Deed between West Jersey Proprietors and Minsi Indians of the Leni Lenape Tribe.

Prior to 1713 there are no records concerning Mendham Township.
Englishman James Wills bought land from the West Jersey Proprietors in the area called Roxiticus, an Indian name for “meeting place,” which was on a branch of the Raritan River.
Joseph Latham also acquired land from West Jersey Proprietors that included present day Dover, where iron ore was plentiful.

James Pitney purchased land and built Pitney Farms.

Entrepreneurs Levi and Eliphalet Lewis moved to the area later called Combs Hollow to farm and mine.

The Roxiticus Meeting House was built. It was called “God’s Barn” because it was a simple log cabin structure, with no lighting or heating. The first pastor was Eliab Byram. The exact location is still to be determined.

Drake Manor was constructed (Cold Hill Road, Mendham).
Apple Jack was the most popular farm product.

Waterstreet had abundant waterpower for local mills. A & J Byrams built woolen fulling and dyeing mills. The Stevens Woolen Mill was on the eastern side. One mine was located in the area.

The prominent names in Mendham: Jacob Cook, Joseph Beach, James Pitney, Caleb Baldwin, Joseph Thompson, Ebenezer Condict, Nathan Cooper, Henry Wick, Robert Cummins, Henry Axtell, Stephen Dod, Jacob Drake, Ephraim Sanders, James McVickers, Henry Clark, Elias Howell, Zebulon Riggs and Benjamin Hurlburt.  Prominent family names in the eastern portion of the township: Beach, Loree, Tingley,  Condict, Turner, Cary and Smith.  Prominent family names near Washington Corners: Riggs, Vance, Bedell and Day.  On the mountain the early settlers were Connet, Smith, Clark, Pool, Style, Cozad, McIlrath, and Bonnel.

The settled area was originally called “Black Horse.” Ebenezer Byram is credited with renaming it Mendham. The origin of the name is still unknown, perhaps referring to the village of Mendham in Suffolk, England.

One of the Roxiticus congregations created by the doctrinal dispute was the First Presbyterian “Hilltop” Church of Mendham, established (at 20 Hilltop Road). About the only other structure in the area at the time was the Black Horse wayside inn. Eliab Byram was the first pastor; Mendham grew around this Church.

After the split from the Presbyterian faction of the Roxiticus worshipers, the second group of congregants established their own organization that would lead to the First Congregational Church of Chester.

Henry Clark built a sawmill in Dismal Glen (Brookside)

Hartshorne Fitz Randolph, who owned a farm nearby, purchased the Jackson Forge at a sheriff’s sale. Jackson was forced into bankruptcy by the British Parliament Iron Act.

With the approval of the Woodbridge Meeting, John Vail, Robert Schooley, Hartshorne Fitz-Randolph and Jacob Laing were named to find a site, decide on the type of building, compute the cost and raise the funds. Quaker Meeting House and Cemetery was built on Robert Schooley’s property, in what was then Mendham Township.

During the American Revolution Mendham Minutemen served and citizens provided food and livestock to the military, collected food and clothing, and paid heavy war taxes. Lebbeus Dod became artillery captain and established an armory for the repair and making of muskets behind his home. John Logan operated the Grist Mill and, appointed commissary to George Washington, supplied food to Jockey Hollow encampment.

Hilltop Church was used as a barracks and hospital for the soldiers. A smallpox epidemic killed many soldiers.

Post-war problems worsened due to the devalued currency and failure of the new government to reimburse wartime expenditures.

With his partner Hugh Nesbitt, Ralston built a General Store which was a thriving trade business until 1893.

Rev. Henry Axtell, D.D. established the first “Academy,” approximately on the site of the present Hilltop School.

Chester separated from Mendham.

In the early 18th c. mail service began with a post office (Mendham center).

The northern half of Mendham splits off and becomes Randolph Township, named after Hartshorne Fitz Randolph. Mendham is now approximately twenty-two square miles.

Eliza Ralston Arrowsmith’s elaborately embroidered portrait of a woman reading is framed.

On Sunday, May 16, 1813, Martha Drake was killed instantly by lightning as she sat in Hilltop Church. She was 33 years old.

First Presbyterian Hilltop Church was taken down and replaced with new larger edifice.

John Ralston dies.

The Upper Lewis mine was operated during the Mexican American War.

The Leddel family purchased Ralston mill and operated it until 1906.

Ralston Schoolhouse was built on land donated for Dr. John Leddell. It had one classroom for grades 1-4 and was in use until 1940.

