If You Build It, They Will Camp

I had the great pleasure to spend last weekend camping with the cub scouts of Hillsborough Pack 89 in the comparative wilds of northern Hunterdon County at Teetertown Preserve.

It was a super weekend with perfect clear blue skies and night time temps in the adventurous mid 40s - but there was one frustrating aspect to this trip....

...it wasn't setting up the tents...




...or the three mile hike...



...or getting the campfire going...





....or feeding the hungry hordes...

...or even losing to the ten-year-olds in the tug-of-war!

The most frustrating part of the entire weekend was the convoluted drive up into the Hunterdon hinterlands on the devious Cokesbury-Califon Rd. - guaranteed to fool your sense of direction, and your GPS.

If only the Somerset County Park System had a group campground somewhere nearby.....

(to be continued)

"It's Somerset, N.J."

"It's Somerset, N.J."  That was the headline of the Franklin News-Record fifty years ago this week, as the paper reported the decision of the Franklin Township Council to name the township's first central post office after Somerset County.

When Hilsborough got its first central post office four decades later, there was never any doubt that the post office would be called "Hillsborough".  The Franklin Township councilmen of 1960 were faced with a much more difficult choice.  Federal regulations precluded naming the post office "Franklin" because of other communities in New Jersey already using that name - although Franklintown would have been an acceptable name, and was in the running.

Other possibilities under consideration included Somerfield, Rockingham, Middlebush, which was the name of the post office that would be closed when the new one opened, and Wilson, which was the choice of the Franklin Township Chamber of Commerce.

After several names were eliminated on successive ballots, the nine councilmen were left with a choice between Somerfield and Somerset.  The final vote was five to four.

Now, when someone tries to tell you that Somerset is a section of Franklin Township, you'll know where to send them your response!

Claremont Hills, Middle Child

Here's an ad from June 1962 for the second of the three Hillsborough developments bearing some iteration of the "Claremont" name - the original Claremont Hills.

Not to be confused with the mid-rise and two-story Auten Rd. condominium complex of the 1970s, or the Millstone River Rd. development from the 1950s, these houses can be found on the south side of Amwell Rd. between the high school and Pleasantview, and on the north side of Pleasantview.

By 1964 they had dropped the prices from $21,900 to $19,900 - but for a real bargain, you could have one of these exact same models in Manville for just $16,900!

See if you can spot all three models the next time you're in the passenger seat.

Claremont Hills, Take Two

Did you know there are three residential developments in Hillsborough bearing the name Claremont? the first was Claremont Homes on Millstone River Rd. built in the 1950s.

This is the third - Claremont Hills, now commonly known as Claremont Towers. Here is an ad from June 1973, touting the luxury condominium's proximity to Princeton.

The following ad from 1974 takes the form of a telegram to Gerald Ford, pledging their support of the President's plan to fight inflation by maintaining their 1973 prices and by offering mortgages "well below the allowable maximum"!

The 1975 ad gets into the spirit of "The Godfather" by making "an offer you can't refuse".

The second Claremont development is also called Claremont Hills, and was built in the 1960s. I'll give you a couple of days to guess where this development is. One clue - even a newcomer to Hillsborough has probably already driven past these houses hundreds of times.

Own it all at Brookside Square

Welcome to Hillsborough's Brookside Square, circa 1976, where the dreams of home ownership all come true.

Own your townhouse. Own your lot. Own your membership in the private club. Own your full basement "suitable for dozens of uses". All for the low, low price of $37,990.

Put that in your pipe and smoke it!

Check, Check, Check

I imagine one of the most frustrating aspects of working in local government is the inability to provide residents with the instant results they deserve - and that you would like to give.  Often, an elected official is given little or no grace period before he hears the cry of "broken promises!"  Go a little beyond that, and the conspiracy theorists begin their insinuations that the work was never intended to be done - or worse.

The fact is that some things take time.

Establishing railroad "quiet zones" at the Norfolk Southern crossings required much more than money.  Navigating the bureaucracy of the Federal Railway Administration took time.  And the payoff, notwithstanding a few stray horns this past week due to signalling issues, has been worth it - at least to my ears.

The concept of a new limited access highway through Hillsborough probably goes back more than 50 years to the initial construction of Interstate 95.  This "Somerset Freeway" took many forms over the decades, until finally being scuttled in the 80s.  Renewed plans for a 206 bypass have been around for more than ten years.  Interesting to realize that the first shovels went in the ground the same month that the missing link of Route 95 has at last been mapped out.

Hillsborough's "mercury problem" has also been around for decades, but it wasn't until 2001 that our township committee became aware, inadvertently, that most of the nation's stockpile was being stored in our backyard.  Hillsborough officials not only navigated the usual Washington bureaucracy, but also had to deal with the trepidations of the stockpiles new home.  The announcement by Hillsborough mayor Frank DelCore that one-fifth of the mercury was trucked to Nevada earlier this month, and the rest will be going soon, should come as no surprise to those who knew that this issue was much more than a perpetual campaign promise - it was actually a top priority.

