Class photo from Liberty Corner (NJ) School. The flag appears to have 46 stars, which would date the photo to around 1912, the last year that flag was in use. Hazel Bird (b. 1900) is fourth from the left in the back row (with large bow-tie). At that time, most graduates from Liberty Corner who
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Today’s photo shows Charles Pitman Bird (1856-1933) and his father John Watson Bird (1825-1902) checking out a new carriage around 1901 near Minebrook Road in Liberty Corner, NJ . The carriage was purchased from the Ballantine & Van Fleet Carriage Mfg. Co. of Somerville for $40 (see receipt). Ballantine & Van Fleet operated at 200-210
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This old postcard from the Society’s archives tells a great story–more like three stories. Back in 1906, someone named Mattie (probably Martha E. Boyle Fenner of Peapack) decided to write to her sister Mrs. Philip Koechlein (Floretta Boyle Koechlein, 1877-1966) in Liberty Corner where the Koechlein family later operated a store. Click on the photo
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This early wood schoolhouse, originally called the Jefferson school, stood on the west side of Lyons Road, north of the triangle in Liberty Corner, NJ. It was built around 1853 to replace an earlier school, which had burned down. The building is clearly marked on a map from the 1873 Beers Atlas of Somerset County
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Often, Christmas cards are discarded after the holidays, but this classic from the THSSH Archives contains many clues to local history. The card was sent to Madeline Koechlein (c.1905-1991) of Liberty Corner, NJ, by her Aunt Mattie (probably Martha E. Boyle Fenner of Peapack). Although not postmarked, the card probably dates to around 1910. The
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Lurline Drive was accepted as a street by Bernards Township in 1962 and is a lasting memorial to Lurline Eberhardt (1925-1948), a young equestrian who tragically lost her life. Lurline was the daughter of Paul W. Eberhardt and Lurline Belk. Her father was a vice president of Walter Kidde & Co., which manufactured fire extinguishers,
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Peaches became a major cash crop in the Somerset Hills during the late 19th century. Farmers gained new markets with the arrival of the New Jersey West Line Railroad in Bernardsville (1872) and the Rockaway Valley Railroad in Pottersville and Gladstone (1889-90). Railroads were used to ship peaches and other commodities to cities all along
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