What can you tell me about Vauxhall? archived

Hi all, I moved to Maplewood about 6 months ago and I'm loving this message board. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me anything about Vauxhall and its history. I've lived in the area for several years, less than a half hour away, yet I had never heard of Vauxhall until I moved here and went to Home Depot. Does it have a history of its own? There doesn't seem to be much of a town or a distinct community there, yet it is clearly distinct enough from Union to have its own zip code. I've done some research and very little comes up about Vauxhall. I can see eyes glazing over when I ask about it, but the lack of available information just makes me fixate on it even more. Anyone know anything?

It may be mere happenstance that it has its own zip code (and resulting name).

The difference now is maintained by I-78, which separates Vauxhall from the rest of Union. I think that road was constructed in the 1970's.

I think that it was once called Libertyville, and it may have been a settlement of freedmen in the 19th century. I have no documentation for this, but I remember reading it somewhere.

Check out some of the books of John Cunningham, who has written extensively on New Jersey history.

I will definitely look into John Cunningham. Thanks Tom and Lizziecat. I've been curious about this since I started looking at houses in this area.

hmm -- not much out there:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Vauxhall is an unincorporated area within Union Township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. Vauxhall borders Millburn and Maplewood. The area is served as United States Postal Service ZIP Code 07088.

As of the United States 2000 Census, the population for ZIP Code Tabulation Area 07088 was 3,411.

You see? That's all I could find.

well Keeva -- you have yourself a research project! Must be a Union historical society...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amalya_Lyle_Kearse

Vauxhall born, famous bridge player and judge.

Famous battle during the American Revolution fought there. See landmark marker on Vauxhall Road before Millburn Ave.

I have a colleague who can probably tell us more. I'm emailing him.

Posted By: msgFamous battle during the American Revolution fought there. See landmark marker on Vauxhall Road before Millburn Ave.

That marker notes an incident in the Battle of Springfield, when the British troops encountered American forces in this area, with the major action taking place along Morris Avenue. There's a church near the intersection of Morris and Springfield Avenues, with a monument to that battle. Behind the Foodtown there, is a small cemetery where a couple of the Americans who died in that battle are buried.

Basically, for two winters the Continental Army used the cover of "South Mountain" (our hills which are topped by the South Mountain Reservation), as protection from the British troops in New York. Because of the mountain, there was only a narrow passage through to where the Americans were encamped, which could be protected with small bands of soldiers.

Bottom line - we're the U.S.A. today because of the hill on the west side of Maplewood and South Orange.

The beautiful Greek revival mansion on Valley Street in Maplewood next to the old Mill building is known as Vaux Hall House. I thought I remembered hearing that the Vauxhall section of Union took it's name from the old estate that the house was on. I believe that Vauxhall Road was so named because the terminus of the road used to be the Vaux Hall estate.

I believe that the first use of the name"Vaux Hall" (taken from a British antecedent) was as the name of the Pierson family home on our own Valley Street, which gave its name to a wider area and, obviously, Vauxhall Rd. This was before the existence of the municipalities of Irvington,Maplewood, Millburn, Summit, or even Union County, which seceded from Essex County around 1856 to be the last county formed in the state. I'm sorry I haven't looked up the exact dates of a lot of this history, but I'm sure you can Google it all.
There may not have even been a municipality of South Orange yet, although there was certainly a settlement. I think Springfield Avenue wasn't laid out until about 1806, and Millburn Avenue didn't go east of its junction with Vauxhall and Ridgewood Rd. yet either. The only municipalities pretty much due west of Newark were Clinton (the nucleus of which became Irvington, but which included parts of the later Maplwood up to Valley St. or maybe the river), Orange,Springfield, and maybe Union. In 1856, the line between South Orange Township (which was later renamed Maplewood) and Union Township became the new county line in that area, and Millburn was formed because Springfield Township was divided between the two counties mostly along Morris Turnpike (I think a colonial, or at least very early road).