Sometimes, those priorities take time.

"...formerly known as Hillsboro"

On November 7, 2006, the village of Toms River swallowed Dover Township.  That was the day township voters approved a measure to change the name of their municipality from "The Township of Dover" to "Toms River Township".  Already generally known as Toms River by the public - and the Post Office - the change made sense.

Nearly 100 years ago, the village of Manville may have been on the verge of gobbling up Hillsborough.  Even though Manville didn't exist as an actual municipality until its separation from Hillsborough in 1929, the Boro was known as Manville right from the start.

Look at this newspaper ad from October of 1912.  This was before the Johns-Manville plant was even finished building.

At least Hillsborough, or "Hillsboro", gets top billing.

 

More telling is this newspaper story from the October 26, 1912 edition of the New Brunswick Times:

Terence P. Murphy, of this city, who is connected with the Brooks & Brooks Corporation of New York, which is developing the land at Manville, Somerset county, has arranged to take a number of people from this city to that place tomorrow, who are going there to look over lots. The car will leave this city tomorrow afternoon at 1.08 o'clock. At Bound Brook there will be a special train on the Lehigh Valley to run from that place to Manville. Tickets have been furnished to all those who are going to make the trip.  There have been factories recently erected at Manville at a cost of $8,000,000 and employing  3,500 people. Manville was formerly known as Hillsboro.

Check out the last sentence.

How do you think this played out with Hillsborough's farmers and villagers?  Was "Hillsborough" nearly wiped off the map?  Brooks & Brooks, who no doubt penned this press release-type story for the newspaper, obviously preferred their new name.  And I am sure Johns-Manville would have had no objection to the change either. 

Now with....Expanso!

Here's a May 1955 ad for Hillsborough's first post-war development, Green Hills.

I'm all over the Expanso.

City Sewer Coming Soon!

Here's an August 1958 advertisement for the brand new Claremont Homes development on Millstone River Road.

So Good, They Banned It

Check out these two ads from 1962.  Hillsborough's Village Green was the first post-war cluster development in New Jersey.

Cluster-zoning allowed for smaller individual lot sizes than the one to three acres usually permitted, with the remaining acreage being reserved for parkland and recreation.

Cluster-type developments were so innovative - and successful - that after Village Green, Hillsborough promptly disallowed future development of this type - a ban that lasted for many years.

"...sleeping late...and...good living..." at Country Club Homes

Barbecues, fishing - sounds good.  But what really intrigues me about this September 1956 sales pitch for Hillsborough's Country Club Homes is the promise of "sleeping late".  Fifty-four years later, who among us wouldn't pony up $13,990 for a couple of extra hours in the morning?  

Why were the 1956 Country Clubbers able to sleep so late?  Well, you have to read the small print for the answer.  According to the ad, our forebears only had a 3-minute ride to the train station!  And Manhattan was just 45 minutes away!

The above ad features two models - the Lanai, and the curiously named Foursome.  I'm hoping this model was supposed to have a golf connection - otherwise, I'd be inclined to wonder what the Threesome model looked like!

Need something a little smaller - or just looking to save $500?  This ad from 1957 features the charming "Nantucket Cape".

The last time I was in the Country Club Homes development, I believe I spotted a few of these "Capes" in pretty near original condition.  Not bad, not bad at all.

Happy 50th "Island" Park!

Somerset County residents and VIPs who came out on a rainy Saturday morning fifty years ago today for the grand opening of Somerset's first county park may have done a double-take when they looked at their programs.  What had been often referred to as "Raritan River Park", and most recently as "Island Park" had a new name.

As recently as August 11, the Thursday weeklies were touting the upcoming dedication of "Island Park".
The News-Record even provided a map, showing the location of Island Park on Old York Rd.

But careful readers may have noticed a second news story in the same newspaper - on the same page!

The Park Commission had just selected - indeed had received permission - to use the name "Duke Island Park".  Permission was granted by Doris Duke, who had already been instrumental in getting the park up and running even before the groundbreaking back in February.

The heiress, who resided just across the river on her Hillsborough estate, had provided $30,500 to repair the Headgates Dam, and had donated 55 acres of land - plus trees, shrubbery, and maintenance equipment.
 
 

It's obvious that Doris Duke felt an attachment to the park that bore her name. Less than four years after the park was dedicated, she magnanimously gave the county a staggering $493,000 for repairs and improvements - no strings attached.

Scenes from the Hillsborough Family Campout

Hillsborough Township Parks and Rec held their annual Family Campout August 6th and 7th at Ann van Middlesworth Park.

I brought my camera.

