Dayton Village Citizens' Coalition

The hamlet of Fresh Ponds, Woodsville, Woodside, Pigeon Swamp according to an 1882 article in the History of Union and Middlesex Counties, New Jersey by Clayton describes the hamlet as containing 12 houses, a church and a schoolhouse. To show variations in name for example an 1850 map by Lloyd Van Derveer gives the name of Woodsville and shows residents named E. Brown, G. Palmer, Woods' store, a chapel and a school. An 1861 map by Walling also names the area Woodsville, but now there is a B.S. shop, Wm .Wood store, the chapel and store, and other named families B. Budd, J.V.H. Hxxx, Haywood, VanHise, Knouse, Firtz. But in the 1876 Everts' map the hamlet is named Woodside. The chapel and school are listed. Names are C. Beekman, George Whitlock, H. Morley, Mulvey, Fortch, Reed and 4 other unreadable names. Throughout the development of this area up until the past twenty-five years, farming and rural residencies were the major use for this area. The major exceptions to this rural picture are the impact of Route 130, which somewhat separated this area from its connection with Deans and the New Jersey Turnpike. Other than the Dallenback Sand Company, cemeteries, nurseries on the southern border of this area it has maintained its wooded rural appearance. More recently the encroachment of warehouses and connected truck traffic and noise are having a negative impact on the area.

Early development including Rhode Hall - 1730

European use of this area of South Brunswick probably began around 1730. Previously Laurie's Road, now called the Cranbury-South River Road, connected the two capitals of East and West Jersey, South Amboy and was in use by 1686. Later in 1729 Peter Sonmans, an East Jersey Proprietor of Scottish origin and active land speculator, sold Thomas Lawrence 500 acres in the Deans/Dayton area. In 1733 William Cox purchased about 350 acres from Peter Sonmans and built a sawmill at the Davisons Mill location on Riva Avenue. He owned all the land along the Lawrence Brook area probably from the northeast from about Davidsons Mill Road to Rhode Hall Road up to Georges Road. At about that same time David Williamson, a Scott, moved into the Rhode Hall area along Laurie's Road and began operating a tavern/inn sometime after his arrival in 1730. Later, in 1774, Thomas McDowell bought the estate of David Williamson with the inn at Rhode Hall. This area developed into a small hamlet of several houses. Eventually up to three different schools were built in the area to accommodate Rhode Hall children. For awhile it may even have operated in part of the Rhode Hall tavern. Eventually the children went to the new Deans School. Most of the houses were on Laurie's/ Cranbury Road about where the present Davidson Mill Road ends. Today there are scarily any remnants of the old Rhode Hall community. The tavern/house was still standing in the 1970s, but it is gone now. One fascinating sidelight to the Rhode Hall name was the Rhode Hall Driving Park which operated from about 1876 to 1900. Some say it was located just up Deans-Rhode Hall Road from Claire's Farm Market.

The mill at the Lawrence Brook we know as Davisons Mill begun by William Cox about 1733 has long played a significant role in the development of this area. It is centrally located between the Davidsons Mill area and Deans. Another owner was Jacob Van Pelt. By 1810 George Davison took over operation at the Mill that we now call by his name. Over the years it has had many owners. The mill burned down in the mid-1950s.

Pigeon Swamp and the Davidson Mill corridor - 1760

Back to early developments along the Davidson Mill corridor. Evidence of other activity in the Davidson Mill Road area was in the work to drain the Pigeon Swamp for agricultural use. An attempt, from our current environmental thinking, that thankfully failed. Nevertheless, sources show that in 1761, Catherine Pierce and Ann Pidgeon conveyed to John Wetheriel land extending from Fresh Ponds Road south to Manalapan River and bounded on the Northeast by Deans/Rhode Hall Road and SW to the Borough of Jamesburg to the river? . In 1780 the first attempt to drain the Pigeon Swamp was made with the digging of the Great Ditch. By March 20, the Pigeon Swamp drainage program had received backing from the New Jersey Legislature with an act empowering local "proprietors" to levy taxes to pay for swamp drainage. A journal, kept by the proprietors of the Pigeon Swamp, begun at that time is now housed at the South Brunswick Public Library and contains lists of tax collections and other information. In 1805 Elizabeth Wetherill inherited all lands at Pidgeon Swamp from her father, George Wetherill. In 1810 Elizabeth Wetherill Morris deed for $800 lands inherited "Pidgeon Swamp" to Samuel Dean. In 1835 there was a supplementary act to empower the owners of Pigeon Swamp to fine those who willfully dammed or obstructed the ditch or watercourse of the Lawrence Brook. In 1892 another NJ legislative act to empower the owners of Pigeon swamp to open and keep clear of obstruction a certain water course and ditch for draining reauthorization the acts of 1780 and 1835. In February of 1973 Pigeon Swamp area was 2,600 acres named the most significant wetlands in the county. 1974 Pigeon Swamp in newspapers with efforts to turn it into a state park. The state finally did turn Pigeon Swamp into a state park, but it has fortunately been left undeveloped, perhaps in large part due to its value as a wetland. More recently the Dallenback Sand Company has been trying to use parts of this parkland for its operations. At this time there is a proposal to the Zoning Board for this purpose.

