BGuthrie Photos: NJ -- Morristown -- Historic Speedwell

NJ -- Morristown -- Historic Speedwell:

Bruce Guthrie Photos Home Page: [Click here] to go to Bruce Guthrie Photos home page.

Recognize anyone? If you recognize specific folks (or other stuff) and I haven't labeled them, please identify them for the world. Click the little pencil icon

underneath the file name (just above the picture). Spammers need not apply.

Slide Show: Want to see the pictures as a slide show? [Slideshow]

Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

Help? The Medium (Email) links are for screen viewing and emailing. You'll want bigger sizes for printing. [Click here for additional help]

Share: Facebook Twitter Digg
[1] SPEED_090601_001.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[2] SPEED_090601_021.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[3] SPEED_090601_023.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[4] SPEED_090601_026.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[5] SPEED_090601_030.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[6] SPEED_090601_049.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[7] SPEED_090601_052.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[8] SPEED_090601_069.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[9] SPEED_090601_077.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[10] SPEED_090601_081.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[11] SPEED_090601_089.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[12] SPEED_090601_107.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[13] SPEED_090601_127.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[14] SPEED_090601_131.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[15] SPEED_090601_143.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[16] SPEED_090601_146.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[17] SPEED_090601_150.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[18] SPEED_090601_155.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[19] SPEED_090601_178.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[20] SPEED_090601_183.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[21] SPEED_090601_190.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[22] SPEED_090601_194.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[23] SPEED_090601_208.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[24] SPEED_090601_215.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[25] SPEED_090601_218.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[26] SPEED_090601_226.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[27] SPEED_090601_236.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[28] SPEED_090601_238.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[29] SPEED_090601_247.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[30] SPEED_090601_267.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[31] SPEED_090601_292.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[32] SPEED_090601_297.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[33] SPEED_090601_302.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[34] SPEED_090601_310.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[35] SPEED_090601_316.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[36] SPEED_090601_326.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[37] SPEED_090601_328.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[38] SPEED_090601_343.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[39] SPEED_090601_348.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[40] SPEED_090601_355.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[41] SPEED_090601_360.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[42] SPEED_090601_364.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)
[43] SPEED_090601_375.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)	[44] SPEED_090601_377.JPG Medium (Email) (Bigger?)

Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. SPEED_090601_026.JPG: The Factory: Early on a cold day in January 1838, a crowd gathered at Speedwell. Just days before, Alfred Vail and Professor Samuel F.B. Morse moved the equipment for their invention, the electromagnetic telegraph, from a workshop across the street at the Ironworks and installed it in the Factory. On January 11th, one hundred people came to see the demonstrations and the local newspaper announced that "Time and distance are annihilated." Alfred Vail had seen Professor Morse demonstrate his idea for a telegraph at the University of the City of New York (now NYU). Excited by what he saw, Alfred persuaded his father, Stephen Vail, to finance the invention. A contract was signed and Alfred went to work, using all the skills he had learned working for his father at the Ironworks. After months of collaboration, and many modifications, the first message, "A patient waiter is no loser," was sent on January 6, 1838. At the Factory, messages were transmitted using 2 miles of hand insulated wire hung around the building. The Speedwell demonstrations were followed by demonstrations in New York and Philadelphia. In 1844, a successful line was set up between Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. After the successful demonstrations of the telegraph, Stephen Vail continued to use the Factory as part of his business operations. Later generations remembered the important events and preserved the building. By the time the property was set aside as Speedwell Village in 1968, the Factory had deteriorated and a major restoration was undertaken. In 1975, the building was designated a National Historical Landmark. The Factory Building: The Factory was probably built as a mill in 1829 by Stephen Vail's son-in-law, Dayton Canfield. Stephen bought the property and the water rights for $600 with the idea of turning the building into a cotton factory. To increase the water power, he had his workers move the building and set it on a higher elevation. A new flume, waterwheel, and a gear system were added. His plan was to rent the mill to investors from Paterson who would bring as many as 20 looms to set up in the building. At the last minute, the prospective manufacturers backed out. Despite many attempts, no suitable tenant could be found, and for many years the building was under-utilized. In 1837, when Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse needed a room to demonstrate their new invention, the Factory was a logical choice.
2. SPEED_090601_030.JPG: Ford Cottage: The Ford Cottage was built in the early 18th century by Gabriel Ford, Jr., the grandson of Col. Jacob Ford Sr., Ironmaster, tavern owner, and one of Morristown's wealthiest citizens. Jacob Ford Jr., was the builder of the mansion used by Washington as his headquarters during the winter of 1779-1780. The Ford Mansion is now the centerpiece of Morristown National Historical Park. Gabriel Ford, Jr. served in the army and was stationed in Morristown at the time of the winter encampment. After the war, he built a small framed farm house just south of the family mansion. Later in life he went on to become an important citizen, serving as a judge and as one of the original incorporates [sic] of the Morris Aqueduct, Morristown's first public water supply. Like the Ford Mansion, his house survived substantially unaltered until it was moved to the grounds of Historic Speedwell in 1969. Ford Cottage: The Cottage originally stood on the southern slope of the hill just below the Ford Mansion in Morristown. A fine example of the vernacular architecture of the early 1800s, it retains its original configuration with small paned windows and untapered clapboard siding. When the construction of Interstate 287 threatened the house with demolition, local residents purchased it for $25 from the New Jersey Department of Transportation. The building was then moved in two pieces and reassembled at Historic Speedwell.
3. SPEED_090601_089.JPG: Wheel House: [attached building this end] Today, electric power makes it possible to locate factories in convenient places close to transportation. In the early 1800s, Stephen Vail built his ironworks not in the center of town but in a narrow ravine where the Whippany River could be dammed to provide waterpower. At Speedwell, the mechanical innovations fabricated at the ironworks and the invention of the telegraph helped bridge the gap between the age of waterpower and the world of today. Never one to miss an opportunity, Stephen saw that he could harness the power of a nearby stream to create a separate business weaving cotton. He bought the property, revamped an older waterpower system and rebuilt an old mill into what was then a modern factory. To keep his new waterwheel turning during the winter, he added a wheelhouse to help prevent freezing. Although this business plan did not work, the Factory was kept in running order and the waterwheel was replaced in 1848 with the more efficient model that still survives today. In the 1970s, the Wheel House was completely restored and the waterwheel was put back into working condition. The collapsed wheel pit was excavated and the wheel rolled out of the building while new foundations were constructed. The wheel was rebuilt using the original iron parts, replacing only the wooden spokes and sole boards. The upper pond was replaced by a recirculation system to supply the water. This wheel, originally installed in 1848, has been kept in repair and is now the largest in New Jersey still in operation. Since waterwheels require constant maintenance, another restoration project took place in 2005 to replace wooden spokes and sole boards as needed. Water for the Wheel House was supplied by a pond located to the north near where the apartments now stand. A raceway extended from the pond and ended just behind the Homestead Carriage House. Originally, the raceway was connected to the Wheel House by an overhead flume. However, in the 1840s the unsightly flume was replaced with an underground iron pipe. The overflow water from the upper pond filled the lower pond. That water was used to power the pattern makers shop that was once located between the Whippany River and Cory Road. The lower raceway can be seen in the woods east of the path leading to the parking lot. Because the water level in the upper pond is higher than the top of the 24 foot diameter waterwheel, the water system acts like a siphon. Pressure in the penstock, the iron pipe under the lawn, pushes the water up through the standpipe and over the top of the wheel. The water turns the wheel and is then carried away in the tailrace.
