church

Jasper Cropsey’s Wondrous Pompton Valley

| Paul Havemann

“Pompton Plains, New Jersey” is a famous painting by Jasper Francis Cropsey from about 1867.

Opinions differ on just where Mr. Cropsey placed himself while painting this wonderful view of the Pompton Valley. (Maybe if you could find that boulder…) You can see the Pompton River in the foreground; some speculate that the Morris Canal feeder dam lay just beyond the bend.

But if you look closely, right there in the center, is the First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains. (I’ve written about this church before.)

Do you see it? It’s way off in the distance. If you need a hint, here you go. (You can also click on the image above to see it vastly enlarged.)

We modern folk need to keep in mind that, in the 19th Century, the Pompton Valley was pretty empty. There were few buildings, and vast portions weren’t covered by trees as is the case today.

Other buildings in Cropsey’s painting may be identified. For example, this one – to the right of the church – appears to show the Martin Berry House and a barn in front of it. Look for the gap between the mountains in the full-sized image.

Since we know where the church is, it may be possible to identify some of the buildings on either side from other sources.

“Pompton Plains, New Jersey” may be seen at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

A Brief Description of 1905 Newfoundland

Nice escription of 1905 Newfounland
| Paul Havemann

Some of you know that I like to browse the old newspapers, because you never know what you’ll find there. This clipping, from 1905, is from a longer article (subscription required) and includes a nice description of Newfoundland and some interesting details.

Nice escription of 1905 Newfounland

For starters, “Newfoundland is the centre of the sugar bush country“. Who knew that some folks made maple syrup there?

And this tidbit: “There are two white frame churches with green blinds continually challenging each other from adjacent hills and so near alike that a newcomer might easily get mixed as to his doctrine by going to the rival church by mistake.”

I take this as a description of the M.E. church (now the dog-grooming place) and the long-gone Baptist church on Clinton Road. They were, in fact, almost identical in appearance, having been built by Conrad (later Reverend) Vreeland. (He deserves his own post.)

But it’s the sardonic description of Brown’s Hotel that I like the best:

“There is but one tavern with a bar in the place, and there is a bar that a bishop might dedicate without calling forth whereases and therefores from a single protesting body of his laity. It is a saloon in which there are window-boxes filled with oxalis and geraniums and begonias and other plants generally associated with grandmothers. It is one of the improving duties and pastimes of the bartender to water those plants and pick off the dead leave.

” ‘Botany before booze’ might be the motto of the place, but the only sign displayed is ‘Welcome,’ worked in light blue worsted on bristol-board and hung above the bottles. There are no drunkards there.”

The “saloon” the writer describes almost certainly refers to Brown’s Hotel. While John P. Brown kept a well-stocked bar, that came to an end after his death. J.P.’s son Theodore decreed that Brown’s would go “dry”, and he no longer sold alcohol there. And the writer was clearly very disappointed!

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A Church is Reborn

| Paul Havemann

October 24, 1937 was a bleak day for Pequannock Township. In a matter of hours, the First Dutch Reformed Church, first constructed in 1771, was entirely gutted by an early-morning fire. It took the combined efforts of 70 firemen from six other communities, in addition to Pequannock, to bring it under control.

There’s some fascinating video footage of the fire here, filmed by resident and local historian Carl Edwards. If you watch closely, the camera sometimes pans around to show the surrounding area.

 

 

It took the congregation less than a year and a half to completely rebuild the church from “ashes to splendor.” There’s video of the rebuilding process at this link, again courtesy of Mr. Edwards. The church is still in use today, known as the First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains.

(Click on the images for a full-sized version.)