Hilltop Church was destroyed by fire in February.

The Nesbitt Grist Mill was built by Mary Ann Ralston Nesbitt and her son John Ralston Nesbitt. It produced milled wheat, oats and corn. Milling ended in 1904.

A second one-room schoolhouse, Union Schoolhouse, was built on land donated by Mary Ann Ralston Nesbitt and Eliza Ralston Arrowsmith. It operated from 1851 to 1928.

1853 map of Morris County showing Mendham, Chester (parts of which separated from Mendham in 1796) and Randolph (which separated after 1805).

Julia Phoenix took over her father’s Inn after his death and operated it as a boarding house until 1907. This was one among several boarding houses, suggesting an increase in housing for non-property owners, such as millworkers, shop workers and others. Today it serves as Mendham Borough Town Hall.

The fourth and present Hilltop church was erected on its present site.

The Brookside School, a one-room schoolhouse, was built where the present Municipal Building is located. In 1899 it was divided into two classrooms with entrances on the sides of the building. It operated until 1923.

A tannery was operated in the 1860s by Joseph Babbitt to the north of Mendham center. The Days mill (Tingley Road, Brookside) was built by George Connet and operated by Ephraim Day and his son, Charles.

The first parsonage of the Methodist Episcopal Church was built in West Main Street (now privately owned).

First detailed map of Mendham by Beer’s Atlas Company. The village had 81 principal buildings of which 61 are still standing.

A new parsonage for the Methodist Episcopal Church was built on the adjoining lot.

The building of St. Mark’s Church was instigated in 1872. Prior to this services were conducted in the upper rooms of Mrs. Dodd’s School House.

Brookside was noted as a postal village. The Post Office itself was operated in various locations depending on the post master.

Rockaway Valley Railroad, “Rockabye Baby,”  was built to service the peach farms of Hunterdon County and to transport coal for lime kilns. It was extended from Whitehouse to Mendham in 1891 and to Whatnong (Morris Plains) in 1892.

Henry Gunther opened a carriage/wagon repair shop which was converted to an auto garage in 1912 and over time became a very early Chevrolet Dealership.

A new church was built and used by Methodist Episcopal and Presbyterian congregations.

The Brookside Union Chapel was built and dedicated the following year on March 8. In its infancy it was serviced by ministers from area churches. It was destroyed in a raging fire on December 20, 1942.

The Second Presbyterian Church was disbanded and reunited with The Presbyterian Church in Mendham.

Thomas Laughlin bought the Nesbitt Mill, converting it to a distillery to produce Tiger Apple Jack and peach brandy.

The Rockaway Valley Railroad, which passed through the middle of Mendham Township, ceased operation. The Peach blight of 1895, along with frequent derailments of the narrow rail line, caused its decline. Its tracks were sold as scrap metal during World War I (1914-1917).

Brookside Engine Company No. 1 was formed to serve the Township.

The Cider Mill in Ralston was closed due to the beginning of Prohibition with the Volsted Act.

Frederick Garrabrant Kiser opened the Community Club of Brookside after moving a derelict schoolhouse across the Whippany Brook in Brookside Center. Rental space was available. The Community Club of Brookside was founded and continues to serve the residents of Mendham Township.

Brookside Union Chapel was renamed Brookside Community Church.

The greenhouse at the Pitney home in Morristown was moved to the Pitney Farm Estate.

The Union Schoolhouse, built in 1851 and operating until 1929, was renovated into a private residence. It was remodeled again in 1988.

Ralston Engine Company No. 1 was formed.

Mildred Trotman opens The Village Nursery School in her home in Brookside. It operated through 1968.

The Brookside Community Church dedicated the new addition, built to conform to architectural style of main structure.

Our Mendham was published from the collected weekly series written by Ella W. Mockridge, which appeared over 14 months in the Chester Mendham Tribune.

The Ralston Historic District was created as the first Registered Historic District in Mendham Township. It was expanded in 1997.

The Washington Valley Historic District was created, receiving registration from the State and National Registers of Historic Places. It was the first historic district created in cooperation with an adjacent municipality (Morristown).

Mendham Township celebrates its 250th Anniversary, commemorated in this poster by Lucille Hobbe.

The Fornaro family sold the Cider Mill in Ralston to Mendham Township with the stipulation that it be preserved as a museum.

A federal inlaid mahogany sideboard ca 1795 owned by the Ralston Family sold at auction for $25,000. 

Renovation of the Pitney Farm Seed House is being undertaken by the Historic Preservation Committee.