Franklin Corners, New Jersey

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Franklin Corners, New Jersey - Wikipedia

Coordinates: 40°43′56″N 74°32′30″W / 40.73222°N 74.54167°W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franklin Corners, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
Van Dorn's Mill
Franklin Corners Show map of Somerset County, New Jersey Franklin Corners Show map of New Jersey Franklin Corners Show map of the United States
Coordinates: 40°43′56″N 74°32′30″W / 40.73222°N 74.54167°W / 40.73222; -74.54167
Country	United States
State	New Jersey
County	Somerset
Township	Bernards

Franklin Corners is an unincorporated community located along the Passaic River at the intersection of County Route 613 (Childs Road) and U.S. Route 202 (Morristown Road) in Bernards Township of Somerset County, New Jersey.^[1] In the 19th century, it had a grist mill, saw mill, general store, school, and several houses. The Franklin Corners Historic District, featuring Van Dorn's Mill,^[2] was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.^[3]

History

In 1768, Samuel Lewis built a wooden grain mill here on the Passaic River. During the American Revolutionary War, it provided grain to the Continental Army during the 1779–1780 winter encampment at nearby Jockey Hollow. In 1842, Ferdinand Van Dorn bought the property and built a new, three and one-half story stone mill, now known as Van Dorn's Mill.^[3]^[4] In 1929, local resident and prominent restaurateur William Childs bought the mill property and moved the barn to the other side of U.S. 202. He restored it and established an inn, now known as the Grain House Restaurant at the Olde Mill Inn. In the 1970s, the Olde Mill Inn hotel, venue and meeting center was built on the property next to the restaurant.^[5]

The Franklin Academy was a small private school for the community. The two story schoolhouse on Childs Road was built in 1832 with Greek Revival style.^[3]

Historic district

Significant dates

Franklin Corners Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
New Jersey Register of Historic Places

Ferdinand Van Dorn House and Mill
Location	Hardscrabble and Childs roads
Area	47 acres (19 ha)
Architectural style	Greek Revival
NRHP reference No.	75001159^[6]
NJRHP No.	2427^[7]
Added to NRHP	May 12, 1975
Designated NJRHP	December 12, 1974

The Franklin Corners Historic District is a 47-acre (19 ha) historic district encompassing the community along Hardscrabble and Childs roads in Bernards Township. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 1975 for its significance in architecture, commerce, education and industry. The district includes 11 contributing buildings.^[3]

In 1935, Van Dorn's Mill, then owned by William Childs, was documented by the Historic American Buildings Survey.^[8] McMurtry's Saw Mill, built in 1850, was documented by HABS in 1939.^[9]

The Ferdinand Van Dorn House, next to the mill, is a two and one-half story house built with Greek Revival style. The oldest house in the district, the Samuel Johnson House, was built c. 1770. The oldest section of the Joab Johnson House was built c. 1805. It was later William Gordon's General Store c. 1832–1850.^[3]

Grain House Restaurant
Samuel Johnson House
Joab Johnson House / William Gordon's General Store

Transportation

There are several main roads in the community. U.S. Route 202, running south from Morristown and northeast from Bernardsville, intersects with County Route 613 (Childs Road) and North Maple Avenue, running north from Basking Ridge.^[10]^[11]

Childs Road is named after William Childs and his brother Samuel. Van Dorn Road is named after Ferdinand Van Dorn.^[12]

References

^ Hagemann, Donna (January 29, 1975). "Franklin Corners gets it together". The Courier-News. p. B-1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Also spelled Van Doren's Mill and "Van Dorans Mills". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Karschner, Terry (August 1974). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Franklin Corners Historic District". National Park Service. With accompanying 9 photos
^ Snell, James P. (1881). "Ferdinand Van Dorn". History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey. Everts & Peck. pp. 751–2.
^ "Historic Restaurant in Basking Ridge". The Olde Mill Inn & Grain House Restaurant. With "The History of the Grain House" (PDF). The Historical Society of the Somerset Hills.
^ "National Register Information System – Franklin Corners Historic District (#75001159)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
^ "New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places – Somerset County" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection – Historic Preservation Office. September 28, 2021. p. 2.
^ "Van Doren's Mill, Bernardsville, Somerset County, NJ". Historic American Buildings Survey. 1935.
^ "McMurtry's Saw Mill, Hardscrabble Road, Basking Ridge, Somerset County, NJ". Historic American Buildings Survey. 1939.
^ "U.S. Route 202 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. p. 14.
^ "Somerset County Route 613 straight line diagram" (PDF). New Jersey Department of Transportation. p. 3.
^ Kennedy, June. "History of Street Names in Bernards Township" (PDF). Bernards Township, New Jersey.