Woodsville - 1780

Other developments along came when the Cottageville-Fresh Ponds Road opened in 1768. It went from Laurie's Road to the John Lawrence Mill on the Lawrence Brook. In 1780 Samuel Combs bought a large tract of Fresh Ponds acreage and opened a distillery. This was supposed to be near to the intersection of Davidsons Mill Road and Fresh Ponds Road at the old Woodsville area. It must have been part of the Woodsville hamlet that appears on maps dating from the 1850s to 1876. When the name was changed to Fresh Ponds is yet unknown.

South Brunswick - Incorporated, 1798

By 1773 the second charter of New Brunswick established two wards. North and South of which everything south of North Brunswick was included in "South" Brunswick. In November, of 1773 two freeholders were elected from South Brunswick, John Terhune and George Wetherill. About twenty-five years later in 1798 the township of South Brunswick was officially created. At that time the township covered 36,000 acres

Roads of eastern South Brunswick

The development of roads if nothing else indicates how an area is growing. In 1810 Fresh Ponds Road was dedicated. It went from Georges Road to Gulick's Tavern near Thomas Wetherill's Brick Yard in Crossroads (Dayton) area. Dunhams Corner - Fresh Ponds Road was completed in 1821 from John Davidson's Mill to the road leading from Road Hall. Deans-Rhode Hall Road (Pigeon Swamp Road) was opened in 1829. It went from Cranberry Road to Cross Roads (generally). Riva Avenue from the road to Milltown to the road from Woodsville to Davisons Mill was opened in 1857. All of these roads increased access to the Fresh Ponds area. The most common occupation was farming. The hamlets of Woodsville and Rhode Hall helped provided the needs of local residents. Of interest is why Davidsons Mill Road was called Cottageville Road and when was its name changed to Davidsons Mill Road. Some residents have suggested that small summer cottages built throughout this area may have given rise to the name Cottageville. The Davison / Davidson spelling has varied over the years even on maps of the time. Usually all the Davison names are spelled the same way on each map.

Transportation revolution's affect on South Brunswick

In addition to the network of roads by 1830 South Brunswick, with a population of 2,557, was soon to be part of the transportation revolution brought by both the Delaware-Raritan Canal at Kingston and the Camden and Amboy Railroad. The first rail lines entered the township along the canal in Kingston, swooped up to the soon to be prosperous Deans (Martinsville) area and continued north to New Brunswick. Later in the early 1860s the track was realigned to provide a straight track from New Brunswick to Trenton. Most of the track was also double tracked at this time. The volume of traffic caused by the Civil War made this a necessity, not to mention overcoming the safety hazard of single track operation. For the people in the Fresh Ponds area the greatest improvement for transportation was the coming of the New Brunswick-Trenton Fast Line trolley line in the early 1900s. It brought a new transportation service to the people in Deans, Cottageville and Fresh Ponds area as the line went across South Brunswick in a southwest to northeast axis coming up from Trenton via Plainsboro and heading to Milltown before it went northwest to connect with New Brunswick. This included a stop on Cottageville / Davidsons Mill Road. This was a very popular way to get around until automobile use became more common and trolley use dropped off in the early 1920s. The current high-voltage transmission lines through the township follow the route of the old trolley line.

Fresh Ponds Chapel and Cemetery

The cemetery at Fresh Ponds Chapel contains gravestones that date from as early as 1810 and 1811. Some stones are written in German attest to the origin of some of the early residents. Unmarked graves are thought to be those of Indians and/or slaves, a different echo of the township's past. Land was transferred from Catherine Rue to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Fresh Ponds on May 19, 1840 and the Methodist Episcopal Church at Fresh Ponds was incorporated on July 4, 1840. It has had a varied history of ownership. Twelve years later in 1852 the property was up for "Sheriff Sale" with a debt of $396. The Methodist Protestant Meeting House bid $435? And gained title to the property. It became known as the Ebenezer Church. But a change came again thirty-five years later in 1887 when the non-denominational "Fresh Ponds Sunday School Association of Fresh Ponds, N.J." was organized on August 22. This group paid $350 to purchase the chapel.

