In 1875 the Greenway surprising was used to be railroad to transport coal to a dock in Perth Amboy until it went bankrupt. In 2005 Middlesex county bought 2.68 acres of land for the Greenway that had cost $1.25 million dollars and metuchen paid $100,000 dollars. But on September 2012 there were floods and there had been poor conditions that caused even more damage on the Greenway
The Greenway has many exists to town while you are on the Greenway you can ride bikes, hike,and run. People can go at any age, you can use the Greenway all year round, and wheelchair accessible. Promises safety for residents on the Greenway The Greenway helps improve city wide health by exercising.But there are some rules you have to follow if you want to go on the Greenway. For example pedestrians have the right way,give a signal if passing on left, and a ten miles per hour is the speed limit.
But after many years of hard work and labor the Middlesex Greenway is safe and a great place to be and is the perfect addition to Metuchen NJ.
The Franklin Schoolhouse was built in 1807 and served as Metuchen’s only school for five decades. Local residents, such as a farmer Samuel Compton, worked on the 20′ by 20′, one-room school house. Farmers, usually 3 or 4 at a time, would work on the schoolhouse when it was convenient for them to do so. Local carpenter Benjamin Thornall also helped to build the schoolhouse; he worked for 75 cents, and the others worked for 35 cents.
At a cost of $500 the school was repaired and renovated in 1842. The schoolhouse remains close to its original position, but it originally faced south, as did most buildings at the time. The schoolhouse was eventually turned around to face the direction of the original schoolhouse.
A newer Franklin school was built down Middlesex Avenue in 1873 due to its growing number of students, and the older schoolhouse, now known as the Old Franklin Schoolhouse, stopped being used and instead served as a private home. The newer schoolhouse was later destroyed by fire.
The newer schoolhouse, before it was burned down.
On November 17, 1906 the Borough Improvement League (B.I.L.), a newly formed group, planned for “… preserving the Old Academy building.” The school was in poor condition, and the B.I.L. purchased the building for $800 to attempt to rescue the schoolhouse. In addition, the President of Princeton University donated $80, wanting to save the historical schoolhouse.
In 1908, the B.I.L., acquiring possession of the Old Franklin Schoolhouse, put their plans of remodeling to schoolhouse into action. Some of their procedures included removing the 1842 portion, re-bracing the roof, removing the ceiling, and adding a small platform, kitchen and dressing room, creating an inglenook, and adding a fireplace on north side of the building. The reconstruction of the schoolhouse totaled up to $1,465.
The Old Franklin Schoolhouse, serving as a private home.
From July 14, 1910, the B.I.L. allowed people to rent the schoolhouse for one dollar, which sparked the tradition of hosting public events at the Franklin Schoolhouse. Even the military used the building; during World War I, for an afternoon and evening per week, soldiers stationed near the schoolhouse used it.
The Franklin Schoolhouse was recognized nationally, too, not just in Metuchen. During the beginning of 1942, the Historic American Buildings Survey awarded the schoolhouse. Also, the National Register awarded the historical structure a Certificate of Eligibility.
Now, the schoolhouse is known as the Old Franklin Schoolhouse today, and it’s famous for hosting public events and campaigns, and Metuchen treats our peice of history with care.
500 A.D. the Lenni Lenape, the original founders of Metuchen settled in Middlesex County. They lived peacefully and happily where they settled. However, in the late 14 hundreds the Dutch started arriving. This did not conflict the Lenape, so they lived joyfully together. Unfortunately, towards the early 16 hundreds more Europeans and Dutch started to arrive. They brought diseases and guns. This killed everyone in Middlesex County and the Europeans and Dutch claimed that Middlesex County was their land first.
After the Europeans and Dutch arrived they maintained the land well and overtime they built a civilized town. Which held many genius figures in the state of New Jersey in the literary and political sections in the 1900’s. Which pushed Metuchen to enter in a battle for the nickname “Brainy Borough.” After 2 long years of fighting for the nickname with Glenn Ridge and their alumni’s, Metuchen won the battle. Since then we have been known as the “Brainy Borough.”
Life Before Metuchen Henry Mills Alden was born November 11, 1836, in Mount Tabor, Vermont. At the age of eight, he was working fourteen hours per day, as a factory cleaner. While Alden was growing up, he had a passion to write. While he got older, he started writing for multiple magazines and papers including the New York Times and The New York Evening Post. As an adult, he moved to Metuchen, and that is where he stayed for the rest of his life.
Harper’s Weekly
When Alden moved to Metuchen, he wanted to continue his career as an editor and writer, so he began editing for Harper’s Weekly. Harper’s Weekly was a magazine in the 1800s and early 1900s. Henry Mills Alden was the editor for the magazine and wrote some articles for it as well. As Alden kept working for Harper’s Weekly, he began to work for Harper’s monthly. This created a bigger impact on the town and made the magazine more popular.
Alden helped the community become a better place.He helped by inspiring many people to become writers and bringing “good vibes” from the magazine. Alden also inspired famous people like Mary Wilkins Freeman to write. He contributed to the happiness and the good feelings of the town, and helped bring people together. Alden also helped people mentally by making them feel better. His work helped aid the “broken pieces” of the town, and overall, Metuchen was a better place because of his writing.
Alden’s work was the reason famous people came to the area, which was a big impact to the town. Some people that came to Metuchen included Mark Twain, William Dean Howells, Helen Keller, Ogden Nash, and Joseph Pulitzer. His work also “advertised” the town, and Metuchen became more of a popular area. The famous people coming to the town contributed to the growth in population because Metuchen seemed like more of a place where people wanted to be.
By- K.B. And A.B.
Sources-
Metuchen The Brainy Borough By The Metuchen Historic Preservation Committee
This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.
Metuchen Pride 