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South Plainfield Historical Society, Headquarters at the History Center: 115 Sylvania Place (Highland Woods Nature Reserve), South Plainfield, NJ (2026)

Q: What is the address?

Headquarters At The History Center: 115 Sylvania Place (Highland Woods Nature Reserve)

05/29/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
22/ JOHN I. HOLLY

His last name has become associated with many locations and businesses in South Plainfield. Starting in 1877 with Holly Grove Farm, it later appeared in real estate developments (such as Holly Park, Holly Crest, and Holly Manor), properties (Holly House and Holly Hill farm), streets (Holly Street, Holly Avenue, Holly Park Drive), businesses (including Holly Park Diner, Holly Park Video, Holly Park Insurance, Holly Park Florist, Holly Park Mower Service, and Holly Park Realty), land features (like Holly Pond, Holly Lake, and Holly Brook), Holly Park Boy Scout Troop #1, and the Holly Grove Herd of award-winning cattle.

John I. Holly, born 1844 in Stamford, CT, was a man of wealth, influence and social standing who could trace his ancestry to the Mayflower’s arrival at Plymouth in 1620. He was president of the Commercial Alliance Insurance Company of New York City, and an important man in the Standard Oil Company, as well as a Colonel in the New York National Guard, 65th Regiment, Company C of Brooklyn. He lived part-time, then full-time for 30+ years in South Plainfield beginning with the acquisition of 46 acres at the southern end of Park Avenue and along Oak Tree Avenue around 1873.

Like many wealthy Wall Street financiers and New York industrial leaders, John Holly was drawn to Plainfield and the surrounding area as it changed from a rural village into an affluent Victorian suburb and resort destination in the early 1870s. This marked the start of Plainfield’s Gilded Age, fueled by Central Railroad of New Jersey passenger service, which brought businessmen, their families, and developers to the picturesque countryside for weekend visits or summer stays that often led to the construction of large permanent estates. John Holly was one of them.

Holly acquired at least three more properties along the Park Avenue corridor in South Plainfield, including a major expansion in 1877 of the Park and Oak Tree tract to 275 acres — an area that today includes Oak Park Commons and the open-space parcel formerly part of ASARCO. Holly Grove Farm stretched north and south along Park Avenue, east and west along Oak Tree Avenue, and north along Woodland Avenue.

Holly’s Jersey cattle breeding and dairy operation at the farm achieved national recognition for its all-around excellence. The facility featured advanced architectural designs capable of accommodating approximately 80 head of cattle, and was equipped with steam-powered grist mills, grain carriers, silos, platform scales, steam pumps, integrated water and gas distribution systems, and an innovative ventilation system.

The stock that Holly imported and selectively bred consistently exhibited superior quality in both competitive shows and auctions. The registered Holly Grove Jersey herd was carefully developed to become one of the nation’s premier dairy herds, renowned for producing dairy products of exceptional quality. Holly achieved prominence within the Jersey cattle breeders' national organization, serving as president, secretary, and treasurer of the association. He was respected for his extensive knowledge of Jersey cattle breeding lines and promotion of the breed in America.

His foremost passion, however, was for horses. Recognized as an accomplished horseman, he participated in trotter races, rode with the Watchung Hunt Club, and organized numerous equestrian events for Plainfield’s distinguished equestrian community. At Holly Grove, one barn was exclusively reserved for his carriage horses, hunters, and racers.

Holly and his colleagues who shared interests in cattle and horses served as officers and directors of the Union and Middlesex Counties Mutual Agricultural Association. This group purchased the Plainfield Driving Park in the early 1870s and inaugurated the area's first County Fair in 1879 where they showcased their own livestock. Although the fair was discontinued after five years, it was not attributed to any fault of the association. Holly remained involved with the association following the reorganization of the group in 1884 when harness racing resumed at the track. In 1887, Holly Grove was sold to Civil War veteran General Samuel K. Schwenk, who continued its breeding and dairy operations.

