Goodspeed Histories: Rosemont Store and Tavern House
It’s amazing what can be done online these days. Despite being out of town and out of reach of the usual local sources, I have managed to finish up my history of the Rittenhouse Tavern, and for good measure added on a short history of the Rosemont Store, by depending entirely on online records.
The reason for limiting my research is that for the past 2+ weeks I’ve been on Vancouver Island, escaping New Jersey’s ragweed pollen (there is none in Vancouver). Despite the beauty all around us, it was a working vacation, because I knew that once I got home again, work would come to a halt for most of the ragweed season. So here is my last article for the time being—Rosemont Store and Tavern House (https://goodspeedhistories.
My history of these places pretty much stops with the 20th century, which means there is much more to say about both of them. There are folks still around who remember them as they were 50 or more years ago. One example—for many years Willis Carver owned the store, and there was also someone named “Place,” as you can see from this photo.
But there is only so much information one can cram into one article before it gets to be too overwhelming, and I have reached my limit with this one. Anyone who wants to share what they remember of these places is encouraged to add their thoughts to the comments section at the end of the article.
Along with this article I am publishing The Reading Family Tree (https://goodspeedhistories.
Because such important families are connected with Rosemont (Woolvertons, Readings and Rittenhouses, plus many more) I’ve decided to spend some more time on the properties there. During the ragweed hiatus, I’ll be doing some research on these families and their properties.
Lots more to report on today:
A Cemetery Saved
Just down the hill from Rosemont is one of the most historic cemeteries in the county—known as the Howell-Rittenhouse Cemetery in Prallsville. Recently, a celebration took place there (which I was unable to attend, being in Vancouver at the time).
Dave Reading and members of “The Mount Amwell Project” have worked diligently to make it possible for Stockton Borough to take ownership of the cemetery but also to hand over its maintenance to the organization. Like so many private cemeteries in the county, this one was an orphan for many years, unclaimed by anyone, which meant it was left to nature, and nature is not kind to abandoned cemeteries; it quickly buries them (so to speak). Here’s the article on NJ.com: Historic Howell graveyard (https://www.nj.com/hunterdon-
Congratulations to Stockton and to The Mount Amwell Project and to all the descendants of the Howells, Rittenhouses, Cavanaghs, Dalrymples, and Wrights who are buried there. For some history of these people see Rittenhouse Cemetery, parts one (https://goodspeedhistories.
Watersheds and Waterworks
Water is the organizing principle for this year’s history talks for the Hunterdon 300th, and on Tuesday, September 4th, Marilyn Cummings will give a talk on mapping the watersheds, creeks and brooks of the county. She will also discuss how early settlers made use of these water features, building bridges, mills, ferries and canals, and for good measure, the early roads that led to them. The talk, which is free, takes place at the Hunterdon County Library at 7:00 p.m. You can order a ticket here: Watershed Begat Waterworks (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/
And finally, here’s a bit of good news to Bucks County and Hunterdon researchers: 300 years of Bucks County Records (http://www2.philly.com/