Osborn’s sawmill in Bernards Township, NJ, operated from as early as 1850 until at least the 1880s. Jonathan H. Osborn (1796-1881) and his son Lewis F. Osborn (1823-1884) ran the mill which was situated along the Passaic River near Madisonville. Osborn Pond, which still exists, was the mill pond.
Around 1910, the site was acquired by the Bernards Water Company which built a pumping station on the site and used Osborn Pond as the local reservoir for decades.
The photo above shows part of the sawmill around 1900. The bridge on Madisonville Road is on the far left. The mill was probably inactive by this date since no logs or lumber appear in the yard.
Jonathan H. Osborn and Phebe (c.1799-1848), his wife, are buried in the Basking Ridge Presbyterian Cemetery. Lewis F. Osborn is buried in New Vernon Presbyterian churchyard in Harding Township.
