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The Elizabethtown area became a major transportation corridor because of its proximity to New York and Philadelphia. Stagecoaches made regular trips along the King's Highway (St. Georges Avenue) and the Old York Road (Route 28). The Stage House Inn in Scotch Plains (still operating as a restaurant) and the Merchants and Drovers Tavern in Rahway were centers of commerce witnessing business transactions, public meetings and providing entertainment.
Life in Union County was greatly affected when the first railroad in the
state was chartered in 1830. Three major railroads ran through the county opening farmland to developers. Horse driven stagecoaches and wagons gave way to steam locomotives accelerating the growth of towns and cities. By 1920, the county's population reached 200,000.
The early impact of Union County's industry and trade may be experienced by visiting the following sites:
- Deserted Village of Feltville
- Woodruff House/Eaton Store Museum
- Merchants and Drovers Tavern
- Roselle Park Museum
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Deserted Village
of Feltville-Glenside Park
Cataract Hollow Road,
Berkeley Heights |
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Features
- Hands-on archaeological exercise
- Restored church/store
- Colonial cemetery
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Woodruff House / Eaton Store Museum
111 Conant Street,
Hillside |
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Features
- Potbellied stove in an early general store
- Reproduction post and beam barn
- Memorobilia from Hillside resident and Baseball great Phil Rizzuto
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Merchants and Drovers Tavern
1632 St. Georges Avenue,
Rahway |
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Features
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Roselle Park Museum
9 West Grant Avenue,
Roselle Park |
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Features
- Collection of old Roselle Park photographs
- Roselle Park memorobilia
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