whitefield, John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards) and articulated a theology of revival and salvation. 

John Henry Goetschius, then, though lesser known to historians than Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen (1691-1747), or Gilbert Tennent (1703-1764), was a pivotal figure in the Middle colonies during the eighteenth century. At a time when more and more Dutch congregants became enamored of pietism and revivalism, Goetschius railed against the formal, dead orthodoxy that characterized the opponents of the Awakening



He was one of the original trustees of Rutgers College, and a leader in the forward movements of his denomination. "He was below the middle size, of a vigorous constitution, abrupt in speech, but his language was clear and expressive." One of his pupils, Dr. Solomon Froeligh, describes him as "a gentleman of profound erudition, a thoroughbred Calvinist, and an accomplished theologian." 

The flat Gravestone Memorial says...

Goetschuis Grave stone. Inscription at left

"Sacred to the memory of John Henry Goetschuis, DD, born c 1718 in Zurich, Switzerland; died Nov 14, 1774. Principal founder of Queens College (now Rutgers). His wife, Rachel Zabriskie, born circa 1729 and died circa 1771.

Solomon Froelich, DD, born May 29, 1750 at Red Hook; died Oct 8, 1827. Founder of the True Dutch Reformed Church in 1822. His wife, Rachel Vanderbeek, born at Hackensack; 1743 and died 1813.

The Rev. Charles Hardenbergh, and others whose names are unknown to us.

In 1750, John Henry Goetschuis built a family vault near this spot. By 1866 it had fallen into such disrepair it was torn down by the order of the Session and the remains were removed to a new site.

This gravestone is to honor those buried here and in memory of Adrian Leiby who greatly loved this Church 1982."

Froeligh, Goetschuis and Hardenburgh were each influential Pastors in Bergen county and at the North (Schraalenburgh, now Dumont) and South Reformed Churches. Froeligh and Goetschuis were controversial in that they were both influenced by the Great Awakenihg's pietistic and anti-clerical positions. 



John Zabriskie-von Steuben house (1752) at New Bridge Landing (1744), site of Bergen County Historical Society, River Edge, NJ

The four of us walked the grounds and outside of the old Dutch brownstone buildings. None of the buildings were open to visitors. 

We also crossed over the Hackensack River on the New River Bridge from River Edge into Teaneck along the road used as Washington's Retreat of November 20-21, 1776. 

Sandstone marker reads, "12 miles to Hoboken"

In the American Revolution, New Bridge served as a battleground, encampment ground, military headquarters and intelligence gathering post in every year of the war. The Steuben House served as Gen. Washington's headquarters in 1780. NJ presented the war damaged house in 1783 to Baron von Steuben for his services during the war.

von Steuben House (1752)

On the grounds, the Steuben House (1752), Campbell-Christie House (1774) and Demarest House (1794) are landmarks of Bergen Dutch sandstone architecture, popularly called "Dutch Colonial" and frequently seen and admired throughout northern NJ. Famous visitors at New Bridge include Washington, Paine, von Steuben, LaFayette, Wayne, Greene, Cornwallis, Clinton, Franklin, Andre, Hamilton and Burr.

Demarest House (1794)

Plaque reads, "The Zabriskie House. Erected 1752 and presented
to Major Gen von Steuben by the State of New Jersey in 1783
in recognition of New Jersey's share of the debt which the nation
owed the General. Bergen County Historical Society 1937

Plaque reads, "Old Demarest House
erected in 16XX in New Milford,
removed to this site 1955 by Hiram B.D. Blauvelt
DAR 1955"

New Bridge was a prosperous mill hamlet, centered upon a bridge strategically placed at the narrows of the Hackensack River. In the American Revolution, New Bridge Landing was the site of a pivotal bridge crossing the Hackensack River, where General George Washington led his troops in retreat from British forces. The current Draw Bridge at New Bridge was built in 1888 and added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1989. The area is now a NJ historic site in portions of New Milford, River Edge, Hackensack and Teaneck in Bergen County, NJ,

The Steuben House (1752) was at the center of activity at New Bridge. Home and store of Jan & Annetje (Ackerman) Zabriskie. The house grew in size as the family became wealthy with their tidemill, store and in trade shipping on the Hackensack River. Sloops of 40-ton burden would navigate to and from city markets. The bridge was the first crossing above Newark Bay.

