ince 2001, the Morris County Heritage Commission History Re-Grant Program has awarded funding to historical organizations in support of their efforts to promote and preserve the rich history of Morris

County. This year the Commission has awarded a total of $17,885 to five organizations.

Two general operating support (GOS) grants were awarded to the Boonton Township Historical Society and the Mount Tabor Historical Society. For all nonprofit or-ganizations, GOS funds are critical and often difficult to acquire. This type of funding is what “keeps the lights on” and pays for such basic needs as insurance and utilities. Both organizations operate unique historic sites in Morris County and have received support from the Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund. The Mount Ta-bor Historical Society has worked diligently on the resto-ration of the J. Smith Richardson House, while the Boon-ton Township Historical Society shepherds the ongoing restoration of the Oscar Kincaid House. Undertaking res-toration is a herculean task for any organization and takes true dedication by the volunteers. Operating funds make the next step possible – keeping the doors open so that the public may visit these sites and learn about their unique contributions to history.

The Kinnelon Borough Historical Commission was awarded funding to print brochures for the Pathways of History program. Each fall historic sites across northern Morris County offer the public the opportunity to travel through the past during this weekend event. In 2014, six-teen organizations participated, from Kinnelon to Lake Hopatcong. Each site is open free of charge to the public, and participating organizations collaboratively organize the event and prepare and pay for brochures and maps.

The Montville Township Historical Society received funds for new signs. One sign will be placed at the Mont-ville Township Museum, which is located in the town-ship’s 1867 red brick one-room schoolhouse. The second sign will be at the Henry Doremus House, which dates to circa 1760, making it one of the oldest houses in Morris County. The new signs will be made of long-lived com-posite material, replacing wooden signs that have become weathered.

Grant funding from the Heritage Commission is not limited to historical organizations and can be awarded to any nonprofit in Morris County undertaking a project of historical significance. A grant to the Chester Library will enable the digitization of the Mendham-Chester Tribune newspapers from 1936 to 1939. The project will make the newspapers available on library computers, allowing re-searchers to access this rich source of local news.

The Morris County Heritage Commission’s re-grant program would not be possible without the New Jersey Historical Commission, which provides the funding that the Heritage Commission in turn grants locally. !

VOL. 37, NO. 1 Spring-Summer 2015

Heritage Commission Awards GrantsBy Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika

The Pathways of History brochure was printed using funds from the Heritage Commissions re-grant program in 2014 and 2015.

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orris County has been fortunate to have had a stable source of funding for its Historic Preservation Trust Fund since the first year of grants in 2003. The fund draws on a small portion of the county property tax assessment dedicated to open space. Its pro-

ceeds are distributed annually through a grants program for the restora-tion and rehabilitation of qualified historic structures throughout the county. The thirteenth round of Morris County historic preservation grants is taking place during 2015. Ongoing historic restoration and rehabilitation projects, which sometimes take several years to complete, can be initiated with the assurance that the following years’ grant cycles will be funded by the freeholders.

Not so with the state of New Jersey. A hodgepodge of stopgap finan-cial solutions was put in place over the last decade, usually involving bonding for borrowed money to fund the various open space and historic preservation grant programs. The New Jersey Historic Trust had provided restoration grants open to all 535 municipalities in 21 counties in compari-son to Morris County's program, which is limited to our 39 towns. Some Morris County preservation applicants in past years had "doubled up," applying for and receiving separate grants from both the state and the county in order to fund different phases of expensive projects that neither program could afford to fund entirely on its own.

With the coming of the great recession and New Jersey's correspond-ing financial crisis, the state historic program was left to dwindle, un-funded with no capital project awards for the last five years. By contrast, Morris County, with its stable source of revenue, continued with a fully funded and staffed program even during the worst years of the economic downturn. The obvious solution was for the state to emulate Morris County's stable financial structure. With a challenge from the governor to find a way to finance the state program without more borrowing, in No-vember 2014 the voters overwhelmingly elected to amend the state consti-tution to earmark a small portion of the Corporate Business Tax for farm-land preservation, open space and historic preservation. Problem solved, or so we thought.

The proposed state law needed to implement the state funds’ distribu-tion in its current draft form somehow managed to allocate 97 percent of the funds for open space and other land acquisition and only 3 percent for historic preservation. The governor's budget calculations translate that to approximately $1.5 million for the entire state in fiscal 2016. This is quite obviously is inadequate to meet even a fraction of the whole state's his-toric preservation needs. Morris County's program for 2015 is providing approximately $2.25 million and still turning away many applicants. Many counties do not even have a historic preservation program and are therefore entirely dependent on the state program.