My guess is, although there could have been a minuscule crossroads settlement somewhere in what we know as Vauxhall, it really didn't start to get built up much until street cars, if they even went that far (I know they went down Millburn Avenue). My guess is that there was no real community until at least the 1890's, possibly not until WWI. I'm pretty sure it got its own post office designation because it was so far from the community of Union proper, centered around Morris and Stuyvesant, which was never a railroad suburb, so it developed later as a streetcar suburb itself and wasn't a sizable town until the 20's. The area between Vauxhall and Union Center didn't completely get built up until the 30's to 50's.
A separate P.O. may even be due to a suburban postal route that went by way of Maplewood as opposed to a different route that went to Union Center.

Vauxhall has been over 90% black at least since 1950. I always though it was a great loss to our country that Amalya Kearse was never appointed to the Supreme Court, especially considering some of the !@#$%^&*()_'s who have been appointed in the last 20 or so years. I have read that, although she was from Vauxhall, she graduated from our own Columbia. Does anyone know the full story?

I don't think I made it clear I was referring to Union Center when I said "it was never a railroad suburb." And there was a Vauxhall P.O. designation decades before the existence of Zip Codes, just as the separate P.O. for Short Hills goes back to the early days of the suburb around 1870 (planned by Stewart Hartshorn, the inventor of the roller window shade).

And I meant Union Center didn't develop much until the 1920's.

To further nohero's comments, The Battle of Springfield in the Spring of 1780 was a a crucial victory for the colonials led by General Nathanial Greene against the Hessian General von Knyphausen. The Hessians marched from Elizabethtown up Morris turnpike to Connecticut Farms. The call went out to the local militia for help. Many went from our area including Reverend Pierson and helped in the two prong attack by the Hessians. Morris Ave and Vauxhall Rd were the 2 points where the clash took place. The Hessians torched most of Union on their retreat including Reverend Caldwell's church on Morris ave in Springfield. Reverend Caldwell's wife Hannah had recently been killed during the fighting. Am interesting anecdote is told about Reverend Caldwell. The colonials were running out of paper for the wadding of their muskets and as they passed the church (before it was torched) the Reverend ran out of the church with copies of the popular hymnal by Watts in use at that time. Supposedly he distributed the hymnals to the troops and militia and yelled, "Give 'em Watts, boys, give 'em Watts."

Thanks for all this great information. I've done some hunting on Amazon for John Cunningham and it looks like there are a few books I may ask Words to order for me. Also noticed he has written several of the Images of America books (mainly the ones about morris county towns). This area is so rich in history I knew there had to be more of a background to Vauxhall than I was able to dig up.

The Presbyterian church at the intersection of Morris Avenue and Mountain Avenue in Springfield was rebuilt after the battle and still stands. The Singer real estate office at Morris and Meisel Avenues still has a British cannonball embedded in the siding as a souvenir of the battle.

The American militia engaged one of the British columns at the location of the current bridge on VauxHall Road and Millburn Avenue. The British eventually crossed the river and marched down what is now Millburn Avenue to Springfield.

Local lore is that George Washington watched the battle from what is now called Washington Rock in the reservation and that he stayed with his wife's relatives at the Ball house on Ridgewood Road in Maplewood.

Vaux, the partner of Olmstead, who designed Central Park and South Mountain Reservation, set up Vauxhall as (one of) the first planned community in the nation... remarkable but true. He was a brilliant man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvert_Vaux

South Mountain Reservation was designed by the Olmstead Firm. By the time SMR was designed and built Fredrick Law Olmstead was no longer alive.

Marylago -- Either you are misinformed or this is a great, subtle, late April Fool's joke. Vauxhall (N.J.) doesn't appear to be planned, and Vaux had no connection that I can see with it. One of the earliest and most famous planned suburbs, however, was Riverside, IL by Olmstead and Vaux. In some ways the first planned suburb in America was Llewelyn Park in West Orange that was so influential that it probably had some influence on O. and V.'s slightly later Central Park.