After the sale of the dairy farm, the Holly family bought the former Laing farm on upper Park Avenue across from the fairgrounds and made it their permanent home. The estate, spanning 100+ acres, featured a scenic 700-foot driveway flanked by established maple trees leading from Park Avenue. A 6-acre spring-fed pond on the property provided recreation, while the expansive, c. 1801 three-story wood-framed house boasted 18 rooms with bright interiors and sun-drenched verandas. From its elevated position on the south side of the pond — about 150 feet away — the house overlooked more stately trees, lush lawns, a stable for Holly’s horses, an icehouse, and the picturesque 60-foot-wide pond that stretched roughly 200 feet along modern-day Maple Avenue where Holly’s children spent many hours boating and fishing in the well-stocked pond.

The Holly family’s busy social life, first established in New York, continued in Plainfield. As Wall Street wealth poured into the area, Plainfield became both a fashionable weekend escape and a year-round home for many of the nation’s wealthiest residents. High society filled its calendar with resort galas at the famed Hotel Netherwood, dinner parties, fox hunts, harness racing at the fairgrounds, and private recreation at the new Hillside Tennis and Golf Club on Woodland Avenue, now the Plainfield Country Club. Two of Holly’s daughters, Margaret and Mary, became tennis champions there.

Holly was active in community affairs, particularly in the early days of the movement to separate from Piscataway. He retired following the death of his wife in 1906 and moved back to Connecticut in 1907 when the farm was sold to Milton Mendel. His daughters remained in the area, and his son joined the navy. Holly died in 1911.

Notably in 1907, Margaret began a 31-year career as executive secretary of the Charity Organization Society of Plainfield and No. Plainfield. Though she grew up privileged and in the lap of luxury, her life was defined by aiding the poor and needy to bring relief to the plight of the less fortunate. Upon her death, flags in Plainfield were flown half-staff.

05/25/2026

HISTORY THEMED SCAVENGER HUNT FOR KIDS

South Plainfield is celebrating its 100th anniversary, so we've partnered with the South Plainfield Public Library to come up with this fun and interactive way to help children learn a little about the history of our community.

Children are encouraged to join their parent or guardian to take a walk around the downtown area and find each site that is pictured inside a booklet. Every child that completes the hunt will be entered into a drawing to win a gift certificate to one of South Plainfield's establishments.

Stop in the children's room at the library or print the booklet with rules, details and map of area from the library's webpage. Contest runs from May 1, 2026 to July 1, 2026. Good luck!

05/22/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
21/ THE NEW BROOKLYN FAIR: A Slice of Americana

New Brooklyn, a rural community near Plainfield, NJ, had never seen anything like it. On Tuesday, October 7, 1879, some 8,000 people from the city, nearby towns, and the countryside crowded the concourse at the Park Avenue fairgrounds for the opening day of the first of five annual county agricultural fairs.

Over three days, 28,000 to 30,000 people streamed in by train, on foot, and in horse-drawn vehicles that sent great clouds of dust over the unpaved roads. Before them, the fair opened like a grand scene — part public spectacle, part living lesson — where agriculture, invention, and local tradition came vividly to life.

The New Brooklyn fair offered blue ribbons and cash premiums in nearly 400 classes across multiple divisions. Organized by the Union and Middlesex Counties Mutual Agricultural Association, a private group unaffiliated with a government body, the fair invited visitors to spend the day immersed in noise, color, and spectacle for an admission price of 30 cents.

Under exhibition roofs and bright canvas awnings, families moved from table to table, admiring the season’s harvest displayed with almost ceremonial care. Tables were filled with giant pumpkins, colorful squash, and vivid flower arrangements. Crates overflowed with polished red apples, while shocks of wheat and corn stood as symbols of the harvest alongside richly pieced quilts and bolts of homespun cloth that reflected patient craftsmanship. Near the livestock ring, children held tightly to their parents, staring in awe at the massive cattle and impeccably groomed draft horses. At the race track, excitement swept through the crowd as harness horses thundered past in a spray of dirt, their speed matched by cheers that seemed to shake the air while the brass band played from the grandstand.

