Milford chronicle., 1931-02-06
Of D. J. Long, 81
Years Old, AS Dictated to
His Nephew Contain Some
Interesting Facts.

church on the land of ZenO Long
near where the old church stood
This building was 80 by 40 and
built at a cost of $l5000O and was
lighted with tallow candles; two
brass candle sticks in the pulpit
and three on each side and two in
the back of the building. The old
Church being dismantled and sold.
The new church was used until
1884 when they built another new
church in Selbyville. | purchased
the second church after it was dis
mantled and still have one Of the
brass candle sticks in my posses
sion. My mind runs back to the
time when l used to go to the night
meetings, and see some of the old
ladies light their clay pipes from the
candles before leaving the church
for their homes. How times do
change. If you travel around you
will see the young girls drinking
champagne and smoking their ciga-
rcttcs, and how it plcascs the devil
to sec such work.
The third church built in Sclby-
Vile was Il building 80 by 45 start
cd in 1883, and was dedicated in
1884 at a cost of about 100000, and
had a kerosene oil lighting system
in a form of a chandelier. The
church was in use for about twenty
five years for worship. when the
new stone church was built and the
old church converted into a town
hall and public school until destroy
cd by fire.
The new Salem NJ. Il. Church built
in Selbyville was q gray stone
building with electric lighting sys-
tenn costing about $20,00000. During
the life of the Salem Church it has
turned out three ministers-Rev
George A. Campbell, Rev. w. L. S.
Murray, who was a schoolmate of
mine and Rev. Joshua McCabe.
My BOyhOOd School Days
Beginning school i'm the year of
1852 | lived in a district known as
"Thc Swamp" district, with 4 radius
of six miles, with a small school
house 16 by 20 feet i'm its center,
with four windows and door in
the end. 1t was furnished inside with
Il good burning stove and two
boards, twelve or fourteen feet long, !
made fast to the side of the build /
ing for writing desks, with benches
for seats. There were two smaller I,
desks and bench for the smaller
children The girls occupied the
right side of the building and the
boys the left. The girls with their
homemade COW hide shoes and lin !
sey dresses nearly dragging the
ground, made from home spun yarn
dyed with moss, to give it a dark
brown color. And the boys dressed !
in their fustain coat and pants and /
cow hide knee boots. Our studies /.
were spelling, reading, arithmetic
and writing. Our writing books was
twelve sheets of fools cap paper,
and a goose quill for a pen. Our :
term of school only lasted three
of the year, January, Febru-
airy and March. Our population in
creased to such an extent it was
to divide the district; !
eventually making the one district
into four. And at the present time
they have all been consolidated into
a graded school built in Selbyville
at Il cost of $1O,0O0OO, equipped
with a ianitor. If you step in now
you will see the girls with their
knee dresses and silk stockings and
patent leather shoes. The boys or
young men you will see dressed in
their knee-breeChcS and flashing
cOlorcd stockings and bare headed.
What change in a mans life time.
When | started there were only 25
or 80 scholars and they had TO walk
to school. But at the present time
there are two hundred and fifty or
more and they have three large
transportation busscs to carry the
scholars to and from the school.
The Lumber Business
The lumber business was started
lt~Sandy Branch in the year of 1900
by ZcnO Long and Isaiah Long, his
cousin They built dam across
he branch to give them water pow
,r to operate their saw and grist
Mills; that was in operation for
lbOut one hundred years before it
went down.
The first saw mill operated by
steam started in 1874 in Selbyvillc
vas owned by Parker and Jarman.
rhey sold out to d. J. Long, Levin
]. Holloway, and G. S. Hamln. In
I short time Hamlin sold out to
long and Holloway. In 1880 they
bought a tract of timber and moved
he mill TO the tract and quit house
and went in the lum-
,er business.
In 1888 w. r. McCabe bought a >
mill and started the lumber bust
less in Selbyville. He later sold out
o Joseph McNeal and D. J. Long, ]
md later McNeal sold his interest
,ut to d. w. Campbell. Some years
ater the mill was sold to w. r. {
'ubbs and later was destroyed by ,
ire. I
Then John G. Townsend, Jr.. |
tarted his plant; a saw mill and 5
umber yard, and at the present
ime it is worth $1,000,000.00 About {
light years ago d. w. Long and Son '
tarted their plant in Selbyville, ]
yorth about $5O,000.00 c
l have heard my father say when a
e owned the water-pOwered mill s
nd wanted to sell thousand feet a
lumber, he had to find a market e
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