The Hunt for Red Oak Grove by Scott Wieczorek

[ebsi2001]

Did he cart it all the way to Wells Mill?

Yes, bobpbx,

James Mills had a saw mill in the Wells Mills Area of Ocean Township. I join in your hypothesis/proposal, i.e., that "Samuel 'Bryant'" drove (at least some of) his timber down to Wells Mills to have it sawn. If this, indeed, could be proven, I think I might have a case for a further proposal/hypothesis, i.e. that "Bryant Road" may have been cut--through by "Samuel 'Bryant'" for his logging purposes... Thus, even if he did NOT actually own as much land as has been assumed, i.e. from the "Old" Halfway/ROG area all the way to the snippet of "Bryant Road" named on the Delorme New Jersey Atlas & Gazetteer in Lacey Township (ending at the Lacey Township/Ocean Township boundary), the road would have been more than likely named for him... However, I am puzzled that he did not take his timber to Cedar Bridge: Cedar Bridge was on the same Stage Road with "Old" Halfway and ROG, and according to Father Beck (p. 85. More Forgotton Towns of Southern New Jersey. Rutgers university Press, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 1963), there was a sawmill there. Of course, we would have to know the time period the mill was in operation...

One reason for using the Wells Mill might have been "convenience in shipping"... ...or, perhaps, the mill at Cedar Bridge could not handle such large timber/loads... ??

ebsi

 

[ebsi2001]

Sawmill --- Cedar Bridge

Another possibility for where lumber was shipped could be Cedar Bridge, especially since it shows up on maps as early as 1833. There were a number of places to ship lumber for milling. It is also plausible that they used a steam-powered mill, though I would need to double check when they were in popularity to verify this.
Scott W.

Scott,

I don't know if your posting with the date of 1833 refers to the sawmill --- or to Cedar Bridge.

Cedar Bridge, I'm sure you know, dates back to pre--Revolutionary War times, as does the whole Stage Road from New Lisbon to Manahawkin...

I would venture to guess that the sawmill at Cedar Bridge was in operation well in advance of 1833. Evidently, it was a water--driven mill... When I visited the area a few years ago, I noticed old foundations along the south side of the creek --- visible from the road. I have no clue as to what they are, but some of the iron fittings, as I recollect looked like they might be part of the axle for the wheel.

Maybe my mind was getting a bit carried away... Perhaps someone would like to "traipse" into the swampy brush to "explore" and "photograph"?

In the 1930s, Father Beck said he still saw a pile of sawdust. I would hypothesize that the sawmill had not been out of operation too long, for now, some seventy years later, there doesn't seem to be any sawdust there at all.

ebsi

 

[Teegate]

All,

My photo’s that were in this thread are no longer working, so I will semi review what one was. This photo showed a Christopher Estellow owning one of the 100 acre lots at Red Oak Grove.

I found the stone there also and had posted it in this thread.

As we discussed in this or other posts the Estellow family had various spelling at least on paper. Today I was in the Reevestown Cemetery and I believe this is the grave of Christopher Estlow.

So we know he owned it on or prior to 1881 since that is when he died.


Guy

 

[james ungehajer]

Nice find Guy.


Jim