Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

These are photos of the (210) J.C. Wilson & Son Stock Farm (1903 Map). Sanfordville Road past the High School, cross County 1, first house on left.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (208) Bradner House, County 1 (Hathorn Rd. by Hathorn House, turn right, first house on right), c. 1810 (Clark). Clark has the previous owner as probably Adonijah Morehouse. Seese has the builder as James Bell.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (207) Jeremiah Morehouse House, 11 Hathorn Rd., c. 1800 (Clark).

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (206) Victor Audubon Wilder House, Hathorn Rd., c. 1880 (Clark). It is currently Chateau Hathorn.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (205) General Hathorn House, Hathorn Rd, 1773 (Clark).

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (204) Henry Pelton House, Rt. 94 North, second house on left from Sanfordville Rd. From the 1863 map Henry Pelton appears to be the owner of 100 acres.

7.18.09 update: All or part of this property was sold and the new owner is interested in restoring the house. The top photo shows the new look. I think this is an old house, but there is little evidence of it being so. I respect the new owner's efforts in bringing the house back to life. The current address is 172 Route 94.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (203) John Baird House, Sandfordville Road, right where in intersects with Covered Bridge Road.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (202) House of a miller, 24 Miller's Lane. Bill Baird told me that the miller for the mill on Sanfordville Road lived there. This was the Wheeler/Sanford Mill. McCamley family was involved in this area also, I believe.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (201) 1810 House, going south on Route 94, first house on right past Sanfordville Road.

Historic Houses: Sanfordville/Amity

This is a photo of the (200) Ezra Sanford House, 8 Covered Bridge Road, c. 1840 c. 1860 (Clark).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is an unused postcard of the (112) Edenville Methodist Church and District School. The school is no longer there and the church is now in private hands. The Edenville Church joined with the New Milford Church to become the New Milford-Edenville Methodist Church.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of (111) Unknown House # 2, 180 Union Corners Road.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is photo of (110) Unknown House # 1, 161 Union Corners Road.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (109) Union School on the corner of Union Corners Road and Spanktown Rd. It is now part of a cemetery for one of Warwick's Catholic Churches.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (108) Wheeler/Houston/Thomson House, 5 Spanktown Road.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the old (107) Seely Everett Store on Pine Island Turnpike. It is now the Country Dream Restaurant. I don't know if the old store was torn down and this new building put up or if the orginal store was redone. Seely bought the store in 1912 (Gardner, Randalls).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (106) Houston House, 262 Pine Island Turnpike, prior 1773 (Gardner, Randalls)

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (105)J. Thomkins House, 254 Pine Island Turnpike c. 1825 (Gardner, Randalls).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (104) Nanny House, 29 Edenville Road, c. 1870 (Clark). Donald Clark was the County Historian in the 1970's and it appears that one of his projects was to document the historic houses of Orange County - a major undertaking. I assume that he worked with the local people and recorded the houses that he was told about. My feeling is that both he and the local people missed many of the old structures - my reason for reworking the project. More to come on the Edenville/Union Corners Sections of Warwick. If you can add to this history, please do so at thann@comcast.net.

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (103) J. Ferrier House, 31 Edenville Road, c. 1850 (Clark).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (102) Edenville Blacksmith Shop, 25 Edenville Road, c. 1800 (Clark). The number in front of the house name is my method to identify the property. I am using the numbers 100 - 199 for Edenville/Union Corners. I believe the road currently named Blooms Corner Road, Pine Island Turnpike, Union Corners Road was an old colonial road coming out on Route 94 (the old Kings Highway).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

This is a photo of the (101) Edenville Hotel, 247 Pine Island Turnpike, c. 1820 (Clark).

Historic Houses: Edenville/Union Corners

I am currently working on the Edenville/Union Corners sections of Warwick Township. I am roughly following the outlines of these sections as found on the 1875 map. I believe these were the old school districts at that time. Both Edenville and Union Corners had their own district school. I am not all the familiar with the area, so any help would be appreciated. Contact me at thann@comcast.net.

The above photo is the (100) Dr. James P. Young House, 260 Pine Island Turnpike, c.1816 (Clark)

This is the fourth picture that Mrs. Franck let me copy. This looks like Ryerson Road, right as you turn off Route 94. Not too sure about this location. The bridge and building in background don't look right. I am assuming this is in the New Milford area. If you have any idea of where this is, let me known at thann@comcast.net.

