News From Bricksburg, 1866
From the New Jersey Courier, 31 May 1866:
We paid a visit to this lively village on Friday last. Found French, of the Bricksburg House, in his happiest mood with a jolly good table. Parmentier, mirthful and happy, and our friends Bradshaw and Bechtel, busy selling tape and dry goods and raking in money. "Murphy", alias Bradshaw, is building as fine a dwelling as there is in the embryo city, perfectly contented, even if we did give him a world wide reputation, under the cognomen of Murphy by mistake. Larrabee, at the depot, and D.B. Stout, are doing finely in their respective pursuits. The new steam saw mill of the Company is buzzing away, getting out lumber and all creation are after the sacred material. Several new houses are going up. Found a dominie, Rev. Mr.Mason, with whom we were much pleased. Could laugh and joke and retain his dignity as a clerical gentleman, without freezing you. Liked him much, and hope to see him often. Bricksburg is bound to rise and shine. The embankment around Lake Carasaljo has been raised several feet so as to enlarge the reservoir and power. Bricksburg has subscribed freely and showed much good taste and intelligence. The Foundry is in full blast, turning out gas and water pipes. Saw a map of B. It was an extensive one. Saw a friend of Shreve's tracks around the tract, but missed seeing him. He is on the move continually, and if you go where he is, thinking to find him, you will hear of him as being somewhere else. He is a Surveyor and civil engineer, lively and vivacious. Parmentier, is one of the Jersey "boys in blue" who put down the Rebellion. Left on a Market wagon, driven by Tom Singleton, a butcher man, for Toms River. Was pleased muchly with our visit, and profited thereby.
BERGEN IRON WORKS
or more modernly speaking Bricksburg. This is a very pleasant little town, with an intelligent population, but infested by a soulless crowd of land speculators. A goodly number of the citizens were at the depot, and as our $5 friend lifted up his stentorian lungs, waving his wand, shouted, "This way gentleman, free coach to the --- house!" "Have a hack air sir?" the people laughed. At this juncture, we put our handsome picture out of the window, and caught that chap's eye. It was amusing to see hm shoot around the corner, consoling himself with the comforting assurrance that we could not see him as he skulked behind the depot. The people of Bricksburg are an enterprising race of men, coming from the eastern states. The people have proucured an act of incorporation for a Manufacturing Company, and are now proceeding to build a very large foundry and machine shop, which will add largely to the wealth and business of this village. Had the Land Company carried out all the inducements which were held out, Brick'sburg would have had to-day about 25,000 inhabitants, instead of 800. Such is life. The citizens have built a very nice school house, a Methodist and Presbyterian Church, and the Baptists are agitating the same question of building a meeting house.
The principal merchants are Al Larrabee (a live one, too), Gladding, Polk, Bachrach, Dickinson and Hunt, Lewis, Blackman and Co., Perkins, Boughton, etc. Charlie French keeps a very nice house nearest to the depot, and Fuller and Noble lumber and coal the people. The member of the General Assembly lives here, and one of his best qualifications is in attending to his constituents and in being one of Grant's "Boys in Blue." We shall have to be careful how we speak well of this place, or The Land Agent will send us a $5 greenback, which wuld muchy startle us from our propriety, and then the Land Company would order their hired lacquacy to set up an imaginary man of straw, and bang away like an old hoarse fish peddler. So we will travel on.
We paid a visit to this lively village on Friday last. Found French, of the Bricksburg House, in his happiest mood with a jolly good table. Parmentier, mirthful and happy, and our friends Bradshaw and Bechtel, busy selling tape and dry goods and raking in money. "Murphy", alias Bradshaw, is building as fine a dwelling as there is in the embryo city, perfectly contented, even if we did give him a world wide reputation, under the cognomen of Murphy by mistake. Larrabee, at the depot, and D.B. Stout, are doing finely in their respective pursuits. The new steam saw mill of the Company is buzzing away, getting out lumber and all creation are after the sacred material. Several new houses are going up. Found a dominie, Rev. Mr.Mason, with whom we were much pleased. Could laugh and joke and retain his dignity as a clerical gentleman, without freezing you. Liked him much, and hope to see him often. Bricksburg is bound to rise and shine. The embankment around Lake Carasaljo has been raised several feet so as to enlarge the reservoir and power. Bricksburg has subscribed freely and showed much good taste and intelligence. The Foundry is in full blast, turning out gas and water pipes. Saw a map of B. It was an extensive one. Saw a friend of Shreve's tracks around the tract, but missed seeing him. He is on the move continually, and if you go where he is, thinking to find him, you will hear of him as being somewhere else. He is a Surveyor and civil engineer, lively and vivacious. Parmentier, is one of the Jersey "boys in blue" who put down the Rebellion. Left on a Market wagon, driven by Tom Singleton, a butcher man, for Toms River. Was pleased muchly with our visit, and profited thereby.
BERGEN IRON WORKS
or more modernly speaking Bricksburg. This is a very pleasant little town, with an intelligent population, but infested by a soulless crowd of land speculators. A goodly number of the citizens were at the depot, and as our $5 friend lifted up his stentorian lungs, waving his wand, shouted, "This way gentleman, free coach to the --- house!" "Have a hack air sir?" the people laughed. At this juncture, we put our handsome picture out of the window, and caught that chap's eye. It was amusing to see hm shoot around the corner, consoling himself with the comforting assurrance that we could not see him as he skulked behind the depot. The people of Bricksburg are an enterprising race of men, coming from the eastern states. The people have proucured an act of incorporation for a Manufacturing Company, and are now proceeding to build a very large foundry and machine shop, which will add largely to the wealth and business of this village. Had the Land Company carried out all the inducements which were held out, Brick'sburg would have had to-day about 25,000 inhabitants, instead of 800. Such is life. The citizens have built a very nice school house, a Methodist and Presbyterian Church, and the Baptists are agitating the same question of building a meeting house.
The principal merchants are Al Larrabee (a live one, too), Gladding, Polk, Bachrach, Dickinson and Hunt, Lewis, Blackman and Co., Perkins, Boughton, etc. Charlie French keeps a very nice house nearest to the depot, and Fuller and Noble lumber and coal the people. The member of the General Assembly lives here, and one of his best qualifications is in attending to his constituents and in being one of Grant's "Boys in Blue." We shall have to be careful how we speak well of this place, or The Land Agent will send us a $5 greenback, which wuld muchy startle us from our propriety, and then the Land Company would order their hired lacquacy to set up an imaginary man of straw, and bang away like an old hoarse fish peddler. So we will travel on.
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