From a huge and very rare "Nol 1882" map that came into my possession, I am learning some very enlightening tings about who was where during the year 1882 in Trenton and a tantalizing glimpse of the Hamilton suburbs including a street map of Greenwood Cemetery. I never knew those many roadways had names.
Here's 1882 showing Villa Park before it became Villa Park and was subdivided between two huge parcels of land owned by Samuel Wilson and David Quintin. The property is shown from Chambers Street on the left of your screen and down to the Olden area community of Bismarck, Centennial Avenues. Mr. Quintin's historically famous race track took up a large part of the property.

1899: MAKE WAY FOR VILLA PARK!

This rare wall map recently came into my possession and I immediately placed in the Hamilton Township Public Library's. Local History Collection. It is a very rare wall map and wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't in one of Hamilton's one room schools back the the 1800's. My speculation is based on the long and loyal contributions of my dear friend the late Georgiana Phillips Smith as a long time teacher in the Hamilton School system and her incredible record as a charter member of the Hamilton Township Historical Society. You will note that I added a comment in the gray open space on the map. Were you able to see the complete map, you would see the two farms of David  S.Quintin and Samuel K. Wilson whose combined land holding occupy the entire Villa Park area over as far as Chambers Street which is shown on the map (not in this scan). A lonely corner plot on this map is shown on the corner and marked: "Chapel and St. Francis Hospital." FASCINATING and very interesting view of Villa Park before it was laid out in 1899!

1920's: HAMILTON AND PARK AVENUES, VILLA PARK

From my "VILLA PARK" folder, this photo was part of a real estate ad relating to the area of Hamilton Township's Norway/Hamilton Avenue area. In my younger years this was occupied as a store known as "Margerum's" where I often stopped for a double dip (side by side) vanilla ice cream cone.

1888: DAVID QUINTIN'S RIDING ACADEMY

Even as the city of Trenton identifies it as Quniton Avenue, I'm sure it was an easy mistake to make, and assuming the street was named for Villa Park's historic Quintin Race Track, it should be identified as Quintin Avenue. The article above places the riding academy with the boundaries of No. Stockton, Academy and Commerce Streets with the canal to the east. What is not known at the present time is whether the Academy property encompassed the entire block or was just a building on the block. Perhaps future finds on the academy will turn up.

1946: "LEST WE FORGET:" VILLA PARK REMEMBERS

It took a little longer than I usually do to put together this graphic, but my admiration and respect for our men in women in uniform serving our country is a small sacrifice. Here we see that those citizens of one of Trenton's lovely neighborhoods also had respect and admiration for their native residents who served in World War II.

TRENTON'S VILLA PARK

 I had to re-post these graphics. Some sort of "glitch" in Google resulted in an aberration where Ray Paskiewicz's comment was aligned vertically all along the website. I removed the post and re-post it herewith, removing the comments from Ray and Ralph who are welcome to re-post.

2012: A HELICOPTER VIEW OF THE VILLA PARK TENNIS COURTS

Early news accounts of this very desirable Trenton neighborhood had decided that Villa Park needed a park, and thus we had the name of "Lyndale Park." Over the years, the "Lyndale" has been dropped and most of us know of this legendary beauty spot as Villa Park Park.

HAMILTON AND PARK AVENUE, VILLA PARK

Here's an interesting R.C. Maxwell photo from the Duke University Archives. It is from an old glass negative and I have converted it from RGB to gray scale. The building on the right is on the corner of Park and Hamilton. It is currently a Chinese restaurant, but back in my day it was Margerum's (Marjarums?) corner store.

Michael said...

Great stuff Tom.
It appears the trolly car just passed the block where your favorite "Tomato Pie" restaurant still stands; my old classmate Rick DeLorenzo's! Sad to learn yesterday, the Hudson St. branch of the family had it with the nonsense in Trenton.
Regards

Mike Kuzma

Saturday, December 17, 2011

This from Alan Wildblood:

You weren't sure of the spelling of the delicatessen at Park and Hamilton. I checked. His 1918 draft card is pretty plain to see. Clarence Mahlon Margerum 1882-1941. He was store manager starting about 1927 until death. Wife Maude Porter Margerum ran the store until 1947 and died in 1949. They lived on Ardmore Avenue. Both obituaries spell it Margerum. I am not sure if I was in that store. We lived on Park Avenue from 1946 to 1948.

Many thanks, Alan. I didn't know this was the same Margerum who was an officer in the late, great N.J.State Fair.

