Fullwidth – Page 112 – GOODSPEED HISTORIES

A House Divided

September 27, 2014 By Marfy Goodspeed in Howell, Pettit, Prallsville, Reading, Stockton Tags: ferries, roads, surveying, taverns

Howell’s Tavern House and Ferry House

Detail of survey by Reading Howell, 1774 click to enlarge — Detail of survey by Reading Howell, 1774
click to enlarge

The dotted line in this picture is a survey line, drawn by Reading Howell in 1774, and as you can see, one of the lines goes right through the middle of the house, which is labeled “Ferry House.” Strangely enough, this house has long been known as the tavern house at Howell’s Ferry (Stockton) which I wrote about in “Jacob’s Path, an 1813 Shortcut.” So why was the tavern house called the Ferry House in 1774? And why did the surveyor run a line right through the middle? Therein lies a story.

Milling Industry at Prallsville Back of Year 1792

September 18, 2014 By Marfy Goodspeed in E. T. Bush, Families, Historians, Hoppock, Prallsville, Wolverton Tags: mills, quarries, stores

Little Known of Mill That Existed Prior to John Prall’s
When the Canal Was Dug

by Egbert T. Bush, Stockton, N.J.
published in the Hunterdon County Democrat, February 13, 1930

It is common to speak of John Prall Jr. as the builder of the first mill in this hamlet. But his titles date back to early 1792; and to some of us it seemed strange that a site so attractive with the Wickecheoke Creek rushing into the Delaware, with an established ferry close at hand, and with a solid community back of it should have been so long without a mill. While investigation has so far failed to reveal all that was hoped for, it has demonstrated that Prall was far from being first to carry on milling business here.

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With a Name Like Boozer . . .

September 6, 2014 By Marfy Goodspeed in Hunterdon, Lambertville

In 1878 when the bridge on Raven Rock Road was built, the Freeholder Director of Hunterdon County was Joseph H. Boozer of Lambertville. He was one of the six freeholders who were charged with overseeing construction of the bridge spanning the Lockatong Creek. With such an unusual name, he certainly stands out, and I could not resist the urge to learn about him and his family.

A House Divided

Milling Industry at Prallsville Back of Year 1792

Little Known of Mill That Existed Prior to John Prall’s When the Canal Was Dug

With a Name Like Boozer . . .

Little Known of Mill That Existed Prior to John Prall’s
When the Canal Was Dug