CROSSWICKS COMMUNITY HOUSE

One thing I love is the idea of a small town Saturday night dance where a guy takes his favorite girl friend for a fun evening in an environment where everybody knows everybody else and they all let the good times roll.
The graphics above have been pieced together to form a little vignette showing the Crosswicks Community House which is an integral part of that historic town. Comparing the photo on the right with the house as it looks today, will show that modifications have been made over the years. That old 1925 photo was brown and faded, but thanks to PhotoShop CS4, it has been returned to its original splendor....indeed, the new photo is better than the original on that old newspaper page. If you Google CROSSWICKS COMMUNITY HOUSE, you will find a link that will take you to their website.

1934: CROSSWICKS AND CHESTERFIELD MINI HISTORY

For years, I, and countless other historians, have maintained that one of the best sources of local history is found in our local newspapers. My treasured collection of bound volumes of the Trenton Times, Daily True American, and Daily State Gazette are providing a treasure trove of little known historic treasures. The above graphic is an example. Just over that covered bridge in Groveville lies the historic town of Crosswicks. The above graphic has been painstakingly re-constructed, tweaked and reduced in size to give you an exquisite view of a full page from the Trenton Sunday Times Advertiser. In 1934, the Advertiser devoted front page sections to towns and villages in the Mercer County area. There will be more full page histories in the future.

1899: ENOCH MIDDLETON'S UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

Crosswicks and North Crosswicks are incredibly steeped in history. Enoch Middleton was an historic figure and one of the more prominent men in the history of that southern Hamilton Township area. His home served as a station on the Underground Railroad back during the Civil War era. According to my dear friend, the late Bob Simpkins, Middleton sent many of his railroad "passengers" over to Yardville to the Allinson home in today's "Locust Hill" section of Hamilton on the Yardville-Hamilton Square Road. Legend has it that the next stop was Cranbury in Middlesex County.

1859: CROSSWICKS

THANKS TO MY HAMILTON HIGH CLASS OF 1951 CLASSMATE, ALICE SCHMIDT MULLEN FOR THIS HISTORIC MAP SHOWING WHO LIVED THERE 152 YEARS AGO! ALONG WITH PENNINGTON AND GROVEVILLE, CROSSWICKS IS STILL ANOTHER TOWN THAT WOULD BE A GREAT PLACE TO LIVE.

1946: CRISIS ON CROSSWICKS CREEK

As a dedicated metal detector operator for many years, I often wondered what lies beneath the mucky surface of Mercer and Burlington's Crosswicks Creek. Stories from the pages of history tell of merchants whose ships plied those waters in ye olden days, bringing their goods from Philadelphia to our area and returning southward with a return cargo . A Revolutionary War skirmish took place at a drawbridge that was located along today's Route 206 It was replaced long ago by other bridges including the current bridge. There's a certain romanticism surrounding historic Crosswicks Creek.

1914: CROSSWICKS COMMUNITY NEWS FEBRUARY 13

The quaint village of Crosswicks has always had a close relationship with Hamilton area residents. Bennett, Applegate, Pierson and Lippincott are mentioned in this article.

1928: WHAT'S HAPPENING-CROSSWICKS

THAT BUCOLIC AND VERY HISTORIC TOWN SOUTH OF US IS AN ABSOLUTE DELIGHT! THERE IS SO MUCH HISTORY THERE, ALSO, MANY FAMILIAR FAMILY NAMES.

1934: COMMUNITY EVENTS, APRIL 8

1911: COMMUNITY NEWS FROM "THE BOONDOCKS"

"MR. AND MRS. DOE SPENT LAST SUNDAY AT THE HOME OF MR. AND MRS. JOHNSON OF 221 PASSAIC STREET." THESE INCREDIBLY QUAINT SOCIETY NEWS CLIPS FROM VARIOUS SUBURBAN AREAS ARE INTERESTING READING, AND I'M SURE THERE ARE SOME VISITORS WHO LOOK FOR RELATIVES. THAT'S WHAT THE "COMMUNITY NEWS" FOLDER IS ALL ABOUT!

1931: REV. SCARBOROUGH

OLDER NATIVES OF THE MORE SOUTHERN AREA OF HAMILTON WILL PROBABLY RECALL REV. SCARBOROUGH PASTOR OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH WHICH SERVED THE CROSSWICKS AND ELLISDALE AREA OF HAMILTON.