History of Baron von Steuben at New Bridge

Zabriskie-von Steuben House 

The Steuben House is an artifact of the Revolution that memorializes the "Drillmaster of the American Revolution," Major-General Baron von Steuben, whose valuable wartime services have been described as being second in importance only to those of George Washington.  His actual name was Major General Baron Friedrich Wilhelm Augustin von Steuben

In 1777, Steuben volunteered his services to Benjamin Franklin to advise the ill-trained American army. At Valley Forge, he converted the ragged, starving army into an effective fighting force. His training manual still remains a reference for military training and organization.

Major General Baron von Steuben
Charles Willson Peale, 1783

After the war, Congress granted von Steuben a life annuity and New Jersey gifted him the Steuben House in appreciation for his contributions to the American Cause. (The house had been confiscated from Jan Zabriskie, a Loyalist, in 1781) Steuben "thoroughly rebuilt" the war-damaged stone house on Main Street, River Edge, that now bears his name, forever marking his association with one of New Jersey's most beloved landmarks. This is largely the house on the grounds, and is the only extant house he owned.

Plaque reads, "New Bridge Landing, site of the Zabriskie Grist mill and
wharf near the head of the navigation of the Hackensack River. Farm Produce
and iron from the Ramapo Mtns. were shipped from here to market. The mill,
once powered by the tides, burned in 1852 after a century of service."

Plaque Reads, "New Bridge Inn. Built in 1739-1740 by Peter P. Demarest.
In 1766, he received a license from a local court, "to keep a tavern or public
house" here. The old inn witnessed many stirring events during the American
Revolution.  in November 1776, Washington led his retreating Continental army
past its door enroute from Fort Lee to the Delaware River.  On May 30, 1964,
the old tavern was destroyed by fire, ending 198 years of service."

New Bridge Inn, 1739-1964

Washington's Retreat Marker, looking
towards the New River Bridge, from Teaneck
 into River Edge.

Hackensack Indian Village, Early Colonial Settlement, George
Washington's Bridge
The "Great Indian Field" was the boundary between the
Tappan Indians and Hackensack Indians and part of the 2,100 acres deeded to
Sara Kirksted in 1669 for her services as translator between the Dutch
and Hackensack Indian Chief Oratam. The land eventually passed in 1697 to
Peter van Buskirk, holding 356 acres in the vicinity."

Campbell Christie House (1774)

Hackensack River New Bridge Landing, looking over
the Hackensack River, from River Edge into Teaneck, NJ

All in all a very full, eventful and fascinating RevWar day!

MISCELLANEOUS:

CONTEXT: In the early morning hours of November 20, 1776, Lieutenant General Charles Cornwallis led a British and Hessian army of about 2,500 soldiers across the Hudson to New Dock into New Jersey for an attack against Fort Lee, then defended by about 900 soldiers. Washington led his 2,000 troops in a retreat through present-day Fort Lee, Englewood and Teaneck across the Hackensack River at New Bridge. The hasty withdrawal of the American garrison across the Hackensack River at New Bridge preserved them from entrapment on the Bergen Neck, the narrow piece of land between the Hudson and Hackensack Rivers. British troops under Major General Vaughan attacked the American rear guard on November 21, 1776 and seized the New Bridge, which American engineers were dismantling.

Retreating American troops continued westward, crossing the Passaic River on the Acquakanonk Bridge, which was dismantled.

Washington continued his retreat through early December, passing through Princeton and Trenton on the way towards and across the Delaware and again on December 29, 1776, Washington recrossed the Delaware River into Trenton, soundly defeating British and Hessian troops in two battles.  On January 3, 1777, Washington again beat the British in Princeton, NJ.

Tour #4 Plan Options Include:
1. Hackensack Green, Hackensack, NJ
2. Fort Lee, Fort Lee,NJ
3. John Andre's Monument, Tappan, NY
4. Old Paramus Reformed Church, Paramus, NJ
5. West Point Military Academy and Cemetery, West Point, NJ
6. Pompton Reformed Church, Pompton Lakes, NJ

NJ History Nerd Tour #2 ... Paterson, Garfield, Passaic 14Feb-19

NJ History Tour #2
Jim Aupperlee, Bill Bogertman, John Dyksen, Gary Link, Thursday, February 14, 2019, from 10:00am to 4:00pm

This is my second installment on our NJ "History Nerd" Tours...  

