Category: Preservation

The Rake Cemetery, Part II

This The Delaware Township Post is a continuation of the story of the Rake Cemetery near Sand Brook. If you haven’t read Part I yet, check out the previous post so this installment will make more sense.

The Sergeant Family
Even though no one from the Sergeant family is buried here, they are important to the cemetery for two reasons. First, the farm of William and Elizabeth Sergeant, and their son John T. Sergeant, is adjacent to the cemetery. Secondly, John T. Sergeant was married to Mary J. LaRoche, until his death in 1865, and she then married James Goodfellow, who I described in Part I. It appears that Goodfellow took over the Sergeant farm, which was located on the west side of Sand Brook-Headquarters Road, just south of the …

Historic Bridge to get Appropriate Maintenance. Cooperative Approach finds Local Talent, Resources

Citizens raised an initiative for reconstructing this historic bridge and succeeded in being heard by many big businesses and corporations. For all those who wish to participate, visit the NoDepositsUK platform, choose your favorite game title and play. That is all that is needed by you. Here we have some Local Delaware News that happened on Tuesday December 2, repair work resumed on the stone arch bridge at the foot of Pine Hill Road. The New Jersey Historic Preservation Office (NJHPO), Hunterdon County Engineering Dept. (HCE), and members of Delaware Township Committee and Delaware Township Historical Society (DTHS) met at the bridge in the Covered Bridge Historic District Tuesday morning at 8 AM to settle the details of work to be done on the 160 year old stone arch. The …

Historic Stone Bridge Repairs – Final Report

The Hunterdon County Road Department gives some local Delaware news about the realization of its innovative repair of the historic stone culvert on Sandbrook-Headquarters Road. The original stone arch, sagging and partially collapsed, was lifted back into position without dismantling it. Parts of the intrados (the inner barrel of the arch, not the stones you see on the side walls) were lifted up four or five inches, and it is now just the shape it was when new. This is the first time such a technique has been tried around here. The engineers and repair crew are pleased with the result, and enthusiastic about having the new capability. John Glynn, Director of Roads, Bridges, and Engineering, told me: “I was pleasantly surprised, from a structural standpoint” with the success of …

Delaware Township Mills in the 19th Century

Mill Owners and Operators

The earliest mill owners were millers themselves. But the more successful the mill, the more help was needed to run it. Millers hired laborers or indentured servants, and it was fairly common for millers to own one or two slaves. In the 1780s, there were about 50 slaves in Amwell Township, many of them owned by millers. In Delaware Township, Samuel Opdycke owned the mill that later was known as Sergeant’s Mill. His slave was named Robbin and was bequeathed to him in his father’s will, written in 1777. When Robbin died, he was buried on the hillside near the mill. Other early mill owners of Delaware Township who might have owned slaves were Peter Rittenhouse and his son Elisha, Charles Woolverton and his son John, …