[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 2940]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   ESSEX FELLS CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL

 Mr. CORZINE. Madam President, it is with great pride that I 
bring to your attention a lovely hamlet in Essex County, NJ, Essex 
Fells, which is celebrating its centennial year on March 31, 2002. 
Incorporated as a borough on March 31, 1902, it is governed by an 
elected body consisting of a mayor and six council members.
  Essex Fells is the smallest community in Essex County, covering an 
area of a little more than 1.3 square miles. However, within the small 
confines of this bucolic community, Essex Fells maintains many areas 
for the enjoyment of its residents. The Glen is a green open space that 
contains native trees, shrubs, vines, and flowers. The Trotter Tract is 
an 83-acre area that is home to many species of flora and fauna and 
beautiful nature trails. Each autumn, the brook that runs through Essex 
Fells is dammed to create a skating pond. Grover Cleveland Park, a 
county park of approximately 42 acres of lush manicured lawns and large 
trees, borders Essex Fells and Caldwell, NJ.
  Rich in history, the township was established in 1699 by Robert Treat 
and Jasper Crane and settled by people migrating from Connecticut. A 
land blessed with rolling farmland and wooded retreats, the acreage was 
originally named Newark after their home in England--Newark on Trent. 
Shortly after that, the settlers petitioned the crown for the title to 
their new homeland. It was granted and in 1701 the settlers purchased 
an additional 13,500 acres from the Native Americans for $325,000. 
Realizing the value of this land, the Crown attempted to rescind the 
settlers' title and the colonists subsequently revolted earning the 
area the nickname, ``the cockpit of the American Revolution.''
  In the late 1800s, Anthony J. Drexel, of the Philadelphia banking 
family, who had successfully developed other residential communities 
acquired the estate of General William Gould to form a planned 
residential community. Named for Drexel's son-in-law--John R. Fell and 
the county, Essex--Essex Fells developed as many turn of the century 
communities did, as a direct result of the growth of the railroad 
system. All the same, much care was given to maintain the tranquility 
and serenity of the original community.
  One hundred years later, Essex Fells is still an ideal ``small town 
community.'' The neighborhoods remain tree-lined and neighbors know 
each other. Most recently, citizens of Essex Fells were called into 
service following the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center. Fire 
Chief Rupert Hauser and the Essex Fells Volunteer Fire Department 
immediately deployed to New York to cover station houses for New York 
firefighters while they worked at Ground Zero on the search and rescue 
efforts.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in congratulating Mayor Edward 
Abbott and the citizens of Essex Fells on their centennial. May they 
have another hundred years of prosperity and community.

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