part eight of The Route Not Taken
Proceeding along the proposed railroad route, we come to the village of Sandbrook. If the rail line had been laid out as planned it might have changed the village significantly.
SAND BROOK is a village in Delaware Township, located east of Route 523, a few miles north of Sergeantsville. The village began as the site of a mill owned by Henry Kitchen, and later by his son Samuel Kitchen. Stores, schools, post offices and a church appeared over the years. The buildings remain, but their uses have changed to residential.
part eight of The Route Not Taken
Proceeding along the proposed railroad route, we come to the village of Sandbrook. If the rail line had been laid out as planned it might have changed the village significantly.
Original version published in “The Bridge,” Fall 2002
This article precedes the next episode in my series on the route of the Delaware Flemington Railroad, a rail line that was surveyed, but never built. It was planned to run right through the village of Sand Brook, very close to the old mill.
part seven, Route Not Taken
The train continues on its way to Sand Brook. Having passed through the southern side of the Village of Sergeantsville, it now proceeds through the properties of James Carrell, Othniel Fauss, William Aller, Acker Moore and Mrs. Sergeant.
My next article on the proposed route of the Delaware Flemington Railroad is not ready for publication. However, a few years after the railroad company collapsed, one of the company’s directors found himself confronted by an angry man.
My most recent article was the first part of a history of the owners of adjacent farms surrounding the old Hart-Taylor Cemetery. Part One ended with the person who owned both farms, Gideon Moore, Sr., who died in 1840, after bequeathing his two farms separately to two of his sons, William H. Moore and Jacob D. Moore.
I am publishing this article now because it ties in with the other articles I have recently written about residents of or near the village of Sandbrook in Delaware Township. This is one of Mr. Bush’s articles that could be taken as an historical document in itself, because it includes the contents of two old records—an account book from the 1830s and an old family bible.
This is a continuation of my study of the Cook Proprietary Tract, this time focusing on the southern half of the tract that was purchased by Richard Rounsavell in the mid 18th century. (See Rounsavells of Amwell.)
This article is a continuation of the history of the Cook Proprietary Tract,1 The previous articles dealt with the northern half of the tract. It is time to turn our attention to the southern portion, half of which came into the possession of the Rounsavell family at a very early date, and remained in the family for many years thereafter. The other half was acquired by John Young, and after his death was conveyed to John Hice in 1789. The Young and Hice families will have to wait for another time.
In 1922, Hunterdon historian Hiram Deats visited the Rake Cemetery. He found 44 unlettered stones and 25 lettered ones. Those 25 stones were listed in the Hunterdon Historical Newsletter (vol. 3 no. 3, p. 2) and are give here.
In 2009, I wrote several articles concerning the Rake Cemetery in Sandbrook. They were published in the Delaware Township newsletter known as the Post, which is no longer being published. There is a website for the Post where its articles are archived, but it is very hard to use, and some links just don’t work. So, I’ve decided to revise and republish those articles here.