Our initial plans today were to visit sites and markers for:

1. Great Falls on the Passaic, including SUM Building, Paterson, NJ and the National Park Service Great Falls Historic District Visitors and Cultural Center, Market Street, Paterson.

2. George and John Francis Ryerson Houses, Goffle Road and Wagaraw Road, Hawthorne, NJ. (Tory and Loyalist cousins living 1 mile apart)

3. Acquackanonk Bridge, Passaic, NJ.

4. Post Ford Monument, Garfield, NJ.

Today’s Actual Activity included:

Passaic Falls, undated

1.  Touring the Paterson Great Falls, National Park Service, Paterson, NJ (envisioned by Alexander Hamilton in 1782) as well as the National Park Service Paterson Great Falls Visitors Center, Paterson. The young Guide inside the Paterson NPS Visitor's Center was informative.

I'm still fascinated by what the Passaic Falls and environment might have looked like in the 15th and 16th centuries, before "change" occurred.

Passaic Falls, 1761, The British Museum

Internet Painting by a favorite history artist, John Buxton. 

Passaic Falls, 2019, S.U.M. building and
hydroelectric plant (still in use) on left.

The Alexander Hamilton Statue reads:
"Great Falls of Paterson on the Passaic,
"Registered National Landmark 1967 and
National Historic Landmark 1976;
This site possesses National significance
in commemorating the History of the
United States of America."

National Park Service Passaic Falls Welcome Center

Looking down river to the Falls from Bridge walkway

Gary headed towards pedestrian walkway bridge.

From the Internet...
"The Great Falls is one of the largest waterfalls in the United States, measuring about 77 feet 
(23 meters) high and 280 feet (85 meters) wide. Every day, 2 billion gallons (more than 7.5 billion liters) of water pour over the falls — second in the eastern U.S. only to Niagara Falls.
-----
"The Great Falls of the Passaic River is a prominent waterfall, 77 feet (23 m) high, on the Passaic River in the city of Paterson in Passaic County, New Jersey. The Great Falls' raceway and power systems were designated an Historic Civil Engineering Landmark in 1977.
-----
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park is site to one of the nation's largest waterfalls. ... Hamilton envisioned Paterson, with its water power provided by the Great Falls of the Passaic River, as America's counterpart and response to the industrial revolution occurring in England during the same period."

2.  We toured the Paterson Museum, City of Paterson, NJ, including displays of local historical artifacts, geography and equipment. 

This Museum is housed inside the original 1932 Rogers Locomotive building.  

Inside the NPS Welcome Center...
Paterson Great Falls Map and Layout

Gary pointing to where we were standing inside
the Paterson Museum, Rogers Locomotive Works.

Alexander Hamilton engaged Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a planner/architect for the city of Washington D.C., to layout the town of Paterson and build raceways to supply water to the planned manufacturing mills and businesses.

The S.U.M. building (1791-1914) was built in 1910 to
harness water power for the silk mill raceway system.

Some of the Paterson's Museum's exhibits and displays include:

Model of Paterson, NJ Colt Gun Mill 1836 Rear.

a. A display of Samuel Colt’s “Paterson Colt” collection of rifles and pistols. 

Scotsman Samuel Colt invented the revolving cylinder and his plant worked from 1846-1842, when the business failed.  He invented the first revolving pistol cylinder. 

Model of Paterson, NJ Colt Gun Mill 1836 Front.

Colt's "Paterson" pistols are some of the rarest, most collectible
and most valuable in the world.

Colt Gun Mill Plant ruins down river from Falls
viewed from top of Passaic Falls, 2019.

Paterson, NJ Colt Gun Mill Plant ruins inside.
(Internet site)

b. Baseball's Hall of Fame and Paterson native, Larry Dolby exhibits. We found out that Gary Link's wife, Barbara's father, played baseball with Doby and was in a team picture displayed.

c. Map from 2nd National Bank, Paterson NJ, undated.  The map was made with incredible accuracy and included "the bend in the Passaic River" with all cities and towns west, north and east included.

Mountain Ranges to the northwest include
the First and Second Watchung Mountains.

