Droescher's Mill is located in Cranford, Union County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, United States. The mill was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

on January 8, 1974. It is the oldest continuously operated commercial building in New Jersey.

History

Also known as the Williams-Droescher Mill, Droescher's Mill is the last remaining mill on the Rahway River. It was constructed in 1737 by Benjamin Williams as a saw mill alongside a dam. Williams used the flow of the river to turn an undershot water wheel to power his saws. Lumber cut here went into the construction of the first houses built in the area. Shortly before his death in 1779, Williams erected a second building only a few feet from his sawmill for the manufacture of woolens. In 1902, Severin R. Droescher bought the mill and renovated it into the structure as seen today. S.R. Droescher used it to run the Cranford Oil Stone Works where whetstones and oilstones were made. Lincoln Ave East and Lincoln Ave West, the road that passes through Cranford and on which the mill sits, was originally part of the Naraticong Trail, a route to the sea of the Unami tribe of the

Lenape The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...

people. Lincoln Avenue was known as the

Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail", ...

by the 1700s, a colonial road from Elizabeth to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. Aside from the Naraticong Trail, the Great Minisink Trail also passed through Cranford as a traditional

route to collect marine foods at the shore.

Rahway River Parkway

The mill and surrounding parkland are local landmarks along the Cranford section of the Rahway River Parkway, a nearly century-old greenway of parkland that hugs the Rahway River and its tributaries throughout

Union County, New Jersey Union County is a county in the northern part of the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was 575,345, making it the seventh-most populous of New Jersey's 21 counties. Its county seat is Elizabeth.

. It was designed in the 1920s by the well-known Olmsted Brothers firm, sons of the eminent landscape architect

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

. The Cranford section of the parkway follows the banks of the meandering Rahway River as it flows south through

Lenape Park Lenape Park is a 450-acre wildlife reserve and park that is part of the Rahway River Parkway in Union County, New Jersey. The park is located in four towns: Westfield, Springfield, Kenilworth, and Cranford. It is linked by a crosswalk to Nomahe ...

Nomahegan Park Cranford is a township in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located southwest of Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 23,847, an increase of 1,222 (+5.4%) from the 2010 census count ...

, Hampton Park, MacConnell Park, Girl Scout Park, the

Cranford Canoe Club The Cranford Canoe Club is one of the oldest canoe clubs in the United States and a community landmark known as part of Cranford, New Jersey's historic fabric and identity for over 100 years. The current canoe club, while not the first, is the la ...

, Hanson Park, Sperry Park, Josiah Crane Park, Droescher's Mill Park (also known as Squire Williams Park), and Mohawk Park. The "Friends of Rahway River Parkway," a nonprofit group, has been formed exclusively to encourage and advocate for the preservation, restoration and enhancement of the Rahway River Parkway, in accord with the

Olmsted Olmsted may refer to: People * Olmsted (name) Places * Olmsted Air Force Base, inactive since 1969 * Olmsted, Illinois * Olmsted County, Minnesota * Olmsted Falls, Ohio * Olmsted Point, a viewing area in Yosemite National Park * Olmsted Townshi ...

design principles inherent in its origins, and to promote appropriate public enjoyment of the Parkway. Alluem Yoga, a yoga studio located in the mill, has organized Rahway River Parkway clean-ups on the stretch of the Parkway at the mill.

Cranford Riverwalk

The Cranford Riverwalk and Heritage Corridor portion of the Rahway River Parkway begins at the parklands near where Orange Avenue meets Springfield at the

and follows the Rahway River on its path southbound to the mill.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New Jersey Buildings and structures in Union County, New Jersey National Register of Historic Places in Union County, New Jersey Cranford, New Jersey New Jersey Register of Historic Places Rahway River Sawmills in the United States

History

Rahway River Parkway

Cranford Riverwalk

See also

References