Rensselaer Journal, Volume 11, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1902 — Legends of East Jersey. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Legends of East Jersey.

(Special Letter.) fT is not strange that the legends of East Jersey have been well preserved. The grandfathers of the region have been famous story-tell-ers for more than two hundred years; in fact, ever, since there were grandfathers in New Jersey. The old men of today have not forgotten the teles they beard in youth from their fathers' fathers. Some of them Indeed have preserved journals in which the old •stories have been chronicled in elaborate detail. There are legends of the Dutch who came from Holland in 1616 in the good ship Faith, rowed up Newark Bay in •mall boats, and purchased many broad acres on the east side of the Passaic River from the Acquackanonck Indians. The English divided the other side into large estates, and are responsible for many romantic teles. Besides, there are legends of the Indians who were there before either Dutch or English. The oldest house in* Passiac, after a remarkable career of more than two hundred years,, was burned a few years ago. It was built when the Dutch first came to Acquackanonck and originally intended for a fort. The stone walls were nearly three feet .thick, and there were portholes through which the settlers could fire at the Indians. Owing to their ability to make treaties and willingness toTiribe the rather indolent savages around them, the fort was never used. Eventually they erected a church near the site of the fort and turned it into a parsonage. When Washington passed through

New Jersey on his way to Philadelphia he is said to have spent one night there as the guest of the parson. Soon after the revolution the parsonage was turned into a tavern at the request of the congregation. The farmers made long journeys in order to attend church, and there was no place for them to get refreshments In the Interval between sermons and prayers. The tavern did a thriving business on Sundays, and when a ballroom was erected as a wing it became the social center of the district. Whfen * the Methodists wanted to organise a church in Passaic the old ballroom was the only meeting place available, and for two years they held services in the room erected for dancing. Fifty years ago it was purchased by Alfred Speer, who owned it at the time of the fire. A tablet was recently erected to mark the site of the house. Few of the many persons who are interested in copper mines and stock know anything about the discovery of the first copper mine in America. It is a legend over in New Jersey, and the story was often told around the Speer fireside. Isaac Kingsland sold the farm on which the mine was discovered to Arent Schuyler, who raised crops of various kinds with success for a number of years. One day in the spring ’ of 1719 a negro slave, Mose by name, came to the house with a heavy rock of a peculiar greenish shade. He gave

it to his master, saying that it must have fallen from the sky, as never before had a rock like that been found on the farm. Schuyler was going to Perth Amboy, and put the rock in his pocket. He showed it to a friend who knew something about minerals, and it proved to be copper ore. Schuyler hastened back to the farm and had the slave take him to the spot where he had found the ore. A little prospecting exposed the ledge from which it had been broken, and the first copper mine was soon in operation. The school children of Passa’c have taken a lively interest in the early history of that part of New Jersey, and recently dedicated a substantial monument, which bears this inscription. : A Tribute of Honor to * : George Washlngtpn and his Army : : And a Memorial to the Spirit that . :Founded and Preserved the Republic.: • They collected a fund of over sßov for the purpose, and held elaborate exercises when the monument was unveiled- More than that, they have begun to collect legends on their own account, and the old men and women

for miles around have been visited by enterprising youngsters 'in search of old-time stories and folklore. Some of the legends have been written out. at the request of Professor M. H. Small and will be published by the schools.

Was Once a Dutch Fort.

Memorial to Washington,