Church services for the mostly Davidsons Mill area residents were usually held on Sunday afternoon when farming was the primary occupation of this community. At its approximate tercentenary year of 1964 the Rev. Robert S. Turton was in charge of Fresh Ponds Chapel. The chapel is part of the nondenominational Gospel Mission Corps which took over the chapel in 1963 and operates six chapels in New Jersey. This group is connected with The Salvation Army with similar roots in Methodism. In more recent years an annual "Homecoming" and Anniversary Service is held at the end of September or early October. In 1998 the Chapel celebrated its 158th year with a mid-afternoon service and potluck dinner. The dinner was held in the old schoolhouse next door. The Gospel Mission Corps has since merged with the American Rescue Workers and continues to operate the chapel. The Rev. Robert Turton III is in charge of the chapel. Efforts by the Rev. John Carstens, associated with the Fresh Ponds Chapel through the New Life Evangelistic Center he operates out of the chapel, resulted in the chapel and school being listed on New Jersey's register of historic buildings. Plaques were installed on September 21, 1996.

Fresh Ponds / Woodsville School #43

The Fresh Ponds District or Woodsville was known as #43 in the 1800s. Some say this land was sold to the school district in 1834 by Catherine Rue. Others feel it was part of a package of land from Catherine Rue in 1840, when land for the chapel was obtained. By 1880 there were 58 children attending the Fresh Ponds School. The exact date of the current schoolhouse is not certain, but classes were held here until 1933 when the building was deeded over to the chapel owners. It was listed as the Woodside School #43 on the State Atlas of New Jersey in 1872. Some former teachers were Ella Rigly and Clarence Rily in 1898, Ada Clark in 1900, Margaret Grant, Ethel Sleeper in 1901, Rita Kinsey in 1905, Edward Albert in 1907, and Bessie Snedeker in 1909. In 1904 there were 46 students.

Today the Davidson Mills Road, old Cottageville Road remains a quiet rural road lined with a diverse collection of farm and country houses many dating from the early 1900s, some from the 1700s and 1800s. In the first part of this century a number of Eastern European immigrants moved to this area. One of the principle farm products these new farmers were successful with were eggs and chickens for local markets. Most farmsites were not large and for some subsistence farming was all that could be managed. Since the turn of the century farmers throughout New Jersey have been facing strong competition from farming areas further away due to improved nationwide transportation systems that have brought increased competition. Even though the area is situated in a prime area for truck farms that could help supply the needs of New York City or Philadelphia other pressures on the land include land costs, modern machinery costs all leading to increasing cost to farm in this are. Many of these farmers have either ceased farming or aged out. In this area of the township there are pressures to turn the larger farmsites over to the development of light industry or warehouses. The most precious resource of this Pigeon Swamp area is the wetlands and acquifer that form a large part of this section of South Brunswick. The challenge is to preserve as much as possible the rural nature of this area due to these considerations, but to deal with the challenges of this area's location near its excellent transportation resources.

Resources used for this description of Fresh Ponds

1. Files from the Local History Collection at the South Brunswick Public Library

2. South Brunswick Township Multiple Resource Application & N.J. National Register
of Historic Places. 1983.

3. "Old homes, taverns, mills, shops and churches of South Brunswick Township," by
William H. Baker. August 1974.

4. Timelines of South Brunswick history created by Ceil Leedom. 1997-1998.

5. The Central Post and The Sentinel several articles on Fresh Ponds Chapel in
September of 1996.

6. Report on Fresh Ponds Chapel written in the 1970s by unknown author. "Local
History Collection" on Religious Organizations in South Brunswick.

7. History of Union and Middlesex Counties, N.J. 1882. Clayton, W. Woodford.

8. Maps. 1861- Middlesex County. H.F. Walling ; 1850 - Middlesex County, Lloyd Van
Derveer ; 1876 - South Brunswick. Everts and Stewart.

9. Notes on Camden & Amboy year-end reports at the New Jersey Historical Society on
Double tracking of railroad completed by 1865. Railroad "relocation of branch railroad from Trenton to Deans Pond completed (1862)." For year ending 1864. "Princeton Branch 3 miles long laid with 40 lb. rails down to the Cross roads from Jamesburg to Deans Pond 5.56 miles connecting 2 roads from New York to Philadelphia will be ready by January 1863. C. Leedom.