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Rick Epstein
Sep 7, 20203 min read
Kingwood Farmboy Became Top Expert on Forgery
LEWIS, Aaron Rittenhouse – (1857-?) was the son of Samuel and Eliza, who had a farm near Baptistown. Eliza was a sister of Frenchtown's...
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Rick Epstein
Sep 3, 20201 min read
Mrs. Shurtz Wanted the Best Brick House $4K Could Build
SHURTZ Nathan – (1818-1902) owner of N. Shurtz & Co.'s Empire Spoke Works on the south bank of the Little Nishisackawick. He lived at 3...
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Rick Epstein
Aug 28, 20201 min read
Jack Mannino, a Frenchtown pizza pioneer
PIZZERIAS Jack's Pizza – Pizza-maker Jack Mannino opened his pizzeria in 1972 on western corner of Trenton Avenue and Bridge Street in...
1,260 views1 comment
Rick Epstein
Aug 24, 20202 min read
"Barefoot Nomads" Used to Camp in Frenchtown
"GYPSIES" – now more courteously known as Romani travelers, used to camp briefly in Frenchtown as they wended their way across the...
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Rick Epstein
Aug 22, 20203 min read
Celebrities Who Trickled Through Frenchtown
The first celebrity through here was probably British Gen. William Howe, commander of the British Army in America, who availed himself of...
1,760 views2 comments
Rick Epstein
Aug 20, 20203 min read
Frenchtown's Founder Was Extremely Ownerous
OWNERSHIP OF FRENCHTOWN – In its early days the land that would eventually become Frenchtown was all one piece, and any non-owning...
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Rick Epstein
Aug 18, 20202 min read
Druggist Fights Gunman; Shots Fired
A young stranger spent most of a December day in 1939 lurking around Frenchtown, paying particular attention to Harman's Rexall Drug...
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Rick Epstein
Aug 16, 20203 min read
The Bench Boys Still Loiter in Memory
BENCH BOYS – In 1961 the Frenchtown branch of the Hunterdon County National Bank put on a brick addition and erected a white...
1,110 views1 comment
Rick Epstein
Aug 13, 20202 min read
Ferries Linked Frenchtown to Pennsylvania
FERRIES – The first record of a ferry at what is now Frenchtown is of London Ferry in 1741. The boat was poled across. The name of the...
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Rick Epstein
Aug 11, 20201 min read
Show-Biz Glamour Fizzles at The National
CARY, Claiborne – (1932-2010) Broadway performer, TV actor and cabaret singer, she and husband Chuck Northrup, a former Wall Street...
560 views0 comments
Rick Epstein
Aug 9, 20202 min read
Only two finished The Great Walk of 1963
STUNTS, GAGS and SHENANIGANS The Great Walk of 1963 – What began as morning banter in the Candy Kitchen between proprietor Pete Bournias...
598 views1 comment
Rick Epstein
Aug 6, 20204 min read
When Durham Boats Were a Sweet Ride
DURHAM BOATS – had their moment in 1776 when they carried George Washington and the Continental Army across the Delaware to win the...
424 views5 comments
Rick Epstein
Aug 3, 20201 min read
The Kuglers Have Been Found!
You know that out-of-place monument in Frenchtown that stands beside the hiking/biking trail? The one that was deliberately put there by...
736 views0 comments
Rick Epstein
Aug 1, 20203 min read
Slang, Slander and Vile Vomit! Angry Editor Critiques His Rival
NEWSPAPERS -- Hunterdon Independent – For 70 years, Frenchtown had two weekly newspapers. The first was the Frenchtown Press, Charles...
284 views3 comments
Rick Epstein
Jul 30, 20203 min read
Frenchtown's Mayors -- From Samuel Hudnit to Brad Myhre
If you've been yearning for a complete list of Frenchtown's mayors, yearn no more. Here it is: 1867 Samuel B. Hudnit, harness maker,...
473 views1 comment
Rick Epstein
Jul 28, 20202 min read
1966 Burglary Made No One Look Good, Including the Crooks
In 1966 the office of the Frenchtown Building & Loan Association was burglarized. The crime was made noteworthy by miscalculations by the...
268 views0 comments
Rick Epstein
Jul 25, 20202 min read
Wealthy Son Housed Mom in Style
Lots of Frenchtown folks remember No. 12 Bridge Street as the Apgar mansion, since a dwindling number of Apgars lived there from 1910 to...
1,111 views0 comments
Rick Epstein
Jul 23, 20203 min read
Minor Collisions at the Ford Dealership
AUTO DEALERS Ditschman Ford – William S. “Bill” Ditschman (1915-1999) opened his Mobil station in Frenchtown on the eastern corner of...
1,038 views4 comments
Rick Epstein
Jul 21, 20202 min read
The End of Frenchtown High
In 1956 with Frenchtown High School enrollment overflowing, the borough school board published a leaflet making the case for a “West...
960 views4 comments
Rick Epstein
Jul 19, 20202 min read
Ruth Apgar's Phenomenal Feat of Remembering
Members of the Frenchtown Presbyterian Church's Junior Christian Endeavor had their picture taken on May 22, 1904. Back in 1979, one of...
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