This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. Five years ago, in celebration of its 170th anniversary, I published a series of articles on the website “The Delaware Township Post.” It seems appropriate to republish those articles this year on my own website, slightly edited. Here is part two:
“The Post”
The Delaware Township Post, website
The Division of Amwell Township, 1838
This year residents of Delaware Township in Hunterdon County celebrate the 175 years since the township was created. The story of how this came about is a surprising one, and a little disheartening.
Old Ink, 2/2/2012
For those of you who read the Hunterdon County Democrat, you will be familiar with a long-time feature of the newspaper. Titled “Old Ink,” it gives short excerpts from stories 125, 100, 75 and 50 years ago. For a little while, they were publishing items from 175 years ago, which I much appreciated, but the editors changed their minds and went back to the old formula.
The Cemeteries of Delaware Township
It’s mid-October and my thoughts turn to cemeteries. Some time ago I published several articles on the cemeteries of Delaware Township on the “The Delaware Township Post.” I would like to publish them here on my website also, with any additions or corrections that occur to me. The following (somewhat expanded) was published on the Post on January 8, 2008.
Tyson’s Mill at Headquarters
Modified from part of an article first published in The Delaware Township Post, July 21, 2006, as “A History of Headquarters Mill.”
John Opdycke sold Headquarters Mill to Joseph Howell in 1763, at the end of the French and Indian War. This was probably a shrewd decision on Opdycke’s part, since demand for flour would certainly drop off with the end of the war.
Opdycke’s Mill, Headquarters, NJ
I was going to publish here an article I wrote about the Headquarters mill that first appeared on The Delaware Township Post in 2006. But like many writers, I can never leave well enough alone. Since Samuel Green figures in the history of the village of Headquarters, if not the mill itself, it seems appropriate to focus on the earliest history of the mill.
Mill Owners and Operators
First published in The Delaware Township Post, 6 Aug 2007
The earliest mill owners were millers themselves. But the more successful the mill, the more help was needed to run it. Millers hired laborers or indentured servants, and it was fairly common for millers to own one or two slaves.
The Mills of Delaware Township
first published in The Delaware Township Post, August 16, 2006
This article is similar to the previous article, “Delaware Township Villages and Mills,” but just different enough to be allowed in the archive. Gradually I will collect here all my published articles on Delaware Twp. mills.