Middlebrook, New Jersey

Middlebrook is an unincorporated community within the borough of Bound Brook in Somerset County, New Jersey. It is named after the Middle Brook, a tributary of the Raritan River, on the western side of the community.[1][2] The early-18th-century Old York Road, connecting Philadelphia to New York City, passed through here.[3]

This article is about the community. For the river, see Middle Brook (Raritan River tributary). For the Continental Army encampment, see Middlebrook encampment.
Middlebrook, New Jersey
Unincorporated community
West Main Street and Vosseller Avenue, Middlebrook section of Bound Brook, site of the Middlebrook Hotel, in 2017
Middlebrook, New Jersey
Middlebrook, New Jersey
Middlebrook, New Jersey
Coordinates: 40°33′36″N 74°32′24″W
Country United States
State New Jersey
CountySomerset
BoroughBound Brook
Named forMiddle Brook (Raritan River tributary)

History

On May 4, 1681, a group of investors purchased from two Raritans, Konackama and Queromak, land bounded by the Raritan River, the Bound Brook, and the Middle Brook to the mountains for one hundred pounds, paid in goods.[4] On September 25, 1683, Thomas Codrington, one of the original group, was apportioned 877 acres of this tract and built a house here, which he called Rackawackhana.[5]

After the Battle of Bound Brook on April 13, 1777, General George Washington moved the Continental Army from its winter encampment at Morristown to the Middle Brook valley between the First and Second Watchung Mountains, now called Washington Valley, protected by positions on the Middlebrook Heights,[6] the First Watchung ridge north of Middlebrook. This first Middlebrook encampment lasted from May 28 to July 2, 1777.[7][8]

Historic houses

The Harris Tavern, built 1700 at the intersection of West Main Street and Vosseller Avenue, was the first hotel in Bound Brook. During the American Revolutionary War, it was known as the Middlebrook Hotel and was a favorite of army officers.[9] Later it was known as the Fisher Hotel.[10] The building has since been demolished.[11]

The Thomas Codrington house, built 1683 at the intersection of High Street and LaMonte Avenue, was the first house built in Somerset County.[12]

Notable people

People who were born in, residents of, or otherwise closely associated with Middlebrook include:

  • The namesake Middle Brook, on the western side of Middlebrook
  • Looking north toward the Middlebrook Heights along Vosseller Avenue from West Main Street

References
  1. Washington, George (May 29, 1777). "General Orders, 29 May 1777". Founders Online, National Archives. Note 1. The villages of Middlebrook and Bound Brook adjoined one another on the north bank of the Raritan River … They are now part of the town of Bound Brook.
  2. United States Army Corps of Engineers (2012). Where the Green Brook Meets the Raritan (PDF). p. 10. the twin villages of Bound Brook and Middle Brook, both located on the north side of the Raritan River close to the two streams for which they were named
  3. Cawley, James; Cawley, Margaret (1965). Along the Old York Road. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-0-813-50487-2. OCLC 692143813.
  4. Snell (1881), p. 559.
  5. Snell (1881), p. 648: "The only one of the proprietors under the Indian grant who actually settled on any part of it was Thomas Codrington."
  6. "Middlebrook Heights". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  7. "Middlebrook and the Defense of New Jersey". Crossroads of the American Revolution.
  8. Davis, T. E. (1895). "American Camp on the Middlebrook". The Battle of Bound Brook. Washington Campground Association. pp. 14–15. OCLC 66268501.
  9. Davis (1893), pp. 10–11, 30–31.
  10. Snell (1881), p. 650: "William Harris ... built the Middlebrook Hotel, now owned by the heirs of Issac J. Fisher"
  11. Schleicher, William A.; Winter, Susan J. (1999). Somerset County. Crossroads of the American Revolution. Images of America. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-7385-0081-2.
  12. Davis (1893), pp. 4–6, 30–31: "Codrington gave his place the Indian name Rackawachanna [sic] (the loomy flat by the running brook)."
  13. Smither, William. "Campbell, Tunis Gulic (1812–1891)". BlackPast.org.

Bibliography
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