A History of Edison, NJ

Metuchen-Edison Historical Society P.O. Box 61Metuchen, NJ 08840
Originally compiled by David C. Sheehan

Edison, formerly known as Raritan Township, was first settled in the late 1600’s, when it was part of Woodbridge and Piscataway Townships. Its first families included the Dunhams, Martins, Bonhams, Hulls and Fitz Randolphs, to whom land grants were given.  Many of these names live on in the community in the form of street names and section names. But people have lived in the Edison area since prehistoric times. Skull and bone fragments from the Stone Age have been discovered in the Piscataway town area, and arrowheads and cooking implements, ascribed to Native Americans living in the area, were found in an archeological dig in the Dismal Swamp.

Old Post Road, the earliest public road in eastern New Jersey, passes through Edison and is said to have been used by President George Washington as he traveled through the state on the way to his inauguration in New York City in April 1789.

A re-enactment of that journey took place in Edison on April 13, 1989, during the celebration of the bicentennial of Washington’s first inauguration. His route was retraced, and special ceremonies were held at the historic St. James Church on Woodbridge Avenue.  The Bonhamtown area of Edison, on Old Post Road, is named after Nicholas Bonham, a freeholder from 1682 to 1683. The hamlet is said to have been the site of an old Native American village and later a Continental Army camp and battleground during the Revolutionary War.  As early as 1693, Bonhamtown served as the seat of justice for Middlesex and Somerset counties. By 1834, the village featured 10 to 12 dwellings, two taverns, a store and a schoolhouse.  Revolutionary War skirmishes took place in Bonhamtown, Piscatawaytown and along what is now Woodbridge Avenue. In fact, the St. James Episcopal Church building served as a hospital for wounded British soldiers during the war. Six British soldiers killed in one of the area’s skirmishes are buried in the cemetery at the church.

In 1777, the local militia engaged in a battle with British and Hessian troops who were advancing toward Gen. Washington’s troops. Washington’s troops had taken refuge in the nearby Watchung Mountains. This battle, which is part of the Battle of Short Hills, is known as The Oak Tree Engagement. It took place at the intersection which is now Oak Tree and Plainfield roads.

Edison is also home to the second oldest Baptist Church in New Jersey and the 10th oldest in the nation. Stelton Baptist Church was formed in the spring of 1689, and among its original members was the Stelle family, after whom the Stelton section of Edison is named. Through 1875, however, the church was known as the First Baptist Church of Piscataway. The churchs tercentennial was celebrated in 1989.

Edison grew in the second half of the 19th century as the attractiveness of the rural landscape became more accessible with the opening of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Easton and Amboy lines. By the late 1800’s, many residents commuted to jobs in New York and other parts of New Jersey.  One of the many passengers carried on the Pennsylvania line to Edison was Thomas Alva Edison, later to be known as the “Wizard of Menlo Park”. It is said that he chose the Menlo Park site for his laboratories because it was the highest point along the Pennsylvania Railroad between New York and Philadelphia. The establishment of Thomas Edison’s industrial research laboratory – he preferred calling it his “invention factory” – in 1876 brought global fame to the township as it became the site for some of the most innovative research and manufacturing feats in world history.  While there, Thomas Edison invented items that led to for than 400 patents. These Menlo Park inventions include the phonograph, the electric railway (which incidentally, ran along present day Middlesex Avenue) and the incandescent lamp. Christie Street, on which the Edison Memorial Tower now stands, was the first street to be illuminated by incandescent lamps, and Mrs. Jordan’s Boarding House, home to many of Thomas Edison’s workers, was the first residence to be lighted that way. When Edison moved out of Menlo Park, the buildings fell into delapidation, and the labratory was even used as a chicken coop for a while before it fell down.

In 1937, the Edison Memorial Tower was erected to commemorate the years Thomas Edison spent at Menlo Park. In 1986, the Edison Township Historical Society erected 12 period street lamps surrounding the tower to commemorate the illumination of Christie Street. The Edison Memorial Tower is located on the National Register of Historic Places. During the first part decade of the 21st century, the township has placed a renewed focus on reviving this historical gem. Fundraising campaigns are ongoing to restore the Tower and develop a Thomas Edison educational center and museum.

From a rural-residential community in the 1920’s, Edison has grown in population, commercial and industrial center. It ranks as the fifth largest municipality in New Jersey.  In 1954, a group of citizens proposed a change in the name of the township, partially because of the confusion arising from the fact that several municipalities in the state were named Raritan. The name the voters selected was Edison. The name voters denied was Nixon.  Raritan Center, located in the southeast section of Edison, is the largest industrial park, east of the Mississippi River. The daytime population of Raritan Center is approximately 45,000, rivaling the population of many nearby communities.

