Linden
New Jersey
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City of Linden
History:
The area Linden now occupies was first explored by Europeans when men from Henrick Hudson's 'Half Moon" visited in 1609. One of them reported that "the lands were pleasant with Grasse and Flowers and goodly trees... and very sweet smells came from them.' The land was claimed by the Dutch, who retained possession until the conquest of New Amsterdam by the English in 1664.
Ownership of the land in this part of New Jersey became a matter of hot debate, and even lawsuits. One month after the defeat of New Amsterdam, the English governor. Colonel Richard Nichols, received a petition from settlers from Long Island seeking to move to Arthur Kill (beyond the river) west of Staten Island. Nichols gave his consent to the six petitioners, known as the Associates. They made arrangements to deal with the Indians and were successful in purchasing a large tract of land for the sum of 154 English pounds sterling or its equivalent in trade goods. The contract was dated November 24, I 664. Among the Indians who signed the document with a mark were Warinanco and Mattano. The land purchased was hounded on the south by the Raritan River on the east by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, on the north by the Passaic River and extended 34 miles inland.
This deed of purchase from the Indians was confirmed on December 2. 1664, by Governor Nichols, apparently giving clear title to the six Associates. However, unknown to him, King Charles had given the entire state of New Ceaserea (New Jersey) to his brother. James. Duke of York. He in turn, granted the land to two friends, Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley, on June 24, I 664.Due to the extreme difficulty of communication in those days. Governor Nichols was not informed immediately of the transfer of land to Berkeley and Carteret and was unaware of that transaction when he confirmed the sale of the land several months later to the six Associates, who then proceeded to take possession.
Trouble over the ownership of the land arose in 1682 when East Jersey. which included Elizabethtown was sold by Berkeley and Carteret to William Penn and eleven other men. Each of these men sold half of his share and these twenty-four men became known as the Proprietors. The battle over the ownership of this land raged for 100 years between the Associates and the Proprietors, or their descendants, and was finally settled by default in favor of the Associates when distraction in the form of the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act and the Revolutionary War intervened.
Prior to the purchase of the land by Europeans, the land comprising Linden was used by the Indians as hunting grounds and was traversed by them on their way to the sound for fishing. There are indications that St. George Avenue, Tremley Point Road and Lower Road were originally Indian trails, branches of their great highway, the Minisink Trail. The Indians were of the Lenni-Lenape tribe of the Delawares, of which no trace remains today. '[hey were removed first to New York State and finally to the Western states. where they were placed on reservations. A few collections of Indian relics and a number of place names of rivers. towns and parks are all that remind us today of their early presence here.
The Linden area remained entirely rural for 150 years after and the first settlers arrived and established farms on the rich. flat lands in the area now known as Tremley. It was named after Jean Traubles, a French Huguenot who changed his name to John Trembley. He owned land in the southern portion of Linden extending to the Kill Van KulI. The name underwent several changes of spelling and now has become Tremlev.
The first signs of village life appeared around the taverns. One of these was the Wheatsheaf tavern built in 1745 on St. George Avenue at the corner of Chestnut Street in what is now Roselle. In Colonial times the tavern was the natural gathering place of the community' in the absence of any other public building. It was the stagecoach stop, the post office, and during the Revolutionary' War, the place where the militia gathered and trained. By 1750 there was a small cluster of eight or ten houses around the Wheat sheaf tavern and the first school in Linden was established nearby. When Linden became an incorporated township in 1861, the governing body met there and continued to do so for many years.
The area Linden now occupies was first explored by Europeans when men from Henrick Hudson's 'Half Moon" visited in 1609. One of them reported that "the lands were pleasant with Grasse and Flowers and goodly trees... and very sweet smells came from them.' The land was claimed by the Dutch, who retained possession until the conquest of New Amsterdam by the English in 1664.
Ownership of the land in this part of New Jersey became a matter of hot debate, and even lawsuits. One month after the defeat of New Amsterdam, the English governor. Colonel Richard Nichols, received a petition from settlers from Long Island seeking to move to Arthur Kill (beyond the river) west of Staten Island. Nichols gave his consent to the six petitioners, known as the Associates. They made arrangements to deal with the Indians and were successful in purchasing a large tract of land for the sum of 154 English pounds sterling or its equivalent in trade goods. The contract was dated November 24, I 664. Among the Indians who signed the document with a mark were Warinanco and Mattano. The land purchased was hounded on the south by the Raritan River on the east by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, on the north by the Passaic River and extended 34 miles inland.
This deed of purchase from the Indians was confirmed on December 2. 1664, by Governor Nichols, apparently giving clear title to the six Associates. However, unknown to him, King Charles had given the entire state of New Ceaserea (New Jersey) to his brother. James. Duke of York. He in turn, granted the land to two friends, Sir George Carteret and Lord John Berkeley, on June 24, I 664.Due to the extreme difficulty of communication in those days. Governor Nichols was not informed immediately of the transfer of land to Berkeley and Carteret and was unaware of that transaction when he confirmed the sale of the land several months later to the six Associates, who then proceeded to take possession.
Trouble over the ownership of the land arose in 1682 when East Jersey. which included Elizabethtown was sold by Berkeley and Carteret to William Penn and eleven other men. Each of these men sold half of his share and these twenty-four men became known as the Proprietors. The battle over the ownership of this land raged for 100 years between the Associates and the Proprietors, or their descendants, and was finally settled by default in favor of the Associates when distraction in the form of the French and Indian War, the Stamp Act and the Revolutionary War intervened.
Prior to the purchase of the land by Europeans, the land comprising Linden was used by the Indians as hunting grounds and was traversed by them on their way to the sound for fishing. There are indications that St. George Avenue, Tremley Point Road and Lower Road were originally Indian trails, branches of their great highway, the Minisink Trail. The Indians were of the Lenni-Lenape tribe of the Delawares, of which no trace remains today. '[hey were removed first to New York State and finally to the Western states. where they were placed on reservations. A few collections of Indian relics and a number of place names of rivers. towns and parks are all that remind us today of their early presence here.
The Linden area remained entirely rural for 150 years after and the first settlers arrived and established farms on the rich. flat lands in the area now known as Tremley. It was named after Jean Traubles, a French Huguenot who changed his name to John Trembley. He owned land in the southern portion of Linden extending to the Kill Van KulI. The name underwent several changes of spelling and now has become Tremlev.
The first signs of village life appeared around the taverns. One of these was the Wheatsheaf tavern built in 1745 on St. George Avenue at the corner of Chestnut Street in what is now Roselle. In Colonial times the tavern was the natural gathering place of the community' in the absence of any other public building. It was the stagecoach stop, the post office, and during the Revolutionary' War, the place where the militia gathered and trained. By 1750 there was a small cluster of eight or ten houses around the Wheat sheaf tavern and the first school in Linden was established nearby. When Linden became an incorporated township in 1861, the governing body met there and continued to do so for many years.