The Story of Towaco
Hat tip to Christina Renfer and Terry Cavanaugh
A TOWACO RESIDENT GAVE THIS WRITING TO ME AS A MATTER OF INTEREST. AT THE NOVEMBER 21st TCA MEETING, MEMBER DAVE VIRKLER READ THE NARRATIVE TO THE MEMBERSHIP AND CAPTIVATED THEIR INTEREST. WHEN READING, PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1951 AND THE REFERENCES ARE OF THAT TIME. TRY TO IDENTIFY THE PRESENT DAY LOCATIONS.
THANK YOU – CHRISTINA RENFER
We think this was written by Mrs. Walter Read (Gertrude) circ 1951. She lived on the hill behind the post office.
THE STORY OF TOWACO
Long ago, about one hundred years ago, a large part of Montville Township lay under water. This water was left by a big ice sheet or glacier, which had covered much of North America and moved south leaving melted ice or water behind it in the hollows. All Peace Valley was a big lake called "Lake Passaic" and parts of Hook Mountain Range which now lie up above Pine Brook Road were islands standing up out of the water.
Gradually the lake found a way out near Great Notch into an old riverbed through which it poured and went on over the Great Falls of Paterson to the ocean. But the lake left behind a fairly big stream of water, which is now the Passaic River. And every year in times of heavy rain Peace Valley tries to go back to being a lake.
Because our valley was fertile and lovely with rich earth and fine hunting any Indians came to make their home here. They found many clear springs from which to drink and they found good shelter and protection for their homes among the hills and giant rocks hereabouts. They called this place "Taiwaughaugh" which meant in their language "The land of the Foothills" and out modern name of "Towaco" is the way we try to pronounce and spell their Indian name. Up until at least 1736 we have records of the town being called "Waughaw".
We know that Indians lived here because in the spring when farmers plow their land they still turn up arrowheads, pieces of flint queer shaped pieces of stone with were once hammer heads and sometimes even the head of a tomahawk. From this valley a trail led over the mountain toward what is now Lincoln Park, across a plateau which reaches to a ledge of rock overlooking one of the most beautiful views in the whole State of New Jersey. Here the signal fires of the Indians were set to call the tribes to the Peace Meadow lying one hundred or more feet below. On this plateau, not far from the trail, stands up straight, tall and alone a huge rock which was a lookout for the redskins who gathered around it. Here, Too, relics of the past are found & the giant stone is called "Indian Rock" today.
Under the ledge another trail led toward Lincoln Park and along this trail deep caves are cut into the straight side of the ledge. In these caves have been found many quaint pieces of baked clay which no doubt served as cooking utensils. Out the side of the mountain gushed a clear stream of water, a spring which is enjoyed by us today as it was enjoyed then by the Indians. Above the spring where we sometimes picnic nowadays, the Indians once had a camping ground. This we know, too, because of the Indian relics found there.
When Dutch people came to America in 1614 they began to look for homes. Many families settled hereabouts in 1700 and this land was part of New Netherlands, later called New Jersey after the English Channel Island of Jersey. Some of the old Dutch houses in our neighborhood were built way back in 1724.
New Jersey, which was one of the thirteen original States, at the time of the American Revolution had nearly a hundred battles fought on its soil. Today it is known as "The Pathway of the Revolution" and Towaco itself lay in the pathway of General George Washington's revolutionary campaign. At that time Towaco was part of a so-called "Boonton Tract" which belonged to Colonel Samuel Ogden who was many times visited here by General Washington when his army camped around Morristown. Between 1766 and 1800 this land was sold be the Ogdens to ancestors of our present townsmen. Here sprung up a little town when the Van Duyne, Bott, Jacobus, Van Ness & Vreeland families have lived for generations.
In 1738 Morris County had been formed and in 1867 Montville Township, which had been a part of Pequannock Township, separated from Pequannock and became a township of its own. Our town, which of course lies in both Morris County and Montville Township, was at first called "Whitehall" because in its center was a store kept by a man who had painted it white together with his house and two or three other buildings. All these white buildings were a landmark to the surrounding countryside.
