![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodspeedhistories.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/CrotonStore.jpg\" "\\"Croton")
<\/a>Click on this picture to get a better look at the gentlemen on the porch, the post office sign, and the condition of the building, which looks like it has had some rough use.<\/em><\/p>\n This post office was established on April 18, 1846, when the name was changed from Allerton to Croton.\u00ac\u2020According to Hubert Schmidt, it was named for the Croton Dam in New York State. It was\u00ac\u2020discontinued on June 29, 1935, when RFD service was provided from Flemington. There were 8 postmasters there in 90 years:<\/p>\n 1846 Apr 18 \u00ac\u2020 John S. Hockenbury Here’s an example of how giving biographical detail could turn this into a book. Smith Fields shows up in several census years. In 1860 he was 37, working as a clerk, living in Flemington with wife Elizabeth 33 and children Samuel 10 and Mary 8. In 1870 he was in Raritan Township, which might have been in the east half of Croton, keeping an oyster saloon, while son Samuel, by then 21, was working there also. The old Etzel store, pictured above, was also situated in the Raritan Township side of Croton. In 1875, Smith Fields was named postmaster of Croton. In 1880 he was a 57-year-old grocer in Delaware Township, and son Samuel was clerking in his store. In 1900, Smith Fields had retired. He was 76 years old, living with son Samuel’s family in Delaware Township, and Samuel was the grocery salesman. The list of postmasters above is vague about who was postmaster in 1900. Perhaps it was the elderly Smith, or perhaps his son Samuel. None of the census records identify either of these men as postmasters. I cannot say exactly when or where Smith Fields died, but someone of that name was recorded as being the same age as the Croton storekeeper, dying on Sept. 1, 1908 in Marion Township, Indiana. Who knows?<\/p>\n It is hard to believe there was no post office here before December 14, 1887 when it ws established with Joseph Denson as postmaster. I am not yet certain, but I believe the post office began with the name Headquarters, but its name was changed to Grover in about 1900, in honor of President Grover Cleveland, a New Jersey native. President Cleveland had two terms of office, first from 1885 to 1889, and then from 1893 to 1897. The post office closed in 1905 and the name reverted to Headquarters. However, Delaware Township resident Edna Garbowski remembers some people calling it Grover as late as the 1930s.\u00ac\u2020I only know of two postmasters at the Grover post office:<\/p>\n 1887 Dec 14 \u00ac\u2020Joseph Denson Here is another instance where the list must be incomplete. Joseph Denson, a shoemaker born about 1812, died in 1892 in Delaware Township. That leaves ten years unaccounted for.<\/p>\n Established on Nov. 8, 1856, and re-established on June 27, 1865, with John M. Chamberlin, postmaster and storekeeper. Notice of its opening in the Hunterdon Gazette stated that it was located in Locktown, Kingwood Township. This would have been somewhat north or west of the village itself. When John M. Chamberlin took over, he was apparently also located in Kingwood Township, as the census of 1870 locates him there. By 1880 Chamberlin was operating out of the store in the center of Locktown, in Delaware Township, now the home of Milt Smith. The post office was discontinued on July 30, 1906, with RFD service from Flemington. There were 3 post masters over a period of 50 years.<\/p>\n 1856 Nov 8 \u00ac\u2020 John Bellis Established on November 24, 1856 at Bowne Station, William Barber, first postmaster. The station was known by several names, but the post office was officially Oakdale. According to E. T. Bush, the post office was relocated to Dilts Corner in 1895, keeping the name Oakdale.\u00ac\u2020It was discontinued on Oct. 31, 1905, with RFD service provided from Stockton. The Oakdale post office had 11 postmasters over 49 years:<\/p>\n 1856 Nov 24 \u00ac\u2020William Barber Established Dec. 31, 1817, Wm. L. Prall, son of John Prall Jr., postmaster. Prall ran the store in Prallsville with his cousin Jacob Lambert. They went bankrupt in 1819, and yet, according to this list, Prall was not replaced as postmaster until 1836, and then by his partner, Jacob Lambert. No doubt–there’s a story there.