4. SPEED_090601_107.JPG: The Homestead Farm: Speedwell was an agricultural unit as well as an industrial one. Although Stephen Vail was a noted ironmaster, his world was firmly based on a centuries old agrarian lifestyle. The Homestead Farm had to be run with the same care and skill as the Ironworks. Carefully managed, the farm provided for most of his family's needs. Stephen purchased the 45-acre Homestead Farm in 1830 from his son-in-law, Dayton I. Canfield, for $2,600 and added another 34 acres in 1836. Wheat, corn, and oats were grown on the farm and large vegetable gardens were laid out just east of the Carriage House. An orchard provided apples, peaches, and cherries. Activity centered around the farmyard, where animals were kept and grain and hay stored. Farm and factory coexisted side by side and Stephen shared his energy between the two. Today, Historic Speedwell preserves the core 7.5 acres of the Vail Estate. The farmland was sold to a development company in 1955 and the two barns burned in the 1960s. The site of the Ironworks across the street at Speedwell Lake is a park. The farmyard is gone, replaced by the historic L'Hommedieu and Estey Houses, moved from the center of Morristown. The Carriage Houses and Granary are the only reminders that this was once a working farm. The Homestead Farm was the working center of the agricultural side of the Vail Estate. There was a cow barn, a stable for horses, and a hay barn to store fodder. A fence between the barns and the pond formed a small compound. Behind the buildings was a greenhouse and a large vegetable garden. The cereal grains grown o the farm were stored in the Granary. Ice from the pond was stored for use in the summer and there was a shed to store firewood for the winter. Two carriage houses held the family's vehicles.
5. SPEED_090601_146.JPG: You can see the flume that would bring up water and pour it over the top of the waterwheel.
6. SPEED_090601_150.JPG: The Granary: In 1830, when Stephen Vail purchased the Homestead Farm, the Granary was among the buildings already on the property. It was used to store corn and cereal grains grown on the farm to feed the livestock. The building was built high off the ground on stone piers to keep out dampness. The clapboard siding was specially designed to allow ventilation. In the front of the building near the door sill is a cat hole for added rodent protection. In the rear, a shed roof addition was used to store farm equipment. The building now contains a collection of 19th century farm tools and ice harvesting equipment. 1849 Carriage House (in back): An inventory of Stephen Vail's property showed that he owned two carriages, two sleighs, two wagons, and two buggies. This simple, one story building was used as extra storage for the Vail family's vehicles. Its double, sliding doors face the main drive that connects the working part of the estate with the main house. When Vail improved the property in the late 1840s, he had the overhead flume that brought water to the Factory Wheel House replaced with an underground pipe. The pipe passes through a corner of the Carriage House basement. A lighted inset in the floor allows visitors to see the cast iron pipe below. Today, the building is home to Historic Speedwell's educational programs. These programs include lectures, workshops, and programs for adults, children, and school groups.
7. SPEED_090601_155.JPG: Moses Estey House: Captain Moses Estey, a veteran of the American Revolution, moved to Morristown in 1783. A successful merchant and manufacturer, he purchased a home on a knoll overlooking the Whippany River at the corner of Water and Spring Streets. When the house was destroyed by fire in 1786, Estey replaced it with a grand Georgian style house that occupied the site until it was moved to Historic Speedwell in 1969. A fine example of 18th century American architecture, the Moses Estey House rivaled the Ford Mansion (Washington's Morristown headquarters 1770-1780 [sic]) in size and styling. The two-and-a-half story building has eight large rooms, each with its own fireplace. Massive chimney bases visible at each end of the building, rise to the attic where they join to form a single chimney stack. The front porch addition has been removed to reveal the original doorway with decorative moldings and sidelight windows. In the 1960s, a Morristown redevelopment project called for the construction of a three building complex to be called Headquarters Plaza on the block between Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street. Water Street would be realigned, and a section of the oldest part of town including a pond, mill site, and many historic buildings were slated for demolition. The town donated the Estey House, which stood on the corner of Spring and Water Streets from 1786 to 1969, to Historic Speedwell. Federal funding was provided to move the building one mile to the site, and set it on a new foundation. The L'Hommedieu House, located just to your left, also originally stood on Spring Street, across from the Estey House.
8. SPEED_090601_178.JPG: L'Hommedieu House: The L'Hommedieu House is an excellent example of late 18th/early 19th century domestic architecture. This stylist town house originally stood on Spring Street in Morristown on a lot first owned by Nathaniel L'Hommedieu and alter sold to John Gwinnup in 1775. Although the exact age of the present structure is not known, the center hallway and staircase clearly date to a remodeling done in the early 1800s. The house has four rooms on each floor and a basement with a large fireplace for cooking. The roof has been gambreled to allow more second floor headroom. An interesting feature is the beautifully paneled front door with small paned sidelights and transom. Much of the clapboard siding is original. The house was recently renovated and is now Historic Speedwell's Visitors Center with admissions, exhibits and gift shop on the first floor, and staff offices above. The basement has been restored for educational programs, and includes a working open hearth fireplace. When moved to Historic Speedwell, L'Hommedieu House was placed on a new foundation on the site of the Homestead's Farm barn and woodshed that had burned in the 1960s. A front porch, dormer