1936: SWIMMING AT THE MURRAY PLAYGROUND

It is nearly impossible to determine the location of Murray Playground. The Murray Rubber Company, Trenton auto tire and rubber manufacturer was located near Mulberry Street and No. Clinton Avenue. Across the street, where John Scarpati's auto shop was, is definitely a part of the park. Today the area is all grown over and there is a semi park laid out. It was one of the more popular swimming "holes" of the day.
Anonymous said...


Tom, perhaps there are still traces. A look on "Bing Maps" reveal a trace of a waterfall that also is in line with the north line of the Scarpatti property. That may be the remnant of the falls in your photo.

The old Amoco at the "T" where Nottingham comes in brought back a memory for me. There was a fellow selling a car that did not exist according to General Motors. He had an aluminum body GTO and was of course asking quite a bit for it. A few years ago GM owned up to the cars. They came through the "back door" of Royal Oak Pontiac in Michigan.

Skip

Saturday, May 07, 2011

THANKS, SKIP.....VERY INTERESTING STORY ON THE GTO.
TOM GLOVER

1880's: MILLHAM AKA EAST TRENTON

The area east of downtown Trenton, "east of the bridge" on No. Clinton Avenue and thence to the Lawrence Township border was once known as Millham Township. The above article from a Harry Podmore scrapbook which is in my collection, is undated, but based on the type setting and poor offset photography, I place it around 1913 or so. An interesting part of Millham history: Mulberry Street, which starts at or near the Lawrence Township line, got its name from the Dickenson (see the photo) family. Dickenson planted mulberry trees along the roadway and attempted to create a silk industry and create a silkworm "farm."
An earlier post showed a real estate ad for Millham and incorporated the Polish section of the city (Ohio Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, etc.). Millham was originally Millham Township, the entire area bordering Lawrence Township. a day or so ago, I posted a real estate ad for Millham which advertised the area which succeeding generations refer to as "North Trenton."

1933: Swimming in the Assanpink

This is an intriguing photo. I presume that the financial crunch we are currently experiencing is the reason we haven't heard too much about the conversion of this area to a recreation area. This was a popular "swimming hole" back in the early part of the 20th century. John Scarpati's Auto Salvage and parts store was located on part of this land which is to re-developed at some time in the future. John Scarpati moved his auto business a block or so away to Enterprise Avenue. The area has always been prone to devastating floods. The city of Trenton recently condemned many of the homes lining Mulberry Street.

1886: WHEN EAST TRENTON WAS KNOWN AS MILLHAM

Millham, or as we know it today, East Trenton, has a very interesting history. The real estate ad above is for the area that evolved into a predominently Polish neighborhood. However, the area around Mulberry Street, St. Joes, Bruenig, and enviorns were peopled by immigrants from Great Britain who came from their home country to work the many potteries in Trenton. The row homes constructed were built to emulate the construction of their English row homes.

1875: PROPOSAL TO ANNEX MILLHAM TO THE CITY OF TRENTON

CONSIDER THIS AN EXPERIMENT. INSTEAD OF SELECTING ONLY THE "MILLHAM" ARTICLE ON THIS PAGE, I THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE OF INTEREST TO VISITORS TO READ THE OTHER ARTICLES ON THE SAME PAGE AS THE MILLHAM ARTICLE. IF YOUR MONITOR IS LARGE ENOUGH AND CAPABLE OF HIGH DEFINITION, THE PAGE IS LEGIBLE. ON THE OTHER HAND IF YOU HAVE ONE OF THE PRE LCD ERA OLDER CATHODE RAY TUBE (CRT) MONITORS, YOU MAY HAVE TROUBLE READING THE PAGE. YOU MIGHT TRY CHANGING YOUR MONITOR RESOLUTION TO 800 X 600. HERE'S HOW: GO TO START, CONTROL PANEL, DISPLAY, SETTINGS, AND SLIDE THE MARKER OVER FROM THE HIGHER RESOLUTION TO 800 X 600. YOU WILL BE ASKED IF THIS IS SATISFACTORY. SAY YES, AND TRY READING THE TEXT. YOU CAN CHANGE BACK TO THE ORIGINAL RESOLUTION BY REPublish PostVERSING THE ABOVE PROCESS.

1915: WILBUR - GETHSEMENE AND SOUTH TRENTON COMMUNITY NEWS

THE "WILBUR AND EAST TRENTON" COMMUNITY NEWS WAS PUBLISHED EVERY THURSDAY DURING THIS PERIOD OF TIME. NEWS OF BROMLEY AND SOUTH TRENTON WERE OFTEN INCLUDED AS IN THIS PAGE.

1886: MILLHAM: CAN YOU SAY "EAST TRENTON?"

WITH THE GROWTH OF THE POTTERY INDUSTRY IN TRENTON OVER A CENTURY AGO, MANY IMMIGRANTS CAME FROM GREAT BRITAIN'S STAFFORDSHIRE AREA TO WORK THE POTTERIES WHICH ONCE DOTTED THE AREA ALONG THE CANAL. (TODAY'S TRENTON FREEWAY). MY DAD AND HIS BROTHER AND SISTERS WERE AMONG THE NEWCOMERS BACK IN 1914. THE AREA WE KNOW OF TODAY AS "EAST TRENTON" IS LOCATED IN THE AREA ONCE KNOWN AS "MILLHAM." IF THERE WAS A "CENTER CITY" MILLHAM, I WOULD PLACE IT IN THE BRUENIG, ST. JOES, MULBERRY STREET AREA OF TRENTON. THE ORIGINAL HOMES IN THE AREA WERE LAID OUT TO EMULATE OLD ENGLISH NEIGHBORHOODS WITH ROW HOMES ON NARROW STREETS.

1914: WILBUR AND "MILLHAM" (EAST TRENTON)

EVEN AS THERE WAS A WEEKLY "CHAMBERSBURG" FEATURE IN THE TRENTON TIMES, SO ALSO WAS THERE A "WILBUR AND EAST TRENTON" (AND SOMETIMES A FEW LINES ON SO. TRENTON).

ONCE AGAIN, IF YOUR MONITOR IS LCD, AND YOUR VISION IS ABLE, THIS WILL BE AN INTERESTING READ. NOTE THE ENTRY ENTITLED, "UP ON THE HILL;" WAS THIS INCLUDED IN THAT AREA OF TRENTON WE OLD TIMERS KNEW OF AS "CRACKER HILL?"

1988: TRENTON'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY

THIS EXTRACT FROM THE TRENTON TIMES SHOWS SOME OF THE FOLKS WHO HAVE HAD A SUBSTANTIAL PART IN TRYING TO HELP THE CITY OF TRENTON IN HER EFFORT TO MAKE A COMEBACK. MY FRIENDS ARNIE ROPEIK AND MARY ALICE QUIGLEY ARE SHOWN. I JUST LEARNED THAT MARY ALICE IS ON THE SICK LIST AND PLEASE KNOW THAT WE'RE PRAYING FOR YOU.