1908: THE CROSSWICKS CREEK BRIDGE

I WORKED ON THIS ENGRAVING FOR QUITE A WHILE, TRYING TO REMOVE ALL THE "NOISE" WHICH IS IN INHERENT CHARACTERISTIC OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY OFFSET PHOTO REPRODUCTION. THIS IS THE BEST I COULD DO.

CLAIRE DWIER AND THE CROSSWICKS OAK TREE

SOME TIME AGO I POSTED A NEWS PHOTO OF THE VERY FAMOUS AND GORGEOUS "CROSSWICKS OAK" THAT WAS A LANDMARK IN THE BUCOLIC TOWN OF CROSSWICKS. THANKFULLY, ANOTHER LOCAL HISTORIAN, MS. CLAIRE DWIER (OF THE GROVEVILLE DWIERS) WROTE THIS FASCINATING AND VERY INTERESTING ARTICLE WHICH RELATES TO THAT TREE. THANKS VERY MUCH FOR YOUR VALUABLE CONTRIBUTION, CLAIRE!

CLAIRE WRITES:

Update on the Crosswicks Oak Tree

I have wonderful memories of the Crosswicks oak tree. My aunt and uncle, Peg and Aubrey Lawyer, lived on Front Street, right across from the Friends Meeting property. As a child I spent many happy hours swinging under that beautiful old oak on a swing that hung from one of its great limbs. In the fall, we also played in the huge piles of leaves that dropped from it each year. I grew up knowing its history and that it was a very special tree, indeed. Unfortunately, it met its demise – one of the bigger limbs was struck by lightning – probably in the 1960's (perhaps some Crosswicks residents would remember exactly when). Maybe the tree just never recovered from the lightning strike, or became diseased, but in 1975 it had to be removed. I'm not certain when, but another oak tree was planted in place of the former one and is surrounded by a lovely and peaceful garden.. The 'new' oak is quite large now so I'm sure it's been there for some time. Also, the photo on your site appears to show a wooden post and rail fence around the property. I have a black and white snapshot of my sisters, myself, and two cousins standing on Front Street - the oak and a concrete block wall are behind us. The photo was taken on Easter Sunday, 1962. The block wall was there as far back as I can remember and extended from the entry driveway on Front Street, around the corner and down Church Street to the back end of the property. There was another driveway on Church St. - each drive had two large columns made of the same concrete block. I have no information on when the wall was constructed, and believe it gradually began to crumble and was removed. Today, all that remains of it are two large columns at the Church St. entrance, a short one on Front Street, and a part of the foundation rounding the corner at Front and Church. As you may recall, my dad, Ray Dwier, was a Hamilton Township Committeeman who also served two terms as Hamilton's Mayor. When the limb was struck down, my mother was able to obtain a small piece of the wood, and she surprised dad with a beautiful gavel she had made from that little piece of oak. He loved that tree and, of course, very proudly used his "Crosswicks oak" gavel to conduct Hamilton Township Committee meetings during his mayoral terms. After he retired, the gavel was mounted on a plaque and hung in my parents' den until they both passed away. It remains in our family today. One last note: I believe two cannon balls are still in the exterior walls of the Quaker Meeting House and are visible when standing on the property. Add to that the one taken by Francis Ellis, and all three mentioned in the caption of the photo are accounted for. It'd be interesting to know what happened to the one in Mr. Ellis's possession. January, 2008
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HERE'S A REMINDER TO VISIT GARY LIPPINCOTT'S VERY INTERESTING WEBSITE
THERE ARE MANY FASCINATING AND UNIQUE POSTS FROM THE GROVEVILLE-YARDVILLE AREA.

WWW.GROVEVILLEMEMORIES.BLOGSPOT.COM.

1908: THE HISTORIC CROSSWICKS OAK

PERHAPS A VIEWER CAN TELL ME IF THIS TREE HAS SURVIVED THE YEARS. IT (OR WAS) A TRULY HISTORIC TREASURE.

The Wooden Bridge at Crosswicks

Is this a beautiful scene? The young lady in the photo lends a touch of Victoriana which is just this side of romantic. This photo is in the "Crosswicks" file at the library. At the present time, it is a very sparse file, but wait a few months!

1936: New Postmaster, New Post Office