Many years later when the railroad came through, our town, although it had so few people, had two names: "Whitehall" which was the name of the railroad station, and "Glenview", the name of the post office. It was our Senator David Young's grandfather (he was the first David Young and also an Assemblyman) who was largely responsible for these two names being dropped in favor of the one very fitting name of "Towaco" or "Land of the Foothills".
For a long time there was a road across the tracks connecting Waughaw or School Road with Whitehall Road on the other side called Main Road. There were gates at the track kept by a gatekeeper who lived in the Waughaw corner house where there is now a small manufacturing plant. All of the important buildings in town were on the other side of the tracks from where we now have our stores and post office, probably because of the busy Morris Canal which for nearly one hundred years was in use and ran behind the Whitehall Church directly east & West through town. Whitehall Church was one of the earliest buildings here, having been built in 1851 (but Montville Reformed Church is 100 years older!).
MORRIS CANAL:
As for the Morris Canal itself, it was organized in 1824 and opened up about 1828. Its purpose was to carry coal from Pennsylvania mines…. from the Delaware River via Lake Hopatcong….to the iron industries here in New Jersey. The iron was then carried by the same canal down to Newark and the sea. The canal was very busy indeed until the end of the Civil War when the railroads proved faster transportation. Because Lake Hopatcong has a high elevation of 900 feet above sea level, the canal had a number of planes and locks to raise its levels and one of these planes was situated at Towaco, and other in Boonton. By 1880 the canal had fallen out of use commercially and in 1900 the government, finding its many uncared for dams and bridges were a source of danger, closed the Morris Canal and tore down these structures, a job which cost two million dollars! But the canal itself was used for many more years with pleasure by Towaco people who liked boating and swimming and in the early part of the century Towaco was popular as a summer resort.
SCHOOLS:
Towaco or Whitehall, as it was first called, like other early communities had a crude school supported by the tuition of the pupils….8 to 10 shillings per head….and the teacher boarded around. The pupils sat on benches, used quill pens and had no playgrounds except for the road. The school house had an open fireplace for which the wood was furnished by the families whose children attended, the amount of wood depending on the number of children.
The first building used for a school was of stone and stood at the corner of the roads a few hundred yards north of Whitehall Church. The second school was built about 1830 at a point about a mile northwest of the first. (These we know of, but there is one record of a log school house in use as early as 1787 which was reported to have stood where now Pine Brook Road joins Whitehall.
The 1830 school house was used until 1873 when a more central school was built, probably the one-room white frame school house which stood close to the road in front of the present Towaco School. Later in our own century, this little school house, where eight grades were taught by one teacher, was sold & moved and turned into an amusement hall where there were movies on Saturday night. Later still this became a residence and is the house, next door to our present school, where Mr. And Mrs. George Read now live. There is also record of another school farther up Waughaw Road where it turns to the right to go over to Jacksonville Road. No wonder we call this "School Road".
For some years around 1920, Mrs. Walter Read, assisted by a staff of three teachers who were Mrs. F.W. Van Duyne, Mrs. Frank Robertson and Elsie Van Duyne, conducted a private school on Indian Hill where Mrs. Read is now living. This was the "Spencer School for Little Girls" where the children were taught dancing and French as well as the usual school subjects from kindergarten through the third grade.
Another public school at this time was the Linwood School on the Main road, a two-room grade school which, when it was condemned in 1938, was purchased by the Montville Township Committee, was modernized, and is now the present Township Hall.
Towaco Parent-Teacher Association was formed in 1921 at a meeting held "under a tree". Today it helps with all school activities; it gives party programs for the children and educational programs for the parents.