This is the third picture of the 1903 Flood that Mrs. Franck let me copy. This is looking down Iron Mountain Road - very close to Route 94. About 25 years ago there was a repeat of this.

Peachblow Farm c. 1805

This is one of the houses in Volume # 1 of Historic Houses, Churches, and Structures of Warwick Township. It is called Peachblow and was there in 1805. Around 1872, Henry Pelton wrote an article of what he remembered in Warwick when he first came here in 1805 as a young teenager. He pointed out this house as one he remembered. Later, in 1933, Mrs. Elizabeth VanDuzer created a map from his article. I doubt if the house looked anything like the current photograph. But there was a structure there and it was owned by Samuel Denton, Sr. In 1945, when I was born, my parents were renting the right side of the house, it having been converted into a two-family apartment. My first five years were spent living there and I do remember bits and pieces of that.
I have written a history of this house and it can be found at the Albert Wisner Library in Warwick, New York. It is an historical article with the proper citations. What follows is a brief history based on that article.
The Denton family is of English decent. Nathaniel Denton was born 9 Mar 1628/29 in Turton, Bolton Priory, Lancastershire, England and died on 18 Oct 1690 in Jamaica, New York. Going down about five generations, we run into Samuel Denton, born 13 July 1754. This was probably the Samuel Denton, Sr. who was there in 1805. Of special interest is the marriage of his sister Elizebeth to John Mapes. The Mapes family owned the property after the Dentons. Samuel Denton married Julian Roe in 1784 the couple went on the have eleven children: Samuel, Issac, Susanna, Nathiel Roe, Sarah, William, Abigal, Elizabeth, Amelia, Samuel, and Susanna. Without doing a title search on this property, it seems logical that Samuel Denton, Sr., owned the property in 1805 and that upon his death in 1828, his son Samuel took ownership. Upon Samuel Denton death in 1874, the property passed to the Mapes family. In 1898, George W. Sanford owned the property and for a period of time a Mrs. Vail ran a boading house during the season. Around 1922 Effie Buchanan bought the house and barn. At some point the house and barn (no longer there), got separated from the rest of the farm property. I think Herman Berger may have owned the farm property at some point in here. When I was growing up in New Milford the farm part was owned by Peter Wilhelm. In 1939, Harry Vail, Sr., bought the house and barn from Effie Buchanan. It was probably Mr. Vail who converted the barn into three apartments. When I was there in the late 40's there were three families living there.
Very few of the old houses in Warwick have anything approaching an historical account. A history has to be created from from whatever sources one can find. This from the Warwick Advertiser of August 29, 1889:

Last Saturday morning was a bright one, and all the inhabitants from "Peach Blow Farm," the home of our townsman, A.J. Mapes - a place dear to the memory of our people by reason of the luscious fruit it bears, and to many city people who annually rest 'neath its inviting roof, and gain health in its refreshing shades - were moved with the idea and promise of a grand family picnic. Of course the inviting shores of Wawayanda lake, with the delighful road by which it was reached, was the objective point on which most of them would readily fix for an ideal outing of this kind.
Those who had been there before knew what to expect, and were prepared to say "I told you so," on hearing the exclamations of delight from those who saw it that day for the first time. The wild and romantic waters elicited admiration from those who only dined upon its banks as well as from those who fished in its depths or rowed over its calm bosom; and as evening came on much of the graditude of the day of inspiration was turned to words of thankfulness to the good-natured host and his family for providing so much pleasure.
As the party returned it came through this village, and did not fail to draw considerable attention. First there was a "straw load" drawn by the reliable farm team, well crowded and punctuating their way along by frequents toots on tin horns, next was a livery rig and two teams with carriages followed.
Among the party were Mr. and Mrs. J. McKeever and Master Archer; Mr. and Mrs. J. Link and Misses Mabel and Lela; and Mrs. F. Crowell and Misses Marion and Ethel; Miss Hattie Murphy, Miss Tessie Manly, all of New York; Mr. and Mrs. J. Priddy and Master Winfred of Brooklyn; Miss Lena Mapes of Chester; Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Mapes and Misses Jennie, Mabel and Gertie and Master Andrew Mapes of Peach Blow farm.