Vaux was British, and the name comes originally from France, as in the famous chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte. Vauxhall Gardens (maybe named for an earlier house??) was a famous pleasure garden in London on the south bank of the Thames. There seems to have even been a play written about it. Lasting over a hundred years, it was eventually built over and is a close-in London neighborhood. The name of Vauxhall is so well known in England that it was appropriated as the leading brand of the British division of Ford Motor Co. Maybe they were after the name's association with "pleasure."

Isn't it great, though,that so many of us are curious about history?

Great name for your next dog, cat or goldfish.

Amalya Kearse did indeed graduate from Columbia High School and is in the CHS Hall of Fame.

Vauxhall is GM not Ford. That is badge Opel's wear in UK.

Ulp. You're right. I remembered it was British, but I had Ford on the brain because my dad was in charge of dealing with the U.K. Ford advertising in part of the 50's and 60's at J. Walter Thompson in NYC.

Dear Keeva:

The reason why you are not finding much on Vauxhall is that around the turn of the century it was still called Hilton Heights, New Jersey.

Although still not much is to be found it might be a bit easier to find it now. See the history of the First Baptist Church there which was the first Church built in that area. From what I was able to find it seems that Hilton Heights originally started as one of the areas of residence for the african american workers of the area. It was basically a baptist community that just grew and grew.

Excerpt form the websites History:
http://www.americantowns.com/nj/vauxhall/organization/first-baptist-church-of-vauxhall
History:
In 1906, in what was known as Hilton Heights, New Jersey, (now Vauxhall, New Jersey), a group of people assembled at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Noan Wellman for a prayer meeting. After many such meetings a mission was started. During this time a strong desire had developed for a united Christian effort to meet the spiritual needs of the growing community. Accordingly, on July 8, 1907, members of the Mission met to consider the possibility of establishing a church. The Mission was recognized by the Baptist Association, and became known as the Union Baptist Church.

Immediately, plans were made for building a church. Through contributions, donations and fund raising programs the task was accomplished and the building was completed in 1908.

On July 16,1908, the church held it’s first service in it’s new edifice located on Oswald Place in Hilton Heights, New Jersey. The church congregation became such a unified group, trusting and doing the work of the Lord, that their unification began attracting many others.

By 1913, with the rapid development of the community and the steady increase of membership, it became apparent to the trustees that at the rate the church was growing, it would be necessary to expand the quarters to accommodate the congregation. This led to the purchase of additional properties. A new church was erected in 1920 and the church cornerstone laid in 1921. Much progress was made during the following years.

In 1948, the name of the church – Union Baptist Church – was changed to that of First Baptist Church, Vauxhall, New Jersey.

On August 27,1979, construction began on a new church edifice which was completed in August, 1980. On Sunday, April 26, 1981 the cornerstone laying service was held.

God has brought us from hardship to hallelujah and as we continue to move in His future, may we ever be true to our calling and mindful of our mission, whereby many will see the church as a place where they can be refreshed in spirit, relieved from pain, released from bondage, and redeemed from sin. To God Be The Glory!

Posted By: marylagoVaux, the partner of Olmstead, who designed Central Park and South Mountain Reservation, set up Vauxhall as (one of) the first planned community in the nation... remarkable but true. He was a brilliant man.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calvert_Vaux

actually this was one of the first http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levittown,_New_York
Levittown gets its name from its builder, the firm of Levitt & Sons, Inc., which built it as a planned community between 1947 and 1951. Levittown was the first truly mass-produced suburb and is widely regarded as the archetype for postwar suburbs throughout the country.

