Presentation set Jan. 22
As part of its annual meeting, the Lambertville Historical Society will host a presentation by Lauren Braun-Strumfels, on industry in Lambertville during the 1800s.
The meeting will begin at 2 p.m. on Jan. 22 at the Justice Center (Acme), 25 S. Union St., Lambertville. Admission is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be served.
In this talk, Dr. Braun-Strumfels will put Lambertville, a 300-year-old river town, into historical context by focusing on the city’s industrial zenith in the late 19th century.
Between the Civil War and World War II, Lambertville’s growing factories employed thousands of native and immigrant workers to produce the goods of a second industrial revolution in America.
How and why these people came here, the nature of their work, and the impact their labor had upon a changing world will be explored.
Dr. Braun-Strumfels is on the faculty at Raritan Valley Community College, where she teaches courses in U.S. and world history and is a board member of the Lambertville Historical Society. She spends most weekends fixing up her 1895 Victorian originally built for workers at the Lambertville spoke factory.
ACCORDING TO A WEBSITE, “the industrialization of Lambertville began in 1851 when the Belvidere-Delaware Railroad was built along the canal north from Trenton. The Holcombe farm hampered development on the north end of town. In 1851, when John Holcombe died, the estate was divided between his children, John and Cynthia. Cynthia, whose land lay east of North Main Street, kept her portion intact, but John subdivided his into lots. His plans, however, were stymied by a large house, which stood on Delevan Street directly in the path of northward extension of Union Street. The Lake and Beers’ 1860 map of the Trenton and Philadelphia vicinity shows only 12 houses north of Delevan Street. On Sept. 11, 1863, the house mysteriously burned down and northward development began.”
According to the Lambertville census of 1863, the town had 516 structures and 2,851 people. “By 1866, the Lambertville Beacon called the northern section of town the ‘land of promise.’ Wealthy factory owners and merchants built large homes in the Italianate and French Second Empire architectural styles along North Union. Industries grew and flourished along the river bank and canal south from Delevan Street.
”The railroad shops had a large influence. Shortly after the completion of the Lambertville-Flemington branch in 1854, the shops began to build locomotives and freight and passenger cars. The Pennsylvania Railroad took over the old Belvidere-Delaware Railroad in 1871 and the shops were converted into maintenance yards and repair facilities.
”The Lambertville Spoke Factory, located at the north end of town starting at Elm Street, originally manufactured spokes, but by 1860 it built the whole wheel. During the Civil War, it made up to 400 wheels a day.
”Lambertville also had two rubber factories. The Lambertville Rubber Company and the New Jersey Rubber Company were organized in the latter part of the century. The Lambertville Rubber Company was best known for its patented ‘snag proof’ boots.
”By the close of the 19th century, the city had made great strides in providing utilities: water in 1877, electricity in 1893, sewers in 1897, and telephones in 1898. It was prospering. Population peaked at 5,120 in 1900 (it was 3,974 in 1993 after its revitalization had begun).
”Lambertville’s property was shaken by the flood of 1903, which caused damage throughout the city and carried off the covered bridge. It was replaced by the present iron one in 1904.
”The Hairpin Factory opened in 1901, manufacturing 15 tons of hairpins a week. It closed in 1922 after women began bobbing their hair. The Pennsylvania Railroad, a major employer, moved its maintenance yards to Trenton in 1909. This took jobs and also affected shipping to other businesses. Fortunately, the Lambertville Pottery Company began manufacturing toilets that year with two kilns on North Union Street, and by 1922, 12 kilns were producing 300 bowls and tanks daily. The Pottery Company, unable to provide sinks and bathtubs along with toilets and tanks, could no longer compete and closed in 1925. Both rubber companies closed in the face of lower rubber prices and Henry Firestone’s progress. In 1937, the Pennsylvania Railroad officially abandoned the Delaware and Raritan Canal.”