\u00ac\u2020The post office was discontinued June 10, 1853 when it was relocated to Stockton. There were 3 postmasters over 36 years:<\/p>\n 1817 Dec 31 \u00ac\u2020William L. Prall The post office at \u201a\u00c4\u00faSaxtonville\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was opened in 1832, probably to serve people using the canal when it would open two years later. The post office was closed in 1837, but seems to have been reopened in 1841 when George W. Holcombe was named postmaster. In 1851, with the opening of Bel-Del RR, the post office was moved to \u201a\u00c4\u00faBool\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island,\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 although I do not have the name of the postmaster at that time. The post office at \u201a\u00c4\u00faRaven Rock\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 was established May 7, 1853, Mahlon H. Hoffman, postmaster. Some years the post office was located in the store, for instance, when George W. Robinson was postmaster. And other years it was located in the railroad station, Both station and post office were closed on June 30, 1936. The postmaster at that time was Earl F. Kerr, and the station master was Fred Moore. From the list below, you will see there was a heavy turnover of postmasters in the 1870s. You will also see that March was the favored month for installing a new postmaster.<\/p>\n Postmasters at Saxtonville (4 in 21 years)<\/strong>: Postmasters at Raven Rock (17 in 83 years)<\/strong>: This post office got a late start. It originated in the Rosemont store in 1884 and was discontinued in 1906 with RFD service from Stockton. However, it was reopened in 1913, once again, in the store. Life was a little slow in Rosemont back then. When the store had to close around 1944, Ed Sherman moved the post office to his living room, which tells you something about the quantity of mail he had to deal with (not much). There it remained until 1977, when Irene Chipps found that the new businesses in the Cane Farm complex were creating too much mail for her living room to hold. The post office was relocated that year to Cane Farm. There have been 10 postmasters for 128 years, and since this post office is still in operation, there should be a few more.<\/p>\n 1884 Apr 2 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Ezekiel E. Bonham Established March 19, 1858, Reading Moore its first postmaster. (One of my sources stated that it began in 1848 with John A. Moore as postmaster, but I cannot verify that.) The post office was converted to a \u201a\u00c4\u00farural station\u201a\u00c4\u00f9 on Dec. 31, 1959, to extend the rural routes of the Stockton post office. The Sand Brook rural station closed on May 21, 1970. A rural station was where mail was dropped off to be delivered by carriers; not a place where people could pick up their mail. There were 12 postmasters during the 101 years that it served as a post office:<\/p>\n 1858 Mar 19 \u00ac\u2020 Reading Moore The granddaddy of all the township’s post offices–established 1827, first postmaster Jonas Thatcher. The story of how Skunktown became Sergeantsville when the post office was established has already been mentioned. Mr.\u00ac\u2020Walker mistakenly states that the post office was opened on the northwest corner of the village. On the contrary, Thatcher\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s store was located on property originally purchased in the mid-18th century by Amos Thatcher, on the southeast corner. Mr. Walker\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s confusion no doubt comes from the fact that there have been stores on three of the four corners of \u201a\u00c4\u00f2downtown\u201a\u00c4\u00f4 Sergeantsville from a very early date.<\/p>\n When Amos Wilson owned the store in 1926, the postmaster was Newton V. Myers, who was also a schoolteacher. At some point, the post office was moved to the Venable Store, on the northwest corner, and later on it moved into the old butcher shop which is the current post office, one of only two remaining post offices in Delaware Township, out of the original eleven. There were 41 postmasters here in 185 years:<\/p>\n 1827 Mar 15 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Jonas Thatcher Originally located at Prallsville, it was re-established here on June 10, 1853, and has continued in operation since then, without interruption. There were 12 postmasters during the 44 years that Stockton was part of Delaware Township.<\/p>\n 1853 Jun 10 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Jeremiah SmithCroton<\/h3>\n
\n1850 Apr 26 \u00ac\u2020Johnson Gary
\n1852 Aug 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Newton Gary
\n1856 Apr 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020John S. Bush
\n1862 Aug 12 \u00ac\u2020Holcombe Warford
\n1874 Feb 21 \u00ac\u2020George T. Arnwine
\n1875 Sep 15 \u00ac\u2020 Smith Fields
\n1914 Jun 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020George Cronce, until 1935<\/p>\nGrover Post Office (Headquarters)<\/h3>\n
\n1903 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 William Brewer, to 19051<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nLocktown<\/h3>\n
\n1864 Apr 9 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Post Office discontinued
\n1865 Jun 27 \u00ac\u2020 John M. Chamberlin2<\/a><\/sup>
\n1895 Aug 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Sarah V. Chamberlin, until 1906<\/p>\nOakdale<\/h3>\n
