Droescher's Mill | |
Location | 347 Lincoln Avenue East, Cranford, New Jersey |
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Coordinates | 40°39′1″N74°18′6″W / 40.65028°N 74.30167°W Coordinates: 40°39′1″N74°18′6″W / 40.65028°N 74.30167°W |
Area | 0.5 acres (0.20 ha) |
NRHP reference No. | 74001192 [1] |
NJRHP No. | 2653 [2] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | January 8, 1974 |
Designated NJRHP | September 18, 1973 |
Droescher's Mill is located in Cranford, Union County, New Jersey, United States. The mill was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 8, 1974. It is the oldest continuously operated commercial building in New Jersey. [3]
Also known as the Williams-Droescher Mill, Droescher's Mill is the last remaining mill on the Rahway River. It was constructed in 1737 by Benjamin Williams as a saw mill alongside a dam. Williams used the flow of the river to turn an undershot water wheel to power his saws. Lumber cut here went into the construction of the first houses built in the area. Shortly before his death in 1779, Williams erected a second building only a few feet from his sawmill for the manufacture of woolens. [4]
In 1902, Severin R. Droescher bought the mill and renovated it into the structure as seen today. S.R. Droescher used it to run the Cranford Oil Stone Works where whetstones and oilstones were made. [5]
Lincoln Ave East and Lincoln Ave West, the road that passes through Cranford and on which the mill sits, was originally part of the Naraticong Trail, a route to the sea of the Unami tribe of the Lenape people. Lincoln Avenue was known as the Old York Road by the 1700s, a colonial road from Elizabeth to Philadelphia.
Aside from the Naraticong Trail, the Great Minisink Trail also passed through Cranford as a traditional Lenape route to collect marine foods at the shore. [6]
The mill and surrounding parkland are local landmarks along the Cranford section of the Rahway River Parkway, a nearly century-old greenway of parkland that hugs the Rahway River and its tributaries throughout Union County, New Jersey. It was designed in the 1920s by the well-known Olmsted Brothers firm, sons of the eminent landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted.
The Cranford section of the parkway follows the banks of the meandering Rahway River as it flows south through Lenape Park, Nomahegan Park, [7] Hampton Park, MacConnell Park, Girl Scout Park, the Cranford Canoe Club, Hanson Park, [8] Sperry Park, Josiah Crane Park, Droescher's Mill Park (also known as Squire Williams Park), [9] and Mohawk Park. [10]
The "Friends of Rahway River Parkway," a nonprofit group, has been formed exclusively to encourage and advocate for the preservation, restoration and enhancement of the Rahway River Parkway, in accord with the Olmsted design principles inherent in its origins, and to promote appropriate public enjoyment of the Parkway. [11]
Alluem Yoga, a yoga studio located in the mill, has organized Rahway River Parkway clean-ups on the stretch of the Parkway at the mill.
The Cranford Riverwalk and Heritage Corridor portion of the Rahway River Parkway begins at the parklands near where Orange Avenue meets Springfield at the Cranford Canoe Club and follows the Rahway River on its path southbound to the mill. [12] [13] [14]
Route 27 is a state highway in New Jersey, United States. It runs 38.53 mi (62.01 km) from U.S. Route 206 (US 206) in Princeton, Mercer County northeast to an interchange with Route 21 and Broad Street in Newark, Essex County. The route passes through many communities along the way, including New Brunswick, Highland Park, Edison, Metuchen, Rahway, and Elizabeth. Route 27 is a two- to four-lane undivided highway for most of its length, passing through a variety of urban and suburban environments. It intersects many roads along the way, including Route 18 in New Brunswick, Interstate 287 (I-287) in Edison, the Garden State Parkway in Woodbridge Township, Route 35 in Rahway, Route 28 in Elizabeth, and U.S. Route 22 in Newark. Route 27 crosses the Raritan River on the Albany Street Bridge, which connects Highland Park on the east with New Brunswick on the west.
Cranford is a township in Union County, New Jersey, located 18 miles (29 km) southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township's population was 23,847.
Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was 575,345, making it the seventh-most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties. Its county seat is Elizabeth.
The East Coast Greenway is a 3,000-mile (4,800 km) pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits.
The Rahway River is a river in Essex, Middlesex, and Union Counties, New Jersey, United States, The Rahway, along with the Elizabeth River, Piles Creek, Passaic River, Morses Creek, the Fresh Kills River, has its river mouth at the Arthur Kill.