Tom

1987: WE WERE GUESTS AT THE 1ST ANNUAL VILLA PARK REUNION

What a wonderful, relatively clean Trenton community! I often venture into Villa Park as I go to pickup one of Ricky D's tomato pies. Back in 1987, I had written an article on the Quintin connection and other Villa Park historical bits and pieces. Judy and I were invited as guests to that wonderful community get together. Not being a VP native, I could only identify those very close friends who are in the photo.The late Bob McLaughlin was my across the street neighbor for over 45 years. Bernice Kelly Cunningham was a dear friend of ours. Indeed, due to their physical similes, folks often mistook Bernice for my dear wife Judy, and vice versa. Don Cunningham and I spent many July weekend retreats over at San Alfonso Retreat House in West Long Branch when I was a communicant at St. Anthony Parish, directly across Olden Avenue in Hamilton but has always been considered to be a "Villa Parker's" church. I know there are VP'ers who follow this blog, and believe that many of the others in the photo can be identified. I know "Chuddy" Whalen is in there somewhere, but I don't want to mis-identify him. The "Fran and Frank "C" entry is lacking a last name, and I may be an expert on ancient memory, I often draw blanks as I have on Fran and Frank's last name. Frank was our mail man for many years, and I wanted to write "Christiano," but I am not sure. Perhaps I will get some help on that also. As to my offer of now antiquated photo negatives referred to in the caption, who needs them now that we have Photoshop!

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM....WE WERE ONE OF THE EARLY RESIDENTS OF VILLA PARK IN THE EARLY 20'S. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE ON BERT AVE. FOR $4,400.00, A BRICK AND STUCCO SEMI DETACHED WITH A DRIVEWAY. WE LOST THE HOUSE DURING THE DEPRESSION OF THE 30'S THROUGH FORECLOSURE. THE GOVERNMENT PAID US $1,700.00 FOR OUR EQUITY AND WE BOUGHT A HOUSE ON FRANKLIN ST FOR THAT AMOUNT. VILLA PARK HAD MANY PROMINENT PEOPLE AT THE TIME. IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WERE BILL DEARDEN, STATE COMMISSIONER OF MOTOR VEHICLES, POLICE CHIEF O'ROUKE AND MANY TEACHERS AND PEOPLE FROM ST. FRANCIS. WE WERE LUCKY TO FIND A HOUSE NEARBY FOR $1,700.00. I MENTION THIS TO REMIND US OF WHAT IS HAPPENING TODAY WITH FORECLOSURES. BEST REGARDS.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

JoeB said...

Tom: Frank and Frannie last name Chiorello.

MANY THANKS, JOE. YOU TURNED MY DIMMING MEMORY SWITCH BACK ON! NOW I REMEMBER.

TOM GLOVER

THE SEARCH FOR QUINTIN'S RACE TRACK

Few people associate Edward Boyd with Villa Park. In my computer database I have a photo of him when he was very active on the Boyd Farm in the area Nottingham Way and the old De Laval plant. Boyd was one of the earlier persons involved with Henry N. Smith's old Fashion Stud Farm which was located where the old N.J. State Fair was located. Mr. Boyd sheds some hitherto unknown information on the location of the Quintin track in the short extract above. Until I am proven wrong, I speculate that the track was located between Quinton and Melrose Avenues from Hamilton Avenue to Jefferson Street (Today's Liberty Street.) Boyd lived at 837 Hamilton Avenue.

1896: THE NEW JAMES MOSES SCHOOL

It was a landmark along Villa Park's Park Avenue when I was a boy. I passed the school whenever I was going to Tony Amato's for a haircut, ,or to Margerum's delicatessen on the corner of Hamilton and Park Avenue to get a "side by side" double dip French Vanilla ice cream cone. Many local Villa Park residents went to Moses school; indeed, I would bet that many who are no longer residents of that fascinating community in Trenton also attended the school. like many neighborhood schools, Moses became the victim of the wrecker's ball and is no more, but I'm sure the memories remain for those who were educated there,.

Ralph Lucarella said...

HI TOM...THAT CORNER OF PARK AND HAMILTON WAS PRETTY BUSY WITH THE SCHOOL NEARBY, THE STORE AND OF COURSE, DEARDEN'S BUICK OPERATION TAKING UP A GOOD PORTION. DEARDEN'S BROTHER BILL,WHO WAS THE STATE MOTOR VEHICLE COMMISSIONER, WAS OUR NEIGHBOR ON BERT AVE. IN THE 30'S. REGARDS TO ALL.

Saturday, February 05, 2011

1889: VILLA PARK-IN THE VERY BEGINNING

Here is a real estate ad from the new Villa Park. Note that the branch office was located in "The Homestead." I would ask any Villa Park historian if he or she has information on the location of the homestead, is it still there, and better still, a photo would be great!

1905: Mr. Quintin of the Quinton Avenue area

Did you know that Quinton Avenue in Trenton was named for the Quintin family who were operating a horse racing track where Villa Park is located today? One wonders why the city of Trenton replaced the "i" in Quintin's name with an "o."

1940: JAMES MOSES SCHOOL, VILLA PARK

The Kindergarten class, or as we Hamiltonians called it, "Reception Grade" is illustrated in the photo above. I see little Paul Ashmore, Hamilton High Class of 1952 in there, and is that former Senator Gerald Stockman?

1 Comment

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rayfromvillapark said...