window and two layers of siding were removed to return the house to its early 19th century appearance. In the 1960s, a Morristown redevelopment project called for the construction of three building complex to be known as Headquarters Plaza in the block between Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street. Water Street would be realigned, and a section of the oldest part of town including a pond, mill site and many historic buildings were slated for demolition. The L'Hommedieu House on Spring Street was among the houses to be destroyed. This area of Morristown called "The Hollow" was once a important crossroads. A short distance away, a the southeast corner of Spring and Water Street once stood Dickerson's Tavern. The tavern was the site of Benedict Arnold's court-martial for minor offenses in 1779, shortly before his treason at West Point. In 1969, the town donated both the L'Hommedieu House and the Estey House, which stood across the street, to Historic Speedwell. Although the L'Hommedieu House was in poor condition, in the 1960s it still retained its dignity as one of the oldest houses in Morristown. To save it from demolition, Federal funding was used to move the house one mile to Historic Speedwell.
9. SPEED_090601_208.JPG: Map showing where L'Hommedieu House and Estey House were before the redevelopment in the city.
10. SPEED_090601_226.JPG: Homestead Carriage House: When not managing the Ironworks, Stephen Vail was often traveling in search of business. The Homestead Carriage House was his center for transportation. The main floor was used to store carriages for the summer and sleighs for the winter. Horses were stabled on the lower level with a door facing the farmyard. When the building was built in the 1840s, a stone marked 1808, probably from an earlier structure, was included in the foundation. When the building was converted to a garage, more windows and a cement floor were added. Today, the main floor contains an exhibit that tells the story of the Speedwell Ironworks; a forge, foundry and machine shop of national renown. It was here that Stephen and his craftsmen produced machinery for paper mills and parts for locomotives. The Ironworks was also involved in many complicated projects such as the assembly of the engines for the S.S. Savannah, the first stream powered vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean.
11. SPEED_090601_267.JPG: Vail House. The original structure that became the Vail House was probably built in the 1790s by Thomas Kinney. Stephen Vail, the proprietor of the nearby Speedwell Ironworks, acquired the property in the 1830s. In 1844, Stephen extensively renovated what was probably a simple farm house into what he called his Mansion. At Speedwell, the Whippany River cuts a deep ravine that was easily dammed to power an early saw mill, bloomery forge, and slitting mill. A dwelling house was built on the hillside overlooking the river. In the late 1700s, the property was owned by Thomas Kinney, one of Morristown's wealthiest citizens. The land near the river was acquired by Stephen Vail in the early 1800s, and became the famed Speedwell Ironworks. Vail gradually increased his holdings to include the tract of land on the west side of Speedwell Avenue that contained the old Kinney House. By the 1840s he had become a successful businessman and the owner of a large estate. Now in his 60s, Stephen Vail converted the old house into a conservative but comfortable home for his old age. A man of modest taste, he rejected the latest styles in favor of a traditional Georgian exterior. Inside he installed a central heating system and indoor plumbing. There was a large dining room on the first floor, an office on the second floor and a kitchen in the basement. You might compare Stephen's home with the much more stylish house his son George built at about the same time, just across the street. As part of a 1960s restoration, all modern additions were removed and the front facade was returned to its 1850s appearance. The interior was renovated and many pieces of Vail family furniture and memorabilia were returned to the house. Stephen Vail: In 1807, Stephen Vail, a Morristown blacksmith, along with partners William Campfield and Isaac Canfield, started building an Ironworks at Speedwell. By 1815, Vail had become the sole proprietor and gradually increased his holdings. During most of his early years, he lived in what was called the Brick House, on the west side of Speedwell Avenue close to the Ironworks. A skilled mechanic and inventor, Stephen was the kind of well-ground businessman who always had capital to invest, even in times of economic depression. A man of vision, he was involved in the construction of the S.S. Savannah, the first steam powered ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. He financed the development of the telegraph and was an early promoter of railroads. A prominent citizen, he was a Justice of the Peace, a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas, a Jacksonian Democrat and a slave owner. He married three times. Stephen Vail died in 1864 at the age of 84. In 1837, Stephen's son Alfred worked at Speedwell with Samuel F.B. Morse to perfect the electromagnetic telegraph. During one of his visits, Morse, a renowned portrait artist, Stephen and his first wife Bethiah. Today, the painting still hang in the hall of the Vail House.
12. SPEED_090601_297.JPG: Vail Homestead Farm Stephen Vail, owner of Speedwell Iron Works, built machinery for S.S. Savannah, first trans-Atlantic steamship, in 1819. His son, Alfred Vail, and Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrated electro- magnetic telegraph in 1838.
13. SPEED_090601_302.JPG: Willow Hall, 1848
14. SPEED_090601_328.JPG: Morristown Community Fireplace Erected July 4, 1918 by Clifford Mills, Major and Park Committee...
Multi Column: Number of columns of thumbnails to appear per page (normally defaults to 3): [1 col] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10]
Wikipedia Description: Speedwell Ironworks
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Speedwell Ironworks was an ironworks in Speedwell, New Jersey, USA, just north of Morristown, New Jersey. It is on Speedwell Avenue, part of U.S. Route 202. The site is where Alfred Vail and Samuel Morse first demonstrated the electric telegraph, and the site provided most of the machinery for the SS Savannah, the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.