New Jersey is a crossroads of American history. It is acknowledged as the military capital of the Revolutionary War. The technological history forged here from the telegraph to Telstar and beyond shaped the modern world as it emerged in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Historic tourism is a major driver of the state's economy. But with misplaced pri-orities being exhibited by Trenton, as a state we'll be squandering our leg-acy as our historic infrastructure continues to crumble or be demolished before our eyes. As advocates for history, we'll all need to stay involved in the government process and make every attempt to urge our representa-tives in Trenton to do what is right for both New Jersey's historic legacy and its current tourism economy.

For more information about Morris County's Historic Preservation Trust Fund, please visit

http://morrisplanning.org/divisions/PresTrust/Historic/index.asp

Commissioners’ Corner

Larry Fast, ChairmanMorris County Heritage Commission

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Morris County lost one of its most ardent supporters of history and environmental causes with the passing of former freeholder Jack

Schrier on April 2, 2015. Jack had been a member of the Morris County freeholder board from 1999 until 2010, serving for several of those years as freeholder di-rector. He had also served as a township committee member and as mayor in Mendham Township.

Born on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and raised in Newark, Jack understood the value of open space and historic preservation. Before his term on the freeholder board, Jack was a member of Morris Tomorrow (formerly Morris 2000) where he advocated for coordi-nated protection of the Great Swamp watershed by the ten surrounding towns. Jack was instrumental in devel-oping the Highlands Preservation Act,

having served on the Highlands Task Force. He was later appointed to the Highlands Council by the governor and served as its acting chairman. Jack’s in-terest in the environment also led to a position on the New Jersey Fish and Game Council.

Perhaps Jack’s strongest legacy in the county will be the Morris County

In Memoriam: Jack Schrier

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(see Schrier on page 5)

Former freeholder Jack Schrier

oonton’s Main Street Historic District is the “downtown” commercial section of town.

Originally known as “Boonton Falls,” after a formidable cataract in the Rockaway River, it is the prod-uct of the second era of settlement in Boonton. The first, “Old Boon-ton,” settled in the mid-eighteenth century, is long gone. If any struc-tural remnants endure, they lie submerged under Jersey City’s Boonton Reservoir, which was built at the turn of the twentieth century. Current-day Boonton developed in the 1820s with the construction of the Morris Canal and the New Jer-sey Iron Company complex that fully leveraged the advantages of Boonton’s location: the Rockaway River, providing water and water power; the Canal, for importing the huge tonnage of charcoal and coal fuel needed to operate the iron fur-naces and to export the processed iron; and the ready availability of high assay iron ore, with which the Highlands region abounded.

At the midpoint of the Main Street Historic District an opening between the characteristic two-story and three-story buildings provides a vista of the forested Rockaway River valley to the southeast. Because Main Street fol-lows a ridgeline that drops off steeply at the flood plain of the Rockaway River, the view from this location is wide, deep and pleasing. Features seen within this viewshed include the skeletal remnants of the industries, transportation systems and natural resources around which the story of contemporary Boonton—and much of northern New Jersey—developed.

Up until eight years ago the view could be enjoyed from the Main Street Boardwalk—a park with benches, a shelter for waiting passengers of the NYC-bound bus and a Main Street information kiosk. In a lease ar-rangement between the Town of Boonton and the private landowner, the Boardwalk served as a public park. As a landmark and an amenity to the Main Street commercial district, the Boardwalk was part of the charm

of downtown Boonton. It was a venue for public events and a stage for con-certs. It was a place to rest amid the steep topography of Boonton for shoppers and gallery-goers. Along with the inviting and unimposing scale of the downtown streetscape, the handsome Victorian-era homes with wrap-around porches, and bou-tique businesses that defy chain-store sameness and uniformity, the Board-walk was an integral component of a character that towns across America spend fortunes attempting to artifi-cially recreate under “smart growth” and “place -making” p lanning schemes.

By 2008 the underpinnings of the Boardwalk had deteriorated and it was declared structurally unsound. The landowner did not want to pay to maintain the public use of his prop-erty and the town did not wish to pay to repair a structure it did not own. A chain-link fence was erected, closing off access to the Boardwalk, and it has remained closed ever since.