From this article it appears that A.J. Mapes owned the farm and was raising fruit, probably peaches. It also appears that the family took in boarders during the season to add to their income. Be aware that the New Milford Station was a short walking distance from this house. At this time there were probably passenger trains running from NYC to New Milford. I would guess that the Mapes family was also running a dairy business in addition to what was mentioned in the article.
When I was living there in the late 40's, the bathroom had no running water. The water supply to the kitchen consisted of a pump. Bath time was in a tub with hot water being heated on the stove.

The Mystery Photo, Part 2

The previous post explained my thinking on the "what" part of this photograph. Now for the where and when. Thought about the possible locations of the buildings in New Milford, but none of them really fit. I didn't think of the old Conklin and Strong Store in New Milford, but Sue Gardner did. Sue is a resource librarian at the Albert Wisner Library in Warwick, New York, with a serious concern for local history. If you compare the postcard with the photo, the buildings seem to match. That gives us a place. The store was built in 1898 and burned down in 1909, which gives us a time frame.

So a possible story for this photo is: A group of young city guys from the Germantown section of Philadelphia caught the train to New Milford. Looks like they just got out of work and were heading for camp. The photo was taken when they were about to head off to the camp site.

The Mystery Photo, Part 1

Mark, from the New Milford Deli, let me make a copy of this photograph. I think he got it from Peter Martin, but not sure. Had no idea as to what, where, or when. While driving back to central New Jersey from visiting my father in New Milford the "Germantown Boys" part clicked in. I had typed up a number of transcriptions regarding the activities at Wawayanda Lake. There was a Germantown Camp at the lake. The only Germantown I knew of was a section of Philadelphia , and these boys looked liked city guys. So it seemed logical that these young men came up from Germantown to camp at Wawayanda Lake. That could explain the "what." The next post explores the where and when.

New Milford Graphics Collection

This is another photo of the 1903 Flood and its effects on the Conklin and Strong Mill. I am assuming that Conklin and Strong owned the property at that time periord. A great old photo and thanks to Mrs. Franck for sharing it.

New Milford Graphics Collection

This is a photograph of which Mrs. Frederick Franck let me make a copy. Mrs. Franck is the widow of the late Dr. Frederick Franck, creator of Pacem In Terris. Pacem In Terris was built on the old foundation of the 1863 grist mill. The 1863 mill was built by Clark and Thompson to replace the original mill (c.1805), which I believe was directly across the road. The mill was last owned by Conklin and Strong and Dr. and Mrs. Franck purchased the mill property from Mr. and Mrs. Howard Conklin. It was the Conklins who gave them this photo and three others of the 1903 Flood. The iron bridge pictured in the photo replaced the covered bridge. The iron bridge was still there when I was a boy. It was replaced with the current bridge in the early 1950's. At the time the photo was taken there was a dam upstream on the Wawayanda (to the right of photo). According to accounts in Warwick's two local papers, the dam gave out on its left side, looking upstream, and washed out the road. A great old photo and thank you Mrs. Franck for sharing it with me.

Warwick Historical Papers Volume 4 Part 4: New Milford School Picture, 1956 - 1957

Read from left to right:

Row 1(front): Billy Gross III, (?) Decker, Ferdinand VanStrander, Gwenda Scheuerman
Row 2: Jerry Decker, Shelia Goodrich, Vivian Presley, Francis Smith
Row 3: Brenda Miller, Norman Decker, Meridith Ferguson, Wayne Phillips, Harvey(?) Presley, Stuart Vail, Nora Maclhoue, Mrs. Plossl
Row 4: Carol Bishop, Jimmy Hann, Kathy VanStrander, (?) Decker,
Row 5: Shirley Miller, Donna Ferguson, Judy Strickland, Vera Scheuerman

Courtesy: Meridith Ferguson

Warwick Historical Papers Volume 4 Part 3

This article is a sample from the above Volume:

New Milford: Map Resources
by (Mr.) Terry Hann

Listed below are the old maps on which New Milford appears.

1) 1805 Map of Warwick Valley. This is not a real map, but one based on the memories of Mr. Henry Pelton. The map was done by Mrs. Elizabeth VanDuzer in 1933. Reproductions of this map can be purchased from the Orange County Genealogical Society.

2) 1850 Map of Orange County. This map was done by J.C. Sidney and published by Newell S. Brown of Newburg. Reproductions of this map can be purchased from the Orange County Genealogy Society. It comes in quarters. Those interested in New Milford will want the Southwest quarter.