Edison serves as home to more than 100,000 residents and is a hub of rail and highway networks for the distribution of numerous goods and services.  This history of Edison, however, is more than a collection of facts and figures, chronologies of events and even a rich inventory of historic sites and buildings. It is a rich and varied legacy of the people groups, institutions and organizations that have helped form the community into what it is today.

Originally compiled by David C. Sheehan

Edison Historical Timeline

1651- A large tract of land from the Raritan River to the Passaic, including what is now Edison Township, was deeded by the Dutch King to Augustine Herrmanns, a Dutch settler.

1689- First School established in Oak Tree Section.

1689- Stelton Baptist Church formed in spring.

1693- ‘Mary Jones’ is buried – the oldest marked grave in Middlesex County.

1724- St. James Episcopal Church built (used as a British barracks and hospital during the Revolutionary War).

1732- Col. John Dunham Estate built.

1777- The Revolutionary War Battle of the Short Hills/Oak Tree Engagement took place in Edison on June 26

1778- George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and some of their troops ate a breakfast in the Dunham Estate home.

1789- Old Post Road, the earliest public road in eastern New Jersey, is used by George Washington as he traveled through the state to his inauguration in New York City.

1795- Raritan Bridge (now known as the Albany Street Bridge on Route 27) built.

1830- Forman Martin Home built.

1835- St. James Episcopal Church destroyed by a tornado. Rebuilt by Joseph Foulke, using as much of the original fittings and fixtures as possible.

1841- New Dover United Methodist Church founded.

1870- Raritan Independent begins publication.

1870- The township, formed from parts of Woodbridge and Piscataway townships  was Incorporated originally as “Raritan Township” in March.

1875- Bonhamtown Grace Reformed Church is built.

1876- Thomas Alva Edison established his Menlo Park laboratory.

1879- Thomas Edison illuminates his 45-acre laboratory site with his incandescent lamps.

1881- Clara Barton (and friends) formed the American Association of the Red Cross.

1887- The Yelencsics Homestead is built. Birthplace and family residence of Edison’s longtime mayor, Anthony M. Yelencsics.

1900- Metuchen incorporates as a separate borough, leaving the Township.

1905- Highland Park incorporates as a separate borough, leaving the Township.

1908- Bonhamtown School built.

1913- Piscatawaytown School built. Would become the first school in the township with a telephone.

1917- Edison’s Fire Department is started.

1921- Clara Barton School opens.

1923- Stelton Elementary School (now the Stelton Community Center) built. The school is known to have been the first to provide a school lunch program.

1923- Edison Police Department formed with four men and a Model-T Ford.

1924- Raritan Engine Company No. 2 formed.

1925- H.K. Fire Company established.

1926- Oak Tree Fire Company founded.

1927- Edward E. Meeker becomes first official township mayor.

1927- The first public library in Raritan Township opens.

1933- Middlesex Junior College established.

1935- Roosevelt Hospital opens.

1935- Raritan Township Safety Council formed.

1936- Second First Aid Squad (now known as Edison First Aid Squad No. 2) formed.

1937- The Edison Memorial Tower was erected to commemorate the years Edison spent at Menlo Park.

1941- Menlo Park Volunteer Fire Company built a new firehouse.

1941- Middlesex Junior College closed.

1951- Clara Barton First Aid Squad formed.

1954- Citizens propose a name change from Raritan Township-The name the voters selected was Edison.

1955- Raritan Township Safety Council renamed to Edison First Aid and Rescue Squad No. 1.

1956- Thomas A. Edison High School opened (township’s first public high school).

1958- Groundbreaking ceremony for the Edison Post Office.

1960- “Edison Times” published in Edison.

1964- John P. Stevens, Edison’s second public high school, opened.

1965- Raritan Arsenal sold to Frank and Vincent Visceglia, and Raritan Center was formed.

1966- Middlesex County College opens.

1967- John F. Kennedy Medical Center established.

1970- Exit 10 on the New Jersey Turnpike opened.

1979- Metuchen-Edison Review began publication.

1981- Township’s current Municipal Complex dedicated.

1982- Clara Barton School Closed.

1982- Stelton School Closed.

1983- Edison Township Historical Society formed.

1986- The Edison Township Historical Society erects 12 period street lamps surrounding the

Edison Tower to commemorate the illumination of Christie Street.

1989- Mayor Anthony Yelensics dies in office. In two stints, Yelensics served more than 23 years as mayor, the most of any mayor in township history.

1990- Minnie B. Veal Recreation Center dedicated.

1996- Edison Township Online is opened to the public.

1996- The Edison Television Network begins broadcasting.

1997- The Edison Township Web Site http://www.edisonnj.org goes online.

2005- Jun H. Choi is elected mayor at age 34, becoming the youngest mayor in Edison history.

2007- Township honors Space Shuttle Commander and J.P. Stevens graduate Mark Polansky with a day in his honor.

2007- The Edison Summer Music Festival is launched and township-sponsored 4th of July fireworks return for the first time in more than three decades.