[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 22 (Thursday, February 26, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING TOWNSHIP OF WEST CALDWELL

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                      HON. RODNEY P. FRELINGHUYSEN

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 26, 2004

  Mr. FRELINGHUYSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the Township of 
West Caldwell, in Essex County, New Jersey a vibrant community I am 
proud to represent. Incorporated on February 16, 1904, the good 
citizens of West Caldwell are celebrating the Township's Centennial 
Anniversary with special events throughout the entire year.
  In the very early history of our country, well before the American 
Revolution, the towns known today as Caldwell, West Caldwell, North 
Caldwell, Verona, Essex Fells, Roseland, Fairfield, Cedar Grove and 
Livingston were inhabited by the Lenni Lenape Indians. As Europeans 
emigrated to the New World, however, property ownership changed hands; 
and soon the entire region was purchased by the newcomers and renamed 
Horseneck. A century after Puritans settled the ``metropolis'' of the 
area known as Newark in 1666, steadily growing populations spurred 
settlers to move slightly westward to occupy what would be the 
Caldwells in the early 1700s. Almost 50 years of peace followed, until 
disputes over property rights with the Royal Proprietors of the colony 
led to jailbreaks and protests led down the narrow, dusty road called 
Bloomfield Avenue, which today remains a major business corridor 
through Essex County.
  At the time of the Horseneck Riots in 1745, James Caldwell, after 
whom the Caldwells are named, was a young boy of about 11 years. By the 
time of the Revolution, though, he was an adult, a minister, in fact, 
who had endeared himself to the people of Horseneck by journeying over 
the mountains to preach to them. During the War for Independence not 
long afterwards, Caldwell earned the nickname ``the Fighting Parson'' 
because of his aid to Washington's men as they battled in various parts 
of Horseneck. Following the Revolution, a local chapel was finally 
erected and in memory of the Fighting Parson who had stood with them 
since colonial times, the citizens of Horseneck in 1798 renamed their 
home ``Caldwell.''
  Caldwell Township flourished throughout the 1800's. Prescribed by 
physicians as a ``pure air'' retreat for patients with all kinds of 
ailments, the quiet region was home to about 485 people (1800 census). 
Franklin and Westville, what would eventually become known as West 
Caldwell, began to grow as well. Westville, owned predominantly by the 
Crane and Harrison families, whose historical homes still exist, was 
the site of farming lands and the local sawmill. Franklin, on the other 
hand, was the principal business center of Caldwell Township and had an 
economy supported by firms, a store, two factories, a cider mill and 
distillery.
  By 1904, the population of Caldwell Township had grown and become so 
spread out that public renovations could never be approved by residents 
on both sides of town. To alleviate the problem, on February 16, 1904, 
West Caldwell was incorporated as an individual borough comprised of 
3,175 acres and 410 people. Like every suburb of the metropolitan New 
York and Newark, New Jersey area, the 20th Century brought with it 
incredible growth and today West Caldwell boasts more than 11,000 proud 
residents who treasure the Township's legacy of patriotism, its small 
town flavor and its strong sense of community.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge you and my colleagues to join me in 
congratulating the residents of West Caldwell on the celebration of 100 
years of a rich history and the building of one of New Jersey's finest 
municipalities.

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