\n1865 Dec 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Peter V. Hartpence
\n1879 Jun 16 \u00ac\u2020 Abner W. Muirhead
\n1881 Jul 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020William W. Hartpence
\n1889 Oct 31 \u00ac\u2020 Theodore H. Stout
\n1893 Sep 1 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Anna R. Bowne
\n1894 Jan 31 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Eva L. Suydam
\n1895 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Moved to Dilts Corner
\n1898 Feb 27 \u00ac\u2020Theodore H. Stout
\n1898 Feb 14 \u00ac\u2020 Norman Hartman
\n1899 May 6 \u00ac\u2020 C. S. Suydam
\n1902 Apr 18 \u00ac\u2020William R. Stevenson<\/p>\nPrallsville<\/h3>\n
\n1836 Jul 1 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Jacob Lambert
\n1837 Aug 11 William L. Hoppock3<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nRaven Rock (Saxtonville & \u201a\u00c4\u00faBool\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island\u201a\u00c4\u00f9)<\/h3>\n
\n1832 Feb 29 \u00ac\u2020 Peter H. Dilts, postmaster
\n1837 Sep 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Carmelo F. Carnand4<\/a><\/sup>
\n1837 Oct 2 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Post office discontinued
\n1841 Oct 4 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Post office reopened, George W. Holcombe postmaster
\n1842 May 9 \u00ac\u2020 David Phillips, postmaster
\n1851 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Post office closed, moved to \u201a\u00c4\u00faBool\u201a\u00c4\u00f4s Island\u201a\u00c4\u00f9<\/p>\n
\n1853 May 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020M. H. Hoffman
\n1859 Feb 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Wesley Johnson
\n1863 Apr 13 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Charles Heath
\n1867 Jul 16, \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Aaron Barcroft
\n1871 Mar 13 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020William Sherman
\n1872 Apr 22 \u00ac\u2020 Till K. Fieman5<\/a><\/sup>
\n1875 Mar 29 \u00ac\u2020 Lorenzo S. Kerr
\n1877 Mar 11 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Thomas McAloan
\n1878 Mar 17 \u00ac\u2020 Cortland Morris
\n1879 Mar 11 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Wilson McClannen
\n1879 Mar 29 \u00ac\u2020 Dora L. Reading
\n1881 Mar 23 \u00ac\u2020 John Hutchinson
\n1882 Mar 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020George W. Robinson
\n1888 Apr 17 \u00ac\u2020 Henry Hardon
\n1889 Aug 18 \u00ac\u2020 George W. Robinson
\n1907 Mar 19 \u00ac\u2020 Charles G. Melick
\n1930 Feb 3 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Louella E. Trimmer
\n1930 Aug 15 \u00ac\u2020 Earl F. Kerr<\/p>\nRosemont<\/h3>\n
\n1903 Apr 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Lambert B. Mathews
\n1913 Jul 2 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Charles Place
\n1923 May 5 \u00ac\u2020 Edward T. Sherwood
\n1955 Jan 31 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Irene E. Chipps, acting postmaster
\n1955 Feb 28 \u00ac\u2020Grace V. Ellis, acting postmaster6<\/a><\/sup>
\n1972 Jan 22 \u00ac\u2020 Irene E. Chipps, OIC; postmaster Jan. 22, 19727<\/a><\/sup>
\n1985 Aug 31 \u00ac\u2020Patricia L. Rauschert, OIC; postmaster Dec. 21, 1985
\n1996 Aug 9 \u00ac\u2020 Mark E. Brunner, OIC
\n1997 Jun 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Russell P. Orlando, postmaster, to the present date<\/p>\nSand Brook<\/h3>\n
\n1860 Mar 23 \u00ac\u2020 Caleb F. Wolverton
\n1878 Aug 26 \u00ac\u2020 Amy Wolverton
\n1884 Mar 17 \u00ac\u2020 Joseph S. Fauss
\n1886 Nov 19 \u00ac\u2020 George W. Higgins
\n1888 Dec 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 George W. Holcombe
\n1891 Mar 25 \u00ac\u2020 Andrew Bearder8<\/a><\/sup>
\n1901 Jan 14 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Charles W. Moore
\n1902 Apr 18 \u00ac\u2020 Samuel F. Fauss
\n1911 Apr 17 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Frank Johnson
\n1924 Oct 16 \u00ac\u2020 George Roemlin
\n1928 Nov 24 \u00ac\u2020Frank Yasunas9<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\nSergeantsville<\/h3>\n
\n1831 Feb 24 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Henry H. Fisher
\n1834 Nov 24 \u00ac\u2020 Samuel Case
\n1838 Oct 26 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Amos Hogeland
\n1840 Jul 23 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 John C. Fisher
\n1842 Jun 21 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Amos Hogeland
\n1842 Dec 23 \u00ac\u2020 Samuel R. Smith
\n1845 Feb 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Jeremiah Smith10<\/a><\/sup>
\n1845 Feb 17 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020John Quick
\n1850 Mar 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Joseph W. Gano
\n1851 Apr 10 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020John C. Laban [Labaw?]