LIBRARY:
Montville Township Library was incorporated as Towaco Public Library in 1923 and was situated at the corner of Two Bridges Road and the Old County Road. Here the first Story Hour program was arranged by Mrs. Walter Read. Not long after its opening, the Library's building along with a large stack of books was destroyed by fire. However, the Library got together a new supply of books and started over again in a room, in our present Towaco School, which had it's two upper rooms finished in 1922. Here the Library remained until 1927 when it moved to its present place. At first the Library was entirely supported by membership subscriptions but now Montville Township Committee each year grants our Library a sum of money to help pay its expenses.
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MONTVILLE TOWNHIP:
Since Towaco is a part of Montville Township there are certain interesting things to know about our Township.
It is 4 miles wide and 9 miles long and twice as large as Boonton Township. Our Township is bounded on the north by Kinnelon Borough; on the east by Lincoln Park Borough and the Passaic River, which river separates Morris County from Essex County; on the south by the Rockaway River and East Hanover Township; and on the west by the Rockaway River, Parsippany-Troy Hills Township, Boonton and Boonton Township.
There are 30 miles of local roads taken care of by the County and State gasoline tax. Two State Highways cross the Township, one, Route 46, through Pine Brook, and one, Route 202, running parallel to the Delaware-Lackawanna and Western Railroad which passes centrally from east to west through the Township. There is one County Highway which is Changebridge Road.
The highest points in Montville Township are the Waughaw Mountains and Turkey Mountain in the northeast part and the Hook Mountain Range in the southeast part. The soil is very productive in grass, grain, vegetables and fruit and its farmers supply much milk to the Newark market, as well as butter, eggs, poultry, pork and beef, hay and straw. Fruit orchards of the Montville-Towaco district are an important part of Morris County farming.
There is no public water system or sewage disposal but there is, of course, electricity for all.
The Township Committee system of government, which we have now, began in 1867 when the Township was formed. For more than 30 years there have been three voting districts in Montville Township: Montville, Towaco and Pine Brook, with the seat of government in Montville. Since 1938 the Township Committee has met at the present Township Hall on Main Road, but before that it used to meet in the old brick building (the present Montville Post Office), once a Montville school, opposite the factory at the beginning of the Taylortown Road.
The Township Committee has three members, one of which is Chairman and can be called the Mayor. These members are elected for a three-year term in such a way there one member is chosen each year. There is also a Township Clerk, who is now and has been for many years Mr. James L. Holbrook. Our present Township Committee (1951) is as follows:
Mr. George Van Riper, Chairman
Mr. William C. Twaits, Jr.
Mr. John Gregory
The three members of the Township Committee act also as members of the Board of Health which has a secretary or Board of Health officer, now Mr. Francis Butts. Mr. Butts also serves on the Board of Education.
Towaco is one of three Fire Districts supported by public taxes and its firemen are volunteers. Our present Fire Chief is George Osgood. The firehouse is a two-story stone building on Whitehall Road erected in 1931. At this time the upper floor is divided into two classrooms for use by Towaco School.
There are three Township post offices: Montville, Towaco and Pine Brook.
Montville Township has one school district with three grade schools at present. High school pupils from Towaco are taken to Boonton and some few to Mountain Lakes. The Board of Education meets every month at Montville School and its present list of members is as follows:
Mr. Ernest Hawksworth, President
Mr. John Savercool, Vice President
Mrs. Eleanor Albert
Mr. Archer G. Smock
Mr. E.H. Andrews
Mr. Edward Maier
Mr. Ernest Van Duyne
Mr. John Van Riper
Mr. Francis Butts
When the Board of Education meets, the Supervising Principle is present and also the School District Clerk, now Mr. W. Foster Richards, who is salaried and records the business of the Board of Education.
Towaco has no police force of its own, but with the rest of Montville Township shares in the protection and service of two police officers, a Police Chief and his assistant, who may be reached at the Township Hall. Chief Frank Jackowitz is now in office assisted by Thomas Nelson, Jr.
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Inclosing we might wind up the Towaco Story with a Towaco motto of 1921:
"May all good roads lead to Towaco and no bad roads lead out of it!"