Tom, When we moved to Villa Park in 1945, the old Moses school sat diagonally behind our house on the other side of the alley.
The school had been abandoned and was boarded up with some debris strewn about the property. I do remember, however, that we were able to play baseball on the property.
A few years later the school was knocked down and 3 or 4 houses were built on the property.
Does anyone know when the school opened and when it closed? Also, is there any documentation when the building was torn down? I think it was the early 1950s? Rayfromvillapark

RAY:
IF YOU GO TO THE "SEARCH BLOG" LINK IN THE UPPER LEFT OF THIS BLOG YOU WILL FIND THE GENESIS OF THE JAMES MOSES SCHOOL. Type in Moses School and you will find many entries, along with an 1890's architect's rendering of the school.

1913: REAL ESTATE AUCTION AT VILLA PARK

Once upon a time, Villa Park one of Trenton's most popular communities, was out in the suburbs. Quintin's race track was the main attraction in that neighborhood during the early 20th century. Then along came the Colonial Land Co., developers who changed the face of the area along the Trenton-Hamilton border. The above graphic is an example of Colonial Land's aggressive real estate advertising. Colonial also developed the land on which Camp Olden was situated, and called it "Colonial Park;" the area where I grew up.

FROM RALPH LUCARELLA:
Hi Tom: I sure agree with that ad. My father bought a new all brick semi-detached house with a driveway on Bert Avenue in 1924 for $4,000. That's just about the time that Villa Park was fully developed. The only fault I recall about the area at that time were the streets were all paved with gravel except Revere Avenue. That street was paved with asphalt and that's where we kids gathered to roller skate and hang out. My father eventfully lost the house through foreclosure during the great depression and in 1937 moved to Franklin St. That was back to the Burg but close enough to Villa Park to remain in close contact with our friends.

Best regards.

1936: JAMES MOSES SCHOOL CHILDREN VISIT TRENTON'S ENGINE 7

Engine 7 referenced above was the same as today's Engine 7 at Hamilton Avenue and Anderson Street in Trenton.

1925: COHEN AND DRIVER: SCHOOL MARBLE CHAMPS

From the "Wilbur" folder this article on Cook School, and in keeping with my custom of posting familiar local family names, herewith the surnames Driver and Cohen. Somewhere down the road, a genealogist will be searching for one of the names and voila! There's my grandmother or depending on how far into the future this web blog survives, my great grandmother.

1946: SANDLOT FOOTBALL AT VILLA PARK

It is assumed that the photographer didn't have his pen or pencil handy when he took this photo, identifying only one of the boys in the photo.

1938: Moses School PTA and a Friendly old Voice From the Past

I received the following email from an old friend whom I spent may happy hours with on religious retreats at San Alphonso Retreat House in West Long Branch back in the 70's and early 80's. Jim Maloney is a retired educator who resided in the Villa Park area. He and his brother, the late Bill Maloney, were annual visitors to San Alphonso. We sent the largest contingent to the retreat from St. Anthony Parish during my pre-Monsignor Gervasio years. Jim's lovely wife Helen was also one of the movers and shakers in the St. Anthony Grammar School PTA as our kids were growing up in the 60's.. We worked hard, and were always there to raise funds for the school. We were also quite adept at mopping and waxing floors, picking up after our parties and....I could go on.
Great to hear from you, Jim. The best from Judy and me.

Jim Maloney writes:

Loved the site and I'll be back, you can count on that. A postscript on Moses School. The school sat opposite the intersection of Pierce Avenue and Park. However, the school grounds extended from the middle of the block between Centennial and Pierce all the way up to the alley opposite New Jersey and Park. Keep up the wonderful work, Tom. And yes I miss those wonderful retreat weekends I took with my late brother Bill. Always enjoyed talking to you.

Jim

1913: VILLA PARK LAND AUCTION

What a wonderful graphic! Can you imagine a dirt road known as Revere Avenue with maple trees lining the thorofare? The Colonial Land Co. also developed the area of Newkirk Avenue in the area of Camp, Miller, Beal, Ellwood, Watson Avenues. In fact Watson, Ellwood and Miller carry their names to this day.

FOR THOSE WHO DON'T TAKE THE TIME TO READ MY "COMMENTS," THIS FROM MACK MCNICOLL REGARDING JAMES MOSES:

"I found this on a net site:

MOSES:
Seeking information on James and/or John MOSES, emigrated from Seskinore Co., Tyrone, N. Ireland 1850-1860 to Trenton, NJ. Associated with Mercer Pottery Co., Glasgow Pottery Co., Trenton Watch Co, Moses Coalyard and Mechanics Bank. Namesake of James Moses Public School, Trenton, NJ. James had the Villa Park Improvment Co. and had the James Moses School named after him, and later in the 1940's a group of youth took his name as the name of their society. James died Springlake, NJ 1920. Had daughters Vera, Ethel and Laura. John's spouse Olivia Gardiner FORMAN. John died Trenton, 1902. Buried like James in Riverview Cemetery. Children Howard, Frederick, Arthur, Helen, Walter. I am keen to know the migration of the children. Arthur became a lawyer, and Walter and Howard are named in 1892 as board member of the Glasgow Pottery Co. Laura MOSES married Willard Cope BRINTON. Can you help?
- Joe Moses. coolomagh@hotmail.com. Ireland. 29 October 2004."

THANKS, MACK!