\n1854 Apr 29 \u00ac\u2020 Joseph W. Gano
\n1856 Apr 11 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Charles H. Haines
\n1859 Jun 16 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020David Jackson
\n1862 Aug 21 \u00ac\u2020 Henry T. Quick
\n1864 Mar 23 \u00ac\u2020John F. Shepherd
\n1866 Mar 22 \u00ac\u2020George W. Mason
\n1868 May 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020David Jackson
\n1878 Feb 25 \u00ac\u2020 Harriet Jackson
\n1881 May 17 \u00ac\u2020 Asher B. Williamson
\n1885 Sep 16 \u00ac\u2020 George H. Fisher
\n1887 Oct 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Joseph Lewis
\n1889 Apr 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Asher B. Williamson
\n1893 Jul 12 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Joseph G. Moore
\n1897 Jun 18 \u00ac\u2020 William L. Dobbins
\n1900 Jul 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Isaac Haines
\n1906 Apr 12 \u00ac\u2020Joseph G. Moore
\n1926 Nov 30 \u00ac\u2020Newton V. Myers
\n1946 Feb 15 \u00ac\u2020 Lillian J. Myers
\n1958 Jul 24 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Lawrence H. Emmons
\n1982 Nov 26 \u00ac\u2020Anne C. Errico (post office in the old butcher shop)
\n1985 (about) \u00ac\u2020Thomas F. Freeman, OIC, date not known
\n1990 May 5 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020William D. Bennett, OIC
\n1991 Feb 2 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Lorraine S. Jones, postmaster
\n2000 Mar 21 \u00ac\u2020Joseph Pepe, OIC
\n2000 Apr 10 \u00ac\u2020 Richard Boehme, OIC
\n2000 Apr 22 \u00ac\u2020Charles E. McGill, postmaster
\n2004 (about) Kim Krzywicki OIC
\n2005 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Emilio Mercado, postmaster
\n2006 (about) Mark Henderson, OIC
\n2007 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020Patricia A. Greaves, postmaster, to the present date<\/p>\nStockton Post Office<\/h3>\n
\n1856 Oct 20 \u00ac\u2020 William W. Mettler
\n1859 Apr 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Peter Dilts
\n1861 Jul 25 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 William C. Veghte
\n1866 Sep 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Gershom Lambert
\n1869 Apr 12 \u00ac\u2020 Gabriel Wolverton
\n1881 Feb 7 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Stephen B. Hill
\n1885 Apr 27 \u00ac\u2020 Daniel R. Sharp
\n1889 Apr 6 \u00ac\u2020 \u00ac\u2020 Harry D. Mason
\n1893 May 20 \u00ac\u2020Jonathan M. Dilts
\n1897 May 14 \u00ac\u2020William P. Mason
\nErastus “Rasty” Rockafellar was a well-known mailman, who took on the Stockton RFD route in 1905. His home was in Sergeantsville.<\/p>\nPostmasters of the Female Persuasion<\/h2>\n