The Wayne Museum

Planning a vacation? It’s hard to believe that Wayne was once a vacation spot. Here are possible scrapbook captions and pictures of a family who vacationed in Wayne in the 1930’s.

Image #1: “We often went to Murchio’s Airport to take in the weekly airshow. Here’s a picture of Bill Rhode parachuting at one of the shows in 1938. Rhode once set a world record of jumping out of a plane with 5 parachutes”.

Image #2 “In our years of going on vacation in Wayne, we at times got a glimpse of millionaire/inventor LeGrand Parish who lived in the Mountain View section. On occasion we would pull up at the Parish Farm and see Farm Hand Mr. Martin Carter literally pull two bulls by the horns. People would come from miles around to see how calm Mr. Carter was with the bulls. With the chauffer Mr. Brown, Mr. Carter used to polish the Parish Pierce Arrow. He would also drive the farm ‘Auto-Truck’”.

Image #3 “When we were in need of supplies, we often went to Walker’s Department Store on Route 23. Walker’s always had whatever was needed for vacationers and year long residents. After suffering from one of Wayne's floods, here’s the rebuilt store in 1935”.

Image #4 “In 1935, the famous Dey Mansion was recently renovated by the Works Progress Administration (the WPA). There is now a reproduction of the kitchen.
How exciting it was to see "Washington's Headquarters" from 1780. We went here a couple of times".

Image #5 “On every trip, we tried out many places to swim. Here is a picture of Hinchman’s Bathing Park on Hamburg Turnpike. It was known as "Pleasure Land". We had so much fun! The Hinchman Family also had a concession stand which sold hot dogs, burgers, and homemade soups and pies. I also hear the family is putting in a toboggan like slide for people to ride into the water. This I have to see!”.

More "scrapbook pictures and captions" will be posted in the near future.

There were many dairy farms in Wayne at one time. One dairy which stands out is the Sheffield Farm in Wayne. There were many Sheffield Farms in the New York and New Jersey area. Cathy Tobin in “Images of America, Wayne Township” reports that the Sheffield Dairy Farms was founded in 1902. The company was dedicated to improving milk, cow herds, and upholding sanitary conditions. Tobin points out that the Sheffield Daries were known for the following:

– In 1913, Select milk was introduced to meet higher standards than Board of Health requirements.
– Introduced homogenized and Vitamin D added milk.
– Certified milk was sold. Cows were TB tested. Barns were sanitized. Stables were whitewashed. Milk pails were covered. Utensils were washed and sterilized.
– Machine sealed bottles became common.

--The first picture shows the Pompton Falls Fire Department on the grounds of the farm.
– In the second picture, pastures and milking barns were to the right of Black Oak Ridge Road. To the left of Black Oak Ridge Road, milk was processed and bottled on an overhead conveyor.
– The third picture is of Edward Fullard in 1931, driving a Sheffield Farms delivery truck. The delivery service to the surrounding area was part of the dairy’s success.

Years later, Red Barn Furniture was located on Pompton Avenue and Black Oak Ridge Road, on the grounds of where Sheffield Farms was. The store was owned by Dennis Arakelian and Karen Intrabartolo.

Obituary for Dennis Arakelian, Wayne Today, November 12, 2009
Tobin, Cathy, “Images of America, Wayne”. Arcadia Publishing, 2001, pgs. 74-75.

The Staff at the Wayne Museum is always “going down the rabbit hole” to find out more about historic houses. We have on file a picture of the Forsburg House which was located at 3 Edgemont Crescent. From what we can find, the Forsburg House was built in the 1830’s on land formerly belonging to James Jacobus. At the time, the house was used as a general store and post office for the opportunities of trade given by the Morris Canal. For two years (1915-16), the Mumford Family used the house as the Willow Tea Restaurant. The restaurant offered “dancing, luncheons, dinners, and suppers”. The house was demolished in 1981 in order to widen Route 23 and the Alps Road exit. We were wondering if there was a connection with the Forsburg Family of Mountain View which was reported on earlier this year. In the 1920’s, Elise and Doris Forsburg (Ford) were well known local students, actresses, and athletes. As of now, we can find no connection with the family. How many remember the Forsburg House? What are your memories?

With a recent posting about the Upper Preakness School, there was discussion about the Wayne Grange. A grange is a national fraternal association originally made up of farmers, somewhat like a “trade guild”. In 1867, the initial goal of the national grange organization was to put agricultural and industrial industries back into order after the Civil War. From this national effort, state granges began to form. The New Jersey State Grange was formed in 1873. In the next several decades, local granges were organized and by 1906, the original Wayne Grange Building was built on the Hamburg-Paterson Turnpike next to the Upper Preakness School.
In Wayne, the grange provided social life, saved money with cooperative buying, and helped educate about agricultural improvements. For the 50th Anniversary of the Grange in 1954, the Herald News reflected that the Wayne organization was known for “strong, conservative ideas on progress”. The members were not thrilled with the U.S. Congress’s interference with parcel post regulation, daylight savings time, and road improvement. However, the organization was all for women getting the right to vote and had many women hold offices in the organization.
The Wayne organization also sponsored individuals and organizations at fairs and sporting events. In the file at the Wayne Museum, ribbon awards can be found for “Crochet Contests”. In 1940, the “Preakness Farmers” won the championship in the North Jersey Semipro Baseball Team. There were also drives to give money and food during the Great Depression. The Wayne Red Cross, war bond drives, scouts, and 4-H clubs were always supported by the organization.
When the original structure was destroyed by a fire in 1928, the building was rebuilt within a year. As farms gave way to residential communities, the membership of the Wayne Township Grange diminished. For the 75th Anniversary in 1979, only 16 members with 50 years in the organization remained. By 1980, the building was torn down to make way for the Church Lane intersection.
Pictured: The Grange Building in 1940 and a 1977 Wayne Parade Float.