External links

Media related to Franklin Corners, New Jersey at Wikimedia Commons
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. NJ-67, "Van Doren's Mill, Bernardsville, Somerset County, NJ", 5 photos, 6 measured drawings, 3 data pages, supplemental material
HABS No. NJ-533, "McMurtry's Saw Mill, Hardscrabble Road, Basking Ridge, Somerset County, NJ", 4 photos, 11 measured drawings, 5 data pages, supplemental material
"To The Memory of William Childs, 1865–1938". The Historical Marker Database. On Van Dorn Mill.

v t e Municipalities and communities of Somerset County, New Jersey, United States
County seat: Somerville
Boroughs	Bernardsville Bound Brook Far Hills Manville Millstone North Plainfield Peapack-Gladstone Raritan Rocky Hill Somerville South Bound Brook Watchung	Map of New Jersey highlighting Somerset County
Townships	Bedminster Bernards Branchburg Bridgewater Franklin Green Brook Hillsborough Montgomery Warren
CDPs	Basking Ridge Bedminster Belle Mead Blackwells Mills Blawenburg Bradley Gardens Bridgewater Center Clyde East Franklin East Millstone East Rocky Hill Finderne Flagtown Franklin Center Franklin Park Green Knoll Griggstown Harlingen Hillsborough Kingston Lamington Liberty Corner Lyons Martinsville Middlebush Neshanic Neshanic Station‡ Pleasant Plains Pluckemin Pottersville‡ Six Mile Run Skillman Somerset Ten Mile Run The Hills Voorhees Weston Zarephath
Other communities	Amwell Cloverhill Dutchtown Franklin Corners Free Acres Gladstone Little Rocky Hill Middlebrook North Branch Rockingham South Branch Stoutsburg Zion
Footnotes	‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties
New Jersey portal United States portal

v t e National Register of Historic Places in Somerset County, New Jersey
Districts	Blawenburg Historic District Bridgepoint Historic District Clover Hill Historic District Delaware and Raritan Canal East Millstone Historic District Franklin Corners Historic District Griggstown Historic District King's Highway Historic District Kingston Mill Historic District Kingston Village Historic District Lamington Historic District Liberty Corner Historic District Lyons Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District Middlebush Village Historic District Millstone Historic District Millstone Valley Agricultural District Neshanic Historic District Neshanic Mills Neshanic Station Historic District North Branch Historic District Olcott Avenue Historic District Pluckemin Village Historic District Pottersville Village Historic District River Road Historic Rural District Rocky Hill Historic District Six Mile Run Historic District South Branch Historic District Washington Park Historic District
Places of worship	Mount Bethel Baptist Meetinghouse Mount Zion African Methodist Episcopal Church Presbyterian Church at Bound Brook Presbyterian Church in Basking Ridge Reformed Dutch Church of Blawenburg Six Mile Run Reformed Church St. Bernard's Church and Parish House St. John's Church Complex
Houses	Alward Farmhouse Baker–Duderstadt Farm Boudinot–Southard Farmstead Coffee House Elmendorf House General John Frelinghuysen House Dirck Gulick House Huff House and Farmstead Kennedy–Martin–Stelle Farmstead Kirch–Ford House Alexander and James Linn Homestead Maplewood The Meadows Old Dutch Parsonage Reynolds–Scherman House Daniel Robert House Rockingham Smalley–Wormser House J. Harper Smith Mansion Staats House Andrew Ten Eyck House Tulipwood Vail–Trust House Van Der Veer–Harris House Van Horne House Van Veghten House Jacobus Vanderveer House Van Derventer–Brunson House Dr. John Vermeule House Vosseller's–Castner's–Allen's Tavern Wallace House
Buildings	Basking Ridge Classical School Bernardsville Station Bound Brook Station Brook Theater Far Hills Station Gladstone Station Lyons Station McDonald's–Kline's Mill John Parker Tavern Raritan Station Relief Hose Company No. 2 Engine House Somerset Courthouse Green South Branch Schoolhouse West End Hose Company Number 3
Sites	Middlebrook Encampment Site Pluckemin Continental Artillery Cantonment Site Lord Stirling Manor Site
Structures	Bedens Brook Bridge Bedens Brook Road Bridge Cat Tail Brook Bridge Moses Craig Limekilns Higginsville Road Bridges Old Stone Arch Bridge Raritan Bridge Rock Brook Bridge
See also: National Register of Historic Places listings in Somerset County, New Jersey and List of National Historic Landmarks in New Jersey

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History

Historic district

Transportation

See also

References

External links