Notice the northern loop of the Passaic River...
west is Totowa, Preakness, north is Haledon,
Hawthorne, Prospect Park, east is Fair Lawn,
Garfield, Wallington, Passaic.

d. Displays of John Holland’s first two working working submarines, Holland I-Holland Boat #1, 1878 and Holland II-Fenian Ram (raised from Passaic River 1927).  Irishman John Holland is considered "the father of the modern submarine."

Excerpts from the Paterson Visitor Center's Historic Notes: The Invention of Holland's Submarine

Holland's "Boat #1"

"The son of a Coastguardsman, John Philip Holland was born in 1841 in Liscannor Bay, County Clare, on the Western coast of Ireland. After receiving a common school education in his native town, Holland taught in various parts of Ireland from 1858 to 1872. During this time, he conceived the idea of an underwater boat and as a patriot, how it might be used against the British Navy to secure Irish independence. He studied the scanty literature of undersea effort including the work of Bourne, Bushnell, and Fulton. The discouraging failures of these experimenters did not deter Holland and by 1870 he had prepared plans for a submarine boat. Since he lacked financial means to proceed with construction, he laid aside his plans.

In November 1873, Holland emigrated to the United States taking up residence in Boston. A few months later, he was invited to Paterson by Father Whalen to teach mathematics at St. John's Parochial School. Holland resided in Paterson on Willis Street (now Park Avenue) until 1883.

In February 1875, Holland offered his submarine design plan to the United States Navy. It was quickly rejected as an absurd scheme of a civilian landsman.

The Irish Republican Brotherhood or Fenian Society then came to his support and financed his first experimental craft, Holland I.  The Holland I, 14 feet long by 3 feet across by 4 feet high and weighing 2.25 tons, was built at the iron works on Albany Street in New York City and moved to the machine shop of L.C. Todd company in Paterson in the spring of 1878. Here, a petroleum engine patented in 1874 by George Brayton was installed for propulsion. Trials of the craft were conducted in the Passaic River from Lister's Boathouse above the Great Falls. Finally, on June 6, 1878, Holland successfully completed two runs during which the boat was totally submerged at a depth of twelve feet and traveled at the speed of three and a half miles per hour. The maximum submergence time was about one hour.

This success encouraged Holland and his financial backers to build a larger boat, one that had fittings for armaments. In the interest of secrecy, Holland removed the engine and other machinery from Boat #1 and scuttled the hull in 14 feet of water just above the Spruce Street bridge. There it lay at the bottom of the river until 1927 when it was located, minus its turret, by a group of Paterson citizens. It was successfully raised and presented to the Paterson Museum."

Holland's Boat #2, Fenian Ram, was more successful better
equipped...

Fenian Ram, Holland #2 Submarine.

Fenian Ram Holland Submarine #2.

Holland Submarine #1

e. Curtiss-Wright Engines (Lindberg’s Spirit of St. Louis and WWI fighter and bomber engines)

From Patersongreatfalls.org ... During World War II, Paterson became a major center of Curtiss-Wright engine production. In 1920, the Wright Aeronautical Corporation designed and built the Whirlwind and Cyclone aircraft engines, which made aviation history. In 1927 Charles Lindberg had a 200 Horsepower J-1 air-cooled Whirlwind Engine custom-made for his historic solo Trans-Atlantic flight. Through the 1930's and 40's, the company employed as many as 25,000 workers and manufactured over 120,000 various types of aircraft. It was during this period of time that Paterson was called "The Aviation City".

The Curtiss-Wright Corporation had a lot of history in early aviation with the Wright in the name coming from the Wright Brothers. This company was of significant importance to the outcome of WWII. They manufactured the P-40 Warhawk Fighter, C-46 Commando Cargo Transport, SB2C Helldiver Navy Bomber, Army A-25 Helldiver, Seagull Navy Scout Plane and the P-47 Republic Thunderbolt Fighter."

f. Silk mill manufacturing equipment - Silk Mills were ubiquitous in Paterson, NJ, “known as “The Silk City. ” Silk was manufactured in Paterson by about 30 silk mills from  the late 1875-1925 in "dyeing, spinning, finishing and  

Silk was as valuable as gold in China and smuggling silk worms or mulberry trees out of China was a capital offense.

Silk weaving equipment used "cards" to create patters.
The cards looked similar to those I learned in college
to program FORTRAN computers.

g. Outdoors, the famous and historic Paterson, NJ water Raceways... which funneled the water's power to turn the large flywheels inside the mills, brewery's and locomotive manufacturing plants.