The New Brooklyn fair emerged during the so-called golden age of fairs (1880-1920), when organized regional agricultural and horticultural exhibitions flourished across the eastern and midwestern United States. Rooted in the Colonial era, fairs continued to evolve over time, adapting to changing technology, social needs, and public interests. By the mid-19th century, fairs had expanded beyond instruction in agriculture, farming methods, and new technology to attract a broader public, including visitors seeking entertainment. Traditional exhibits such as giant pumpkins and prize-winning livestock remained central, but financial success increasingly depended on midways with rides, sideshows, games, food vendors, and the all-important (and revenue producing) harness racing events. The New Brooklyn fair became part of New Jersey’s fall trotting circuit which included fairs held at Freehold, Waverly, Flemington, Somerville, and Mt. Holly, where many of the same horses competed.

For the U&MCMAA, launching a fair was a significant gamble. Agricultural fairs were not reliably profitable, especially in years of poor harvests, bad weather, or weak exhibits. Still, the association had one major advantage: it owned the Plainfield Driving Park, a half-mile racetrack that had operated for about eleven years in New Brooklyn just beyond the Union County line. Racing was originally reserved for association members who occasionally allowed spectators to attend on special holidays such as the Fourth of July. Newspaper accounts show that race days drew crowds in the thousands at 50 cents a ticket. These strong turnouts throughout the 1870s likely helped influence the association to organize a county fair in 1879 built around a three-day racing program that would appeal to the New Jersey trotting circuit and racing fans.

To support a series of annual fairs, the association made major investments in the grounds, expecting the improvements to pay off. It expanded the site to 33 acres by leasing 10 adjoining acres. Plans called for a permanent 100-by-40-foot exhibit hall, a 1,000-seat covered grandstand with exhibit space underneath, a 16-by-30-foot office, and a 100-by-25-foot stable with 20 box stalls and hay storage. Another 200 stalls were added for livestock, along with pens for 100 sheep and pigs. The racetrack was widened to 50 feet and fenced around the oval, while 5,000 feet of fencing and posts divided and secured the grounds.

The first annual agricultural fair of 1879 was a clear success. In its October 10, 1879, issue, The Daily Times summed it up this way.

“The first annual fair of the Union and Middlesex Agricultural Association at New Brooklyn closed last evening. The attendance on the last day was almost as large as that on the previous day, when about 8,000 visitors and more than 2,000 vehicles were on the grounds or in the vicinity. The fair has been a decided success financially and otherwise, and the projectors will be greatly encouraged to make even more strenuous efforts to accomplish success for next year.”

The “projectors” – the Officers and Board of Directors -- were wealthy and influential businessmen with vested interests in livestock breeding and horse racing that included: John I. Holly (New York insurance executive, part time New Brooklyn resident/owner of the 275 acre Holly Grove stock farm on Park Avenue); Charles A. Campbell (Woodbridge racehorse owner); Nathan Robins (Metuchen postmaster, breeder of imported Jersey cattle and sheep); J.W. Johnson (Plainfield resident and banker, NY silver metallurgist, owner of racehorses and imported cattle with stock farm on Park Avenue in Edison); James S. Vosseller (Plainfield resident, Union County executive, horseman); E.C. Pearson (Park Avenue property owner, horseman, politician); and Moses B. Ackens, New Brooklyn postmaster and businessman.

The next four fairs, held from 1880 to 1883, had mixed results, largely because of weather-related events. Even with drought, high winds, heavy rain, and flooding, organizers still drew thousands of visitors. After the 1883 fair, the series ended. Harness racing resumed at the Driving Park in 1884 under a reorganized racing association and continued until 1912, when the property was sold for development.

05/15/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
20/ POSTAL HISTORY

Displayed at the South Plainfield Historical Society’s History Center is a gift from Marge Reedy: a certificate officially changing the name of the first local post office established in 1877 from “New Brooklyn” to “South Plainfield” in 1887.

Prior to 1877, residents of New Brooklyn and Samptown relied on neighboring communities for mail services which excluded home delivery. Limited transportation options and challenging rural road conditions had to be considered in choosing which post office to pick up one’s mail. There were at least seven accessible post offices, including New Brunswick (est. 1775), Plainfield (1800), New Market (1841 or earlier), Stelton (early 1800s), Metuchen (1832), Dunellen (1870), and Edison (1871). New Brooklyn, possibly the most populated section of Piscataway Township next to New Market, Stelton and Arbor, was the last community in the vicinity to establish a post office.

