 |  | |
 |
|  |
 |  | |
| | |
|
| |
| | |
|
|
Originally published in 1939
Some of this information may no longer be current and in that case is presented for historical interest only.
Edited by GET NJ, COPYRIGHT 2003
Right on this road to BELLEVILLE, 0.9 miles (185 alt., 26,974 pop.), an old Dutch
settlement on the steep bank of Passaic River. At first only the "Second River Section" of Newark, the town became a separate community in 1839. Some of the old
houses are still standing along Passaic River, but the back yards of Newark's houses
on the opposite shore have destroyed the beauty of the river scene. West of the
broad, track-lined main street, which lies on a ledge overlooking the river, are monotonous streets with one-family frame houses of the type built by the thousands after
the World War. Second River, the scene of a rear guard action in 1777, is the
center of a new park being constructed by the Works Progress Administration. The
first low-pressure steam engine made in America was manufactured at a plant in
Belleville for John Stevens in 1798. The engine was installed in a boat that ran
under steam power down the Passaic to New York. This was nine years before
Fulton operated the Clermont, but eight years after John Fitch ran a steamboat on
the Delaware.
The REFORMED DUTCH CHURCH, SE. cor. Main St. and Belleville Turnpike,
built in 1725 and. rebuilt twice thereafter, is of brown cut-sandstone. The simple
lines of the structure are marred by a vine-covered uncut-sandstone extension. The
graceful spire is peppered with Revolutionary bullet holes, hidden by the new layer
of shingles.
The SPEAR MANSION (private), 307 Main St., a square, three-story clapboarded
building with a one-story extension, was built in 1710. In the stained-glass window
above the door is the old street number, 360. Like many other old houses along
this street, the dwelling has a glass-enclosed lookout tower.
|
|
|
Return To |
|
|
