Millburn/Short Hills
History
In 1709 New Jersey was
divided into nine counties, Essex being one of them. In this county were but
two large settlements, Elizabethtown and Newark. In 1793 Elizabethtown was
divided and the township of Springfield was formed, within which the Millburn
area was included. Union County was not created until 1857.
On March 20, 1857 the 81st
Legislature of the State of New Jersey approved an Act, P.L. 1857, Chapter
CXXXVI, page 379, to create out of the township of Springfield, a new township
to be called and known by the name of the Township of Millburn.
By section 2, of the same Act it
was decreed that the inhabitants of said Township of Millburn were thereafter to
be styled and known by the name, "the inhabitants of the Township of
Millburn in the County of Essex", and were to be vested with, and entitled
to, all the rights, powers, privileges, authorities and advantages as the
inhabitants of the other townships in said County of Essex.
The new community was
known by many names, Rum Brook, Riverhead,
Vauxhall, Milltown, Millville and finally
Millburn. Millburn in Scottish means, "Mill on a
stream". Many of the early settlers were Scots, and
Millburn, the mill on the river, had the sound of home. As late as 1857
the community was still often called Millville but a
duplication of this name caused the post office to insist on another name, and
so Millburn became fixed. Until the late 1800's mail was routed
through the Irvington post office.
In the late 1700's Millburn was
home to Wall Street printer and publisher Samuel Campbell. Campbell, a
Scot, had acquired more than 120 acres from an old grant from George III, giving
him legal title to abundant property along side the "Raw Way" River in
the northeasterly section of Elizabethtown borough. By 1790 Campbell's
Pond Thistle Mill was in full operation making full use of the power
of the rushing brooks for mashing pulp. Other earlier pioneers had long
before realized the use of such hydro-power to move their wheels, grind their
meal and flour and press wild apples in cider. Rum Brook
was used as a name for the community due to the piquant flavor of the waters. The Rahway River was dammed in
five places to form millponds. In later years these millponds were covered by
construction which may be related to the current flooding problems suffered by
Millburn Township. Where once two large streams flowed out to the Rahway
River, one now flows and frequently spills over. Hurricane Floyd caused
massive flooding in Millburn Township when 3-4 feet of water flowed down the
streets and caused millions of dollars of damage.
There is much ancient history
concerning the acquisition of the present day Millburn territory purchased from
the Lenape Indians beginning in 1677. A deed made in 1701/1702, known as
the New Ark settlement, included all land, "to the northward of Newark
within the compass of the Passaick River, and so southwardly into the Minisink
Path; viz., all lands as not yet purchased from the heathen".
Fishing and hunting rights were reserved to the Indians and in 1832
the NJ Legislature purchased these "rights" from the Lenape
tribe for $2000. However two years before this settlement, four men from Long
Island laid claim to have purchased this tract also from the Lenape's. Before all legal negotiations could be
settled pioneers moved out from Elizabethtown and New Ark and
settled in the "short hills" and around what was to become the
center of Millburn.
Thomas Parsil built one of the first
houses on record at 365 White Oak Ridge Road. The house still
stands and the date - 1709 - is carved in the chimney stone (although that
date may have been added later). Other early
pioneers' surnames were Ross, Parkhurst, Denman, Morehouse, Dean, Meeker,
Brant, Thomas, Nichols, and Drew. At the corner of White Oak Ridge Road
and Parsonage Hill Road still stands the family plot of the Parsil family.
I understand that a complete list exists of the family members
interred but the headstones are so deteriorated that a
recent survey could not be done with accuracy.
Of great personal interest to
Jennifer Nichols, the original Millburn Township site coordinator and author of this
text, is the Denman family and their relationship to Michael Kelly. The
Denmans are early settlers of Springfield Township (later Millburn) who
left a sizable estate to the township (69 acres) in which a poor
house was built in 1879. Daniel N. and Agnes Denman had an
indentured Irish servant named Michael Kelly who was given his freedom in
1868. By indenture dated 23 May 1868 Michael Kelly was released from
servitude and thereafter purchased from the Denmans, for $130, a small tract of
land on Mechanic Street. Mary and Michael Kelly's children
married into the Flanagan family and the McCauley family. Josephine
Flanagan was a socialite in the early 1900's and the Millburn-Short Hills Historical
Society has in its archives personal memorabilia belonging to Josephine.