Raceway headed Northeast in Paterson, NJ.

Internet picture...
Paterson Falls Raceway into Rogers Locomotive.

Paterson Raceway, 1838 to Present

h. Local Lenape Indian artifacts, flint and fishing equipment

Display of Passaic River Weir above Fair Lawn
Avenue Bridge.

i. Local and world gems and minerals (including those from Stirling Hill Mine, Ogdensberg, NJ and/or Franklin Mineral Mines, Franklin, NJ, and the Prospect Park Quarry, NJ)

j. Indoors and Outdoors - Rogers Locomotive (#299).  The 1832 Rogers Locomotive complex built 12,000 locomotive engines, 6,700 in Paterson alone; the building had 12 huge bays with rails, just at Rogers.  There were four (4) additional Locomotive manufacturers in Paterson.  Rogers locomotives were used in the Panama Canal, the Transcontinental Railway (#119), the Civil War (The General and Texas), worldwide.

Rogers Paterson Unit #299.

What Rogers Locomotive Works looked like.

Unit #119, in Promontory Summit, UT, in the famous
pictures of the 1869 Transcontinental Railroad joining
of Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads. 
Wilma and I saw this working replica in October 2018,
on our return from completing the Lewis & Clark Trail.

From Patersongreatfalls.org... "Three locomotive manufacturing companies, the Rogers Locomotive Works, Danforth and Cooke Company, and Grant Locomotive Company were located in Paterson. Altogether, these companies produced over 10,000 steam locomotive engines. The Rogers Locomotive Works was the second largest manufacturer in the country. The No. 119 locomotive met the locomotive from the west on the Trans-Continental Railroad in the state of Utah in 1869 when the famous "Golden Spike" was driven.

The two most famous Civil War locomotives, the 1855 Rogers General and the 1856 Danforth, Cooke Texas (which opposed each other in the great railroad chase), were both manufactured in Paterson."

Gary pointing to where the model shows
we're standing inside the building.

Gary pointing to where we are standing inside

on the model.

The Building had 12 massive doors
and bays where the locomotives would
be drive after manufacturing.

Model on the table of the Central Pacific's
Jupiter (left) and the Union Pacific Rogers #119 (right).

Internet... Famous picture of the "Golden Spike" joining of
the Union Pacific Rogers #119 (right) and Central Pacific's
Jupiter (left), Railroads, May 10, 1869.

Glenn Hutton painting.

k. The Museum tour guide, Glenn Hutton, had a didactic, "anti-big business and 'white privilege' chip on his shoulder," but was knowledgeable and an accomplished artist as you can see from his artwork below.

l. A display of Paterson, NJ resident, Lou Costello, from famous comedy duo, "Abbott and Costello." Bud Abbott (1897-1974) and Lou Costello (1906-1959) whose work on radio and in film and television made them the most popular comedy team of the 1940s and early 1950s. 

Lou Costello, from Abbott and Costello fame.
Note Costello,s "life mask" in the display case.
Their "Who's on First?..." comedy routine, is
quoted inside the display case as well.

m. Hinchliffe Stadium, a famous 10,000 seat stadium, baseball field, raceway, boxing ring and entertainment venue, completed in 1932 and used throughout the late 19th and early 20th century. Hinchliffe is named after Paterson, NJ mayor, John Hinchliffe. It is one of only a handful of stadiums surviving nationally that once played host to significant Negro League baseball. 

from Wickipedia... "The baseball played at Hinchliffe Stadium was some of the best and most competitive in the game, including prodigious athletes like Monte Irvin, Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, and "Cool Papa" Bell, among many others. 

Baseball's Hall-of-Famer Larry Doby, the legendary player who broke the American League color barrier in 1947, grew up in Paterson playing football and baseball in Hinchliffe Stadium for Paterson's Eastside High School, and was scouted from Hinchliffe for the Newark Eagles in 1942.

Hinchliffe became an important venue for boxing (Diamond Gloves, precursor to the Golden Gloves), auto racing (precursor to NASCAR featuring pre-Indianapolis racing and midget car racing events), and professional football."

Hinchliffe is located just up from the Passaic Falls.
Internet picture.

3.  We viewed Statue of Casimir Pulaski, Garfield, NJ  (Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski, 1747-1779, 32 years old; Polish Revolutionary War General fighting for US.. 