The Boonton Gateway Historic Park Committee, concerned citizens operating under the auspices of the Boonton Historic Preservation Com-mission and in cooperation with the Canal Society of New Jersey, has de-vised a plan to re-open the Boardwalk and to provide historical interpreta-tion of the features within the Board-walk’s viewshed and the important role they played in shaping the con-temporary landscape of the region. The Boardwalk, with its existing stairway to Plane Street, will also serve as the gateway to the Boonton section of the 102-mile-long Morris Canal Historic District. Because of the Canal’s unifying historical theme that connects communities from Jersey City to Phillipsburg, the Morris Canal is a significant cultural resource in northern New Jersey. The Morris Ca-nal Greenway Project, sponsored by

Boonton Gateway Historic Park: Boonton’s Gateway to the Morris Canalby Elliott Ruga, Morris County Heritage Commission/Chairman, Boonton Historic Preservation Commission

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Inclined Plane 7E in the vicinity of the location of the contemporary Boardwalk (see Boonton on page 5)

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Photo by Olin Vought, photographer and prolific water color painter of local landscapes in the early 1900s. In this photo, taken on August 29, 1904, two girls watch as an empty canal boat passes through Lock 2 East on its return journey west to Phillipsburg.

Morris Canal Lock 2 East Restoration by John Manna, Wharton Grant Coordinator/President, Canal Day Association

Lock 2 East was filled in circa 1930. Fortunately it was largely intact below ground, as discovered in 2008. Photo by Joe Macasek

The view of the rebuilt lock. Photo by Kathy Fisher

harton’s Hugh Force Park contains a! pictur-esque!and remarkably intact quarter-mile watered section of the Morris Canal and Morris Canal

Lock 2 East. The latter is being restored through grants administered by the New Jersey Department of Transpor-tation, Morris County Historic Preservation Trust Fund, the Morris County Park Commission and New Jersey His-toric Trust.! Wharton Borough started the lock restoration project in 2006 with a feasibility study. Nine years later the lock is almost like new with its latest improvement, the

historically accurate wood lock gates installed in Novem-ber 2014. Interpretative panels have been funded by the Morris County Heritage Commission! re-grant! program.! Going forward !there are plans!to make the lock operable, but in the meantime, visitors to the park!can see the newly restored lock up close,!and on Saturday, August 22, enjoy guided walking tours and narrated boat rides sponsored by the Canal Society of New Jersey during the Canal Day Music & Craft Festival. • For more information see!"#$#%&#'()*+. !

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Lock gates at the east end of the lock. A working lock would control the water level with gates at both ends. Photo by John Manna

Special Heritage Review online Summer Edition 2015The Review will be commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the nation's first commercial elec-tronic telephone switching system including a feature article by Dev Gualtieri (Ledgewood, NJ).

Telephone History in Morris CountyThe 1ESS Central Office Switch in Succasunna

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Main Street Boardwalk today!

Open Space and Historic Preserva-tion Trust Fund which underwrites several grant programs he champi-oned. Numerous sites and structures have been protected that otherwise would have been lost without his ef-forts.

Jack was active on the board of the Community Relations Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, urging extension be-yond its Essex County origins to serve Morris County. He was buried on April 3 at Hilltop Cemetery in his adopted home town of Mendham Township. !

In Memoriam: Arline Dempsey

e are saddened to announce the pass ing o f former Heritage Commission mem-

ber Arline Fowler Dempsey, who passed away on February 6, 2015. Born and raised in Boonton, she lived in Denville for more than 60 years. Arline was committed to volunteer-ing and helping others. She was an active member of the Boonton Bicen-tennial Committee and also served on Morris County’s Bicentennial Com-mittee, the precursor of the Heritage Commission. A member of the Boon-ton Historical Society, she was its president from 1976 to 1986. After

this she served on the Heritage Commission from 1986-1998 and held the office of Treasurer.

Arline was a local historian and self-published two books, Memories of the Morris Canal and Old Boonton and the Jersey City Reservoir. In her role as editor and author of the Boonton His-torical Society newsletter, then called Bridging the Gap (now renamed The Gem of the Mountains), she received an award for excellence from the League of Historical Societies of New Jersey.

Beside her interest in history, Ar-line was active with the New Jersey Special Olympics and the VFW La-dies Auxiliary 2519, District 10. She received awards from both organiza-tions, and was named Special Olym-pics "Volunteer of the Year for the State of New Jersey" in 1988. Arline had a notable record of public service, which included shepherding appli-cants for U.S. citizenship through that demanding and lengthy process. Our sympathies go out to Arline’s family and many friends. !

the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority and endorsed by the County of Morris, aims to connect a recreational trail across New Jersey, from the Delaware River to the Hudson River. It is hoped that positioning the Board-walk project as a component of the larger Morris Canal Greenway Pro-ject will enhance the prospect of acquiring county and state histori-cal preservation and open space funding.

