part eleven of The Route Not Taken
My previous article described the Carman homestead and the farm of Judiah Higgins, where the Carman Family Burying Ground is located. However, I failed to finish the history of the old Carman plantation. That is because it came to be owned by the next landowner along the railroad route: Aaron Carman Hoagland, the son of Mary Carman and Andrew Hoagland.
part ten of The Route Not Taken
My previous article about the planned route of the Delaware-Flemington Railroad Company ended at the property of Samuel M. Higgins on the west side of Johanna Farms Road. The route then proceeded across Higgins’ farm in a northeasterly direction, passing not far north of a house near a branch of the Neshanic River.
Last week’s post concerned the farms owned by David Bellis on Hampton Corner Road in Raritan Township. One of them was originally the parsonage farm for the German Reformed Church in Ringoes. Around the corner was a farm known as “Township Farm” on the maps, and the subject of today’s article.
As I wrote in my previous post, the farm just east of the Swallow farm was owned by John Lequear in the 18th century. I was delighted to discover the location of his home farm.
part nine of The Route Not Taken
In this episode of the saga of the unbuilt rail line we travel from Sand Brook into Raritan Township, on our way to Walnut Brook. Here is a detail of the railroad survey map.
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.
This article by Egbert T. Bush concerns a family who lived in the Croton neighborhood in the mid-19th century. I thought it typical of Mr. Bush’s style of writing, which may seem a bit florid, but is full of empathy for the characters he described.
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.
This article was originally published in “The Delaware Township Post” on March 1, 2009. The Post went out of business, and the articles I published there have disappeared. It seems appropriate now to republish this article, greatly modified, here.