3) 1863 Farm Map of the Town of Warwick. This was surveyed, drawn, and published by Michael Hughes. Reproductions can be purchased from the Orange County Genealogical Society.

4) 1875 County Atlas of Orange New York. This map was done by F.W. Beers. This map can be found onling at the Albert Wisner Public Library located in Warwick, New York.

5) 1903 Atlas of Orange County. This map was done by J.M. Lathrop and published by A.H. Mueller. This map can be found online at the Albert Wisner Public Library in Warwick, New York.

6) We found another early map, but have yet to get images from it. The New Milford Historical Society reproduced an old postcard portraying a section of New Milford on an old map. Since that map didn't match any of the above maps, we concluded that we were missing at least one. It turns out there is an earlier Beers map of Orange/Rockland Counties. As of this writing, the Orange County Historical Society and the New City Library of Rockland both have copies of this map.

Access Information:
Albert Wisner Public Library: www.albertwisnerlibrary.com. Path: Local History, Maps
Orange County Genealogical Society, 101 Main Street, Goshen, New York 10924. Request a catalog in writing.

Warwick Historical Papers Volume 4 Part 4: School Picture From New Milford School, 1953 - 1954

Read from Left to Right.

Row 1 (Bottom): Tobe Bishop, Jill Richardson, Harry Bray, Patricia Van Strander, Cynthia Vandermark, Nancy Decker, Billy Schmick, Karen Travis, and Patrick Smith.

Row 2: Richard Holt, Brenda Barry, Michele Wieland, Patsy Richardson, Richard Brownbridge. Judy Holt, Terry Hann, Lillian DeVries, and Beatrice Holt.

Row 3: Billy Bawn, Billy Walsh, Naney Bray, Peter Winslow, Jack Bray, Michael Barry, George Scheuerman, and Rosalie Bawn.

Row 4: Gerald Kirchhof, Mrs. Winifred Possl, teacher, and John DeVries.

Warwick Historical Papers Volume 4 Part 4 School Picture of New Milford School: 1951 - 1952

Read from left to right.

Row 1 (Bottom) Jack Bray, Nancy Bray, Judy Holt, Billy Holt, Billy Walsh, Patsy Richardson, Rusty Pinkle, Peter Winslow, and Brenda Barry.
Row 2: Michael Barry, Patrick Smith, Karen Travis, Terry Hann, Linn Storms, and Bonnie Pinkle.
Row 3: George Green, Jerry Kirchoff, Phil Walsh, George Scheuerman, Gail Walsh, and Patty Rielly.

Warwick Historical Papers Volume # 6, Part 1

Note: (NM) denotes history pertaining to the hamlet of New Milford.

Union Milk Condensing (NM)
Sunday School Exhibtiion (NM)
Probable Finding of Remains of Claudius Smith Gang
The New School House (NM)
Mrs. Harriet Ferrier
William More Sanfrod
The Blizzard of 1888
James Clark Sly
Demerest House Opening
Early Hunting Scenes, P. 1
Early Hunting Scenes, P. 2
Warwick Stone Houses, P.1
Warwick Stone Houses, P.2
Warwick Stone Houses, P.3
Cornelius Henry Demerest
A Trip to Greenwood Lake
Mount Adam Granite Quarry
Phebe Burt Benedict
Soldier Life in War Times
John Mabee
Electric Light Co. Organized
Old Josiah Conklin
Warwick Schools Opened, 1899
Gathering Apples for Out-of-Town Markets
George W. Sanford Looks Back
The Flood of 1902
Village in 1805 and 1905
Mrs. Almira Ferrier Lazear (NM)
Helen M. Drew and Dr. A. Walker Married (NM)
Sayre Fancher (NM)
Mr. George H. Strong
Raynor-Vail Wedding (NM)
Nathaniel Baird (NM)
Sanford Reunion
Gunsmith Roy Vail (NM)
Rev. Tabor Knox Dies
Edenville Store
The Village Clock
Baird's Old Stone Tavern
Stanley F. Mackay Elected
President of L.& H. River Railroad Co.
The Warwick Institute (1893) Burns
Rev. Verdin and Rev. Warner (NM)
Howard Conklin, Sugar Loaf Postmaster
G. William Clark
Warwick-Greenwood Lake-New York City Stages, Inc.
History of a Hamlet: Jockey Hollow (NM)
Hunting and Tracking (NM)
Iron Mines (NM)
Blooms Corner School (NM)
Hunting in New Milford (NM)