Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-04-27
WHEN OXEN PULLED
D.. & v. TRAINS
Old Summit Resident Tells Y
M. c. A. Diners of His
Grandfather's Time.
Lspeclal to the Evening star.1

SUMMIT, April 27.-Incidents in the
early history of this section We're re-
lated by Jonathan Bonnet, honor
guest at the final banquet for the
season by the Young Mems Christian
Association athletic department in
Association Hall Saturday night.
Mr.. Bonnet, who is about eighty
five years old, told how his grand
father, Nathan Bonnet, In 1885, when
all of this section and west as far as
what is now Chatham, was known as
hometown, entered into an agree
ment with two other men to buy the
entire territory. Tho two others
backed out of the agreement, but Mr..
Bonnell went it alone and acquired
the land A little later he purchased
the right of way between Chatham
and Orange for the present Lacka-
wanna railroad, which was completed
through here in 1889.
Mr.. Bonnet related how he had rid
den his grandfather's horses in his
boyhood in assisting the trains up the
grade from Millburn, then Rum
Brook, to Hometown, now Chatham
Oxen also owned by his grandfather
We're used at that time for motive
power for the Morris and Essex
trains.
Tine depot in this place in those
days, Mr.. Bonnet told the diners. con-
sisted Of the porch on the Littell gen.
eral store, then located where
Decker & Bros grocery is now To-
Gated in Maple street. To secure
water for the wood burning boilers, a
well twelve feet wide and thirty-five
feet deep was dug near what is now
Union place and Maple street. To get
the water from this we'll into the
engine boiler the engine was chained
fast to the railway and the water was
pumped by the engine from the well.
Another interesting fact made
known by Mr.. Bonnet was that part
of the foundation on which the Wom-
ans Institute now stands in Maple
street formed the foundation for a
thirty concrete hotel, which
was built in 1857 and destroyed by
fire in 1861.
1t was this hotel which at hat time
was considered one of the most
luxuriously equipped and modern
hostelries in this section of the coun-
try that drew the few wealthy men
here, who eventually laid out and
started this place on its way to The
present attractive and thriving COM
munity.
Chester n. Jones. whose ancestors
were early settlers in this section.
presented a copy of an original deed
showing that this place was UP TO
1724 a part of Elizabethtown. which
owned all the lands west to PeaDack.
taking in Whippany, and to the
north from EliZabethtown to Orange.
For this territory Elizabethtown paid
to the Indians fifty pounds in money.
ten pairs of double blankets, half
barrel of wine, one keg of rum, one
dozen jugs of rum. twelve shovels,
six cutlasses. six picks. ten basins,
two dozen single blankets and similar
articles. New Providence. then
known as Turkey. and Springfield, a
part of which was this place, were
the first to break away from Eliz-
abethtown in 1885. Later this place
became separated and was incor-
porated as township in 1869.
At the banquet were thirty five
members of the association, and the
"reminiscences of Mr.. Bonnet and
ancient data presented by Mr. Bonnet
which were not listed on the eve
nings proved sufficient to make the
dinuner doubtless the most interest
ing and happy Of the social gather
ings held by the men of the assoc
citation.