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The Past and Present of North Hud son— Uncle Dan'l Gardner —Silk Industries—Daniel Webster's Highland Mansion. The thirtieth anniversary of the found ing of the Town of Union and the adja cent villages and townships, occurred last week, and recalls to mind many facts which show the energy and enter prise of the gentlemen who made this thrifty German settlement, thereby ad ding such a desirable class to the popula tion of the upper portion of the county. Before the Town of Union was laid out, thirty years ago, the farms that occupied the site of the town were skirted by the virgin forest, which afforded splendid covers for all kinds of game, and this region was the resort of hunters from all parts. The Gardner farm, containing about one hundred acres, extended from the Hackensack turnpike to the Wee hawken boundary line on the Boulevard, covering an area of nearly one-half of the Town of Union. This and the adja cent farms belonged to the confiscated estate of William Bayard, a Tory, who was one of the largest property holders in the counties of Hudson and Bergen prior to the Revolution. Bergen county at that period, embracing both coun ties. Through the courtesy of Mr. Robert Gardner, a reporter was permitted to look over some abstracts of land titles, wherein it is set forth that by wu writ dated January 30, 1784, issued out of the Court of Common Pleas of Bergen, Cor nelius Haring, Agent of Forfeited Es tates, was directed by said Court to sell or dispose of Bayard’s estate in North Hudson. The bulk of the forfeited property was bought by Aaron Wyman, who subsequently conveyed it to Elijah Gardner, who died in June, 1807, divid ing the estate between three sons, James F., John and Thomas Gardner. For seventy years large tracts of land in and around Union Hill, remained in the Gardner family, who were successful farmers, and the progenitors of the family were blessed with more than the average number of sturdy boys and benny lasses. The first Gardners in New Jersey were one of the thirty families, the flower of the New Haven colony who settled in Essex county in 1566, and laid out the city of Newark. Some of their lineal de scendents are still on their patrimonial farms at Lyons Farms, Orange and other places in the vicinity of Newark. A patriarch, now living at Union Hill, at the age of eighty years, told the writer that it was a positive fact that ‘‘ Uncle Dan’ Gardner,” of Essex county, was the father of twenty-six children by one wife. In February, 1852, Louis Becker and Xavier Anton Muller, the represen tatives of the Hudson County Land As sociation, entered into an agreement with Charles E., John and James Gard ner, and John Morgan for the purchase of their lands for the proposed Town of Union, and the survey and transfer of the property was made the following sum mer. The land surrounding the Gard ner mansion house, facing the Boule vard, was reserved, but these stately grounds and fine residence were subse quently sold to Mr. Schweitzer, Treas urer of the North Hudson County Rail road Company. About this time a Ger man named Randlow had a small farm, where he engaged in extensive experi ments in chicken hatching by steam, but he failed in the business and his land was bought by Becker and Muller. Mr. Becker bought and laid out in building lots that portion of the town formerly called North Hoboken, and he also laid out Guttenberg, above the magnificent park and grand villa by the riverside, built and occupied by the late Hon. Dud ley 8. Gregory, who had a private dock and steamboat. The ruined porter's house on the Gregory domain, the drive ways from the Bull’s Ferry road, and the noble stretches of woodland, attest the former grandeur and beauty of the place; latterly the mansion has been occupied as hotel. Mr. Becker pro jected the horse car line from Union Hill to Guttenberg and brought the scheme to a successful issue. He was one of the shrewdest and most energetic real estate operators in this country, having sold 1,600 lots, amounting to about $150,000 in the aggregate, in one week. In an indirect manner he is the father of the silk industry in Union Hill, as ten years ago he built a large three-story brick building, and by brilliant ma neuvers, induced the Messrs. Simon to rent the structure and fit it up with the machinery for silk weaving. Since then this establishment has given steady em ployment to a large number of hands, who live in the neighborhood, and the example of the Messrs. Simon was fol lowed as several other silk manufac te Sadie Sone to the thanks of the people benefitt 1, as he might easily have turned his capital and talent in directions that would not have furnished employment for the young people of the place—a brewery, for instance, as brew ing