Weston, New Jersey

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Weston, New Jersey
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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = New Jersey
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Somerset
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established_date = est. c. 1700-1740

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timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
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latd = 40 |latm = 31 |lats = 48 |latNS = N
longd = 74 |longm = 35 |longs = 16 |longEW = W

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postal_code = 08873
area_code = 732, 908
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Weston is an unincorporated area of Franklin Township in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Situated on the east side of the Millstone River north of East Millstone and south of Zarephath (which has grown to include some of the area once considered Weston), early names used for the area were Schenck's Mill, Van Neste's Mill and Frogtown. Historically, an area on the west side of the river in what is now part of the borough of Manville was also referred to as Weston. The Weston Causeway is the only bridge across the Millstone River between East Millstone and the I-287 bridge near South Bound Brook.

History

Heinrich/Henry Schenck built a grist mill on the Millstone, probably in the 1740s. His brother, Peter, built a mill upstream at Blackwells Mills about the same time and both were called Schenck's Mill. Three of Henry’s sons, Abraham, John and Henry were in the second graduating class of 14 students of the newly founded Queen’s College that later became Rutgers University

The second owner of the mill was Abraham Van Neste, from 1771-1797. During his tenure, on January 21, 1777, there was a skirmish at the mill between a British foraging party of about 600 troops, sent out of New Brunswick by General Cornwallis, seeking the large quantity of flour they believed was stored there and a party of Continental soldiers and about 300 militia, commanded by General Philemon Dickinson. With the bridge at Weston guarded by the British, the American force had to wade across the waist deep, ice filled river. Never the less, they so surprised the foraging party the British retreated without ever firing a single one of their three field pieces. In their haste, the British left behind 43 wagons, 164 horses, 118 cattle, 70 sheep and 12 soldiers who became prisoners. In the skirmish, 5 Americans were lost but the British lost about 30 men.

When William Rodgers owned the mill between 1823 and 1843, he changed the name to Weston, purportedly to reflect the name used at the time for an area across the river from the mill.

The Delaware and Raritan Canal was completed through Weston in 1834 and a Bridgetender’s House, now unused, was located on the south side of the bridge. The Canal Company maintained one of its six telegraph stations in Weston. Used to send express messages regarding damage to locks and bridges, breaks in or poor conditions of the canal banks, unusual water levels, boat accidents and speeders to other stations and the company office, the Canal Company is believed to have been one of the first users of the Morse telegraph in the United States. Unlike other communities located near the canal, Weston does not seem to have received any significant benefits from its construction.

By the 1880s Weston included a post office, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, store, gristmill, sawmill, and about 15 dwellings.

Wilbur Smith was the last owner of the original mill from 1925 until 1982 when it fell into the river. He had worked for many years in an attempt to save the old mill but, after it collapsed, it was determined that it was beyond repair and now considered a flood hazard. There were plans to salvage parts of the historic structure but before the group, the Meadows Foundation, had a chance to do much work, vandals set the mill on fire, destroying what was left of it.

With the mill gone, all that remains in the area once known as Weston are a few residences and several roads bearing the name.

Notable residents

Abraham Van Neste, member of the Committee of Correspondence (1774) [ William B. Brahms, Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, FTPL; ISBN 0-9668586-0-3 page 109] , Trustee of Queen’s College (now Rutgers University) (1771-1779). [ William B. Brahms, Franklin Township, Somerset County, NJ: A History, FTPL; ISBN 0-9668586-0-3 page 362]

ee also

*Manville, New Jersey
*Van Nest - Weston Burying Ground
*Zarephath, New Jersey

References

External links

*http://www.myrevolutionarywar.com/battles/770120.htm