The Boardwalk Committee, partnering with the Trust for Public Land, has initiated discussions with the owners about acquiring the Boardwalk property. Acquisition of the property will be the first phase of a larger, more comprehensive project that will further develop the historical and recreational resources of the Boonton section of the Morris Canal. Subsequent phases would include an archeological survey of the Canal and associated structures including the Inclined Plane and the former iron works complex; interpretative displays of Canal ar-tifacts; improvements to the exist-ing Grace Lord Park trail alongside the Canal route; and the positioning of the Main Street Boardwalk as the “gateway” to the Boonton Histori-cal Park . !

(from Boonton on page 3)(from Schrier on page 2)

WWhippany Tercentennial Commemoration

“Whippeny’s” Ye Olde Iron Forge &Fordville -- The Builder’s HomesteadEvents Celebrating 300 years 1715-2015

Sept. 12 Horseshoes at Hanover Twp. DaySept. 19 Owner-invite to FordvilleOct. 28 Hanover Wind Symphony Iron MusicNov. 21 Forum: 300 Years of HistoryFor more information contact: Hanover Township Landmark Commission,-".#/%("01".$-"2-34/*-0)$($/5973.267.1234

Genius of LibertyJune 25, 18104th of July Ball

In order to commemorate the an-niversary of American Independ-ence, Mr. Sansay proposes to give a BALL on the evening of the 4th July, precisely at 7 o’clock, at his New and Spacious Assembly-Room on D’Hart Street, which he has fitted up for the accommodation of the Citizens of this town. He flatters himself that on this first occasion of the kind, he will be favored with a general attendance

of the Ladies and Gentle-men of this a n d n e i g h-b o r i n g towns.

Tickets of Admission, at One Dol-lar each, to be had at Mr. Strong’s Bar-room, any day previous to the 4th. Gentlemen will not be permit-ted to dance in Boots.

Palladium of LibertyJanuary 27, 1820Play at Parsippany

On Thursday and Friday Eve-ning, the 27th and 28th of Jan. 1820 will be performed, the interesting OPERA of The Mountaineers. With New and Elegant Scenery. To which will be added the Farce of ‘TIS ALL A FARCE. The whole to conclude with a highly interesting Pantomime Ballette Dance. Tickets to be had at the Academy; price 25 cents.

Morristown Daily RecordMarch 10, 1914Much Talk of New Theatres

There has been considerable talk of theatre projects about town since the destruction of the Lyceum by fire three weeks ago. Some of the propo-sitions are of the larger scale while others center around the smaller vaudeville and moving picture house.

It is generally believed that the Library will be rebuilt without any lecture hall or theatre. This leaves Morristown entirely without any place for large audiences and for ama-teur productions.

Morristown Daily RecordMarch 19, 1914Buys Site for New Theatre

For the purpose of erecting a $65,000 theatre building, former As-semblyman James J. Lyons has pur-chased the Park House structure and property, situated on East Park Place, between the Becker building and the First Presbyterian Church.

Mr. Lyons will provide for two stores and suites of offices or one large dance hall, besides a theatre with a seating capacity of 1,490.

The theatre proper will be 90 feet by 57 feet deep….

Morristown Daily RecordJune 28, 1916First Band Concert is Greatly Enjoyed by Large Audience

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Quips and Quotes from Morris County’s Past By Peg Shultz

n an era before the Internet, downloadable videos, CDs and VHS, attending a performance or a dance was a way to meet up with friends or enjoy the

company of a special someone. Morris County had sev-eral venues where members of a community could en-

joy a variety of entertainments. Entertainment venues in the early nineteenth century included academies and assembly rooms. A century later, these gave way to multipurpose theaters that hosted a variety of enter-tainment options such as operas, ballets, and films. !

(see Quips & Quotes on page 7)

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The Lyceum was located on South Street between Park Place and Pine Street. The building was de-stroyed by fire in 1914. Image courtesy Bonnie-Lynn Nadzeika.

Morristonians and surrounding towns turned out in large numbers last evening to welcome in the 1916 summer band concerts. The playing of the band was exceptionally good, and the singing was fine and greatly enjoyed by all.