History:

Situated at a natural gorge of the Whippany River, there is evidence of several hydraulic powered forges predating the establishment of ironworks by Stephen Vail and two business partners. Vail became sole owner of the works in 1815 and expanded it, producing a variety of agricultural and industrial machinery. The ironworks innovated the first durable iron tire for railroad locomotives in January 1836. With changing industrial trends and a decline in the flow of the Whippany River, the ironworks effectively shut down in 1873, selling its equipment to ironworks in Brooklyn, Coatbridge, Scotland. In 1908 what remained of the factory buildings burned.

Stephen Vail also bought an adjacent 40 acre lot to which he eventually retired in 1844, though it was an active retirement. The Vail Homestead or Speedwell Village, as it is now known, is the site of Historic Speedwell, a National Historic Landmark, part of the Morris county Park Commission. The site is set up as an open air 19th century farm, complete with residential buildings, a granary and carriage house.

The museum includes nine buildings furnished to depict life at Speedwell during the early 19th century. The Vail House, a historic house museum restored to 1840s period style, possesses some original family furniture and Vail memorabilia. The Wheel House houses an operational 24-foot (7.3 m) overshot waterwheel. The Granary displays hand-crafted wooden farm tools and ice-harvesting equipment. The Homestead Carriage House houses an exhibit on the SS Savannah, the first steamship to ...More...
Bigger photos? To save server space, the full-sized versions of these images have either not been loaded to the server or have been removed from the server. (Only some pages are loaded with full-sized images and those usually get removed after three months.) I still have them though. If you want me to email them to you, please send an email to guthrie.bruce@gmail.com and I can email them to you, or, depending on the number of images, just repost the page again will the full-sized images.
Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [History 1800s (excl wars)] [Industry] [Park (Local)]
2009 photos: Equipment this year: I mostly used the Fuji S100fs. I've also got a Nikon D90 and a newer Fuji -- the S200EHX -- both of which are nice but I still prefer the flexibility of the Fuji. Trips this year: Niagara Falls, NY, New York City, Civil War Trust conferences in Gettysburg, PA and Springfield, IL, and my 4th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including Los Angeles, Yosemite, Death Valley, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of a Lincoln-Obama cupcake sculpture published in Civil War Times and WUSA-9, the local CBS affiliate, ran a quick piece on me. A picture that I took at the annual Abraham Lincoln Symposium appeared in the National Archives' "Prologue" magazine. I became a volunteer with the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Number of photos taken this year: 417,000.
Connection Not Secure messages? Those warnings you get from your browser about this site not having secure connections worry some people. This means this site does not have SSL installed (the link is http:, not https:). That's bad if you're entering credit card numbers, passwords, or other personal information. But this site doesn't collect any personal information so SSL is not necessary. Life's good!
Limiting Text: You can turn off all of this text by clicking this link: [Thumbnails Only]
Photo Contact: [Email Bruce Guthrie].