Tag: History Channel

A History of Headquarters Mill

A few years ago, I wrote articles for the township newsletter, The Bridge, while holding the position of Township Historian. When Charles Frischman became Township Historian he took over the job of writing a regular column for the newsletter. When I stopped writing, I was working on a series about the mills of Delaware Township. The next mill in the series was to be the mill in the village of Headquarters, known variously over the years as Opdycke’s Mill, Tyson’s Mill, Holcombe’s Mill, Conover’s Mill, Carrell Mill and Headquarters Mill.

Now that The Post is up and running, it seemed like a good time to finish that series on the Mills of Delaware Township. Another good reason to do this is the effort being made by members of the …

A Delaware Township Patriot

The following is Delaware Township Post is about Grace Bennett, an eighth grader at Delaware Township School, recently wrote an essay on the crossing of the Delaware in 1776. It earned her an award from the Township Committee, and publication in the most recent issue of The Bridge.

I want to congratulate Grace for the inspiring essay she wrote, particularly for the imaginative way she described the effort it took to make that whole endeavor a success. As Grace points out, we all think we know this story so well that we lose sight of the details and the drama. The incident was beautifully brought to life by David Hackett Fischer in his recent book Washington’s Crossing, which I highly recommend.

At the end of her essay, Grace included …

The Moore Family Cemetery

This cemetery has to be one of our oldest. It is located on land that once belonged to Jacob Moore, one of Amwell’s earliest settlers, who lived from about 1690 to about 1770. It is one of the prettiest locations in the township, overlooking rolling hills and farm fields. The cemetery is surrounded by a stone wall and at one time had a wrought iron gate.

According to Moore family tradition, Jacob Moore came to Amwell around 1705, one of the very first Europeans to come here, and established his plantation near Haines Road and Rosemont-Ringoes Road. He and his wife Amy are probably buried in the Moore cemetery, but their stones cannot be found.

Hiram Deats wrote that there are two other burying grounds on this farm near the …

Delaware’s Cemeteries, Part 1 in a Series

There are 25 known cemeteries in Delaware Township, many of them dating back to the 18th century. They contain the graves of our earliest settlers along with their descendants. Most are little known, but can lead us to the history of our town.

Over the years, many historians and genealogists have gone looking for the old cemeteries, and thankfully, they wrote down the names and described the cemeteries. Based on these writings and on cemeteries I’ve been able to visit, this seems to be a complete list of known township cemeteries.

Anderson-Hunt Family
Bosenbury Family
Barber’s Cemetery
Canal Workers’ Cemetery
Cherry-VanCampen Family
Holcombe-Riverview
Jones/Johnes Family
Kitchen-Thatcher Family
Locktown Baptist Church
Locktown Christian Church
Lower Amwell Old Yard 
and New Yard
Moore Family
Opdycke Family
Pine

…

Delaware’s Cemeteries, Part 2 in a Series

Before reading this post don’t miss the part I of Delaware’s Cemeteries.

SEMI – PUBLIC CEMETERIES
These are fairly large cemeteries that are seemingly public, but the organization that created the cemetery has gone out of existence. As a consequence, maintenance of these cemeteries is problematic, often relying on the work of volunteers.

BARBER CEMETERY
Located on the Lambertville-Headquarters Road, this cemetery, one of the oldest in the township, was begun by members of the Barber family who settled in the area as early as 1740. When Samuel Barber died in 1751, he left his farm to his wife Eliada until his minor children were 21. It was offered for public sale in 1766, and was purchased by Samuel’s son John (c.1720-1795).

Barber Cemetery is a good example of …