In the early 1960's Joseph
McCauley was appointed as postmaster of Millburn Township by President John
Kennedy. There are no known living descendants of this pioneer
family. I am honored to have been given various family documents that
belonged to Elizabeth McCauley, granddaughter of Michael Kelly and it is my
desire to research that family history in greater detail.
In 1888 plans were laid to erect a town hall. With estimates in the range of
$12,000 to $15,000 the project was dropped. The Music Hall in
Short Hills (also known as the present Racquet Club in Short Hills) had been home
to the township's yearly committee meetings. In 1891 the township
committee recommended that $2,500 be apportioned for the erection of a building
for township purposes.
In 1895 the new
Washington School (at the present day Schoolhouse Plaza) was
being built and the old building was moved across the street to
become the first town hall. This is why vital and land records for
Millburn Township retained by the township only date back to 1895.
For over 20 years Jennifer Nichols lived in a stately old apartment building located next
to the current town hall. She watched the evolution of the new
Washington school as it
transformed into a small office complex. The current
town center holds little resemblance to the photographs of
yesteryear. The Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society has devoted volunteers working
daily to preserve documentation and items of ancient township history. A trip to their museum is well worth the
visit for those interested in seeing how
Millburn came to be.
The Millburn post office moved into
its own building in 1939. The first postmaster was Albert Traphagen who
was soon replaced by Jonathan Meeker. The Short Hills post office started
service in 1880 in the (Short Hills) railroad station (site of the present
Millburn-Short Hills Historical Society museum). Louis C Goodrich was both postmaster
and (RR) station master. In 1885 the Short Hills post office moved to
(Stewart Hartshorn's) "store" building and remained in
operation there until 1913 when it moved to 167 Hobart Avenue. In 1937 the
Short Hills post office took up permanent site at its present location on
Chatham Road.
In 1835 the little mill
town had a railroad. The first trains were horse drawn to Orange but
eventually a wood burning locomotive was able to make the trip over the mountain
through Summit and into Morristown. Tracks were laid where the money was and the
routes were established on how much stock people along the proposed rights of
way would purchase. Israel D. Condit was a mill owner, freeholder, legislator
and philanthropist who helped organize the Morris and Essex Railroad and
along with other influential financial backers, subsidized the passing of
the train through Millburn.
In 1876 a "Bucket
Brigade" was organized to serve as the 1st Volunteer Fire
Company. In 1889 it was reorganized as the Millburn Fire
Department.
In 1868 the "Mutual
Protective Society" was formed to provide community protection.
In 1907 the police department was formed. (From 1892 until 1907 local men
were appointed as needed to serve as "peace officers".)
In 1886 The Short Hills Water
Company began supplying water to Millburn, Springfield and Elizabeth and
telephone service between Millburn and Short Hills was established.
In 1890 (street) gaslights were
supplied by the New York and New Jersey Gaslight Co.
In 1894 the speed limit for wagons
and bicycles was set at 8 mph.
In 1896 electric light poles were
installed
In 1934 the Paper Mill
Playhouse was established.
In 1938 Millburn had its first
free public library.
In 1956 a fire in the town hall
building caused extensive damage and renovations were made.
As the site coordinator for
the township of Millburn, NJGenWeb project I encourage volunteers
to share documents and oral histories of pioneer Millburn families.
If you have family research pertaining to early Township families please
consider sharing your work with others so we can develop a
comprehensive, resourceful and interesting site.
Submitted by
Jennifer Taylor Nichols
Updated by
Lynne Ranieri, Town Coordinator
Marian Meisner's exhaustive study of the history of Millburn and Short Hills is now online at the Millburn Public Library's Web site. To read the book, go to:
Millburn Library then click on 'About Millburn and the Library' and at the next window that opens click on "View the eBook!"
This online service is a major resource for students or residents with questions about the history of the township.
This web page is maintained by the Essex County, NJGenWeb
Millburn town-coordinator and is supported by volunteers and the people
who visit it. If you have any information to add to this web page, please email
the town-coordinator with the
information and I will add it to the page.