is the only other industry, on a large scale, carried on in the northern town ships. As previously mentioned, large silk industries have sprung up during the last ten years, and when the town has connection with the Hackensack waterworks, and is severed, ten years hence will witness surprising develop ment of prosperity, as a brilliant future is in store for all of this northern re Five stately mansion of the olden time situated on the Weehawken Heights, above the Mountain Road, now owned and occupied by President John H. Benn, of the North Hudson Railroad Company, was the property of Daniel Webster from 1837 until 1845, when it passed into the hands of the brother of the late Hon. Dudley. Gregory. The house was not built by the great law giver and statesman, but it is generally thought it was presented to him by the merchants of New York a token of their appreciation of one of his grand speeches on trade and commerce. Neither Cicero nor Horace could have had a more pleasant summer retreat in their Tuscu lan villas than was offered to Webster here, as the grounds, containing fifteen acres, overlooking the river, bay and narrows, were beautifully laid out in groves and walks. Mr. Becker relates an anecdote which shows that Webster had a very loyal and zealous caretaker of the house and grounds. While out hunting in the vicinity, Mr. Becker met a laborer on the grounds and asked permission to chop down some evergreen trees, which he desired for his place in Hoboken, the Vauxhall Garden, a well-known German resort when Hoboken was a little village. Mr. Becker gave the laborer, who was an Irishman, a dollar, and he was fur nished with an axe and began to play workman. Before he finished a grave looking man put in an appearance, and also put a veto on the wood chopping, stating that he was ‘‘ Daniel Webster’s agent.” The Irishman was called up, and he swore by all the saints in the cal ender that he had never received any money, nor seen the intruder until that minute, and Mr. Becker only got out of his dilemma when a friend who ac companied him came along and put in rebuttal testimony. What became of the avaricious, lying Irishman is not known, but the trees were brought to Hoboken, and he would require to be a very shrewd Irishman who could beat the man who chopped the trees down. Whether Webster ever occupied this charming place for any great length of time is not known, but it was sold under a foreclosure for $8,000, and Mr. Bonn has the title bearing the great man’s signature and that of his wife, Anna Le roy. Mr. Bonn came here in 1852 and bought all the adjacent property and a large tract adjoining Union Hill, which was laid out in building lots and is now called Bonnsville. Mr. Bonn is a very progressive and enterprising gentleman, and in conjunction with Mr. Schweitzer, the North Hudson Railroad Company, without which the northern townships would never have risen to any impor tance, either as places of suburban resi dence or of manufactures, was projected and carried out to its present model con dition of efficiency. Mr. Tag, the mil lionaire tobacconist, Freeholder Bald win and a number of New York mer chants, live in villas on the Weehawken Heights adjoining Mr. Bonn’s historical house, and none but aristocratic dwell ings have yet appeared in this neighbor hood, which is one of the most delight ful in the county for first-class dwell ings. Bhe splendid grounds at Highwood are too well known to require any special mention. During the late war the man sions of the Browns, Kings and Dyers were filled with illustrious guests from Washington and distinguished men in army and navy. Although moving in the highest spheres, these solid patri cians of Weehawken are in nowise snob bish, and have a veneration for old Wee hawken. Thus when it was proposed to change Bull’s Ferry road to Highwood avenue, the elder Mr. Duer emphatically vetoed any change from the old name, and it is now called Bull’s Ferry avenue. As an indication of the prosperity of the northern townships, it may be cited that the value of real and personal property in the assessment for the cur rent year reaches $8,000,000, without in cluding Guttenberg. The plans for a straight road, at an easy incline up the hill from the new ferry slips at Deas’ Point, have been made, and the work will soon be under way. The road will be run by the Brown mansion, and will connect with Main street, Union Hill, giving rapid transit to and from New York. It is expected that the new fer ries will be running by next spring, as and basins are already some of the slips finished,—J. 0. Journal,
Newspaper Details
Hoboken Advertiser
Hoboken, New Jersey, US
Sat, Jul 29, 1882
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USA 01 Jan 2026
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