In 1874-75, Miller had a mansion house built on the property. In at least one case the landowners apparently “saw Miller coming.” John Mack sold the Colonel a part of the estate for $8,800 at a profit of $1,100 over what Mack had paid for it 5 months earlier. The sellers were John Mack and his wife, Rhoda, James Crouter, Jr., Clarissa Allcot and Peter P. Miller lived in Brooklyn at the time he purchased his Mahwah land and paid about $14,000 for it. The sale was both the beginning of an era and an end.Ĭolonel Miller, the inventor of an automatic railroad coupler known as the “Miller Platform”, had assembled his magnificent estate east of the Franklin Turnpike between 18. On December 1, 1908, for the sum of $50,010 the Estate of the late Colonel Ezra Miller, known as Oweno, was sold to George M. Thus the scene is set for the arrival of Cragmere. Jacob Rits in his 1904 book, How the other Half Lives described the foul conditions in the New York tenements and Upton Sinclair in The Jungle did the same for the Chicago tenements. New York City would not adopt its first zoning resolution until 1913.Īnd in 1908, the cities were not the most healthy place to live. Zoning-something every Mahwah resident knows about today–was just a gleam in the eye of some progressive planner. The trolley line from Paterson to Suffern was under construction. In October he pledged another 14 million dollars so the suburban service could be electrified. Harriman was forced to bail the road out with cash because it was not able to meet its notes. The Erie was running regularly, as usual, but as usual, was in financial trouble. Needless to say, Republican Taft beat Bryan by a 211 to 86 plurality in Hohokus Township. “Perhaps the Bryan Managers display such fondness for campaign rainbows because they dream of the traditional pots of gold at their end.” – Ramsey Journal The Ramsey Journal took a non-partisan view with headlines such as, “Clergy endorse Taft” and editorial comments such as “Republican voters will make the ‘peerless one’ without peer in the number of his defeats.” Just to make sure, the Journal was peppered with fillers such as William Howard Taft, the Republican, against William Jennings Bryan. On the national scene, there was a hotly-contested presidential campaign going on. fancy poultry and pigeons, set sail for London to exhibit 24 choice fantail pigeons at the Crystal Palace. Dater, Jr., was 11 years old in 1908 and on October 31, James Glasgow, Sr., who was in charge of the Havemeyer Bros. The Journal asked, “Is it any wonder the road needs repairs?” Richard Wanamaker reported that 155 autos passed his place last Sunday. New macadam was being laid on Franklin Turnpike and the Township Committee was concerned about the damage being done by “fast auto driving.” The Committee opinion was that it would only be a short time before the road would be “ditched and gullied” if autos were not compelled to heed the speed limit. The Ramsey Journal reported little opposition to the project although some people thought that “the road will not be traveled enough to warrant the expense of widening.” A petition was being circulated to widen Miller road to a width of 50 feet. Then, as now, traffic volume and speed were a subject of concern. Some voters at the annual meeting wanted to increase the appropriation. The school board decreed that $4,900 was the total amount to be raised by taxation for school purposes. Clark was president of the school board and Abram Banta was vice president. was the Township’s clerk and James Devine, Jr. Clark, of the American Brakeshoe and Foundry Co. They joined Albert Winter, who was elected chairman for the balance of 1908. Vanderbeck, of Hohokus, as new members of the Township Committee to replace the Ramsey renegades. Governor Fort, in May, appointed Jacob Straut and Charles D. In 1908 Ramsey had just split from Hohokus Township and had become a Borough. The stately stone pillars at the Mahwah Road entrance to Cragmere Park say “Cragmere 1909.” But in the history of Mahwah, Ramsey and Cragmere, the year 1908 is a more interesting one, and it is there, with an occasional flashback, that this history of Cragmere begins.
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