Pleasantville weekly press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1890-1911, 1895-05-15
A DAY AT ESTELLE.
Our Reporter Pays q Visit to the
New Settlement. He talks
with some Of the Settlers.

1T was the chance OF lifetime, and
grabbed it, said Mr.. Piper as he starte
to dig out another shovelful of eartl
"rhe chance of my life may have been
little slow in coming, for am now 81
years old, but in all those 65 years
never had as good an opportunity to ge
home" .-ii 1ffffI " fJt tf
Mr.. Piper is one of the residents of Ee
telle, a new settlement in Southern Jei
sey, which bids fair to quickly becom
the centre of highly prosperous agricuI
tural district. He is Massachusetts
man from Milford and since March h
has built a house for himself and cIearet
over 10000 feet of road. Years surel,
sit lightly on him, condition that car
be largely attributed to the easy, yet in
dustrious life he leads, to the climate il
Southern Jersey and to the splendid
water which can be struck there any.
where at IL to 80 feet. This water is
something in the nature of medicine on
a tonic, and every one who goes to Es-
telle, either on a visit or to live, is i'm
pressed with the peculiarly rejuvenating
quality it possesses.
| On New Years Day, 1895, there were
five men at Estelle and no women or
children. To-day the section is dotted
with the residences of happy families
people from all parts of the country who
are thoroughly well pleased with their
new homes; people in search of health;
people in search of wealth; people in
search of a haven Of rest where they can
live a life of peace and contentment and
educate their children to become good
and useful citizens.
| Estelle contains all the elements of
rural greatness. 1t is 45 miles soath of
Philadelphia, on the South Jersey Rail
road, 30 miles north of Cape May, and
almost due west of Atlantic City. The
soil is graveIly loan, good for raising
all sorts of vegetables, fruits, etc. Dur
ing the past six months over 700 farms
averaging from to 10 acres each, have
been sold at Estelle and new families are
moving in every day. The land is rich
in timber, several varieties of oak, pine,
hickory and other trees being in abund-
ance.
Before the fall comes a school house
will be built-the site for it has been Sc
lected-and a church will be erected at
once.
Estelle contains about 10, 900 acres in
Atlantic County, about FIVE miles of
which fronts on the South Jersey rail-
road. The land is gently rolling, ranges
from 70 to 80 feet above the sea level,
and is IA miles from the sea coast.
The citizens held q meeting Thursday
night last and started two petitions
one to the railroad company for an ex-
press and freight office and the other to
the post office department at Washing
ton for post office. Both were literally
signed and it is only question of a few
weeks when both will materialize.
Just at this season Estelle is more than
beautiful, and ones path in any direction
is literally strewn with flowers, the mod
est blue violets predominating.
One of the most enthusiastic residents
of Estelle is Thomas Michael, who came
from Bethlehem, Pa. On his arrival at
Estelle he slept in a box car for week
while he was building his house. That
was four weeks ago. To-day he has his |
house built on Seventh avenue, an acre
of ground cleared around it, flowers
growing and well dug. His wife and
children are with him and happy. Mr..
Michael was a shoemaker in Bethlehem,
but he found his health gradually leav-
ing him and decided to make a change.
He had read a good deal about Estelle,
and after obtaining definite information,
it did not take him long to decide. Now
you couldn't drive him away.
Another man who is as near being con-
tented, and therefore supremely happy,
as it is possible to become on this earth
is Samuel D, Tharp, who owns a five
acre tract on Cumberland avenue. He
was in a wretched state, physically,
when he went to Estelle in the dead Of |
the winter, but with the aid of his
brother he built small hut, in which he |
has lived ever since, and to-day he is |
hardy and strong and well and happy.
He says he didn't have even cold all
winter.
When John F. Wagner arrived at Es-
telle in January he was little more than
a walking skeleton, he could not speak
above a whisper, and to use his words,
81 couldn't exist a day without liverpills
and was good for nothing" To-day
Mr. Wagner's voice is still weak, but he
has gained wonderfully in strength, and
he seys he feels better and better every
day. He also is q Massachusetts man
and carpenter and painter BY trade.
He expects to do little farming and
gardening, but his main attention will
be given to raising poultry and bees.
The place certainly agrees with Mrs.
Wagner, who is picture of overfowing
health. Mr. Wagner is so well pleased
with his surroundings that he has sent
for his mother, who is coming next
month to live with him.