One of only 7 people awarded honorary American citizenship).

General Pulaski's Statue on River Road in
Garfield, NJ. Sadly and ironically, there was
no plaque nor indication who this man was.

4.  We viewed the George Washington Monument on the grounds of St. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church circle (Saints Peter and Paul Polish Church).

Three of the monument's four sides read:

Directly beyond John Dyksen's shoulder is the
Acquackanonk Bridge spanning the Passaic River
from Garfield to Passaic, NJ.

a. "A tribute of honor to George Washington and his army and a memorial to the spirit that founded and preserved the republic.

b. Washington: Unique in Character, Blameless in Private Life and Public Office, Champion of Liberty, Friend of Man, Alone in Greatness, Honored by the World.

c. On the day of the erection of this memorial, a bronze tablet was set in the wall on lower Main Avenue to mark the site of Washington's while he was in Passaic."

The monument lies inside the grounds of the Catholic Church within 200 yards of the Gregory Street (Acquackanonk) Bridge. We missed an additional 4-6 other monument markers on the grounds or road behind the church. 

St. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church. A
half dozen historic sites are located near or on
the grounds, unmarked and unnoticed.

Passaic River Crossing...
Acquackanonk Bridge (and marker) as
seen from Wallington, NJ.

5. We viewed the Gregory Street Bridge aka Acquackanonk Bridge, Wallington, NJ,  where the American Army prevented the British from crossing the Passaic River and capturing the American troops. Washington headquartered his army one or two days at the Blanchard House (see picture).

Passaic River Crossing... Acquackanonk Bridge 
(Gregory Street), seen from Passaic, NJ. 
..........
The Marker reads,
"Acquackanonk Bridge... American troops
encamped between the Hackensack and Passaic
Rivers, were ordered by Washington
November 21, 1776, to cross the Passaic River
here. After burning the bridge, they marched
across Jersey. The Blanchard House was often used
as headquarters."

Acquacknonk Bridge Marker
"Gen. George Washington's Army
pursued by the British crossed over
here November 21, 1776 destroying
the wooden bridge behind them."

I believe the misnamed Passaic, NJ "Blanchard House" was the "Tap House" referred to by historians. It was actually owned by James Leslie in 1776 when Washington stayed there for two days after the Passaic River crossing and before his final retreat to Pennsylvania.

James Leslie Tap House 1776, aka the "Blanchard House," in this 1786. Internet Image

6. We viewed Post Ford Monument, Garfield, NJ where November 1776 flooding and high water prevented the British from crossing after the Acquackanonk Bridge was burned (dismantled).

The monument reads: "Post Ford. Frequently
used by both armies during Revolutionary War."

Jim Aupperlee's (left) Mother's great-grandfather
was John Post of "Post Ford" fame.  So I'm standing
with a legitimate "old NJ History Nerd Pfart!"

===================================

NOTE:

Morris Mountain was where Hamilton, Washington and other Military Officers viewed the Passaic Falls in 1792.  

Morris Mountain was completely demolished on the horseshoe curve from the falls down to the Rapids on the Passaic River, Paterson, NJ.  It was approximately on this site that Washington, Hamilton and their aides viewed the Falls and dreamed of making Paterson a planned city of industry and innovation, including the S.U.M., New Jersey's Society for Establishing Useful Manufactures.

Morris Mountain, left. S.U.M Hydroelectric
plant under construction, 1913.

===================================

NOTE:

A final note about ... Washington's Army NJ Retreat, from Fort Lee to  Washington's Crossing, PA, (across from Trenton, NJ and up the Delaware River), where he commandeered every available Durham boat to prevent the British Army's pursuit), on November 22 to December 20, 1776, with less than 4,000 Continental soldiers... 

In November 1776, after the American Continental Army lost the battle of Fort Lee to the British, the retreating Americans crossed the Hackensack River at New Bridge Crossing in River-Edge, NJ. British General Lord Cornwallis then chased the disheartened, retreating American soldiers along roads in Paramus, Fair Lawn, Garfield, Wallington and Passaic,  (where the retreating American army eventually burned or dismantled the Passaic River Acquackanonk Bridge to prevent the British from crossing), into Clifton, Nutley, Belleville, Newark, New Brunswick and Princeton, NJ. They then continued their retreat south west across NJ through Trenton, crossing the Delaware River into Pennsylvania (north of Washington's Crossing, PA) on December 8, 1776, after a flight of 16 days.

