We started off 2016 with a guest columnist providing a game of “West Trenton Jeopardy!” Since people seemed to enjoy it very much, I thought I’d start 2017 off with another game — this time, testing your memory on material from the past year’s columns! (And yes, it’s an easy way to pull together a column that I don’t have time to research this month.)
So, what do you remember (if anything) from the past year’s wanderings around the western side of Ewing Township?
January: Who was the wonderful guest columnist? And, 50 years ago, what occupied the empty lot currently across Bear Tavern Road from Al’s Airport Inn?
February: Perhaps the first settler in Ewing was a gentleman from Yorkshire, England, Thomas Hutchinson by name, who was given 2,500 acres of land, which stretched along a portion of the Delaware River. His tract of land was surveyed in 1687 — the first in the area. What was the name of this tract of land?
March: The construction of the Trenton Junction Railroad Station in 1882, at the juncture of the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad to the Delaware and Bound Brook Railroad, was the stimulus for the development of the first suburban residential development in Ewing. What was the name of that development?
April: Two men were responsible for the residential development on either side of Grand Avenue in present-day West Trenton. Can you name one or both of them? (Hint: there are streets in the area named after them.)
May: What was the name of the hamlet at the end of Wilburtha Road near the canal in the early to mid-1800s? (Hint: It took its name from one of the families quarrying the land along the canal.)
June: A historic home in Wilburtha known as Hill’s Hollow was once the home of this family, which operated a quarry along the canal.
July: What is the name of one of the loveliest “cheerleaders” for West Trenton, whose memories of growing up in Wilburtha was the subject of July’s column?
August: What was the original name of the railroad that had tracks along the D&R Canal?
September: James Brook owned a piece of property in this section of Ewing; it was also known as “Asylum Station.”
October: The “NJ State Lunatic Asylum” (aka, Trenton Psychiatric Hospital) was founded by this social reformer. The Brookville School later changed its name to honor this crusader for the moral treatment of the mentally ill.
November: “Oaklands” is the name of the estate built by these brothers in the opening years of the 19th century. Who are they?
December: What opened in 1898 on the grounds of the property formerly known as Oaklands?
How did you do? Don’t worry — no one is keeping score!
In 2017, I intend to continue to explore the different crossroads and areas of Ewing. As always, I welcome your suggestions and reflections! Please contact me at ewingthenandnow@gmail.com if you have a suggestion for a topic to explore, or a reminiscence you’d like to share. (But be patient — I don’t always remember to check that email!)
I hope that 2017 is a great year for Ewing, and all of you.
ANSWERS:
January: Dale Perry; West Trenton Fire HouseFebruary: Hutchinson’s ManorMarch: AlturaApril: Charles Walker and George HowellMay: GreensburgJune: The DeGrave FamilyJuly: Grace StarrettAugust: Belvidere and Delaware Railroad CompanySeptember: BrookvilleOctober: Dorothea DixNovember: George and Aaron WoodruffDecember: The Trenton Country Club
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