Notwithstanding the fact that the weather has been so generally unfa-vorable for outdoor affairs it was a pleasant evening to be out. . . . Pa-trons of the Park Theatre found also, that they could fully enjoy good seats, the band music and the movies at the same time.

Morristown Daily RecordApril 15, 1937Issue Permit for Building New Theatre

The permit for the construction of the theater for the American Commu-nity Theaters, Inc. on the old Morris-town Inn property at South and Pine streets was issued yesterday after-noon by Building Inspector John A. McIntyre.

Owing to some changes in the plans, local contractors have not fig-ured on them yet and the award for the building will not be made until next week. It is believed certain that a local contractor will do the work.

The original plans, which the Board of Aldermen held up pending confer-ences with officers of the corporation, called for a building costing only about $80,000, . . . the delay caused by the Aldermen will result for the Town in a building costing about three times as much. That means that the Town will have a much finer appearing

theater, one in architectural harmony with the Municipal Building, Library and St. Peter’s Church, and it means just about three times as much work for local skilled labor.

Morristown Daily RecordMarch 4, 1942Opening Tomorrow at Community Thea-tre

It was inevitable that Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn should someday appear on the screen to-gether, and the union of these two Academy Award winners in “Woman of the Year” which starts showing at the Community Theatre in Morris-town tomorrow, provides the screen with a completely refreshing and en-grossing photoplay. !

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The Community Theatre c. 1938. Happy Landing with Sonja Henie and Don Ameche was one of the first films shown at the theatre. Photo courtesy MPAC

(from Quips & Quotes on page 6)

Publication of the Morris County Board of Chosen FreeholdersKathryn A. DeFillippo, Director John Cesaro, Deputy Director

Douglas R. Cabana John Krickus William “Hank” Lyon

Thomas J. Mastrangelo David Scapicchio

Morris County Heritage CommissionLarry Fast, Chairman

Kathy Murphy, Vice Chairman Miriam Morris, Secretary Joyce Kanigel, Treasurer

Epsey Farrell, Ph.D.Kathy Fisher Joe Macasek

Bonnie-Lynn NadzeikaElliott Ruga

Peg Shultz, Archivist/Acting DirectorElectronic versions can be

viewed and downloaded from!666(7"*-8&("),9")%%/"5-)$79:;<=:>?9@/*-5#+/AB),,-77-)$AC/67%/55/*AD*".-4/7

For a Large Print EditionCall 973.829.8117

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PO Box 900, Morristown, NJ 07963-0900Phone: 973.829.8117 Fax: 973.631.5137

Website: 666(,)**-7./*-5#+/($/5! Email:!@/*-5#+/3")(,)**-7($E(17

Beginning in 2015 Heritage Review will be an online publication.Due to the advances in technology, coupled with necessary fiscal restraint, the MCHC has decided that, beginning with

the Spring 2015 issue, the Heritage Review will be an online publication accessible at ,)**-7")1$5'$E(+)49FB@B9!Paper copies will continue to be available at local libraries.

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After more than 30 years at the Cultural Center, the Heritage Commission has moved to space in the Morris County Library. In addition to the offices, a research room, public meeting space, conference area, archives room, microfilm room, stor-age and work areas will be ready by the end of the year.

Staff and members of the Commission spent most of 2014 looking for a new location where we could consolidate the county archival collection in one area to best serve the public. After four possibilities were investigated, space at the Morris County Public Library became available. The move required a lot of planning, packing, volunteer assistance, heavy lifting – and that was just Phase I!

The Building and Grounds department moved boxes to the library in February. Buried in cartons, we assembled shelving, unpacked and settled into a semifunc-tioning routine. Phase II is underway. This includes preparing the space for the high density shelving, microfilm and map cabinets. We expect by the end of summer the materials that have been stored offsite since 2008 will have been moved to the li-brary.

Phase III will be the complete reorganization, inspection, reshelving and inven-torying of the entire archival collection. The last phase is expected to be completed by the end of the year and includes final preparations of the archival collection for use by researchers.

This has been a daunting task but will be well worth it when done. Since 2009, through retirements, hiring freezes and budgetary constraints, the Commission has served the public with a single employee. Our Archivist/Acting Director Peg Shultz has admirably juggled the many duties and projects of the Commission. We look forward to being fully functional again. Thank you for your patience and we look forward to welcoming you to the new location soon. We anticipate the move to be completed by the end of the year. Updates will be posted to our webpage at F)**-7@/*-5#+/($/5. !

The Heritage Commission Has Moved!By Kathy Murphy, Vice Chairman, Morris County Heritage Commission