The inaugural New Brooklyn Post Office served the needs of a growing blue-collar population supported by the Lehigh Valley Railroad and the mills on Cedar Brook and Bound Brook. To establish a post office, postal officials had to consider both potential usage of a branch and proximity to other existing offices. New Brooklyn met the criteria, and the first post office opened on November 13, 1877.

Between 1836 and 1971 postmaster appointments often mirrored presidential administrations. South Plainfield’s first postmaster Moses H. Ackens, was reputed to be a Republican who served during Rutherford B. Hayes’ Republican administration; Lemuel B. Myres was appointed during the term of Grover Cleveland, a Democrat; Bethune D. Dunham, the appointee named on our certificate and Ms. Reedy’s relative, was appointed during Grover Cleveland’s term. Dunham, whose political affiliation was not apparent at the time, did support the local Republican Good Government Club in his later years; Republican William H. Manning was appointed during the administration of Benjamin Harrison, a Republican. And so it went until 1971 when the merit system of hiring was introduced.

South Plainfield’s list of postmasters began with Moses H. Ackens (appointed 11/13/1877), succeeded by Lemuel B. Myres (07/31/1886), and Bethune D. Dunham (04/23/1887). With the official name change to South Plainfield on November 16, 1887 (effective January 1, 1888), Dunham resumed his appointment, followed by William H. Manning (06/01/1889), Peter J. McDonough (01/05/1894), Manning again (01/24/1898), John B. Geary Jr. (09/21/1914 and 08/26/1935), Patrick F. Kaine (11/23/1921), Harry J. Manning (03/16/1926), John Kane Jr. (07/26/1965), Anthony E. Fittipaldi (06/20/1968), John F. Sideck (10/25/1975), Joseph J. Ferraro (01/13/1979), Cleveland J. White (09/27/1986), Linda P. Wyatt (03/07/1992), Michael P. Deignan (07/31/1999), Octavio G. Rodriguez (10/24/2009), Marcellina R. Del Pizzo (10/18/2014), and Taheerah M. Hawes (08/08/2015).

Physical locations of some of our past post offices are preserved on microfilm at the National Archives; the location of others are an educated guess.

• 1877: Moses H. Ackens may have operated the first post office at 130 Front Street, the R.B. Manning & Bro. Grocers building, which still stands today. Ackens was a feed and grain dealer in New Brooklyn and may have been affiliated with the local grist mill.
• 1886: The business location of Myres remains unknown.
• 1887: Dunham managed the post office at R.B. Manning’s store.
• 1889 and 1898: William H. Manning conducted operations at his store at 130 Front Street.
• 1894: Peter J. McDonough built a two-story residence on the corner of Maple Avenue and Hamilton Boulevard (now the site of Lakeview Plaza) where he occupied the second floor with his wife and ten children and conducted a grocery business and Post Office on the first floor.
• 1914 and 1935: John B. Geary, Jr. may have housed the Post Office in his grocery store at the corner of Oak Tree Avenue and Front Street (formerly the Geary family homestead). In 1916, he erected a new building at the corner of So. Plainfield Avenue and Front Street (later Vail’s Hardware) where the Post Office was housed. Both buildings still stand in the downtown area.
• 1921: P.F. Kaine’s Post Office location is unknown, but he had many properties in the Borough in which to house the Post Office including his home at 90 Maple Avenue, site of today’s Senior Center.
• 1926: Harry Manning’s Post Office location is unknown. He lived at 509 Maple Avenue. His uncle was William Manning.
• 1935: John B. Geary Jr. was reappointed. The Post Office location is unknown until 1938 when it occupied 224 Hamilton Blvd., current site of a strip mall. During his tenure as Postmaster, the Post Office moved in July 1953 to 114 Oak Tree Avenue, its current location.

