The Wayne Museum

In observance of Juneteenth, all Passaic County historic sites and cultural facilities are closed today.

Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when news of freedom reached the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued. Today serves as a time to reflect on this important moment in American history and recognize the resilience, achievements, and lasting contributions of Black Americans.

Wow! Wayne was once a summer vacation spot. Here’s a continuation of a scrapbook (posted this past week) for what a family might have experienced when vacationing in Wayne in the 1930’s.

Image #1 “We often went to the Mountain View Community Club where we saw some plays and attended dances. We loved the Meadowbrook Syncopators led by Orchestra Leader Frank Daily. I also love the new air-cooling system. It’s so comfortable!”. (Later on, Frank Daily built the Meadowbrook on Route 23 in Cedar Grove.)

Image #2 “We also loved to eat at Donohue’s on Route 23. There was such a variety of food which could be ordered for dinner. On one visit, we were fortunate enough to get Babe Ruth’s autograph. The Babe and Jimmy Donohue were good friends and Babe used to visit the restaurant a lot”.

Image #3 “We have experimented with all sorts of lakes and other places for camping. This particular picture was taken before we started vacationing in Wayne but it’s often sold as a postcard. This is on a place called the 'Hoffman Tract'".

Image #4 “There were so many different lakes we used to go to. Around 10 years ago, Packanack Lake was built. It was initially a place to travel for vacation but people began to live here all year round. Like many of the area lakes, sand was actually trucked in from the New Jersey Shore to use on the beach”.

Image #5 “There are so many different farms in Wayne. There are horse farms, dairy farms, and vegetable farms. Here’s a farmhouse on Berdan Avenue in Wayne. It’s my understanding that until recently, five generations of family lived in this house and then sold to another farmer”. (This of course is the present day site of the Van Riper-Hopper House at the Wayne Museum. It looks similar in 2026.)

Image #6 “Well, 1940 was the last year we vacationed in Wayne. For our last summer, a new place to buy ice cream opened up, the Alderney Milk Bar. There’s a little history here—this was the main barn for the George Washington Colfax farmstead. The house stayed in the family for many generations until Olaf Haroldson bought the property. Mrs. Haroldson and her daughter have just started selling ice cream at the barn. It’s a neat place to go to”.

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 Wayne Museum is often "going down the rabbit hole" and putting pieces together on what was once on the land where Willowbrook Mall is today.

Well, as late as 1917, bills in this area give Singac for payment of taxes. Various parts of farmland changed hands and living in the area as late as 1970 was Mrs. William Martin Farrell. The Martin Family had own 26 acres in the early 1900’s but by 1970, owned 3. In an interview with Mrs. Farrell, she recalls attending school in Singac, Little Falls until 1920 when she had to switch to Mountainview School being her tax paying residence then fell into Wayne Township boundaries. The Passaic River then became the dividing line between Singac and Wayne.

Walter Wilkie, a veterinarian who also lived in the area, built a racetrack which also become a site for field day events for children. When describing the Van Ammers Dairy Farm in “Images of America, Wayne Township” (p. 75), Cathy Tobin discusses how the Wilkie Family kept racing trotters on the land.

Other neighbors included Farmer Cornelius Williams; Joseph Stager; Music Teachers Mr. and Mrs. Schaefer; and the Selles Family. The Selles Family still owned some of the land as late as 1970.

By the 1940’s, much of this Wayne farmland became known as Willow Brook Farms, a breeding and training center for racehorses and for horse shows. The owners of Willow Brook Farms were Frank and Mary Weny. Willow Brook Farms had stables for 30 to 50 horses, either trotters or show horses. Weny and his wife owned most of the horses while other horsemen rented space on the farm. Most of the Weny Horses were known as “Hobo, something or another” . The Weny Family often took in people who were down on their luck, which is the reason for the term "Hobo". (See second and third pictures.)

The Willow Brook Skating Rink opened December 16, 1955, near where the Willow Brook Farms area. In addition to the ice-skating rink, the Triple O Ranch, Inc. was a regular destination for families to give children horse and pony rides. There was also a “Trampoline Center” during the time of the year when the skating rink was closed.

The Wayne Museum will be closed this week while our staff participates in training designed to better serve our visitors and help preserve Passaic County’s rich history.

We will reopen next week for normal hours and look forward to welcoming everyone back to the Museum soon!

Thank you for your understanding and continued support.

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?

Hammond Store:
This 1912 picture of a horse drawn delivery wagon is very different from the “Door Dash” which you may be more familiar with. The wagon was driven by Dan Johnson and comes from the Hammond General Store in the Mountain View section of Wayne. The store made local deliveries by horse and buggy. Tobin reports that Harry Hammond worked as a store clerk, and then opened a general store in Mountain View on Newark-Pompton Turnpike (across from the Mead House). See the second picture, circa 1911 and the third picture, 1918. Charles Hammond, Lena Vander Wende, and Harry Hammond are pictured left to right in the second picture. The store also contained a post office and the first telephone in the area. The Hammond Family lived upstairs. The store was a popular spot to “hang out” for all ages.
For additional reading on the Mountain View section of Wayne, see “Images of America, Wayne Township”, by Cathy Tobin, Arcadia Publishing, 2001, pgs. 25-48.

DID YOU KNOW THAT THIS PAST FRIDAY WAS “TAKE YOUR BICYCLE TO WORK (OR SCHOOL) DAY?”. Here are some pictures and information we posted before about Wayne Residents riding bicycles in the early 20th Century. The first picture shows Lloyd Demott who celebrated his 90th Birthday in 1960. DeMott and David Ryerson went into the grocery business on Newark-Pompton Turnpike in 1900, in a building which later housed the post office. Some sources report that the original DeMott Ryerson Post Office pigeonhole shelves on display in the parlor of the Van Riper Hopper House are these same post officer shelves. (This is also disputed by some.) The second picture shows Jennie Colfax and Amelia Berry in shirtwaists and long skirts riding their bikes over the wooden trestle Colfax Bridge, while two young, mustached men ride behind them. A boy stands at the opposite end of the bridge in the distance, (circa 1910). This bridge goes over the Pompton River. (A local bank has this picture on display.) The third picture shows a large group of children and adults posing in front of the Pequannock School on Black Oak Ridge Road and Newark Turnpike. Note the many bicycles on display! For the fourth picture, we also learned that in the early 1900’s, the first Wayne Police Chief, Charles McGee used to ride his bicycle down Valley Road to work each day. We don’t have a picture of the Chief riding, but we do have this picture. If you’re able to ride your bike to work or school, think about Lloyd Demott, Jennie Colfax, Amelia Berry, the students at the Pequannock School, and Chief McGee. We hope you have as much fun as they did!

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.