Hibernia Mine Railroad Bridge

On my way with the kids to Duke Island Park a couple of weeks ago, I pulled off Old York Road to take a few photos of the Hibernia Mine Railroad Bridge.

Constructed in 1879 for the Hibernia Mine Railroad, and used as a railroad bridge for fifteen years, the structure has now been incorporated as part of Somerset County's Raritan River Greenway and is in use as a pedestrian bridge over the Raritan Water Power Canal.

The bridge also received a restoration award earlier this year [2010] from the Somerset County Cultural and Heritage Commission.

The span also has a connection to Hillsborough Township history.  In 1894, The Central Railroad of New Jersey bought the bridge and moved it from Morris County to Hillsborough - but not for use by their trains.  The bridge was used to carry carriages - and eventually horseless carriages - on Mill Lane over the tracks of the CNJ's South Branch Railroad as part of a grade-separation project.

Below is a photo taken by rail enthusiast Michael Kull in the early 1980s showing the bridge in its second location at the end of Mill Lane in Hillsborough.

Mystery Poles

Still trying to figure out how 200,000 solar panels will power 64,000 homes?

Well, here's another PSE&G mystery for you.

What the heck are these poles that went up earlier this year roughly parallel to the PSE&G transmission line - the one that passes near the Middle School.

Any ideas?  They appear to be in pairs, one on either side of a road or parking lot - as if they were meant to temporarily carry a ground-laid cable over an obstruction.

Solar Celerity?

I woke up one morning last week, looked out the window, and solar panels had descended on Hillsborough.  It almost seems like they arrived overnight.

Actually, it was one year ago today that I first wrote about PSE&G's plan to install 200,000 solar panels on utility poles throughout Central Jersey.  At that time, PSE&G announced that it had awarded a contract in the amount of $200 million to Petra Solar to install the panels which would supply enough electricity to power 64,000 homes.

I immediately had some questions about the math,  If 200,000 panels can supply enough electricity to power 64,000 homes, then doesn't that mean I could power my own home with three or four panels?  Also, does the $200 million cover the cost of the panels as well as the installation?  I certainly hope so, as the guy on the lift and the guy smoking a cigarette easily could - and surely did - put up dozens in a single day.  That would mean just $1,000 per panel - installed.  Hey, what do I need PSE&G for - I can get off the grid for $4,000!

In the story in this week's Courier News, a PSE&G spokesman mentions how the benefits of the solar installation "will be returned to all ratepayers".  Funny, since one year ago, PSE&G was honest enough to tell us that the ratepayers were actually paying for the project through rate increases that would continue until 2028!

What Goes Up...

With apologies to the Solbergs and QuickChek, Central Jersey's worst kept secret has got to be that you don't have to go to the Balloon Festival to enjoy the Balloon Festival.

Whether you camp out at the Shop Rite parking lot in Branchburg, or make your way behind the Dunkin' Donuts in Readington, some of the best seats in the house, aren't in the house!

As long as you have a driver who isn't tempted to take his or her eyes off the road, you can have a lot of fun "chasing" - trying to figure out where the balloons will come down.

Sure, you can go out to the airport and watch the spectacle of the massed ascent, but isn't that a little predictable?

There's much more chaos and excitement in the landing!

Raritan Valley Community College provided a fantastic spot to touch down, and a convenient spot to get an up close look at the balloons.

Setting the balloons down safely requires a lot of teamwork, and a lot of muscle.

I've been to the actual Festival of Ballooning a handful of times over the years - but I must say, this is just as fun.

Besides, I've always kind of been a WaWa guy!

Opposition to Claremont Pump Station Location

There was an interesting story in the Courier News last week concerning the proposed location of the pumping station for the new Claremont development sewer system.  If you're not familiar with the details, you can still read the story online here.

Claremont - along with Green Hills, Country Club Homes, and Village Green - was one of the first post-war Hillsborough developments, and was built with residential septic systems, not sewers.


View Larger Map
An aerial view of the Claremont development which straddles Millstone River Road, just north of the Boro.

In 2007, township health officer Glen Belnay advised the township committee about water quality issues and failing septic systems, which prompted the current sewer project.

The majority of affected homeowners were pleased to be part of the $5.5 million project which will be paid for by an assessment on their future sewer bills - but not all.  Some homeowners felt that they were fine with their current septic systems and did not need sewers.

As it turns out, the only suitable location for a necessary sewer pumping station is on a small piece of township owned land that sits right between two homes on Onka Drive.  And it just so happens that those homes are owned by residents that were opposed to the whole project - and certainly are opposed to having the pumping station next to their homes.  Ouch!

Here's a closer look at the houses in question.  The township lot is designated on Google Maps as "Alley Dr."


View Larger Map

I have to tell you, the more I look at this image, the more questions I have.  Look closely and you may form a few of your own.