The Post Office was promoted to third-class Oct. 1, 1916, under Postmaster Geary, an era when Spicer Manufacturing, a leading maker of automotive parts, relocated its facility from Plainfield to a new 40-acre facility on Hamilton Boulevard. The Post Office achieved second-class status on July 1, 1927, under Postmaster Harry J. Manning, again on the back of Spicer due to the large volume of mail coming to and going from the company. When Spicer relocated its business to Toledo, Ohio in 1929, revenue fell, and the local Post Office eventually dropped to third-class rating. In 1938, the volume of mail produced by Cornell-Dubilier Electronics which bought the former Spicer complex in 1935, helped the Borough to re-attain its second-class status.

Postmaster Geary sought to implement home delivery and worked with the Borough to rectify each obstacle including assigning street address for all premises, 85% of which were required to have numbered mail receptacles within quick and easy reach of mail carriers, and installation of street signage and roadway lighting.

Working with Washington officials, Geary laid out the delivery routes and sought carriers from a list of Civil Service candidates. Home delivery service was inaugurated on April 1, 1938, with two mail carriers: William Kedian who delivered the mail on the north side of the borough, and Anthony Abbruzzese who covered the south side. So. Plainfield became a first-class Post Office on July 1, 1948, under Postmaster Geary who retired in 1960 after 33 years of service.

In September 1969, South Plainfield followed other towns that had already broken the gender barrier by hiring its first female mail carrier. Mrs. Veronica Green of Hancock Street, a mother of eight children ages two to 14, chose the job because she enjoyed working outdoors.

In an interview with The Reporter (Nov. 13 issue), she said her first week was tough on her feet, but a couple of foot baths helped her adjust quickly. She added that residents and fellow carriers welcomed a woman on the routes.

05/08/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
19/ LEHIGH VALLEY RAILROAD

The Lehigh Valley Railroad played a crucial role in shaping South Plainfield, NJ's growth and prosperity. It offered jobs to both skilled and unskilled workers as it was being constructed in the early 1870s and later maintained. Many employees made their homes in South Plainfield, leading to the community’s expansion and the emergence of trackside industries like Spicer Manufacturing Company, Harris Structural Steel, and American Rockwool in the early 1900s.

Asa Packer founded the predecessor railroad—the Delaware, Lehigh, Schuykill and Susquehanna Railroad—in 1846, primarily to transport anthracite coal from Pennsylvania’s mines to eastern industrial hubs. By 1855, the line stretched from Mauch Chunk, PA, to Phillipsburg, NJ, where coal cars were transferred via Jersey Central’s network. Unsatisfied with this arrangement, Packer formed the Easton & Amboy Railroad in 1872 and constructed a direct route from Phillipsburg to Perth Amboy’s docks where the railroad’s tidewater port remained from 1875 into the early 1890s. From Perth Amboy, coal was loaded onto barges destined for eastern industrial centers. The first full-route coal train of 125 cars passed through South Plainfield on May 28, 1875. The Lehigh Valley Railroad officially adopted its name on January 7, 1853.

COAL STORAGE YARD (1891-EARLY 1940s)
The Lehigh Valley Railroad maintained steady rail traffic by operating coal mines through subsidiaries, such as acquiring the Beaver Meadow Railroad and Coal Company in the 1860s for anthracite mining rights in Pennsylvania. Railroad-owned mining firms kept substantial inventories to regulate prices and manage supply, which influenced how much coal was stored. By the late 1890s, large cone-shaped coal stockpiles were seen at industrial and railroad sites throughout the country. These stockpiles helped balance production with seasonal demand; operators stored significant amounts of coal during summer, when demand was low, to ship it during the busy winter months. These piles visibly represented the rapidly growing American economy, reflecting the enormous fuel requirements of railroads, steel mills, and factories.

So. Plainfield’s coal storage yard (aka “coal dumps”) built around 1891, occupied about 50 of the railroad’s 125 acres between the main LVRR line to Jersey City and the Easton & Amboy tracks along Metuchen Road. Set in two rows of seven dumps, the railroad ran through the center on raised tracks. The coal was unloaded from the bottom of the coal car into bins below the tracks. From there, steam-powered conveyors (powered by four boilers in the engine house), loaded and unloaded railcars, carrying the coal up self-supporting trusses set in an obtuse angle where it was dumped at various distances to form a cone. Coal was stored in assorted sizes according to usage.