==============================

NOTE:

Quotes from... The Paterson Mill Survey, taken by the City of Paterson, NJ in 2012,  

“The birth and growth of Paterson are peculiar to itself, and have but few parallels or counterparts in those of other cities of the Union.”

 – New Jersey’s Leading Manufacturing Centres, 1887 

"The Paterson Mill Survey of 2012 ... Presents the results of an intensive-level architectural survey of 30 historic mills in the City of Paterson, Passaic County, New Jersey. These 30 mills were recognized by Mayor Jeffery Jones (term 2010-2014), the Paterson Historic Preservation Commission's staff and by industrial historians as representing a highly significant but largely under appreciated cultural resource directly associated with the expansion of Paterson when it was known worldwide as "The Silk City" during the half century dating from roughly 1875 to 1925.

This report presents a historic summary placing the mills in historic contexts of industrial architecture and the development of specific industrial sectors including silk, silk dyeing and finishing, machine works, locomotives and aeronautics, which made Paterson known nationally and, in some instance, internationally, for the skill and productivity of its businesses and workers. It also recognizes the mills for the potential significance they may have in association with industrial archaeology and the social history of labor, immigration and ethnicity. 

The "30 mills" survey was initiated by the City of Paterson with the expressed goal of identifying and surveying historic large-scale mills located in parts of the city outside of the Great Falls district. ... that these buildings should play an important role in future development plans and that they are important cultural assets scattered throughout much of the city. In many instances, these large buildings anchor the mixed-use neighborhoods in which they are located. The overarching goal of this survey was to provide data that could be used to guide and promote historic preservation by increasing awareness of these buildings and encouraging their appropriate treatment as historic resources.

During the last quarter of the 19th century, observers of New Jersey and the American industrial scene began to realize that something remarkable was happening in Paterson. It was having a third industrial transformation driven by the production of silk, a most luxuriant and, up until that time, exotic fabric. The 30 mills in this survey date from the late 1870s to the 1920s when Paterson sustained an international reputation as "The Silk City" or the "The Lyons of America." About a third of the mills in the survey were built as silk mills, and another third as silk dyeing and finishing mills. The remaining third represent other significant sectors of Paterson's industrial scene and include several machine works, a locomotive works, a brewery and an aircraft engine plant. One characteristic that all of these mills have in common is that they represent a phase of "steam-age" industrial expansion that spread outward from Paterson's historic water-powered industrial core, which was by necessity located near the Great Falls of the Passaic River."

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FUTURE History Tour #3 Options:

1. Von Steuben House at New Bridge landing, River Edge, NJ

2. Hackensack, NJ “The Green,” First Reformed Church and General Enoch Poor’s Gravesite,

3. Henry Garrittse Gravesite, The Blanchard House Marker, Post Grave Monument, all on the site of the St. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church, Passaic, NJ.

4. General William Alexander/Lord Sterling site, Basking Ridge, NJ

5. John H. Post Gravesite…(quotes from website called Revolutionarywarnewjersey.com)

“The cemetery also contains the grave of John H. Post who served as a private and as a corporal in the militia during the Revolutionary War. His gravestone and that of his wife Elizabeth Ackerman Post are mounted on a concrete post behind the church. The gravestones originally stood 75 feet to the northwest.”

A few yards from John H. Post’s gravestones, there is a monument which pays tribute to the “minute men of 1776 and the soldiers and sailor of the Revolutionary War. “ It mentions John H Post by name, in connection with the destruction of the Acquackanonk Bridge in November 1776.

However, the story associating John H. Post with the destruction of the bridge is an incorrect bit of local lore that began appearing in print at the end of the 1800s. Post’s own military pension application makes no mention of it, and in fact, contradicts details of the bridge story. Also, the monument refers to him as “Captain John H Post,” but his pension application states that he did rise to the rank of corporal, but not to the much higher rank of captain.”

6. Tribute to Minute Men, Soldiers and Sailors Monument

7. Acquackanonk Dutch Reformed Church Burying Ground, aka Old First Protestant Dutch Church Cemetery, Passaic First Reformed Church Cemetery.

8. General Charles Lee's capture at Widow White's Tavern in Basking Ridge, NJ on December 12, 1776.