Annandale, New Jersey History
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Beaver
Brook Homestead
Beaver Brook Farm 1916 Published by Roy Suttor Beaver Brook Homestead during Roy Barton White years c. 1934-1941 Side of Beaver Brook Homestead, R.B. White years Beaver Brook Barn, R.B. White years
Christa Schnell's mother Elli in 1936.
Christa Schnell visited Annandale in 1951. Here she is under the farm sign which Christian Schnell made. Christa Schnell's Memories of Beaver Brook Farm (Word Doc)
Dairy Barn Beaver Brook Homestead during Clinton Township's ownership Auction brochure for Beaver Brook Homestead September 7th, 2007Click
brochure pages above for larger images Link - Beaver Brook Non-Condemnation Redevelopment Plan - Dec. 21, 2015 Link - Beaver Brook Area in Need of Redevelopment Study - Nov. 2, 2015 Beaver Brook was originally developed around 1760 when Thomas Jones bought the farm from the West Jersey Society, a real estate group that sold land to settlers. During the Revolution, Mr. Jones served as a captain in the Hunterdon County Militia of the Continental Army. Local legend credits him with helping to round up the boats George Washington used to cross the Delaware in 1776. The last working farmer to own the property was John Cregar (Creager), one of the township's founding fathers, who called the property "Homestead Farm." New York stockbroker William Savin purchased the farm in 1906 as a weekend vacation home. He remolded the main house giving it it's current look and footprint and built a tenant house for his farm manager. Savin named the farm "Beaver Brook Farm." In 1933 Savin sold it to Roy B. White, President of the Central Railroad of New Jersey in 1926 and the one-time chairman of Western Union from 1933-1941. Much of the color scheme and wallpaper remain. White sold the property to Richard and Isabel Austin in 1941. Austin was a Montclair, NJ engineer who became familiar with the Annandale area in 1928 when his firm consulted on the design of the proposed overpass and interchange for the highways now known as Routes 22 and 31. The small portion of the property wiith all the historic buildings was purchased by Clinton Township in 1989. It's two former names were combined to become Beaver Brook Homestead. In September 2007, Clinton Township sold Beaver Brook to an Engineering firm. A previous attemp by the township to sell Beaver Brook yielded no bids. The Engineering firm plans a mixed use setting including a restaurant. In addition to the main building the property includes three barns, an ice house and laundry shed. |