About 50 men were employed to process roughly 2,000 tons of coal daily. The total capacity of the facility was estimated at one million tons. As coal use declined in favor of natural gas and oil during the 1940s, the facility eventually became obsolete.

COALING STATION (1900-1929)
Steam engines routinely stopped at the coaling station on the westbound track for refueling and cleaning. The coaling tower, constructed from wood and steel, stood nearly 100 feet tall. A steel bridge carried conveyors over four sets of mainline tracks, delivering coal directly into waiting cars below. On February 7, 1929, gale-force winds fueled a nighttime fire that quickly consumed the oily, dust-covered timbers from base to roof. With 600 tons of soft coal inside, the blaze spread embers to nearby rooftops, but rain prevented further damage. The Volunteer Fire Department managed to save the water tower and engine room. Losses exceeded $150,000. The structure was never rebuilt; diesel trains gradually replaced steam, culminating with the last steam day on September 14, 1951, when Mikado 432 was retired in Delano, PA.

PASSENGER STATION (1892-1977)
The Victorian-style, three-story station opened in 1892, serving as the hub for passenger and freight services for decades—until automobiles drew away many riders. The company had gained acclaim for its passenger service, launching the "Black Diamond Express" in 1896 between Buffalo and Jersey City. When passenger service ceased in1961, the building continued around-the-clock operations as a switch tower. It housed offices for the yardmaster, freight services, and a taxi company. By 1969, officials deemed the depot obsolete and sought preservation groups to save it. Despite efforts by community organizations and local officials, a new owner, Conrail, demolished the station in February 1977.

TALLY-HO STAGECOACH
Despite numerous efforts, Plainfield’s trolley system never connected to South Plainfield. In response, the Lehigh Valley Railroad launched the Tally-Ho stagecoach service in 1899, offering regular rides from Frank Rowley’s Drug Store ticket office on West Front Street in Plainfield to the South Plainfield passenger station. Run by Ten Eyck and Harris, the coach followed Park Avenue, Ninth Street, Central Avenue, Stelle Avenue, then Plainfield Avenue to reach the station.

A COLLECTION PRESERVED
A century-old, rare collection of railroad photographs was donated to the So. Plainfield Historical Society by Marybeth and Bill Nagy in 2004. Seventeen slightly faded sepia images chronicle the building of the Lehigh Valley Railroad coal dump and employees at work at the So. Plainfield facility from 1891-95.

The treasure of photographs had originally been stored in a cardboard box in the McDonough/Doherty family home at 202 Lehigh Avenue (today’s Hamilton Boulevard) at the corner of Church Street. The c. 1900 house was built by Alice McDonough and her brother. Mrs. Nagy’s mother, Alice Farrell, was raised in the house and lived there briefly when she and Charles Flaherty married. The box traveled with Alice after marriage, eventually ending up in the attic of Flaherty’s daughter, Marybeth.

Marybeth had never seen the contents, but when she did and realized the historical importance, she called the Historical Society. The box contained four layers of memorabilia. The first layer were photos of the North Plainfield firehouse and horse drawn equipment on Somerset Street. The next layer held dozens of well-preserved tintype portraits, probably Irish relatives of the McDonough/Doherty families. The McDonough’s had immigrated to So. Plainfield from Ireland in the late 1880s. Digging deeper, layer three contained memorabilia including a scrapbook of magazine and newspaper clippings from the 1920s and an old bible. Finally, at the very bottom of the box rested a rare glimpse at borough history in the making -- over a dozen sepia photographs from the early 1890s of the coal storage yard as it was being constructed from the ground up, taken by two professional photographers, Langhorne from Plainfield and Fieldman from Elizabeth. We had never seen photographs like these before nor since Marybeth's discovery. They are, indeed, unique and rare. Thanks to her, an important part of the LVRR and So. Plainfield has been preserved forever.