The Rahway Valley Railroad (RVRR) was a short-line railroad in the Northeastern United States which connected the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Roselle Park and the Central Railroad of New Jersey in Cranford with the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western in Summit. Operating over a span of 95 years (1897–1992) in Union County, New Jersey, in its prime it was one of the most successful shortline railroads in U.S. history, turning a profit during the Great Depression. During its lifetime, the RVRR was instrumental in the development of Kenilworth as well as Union Township, Springfield and other towns along its route. Later years saw traffic decline; in 1986 the line could not secure liability insurance. The railroad was sold to the Delaware Otsego Corporation which did little to revitalize the nearly 90-year-old line. Traffic continued to decline until service ended in 1992, with a single customer remaining.
Watchung Reservation is the largest nature reserve in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Covering 1,945 acres, it is bounded by the city of Summit, the borough of Mountainside, and the townships of Berkeley Heights, Scotch Plains, and Springfield.
The Elizabeth River runs through Essex and Union counties, New Jersey in the United States for 11.9 miles (19.2 km) before draining into the Arthur Kill.
Cranford, New Jersey is home to a diverse number of historic architectural styles, historically significant buildings, and landmarks. Structures dating from 1740 through the present can be found in a relatively small area of the township.
The Merchants' and Drovers' Tavern is a historic tavern located in Rahway, Union County, New Jersey, United States. The tavern was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 21, 1978.
The Crane-Phillips House, located at 124 N. Union Avenue in Cranford in Union County, New Jersey, United States, is a Victorian cottage in the architectural style of Andrew Jackson Downing, the first American architect. The Crane-Phillips House is now a museum operated by the Cranford Historical Society that offers visitors a glimpse of what life was like for a modest family in the Victorian era of opulence. It illustrates the late 19th century as the era of invention and highlights inventions that changed everyday life for the average person by way of the house's second owners, the Phillips family. Henry J. Phillips, an American Civil War veteran of the 7th New York Militia, was one of the first inventors of the modern kitchen hood. During the war, he had also patented a convertible tent and overcoat for military use. His brother, Charles Henry Phillips, was the inventor of Phillips' Milk of Magnesia.
William Miller Sperry (1858–1927) is the namesake of the William Miller Sperry Observatory in Cranford, New Jersey. According to his sworn passport application, he was born on September 14, 1858, in Bristol, Tennessee. He moved to Cranford in 1898 and succeeded his brother Thomas Sperry as president of S&H Green Stamps. Buried in Fairview Cemetery, Sperry was the donor behind Sperry Park bordering the Rahway River in Cranford. The site is also part of the Rahway River Parkway, a greenway of the Union County Department of Parks and Recreation Sperry's great-granddaughter, Frances Beinecke, is an environmentalist and the former president of Natural Resources Defense Council, and his grandson is William Sperry Beinecke.
The Cranford Canoe Club is one of the oldest canoe clubs in the United States and a community landmark known as part of Cranford, New Jersey's historic fabric and identity for over 100 years. The current canoe club, while not the first, is the last surviving canoe club on the Rahway River.
The Rahway River Bridge is a rail bridge over the Rahway River, in Rahway, Union County, New Jersey, U.S., a few blocks north of Rahway station, on the Northeast Corridor (NEC).
The Rahway River Parkway is a greenway of parkland along the banks the main stem Rahway River and its tributaries in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Created in the 1920s, it was one of the inaugural projects of the newly-created Union County Parks Commission. It was designed by the Olmsted Brothers firm, sons of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. The Rahway River Greenway plan expands on the original design. Many of the crossings of the river are late 19th century or early 20th century bridges. The East Coast Greenway uses paths and roads along the parkway.
Warinanco Park is a 204 acres (83 ha) county park in Union County, New Jersey. It is located in Roselle at the border with the neighboring cities of Elizabeth and Linden.
The Union County Park Commission Administration Buildings are located in Warinanco Park in Elizabeth, New Jersey. The Administration Building and the Service Building were built in 1924-1925 in the Tudor Revival style soon after the establishment of the commission. They were listed on the state (#2675) and the federal registers of historic places in 1985.
Passaic River Parkway, often called Passaic River Park, is a linear park along the banks of the Passaic River in Union County, New Jersey. It is one of the three "emerald necklaces" in the Union County Park System, the others being Rahway River Parkway and Elizabeth River Parkway.
Lenape Park is a 450-acre wildlife reserve and park that is part of the Rahway River Parkway in Union County, New Jersey. The park is located in four towns: Westfield, Springfield, Kenilworth, and Cranford.