LP though is thought to be the first gated community in nj
Llewellyn Park is thought to be the country's first planned gated residential community, and the site of the first large-scale naturalization of crocus, narcissus, and jonquils. The landscaping is in the 19th century romantic style of New York's Central Park, and includes winding paths, and rare ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llewellyn_Park

Bajou thanks. You're right, there is not a ton out there on Hilton Heights. Lots, though, on some Hilton in Hasbrouck Heights. I'm so grateful for all these tips. I know so much more now about this elusive topic.

I'm loving MOL, BTW. Becoming a total addict.

bajou -- Thank you for your sleuthing that uncovered the "Hilton Heights" name. However, none of us (me included) has uncovered any real solid evidence about the chronology or the common usage of names. I have found that church groups and other amateurs (like most of us) repeat what we have found on the internet and other secondary (and tertiary and even further removed sources.) Too,a lot of times error creeps in and gets repeated and magnified, or the context becomes murky. What we need are authentic historic maps or official documents or believable news accounts or memoirs.

Obviously, the area in question was never an independent municipality, and has always been in the colonial Elizabethtown or the later Union Township (with possibly a short sojourn as part of Springfield -- I haven't checked). Hilton Heights could have been just the name that a certain subdivision (housing development) was registered under or advertised as. Or it could have been a commonly agreed upon name for the whole area. Or it could have been an actual Post Office address, as Vauxhall is now. P.O.'s have been known to change over time, as have generally agreed upon community names. Hilton Heights does make sense, as it is certainly a continuation of our own Hilton. But the histories I have seen show that "Hilton" itself is at least the third different name applied to the same community. I wish I could believe a church history of the neighborhood, but experience tells me it can't be considered authoritative.

I don't live in the area anymore, but I would be curious to know the results of anyone's further sleuthing into "Vauxhall" versus`"Hilton Heights."










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justtheaunt -- You are right that Levittown was the seminal "mass-produced" suburb in the U.S. (and there are two more Levittowns outside of Philly, one in Bucks County and one outside of Camden, which has reverted to its original name of Willingboro). But by most definitions it was a Johnny-come-lately as a planned suburb (about 95 years late) and even later as a location of suburban commuters from discrete towns using mass transit to cities (about 115 for trains and maybe 135 or more years for ferry commuting).

The information I have is a little conflicting as to when certain communties were actually laid out (the physical planning that arose from a philosophical idea about how to create an ideal community far from the city). Some dates I have seen apply more to land acquisition or incorporation of a development company, or incorporation of a municipality, if that is the case. What seems clear is that the first three planned suburbs were probably Glendale, Ohio (outside of Cincinnatti), our neighbor Llewelyn Park, and Lake Forest north of Chicago. All were developed in the 1850's, with Glendale possibly as early as 1851 (I really hate, hate, hate to cede first place from L.P. in W.O.). Others followed, including Riverside, Ill. by Olmsted and Vaux around 1869 and Short Hills (the actual development was officially called "Short Hills Park") around 1874.

I have seen Glendale -- it is charming, like a small version of L.P., but not gated. All the Midwestern suburbs I referred to
were planned to have their own commercial areas centered around the train station. And as they were laid out on land that was pretty much a blank slate without sizeable existing centers (and with the help of much different and easier incorporation laws in the midwest and most of the U.S.) they were all from early on independent, incorporated municipalities. I don't know if the tiny commercial area opposite the Short Hills train station was originally envisioned by Stewart Hartshorn, but it is clear that Short Hills and Llewelyn Park were meant to be dependent on commercial districts (and in L.P.'s case train stations) in, respectively, Millburn and Orange and West Orange.

I dont' know about the development of actual early houses in the midwestern towns, but here in N.J. both Llewelyn Haskell and Stewart Hartshorn did provide some of the early houses, using or recommending a single architect throughout each development.

And then, of course, there is the Montrose Park subdivision, but it is really more of a neighborhood than a town or community of the the examples above.

By the end of the 1920's, 120 or so years after the start of suburban commuting in the U.S., there were hundreds of planned suburban and resort towns in existence in all corners of the country.