05/01/2026

SPHS Centennial Celebration Series:
18/ PARK AVENUE and AVON PARK

Park Avenue is a principal north-south thoroughfare from Front Street in the City of Plainfield to Oak Tree Avenue in the Borough of South Plainfield spanning approximately eight miles. The contemporary configuration of Park Avenue markedly contrasts with its mid-19th-century precursor then named Cherry Street in Plainfield and Rahway Avenue (a.k.a. Barzilla Randolph Road) in So. Plainfield. The road was so circuitous from north to south, according to the Central New Jersey Times (September 18, 1873), that within half a mile of one stretch lay three right angles.

This irregular layout predominantly resulted from efforts to avoid pre-existing property boundaries. The legacy of the colonial "metes and bounds" surveying technique—utilizing natural landmarks such as rivers, trees, or rock formations rather than a systematic grid—produced non-standard land parcels and consequently, winding routes. These convoluted paths posed significant inconvenience, adding time and distance to even brief journeys, thereby impeding farmers transporting crops, merchants moving goods, and commuters traveling to the Jersey Central Railroad station in Plainfield or the NJRR station in Metuchen.

Considerable disagreement and criticism emerged when initial steps were taken to improve the flow of traffic through straightening and grading of this roadway. In the summer of 1868, Charles E. Jackson, mercantile dealer and resident of Rahway Avenue, laid out plans for a direct route to Plainfield from the intersection of Rahway and Old Raritan Road (Maple Ave.) near the Driving Park-- a harness racing venue in So. Plainfield-- to 8th street in Plainfield. His initiative was contingent on securing consent from affected property stakeholders including Jonathan Randolph, Samuel Stelle, Asa Randolph, Elkanah Randolph, the Wooden estate, and Mrs. James E. Martine. Jackson’s efforts were met with bitter hostility and provoked controversy and opposition, ultimately stalling the plan for that year.

In 1869, Jonathan Randolph, a stakeholder, sold his land to H.M. Hendricks of New York, himself a So. Plainfield landowner along the zig-zag roadway. Subsequently, Hendricks teamed with two more So. Plainfield property owners along the road’s southern section, Jonah E. Platt and J. E. Pearson, to advance Jackson’s project in Plainfield. In 1871, with the consensus of the affected property owners, contracts were awarded, and the road was straightened and graded north from the Driving Park to Eighth Street in Plainfield and renamed “Park Avenue,” possibly stemming from the Driving Park. The unimproved portion from 8th to Front Street in Plainfield retained the name “Cherry Street.”

By 1873, the southern section of the roadway in So. Plainfield was straightened from the Driving Park to Oak Tree Avenue through the properties belonging to Jackson, S. Randolph, H.L. Niles, and Daniel B. Rogers, and renamed Park Avenue.

A major improvement was the circular drive – a carriage turnaround christened Avon Park, 1/3 of a mile in circumference and divided into beautifully landscaped quarter sections, costing about $3,000, developed by William Flagg and Hendricks c. 1870 who owned corner lots at Maple and Park Avenues. The circular drive relieved the congestion caused by hundreds of horse-drawn vehicles converging on the area during race days at the Driving Park.

These developments prompted increased upscale construction along Park Avenue's path in 1873. In South Plainfield, Flagg built two French roof houses at the corners of Park Avenue and Avon Place, each valued at approximately $13,000. Mr. Meyer, formerly from Brooklyn, had his residence expanded and renovated, situated on six acres purchased from J.T. Pearson for $12,000. Pearson also constructed a new home valued at $13,000. The impressive mansion of D.W. Weiss near the intersection with South Plainfield Avenue was completed at a cost of $20,000. Samuel Randolph began building a new farmhouse, while John I. Holly modernized a farmhouse on thirteen acres acquired from Platt at Park and Oak Tree Avenues for $18,000, incorporating contemporary amenities such as gas lighting. Meanwhile, Platt was considering the location for his own future residence on the avenue. During the 1880s and 1890s, other affluent and prominent individuals such as Judge Hiram R. Steele and Charles Messenger were attracted to the community's desirable features and accessibility by commuter train.

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