Chatham Historical Society

A bird’s-eye view of the Edwards Dam. The Summit Avenue bridge can be seen in the distance. One of the main users of water at this dam was the Edwards Paper Company mill.

The Chatham Historical Society maintains an extensive photo collection. Many of the photos have been published in our books. Please enjoy viewing this gallery that includes samples from our  books Images and Ten on a Toboggan.

The first trolley came to Chatham in 1912, after overcoming severe opposition in town. Trolleys ran east and west every half hours and took about thirty minutes longer than a train from Chatham to Newark.

Long lineups of horses and wagons streamed through the freight yard on Bowers Lane in about 1900. The railroad brought in coal, dry goods, cloth, food and nearly everything needed by the town. It took out products from Chatham’s mills and greenhouses.

Main Street residents Mrs. William Ogden and her two daughters, Anna (left) and Nana, posed for a visiting photographer in 1905.

When this photo was taken around 1890, Hudson Minton’s general store and post office on the corner of Long Hill Road (now Fairmount Avenue) and Main Street was a town social center. Erected about 1850, the store was eventually replaced by a bank.

This portion of South Passaic Avenue looked like a tree-shaded country village when this picture was taken in the 1890s but it was only a few blocks from Chatham center.

A map drawn by Jimmy Littlejohn shortly before the start of World War I. Budd Lane  (now Passaic Avenue) had been cut through and most lots on Main Street on both sides of the river, were occupied.

Nineteenth-century Main Street in Chatham would turn to mud with even a light snowfall. This scene is just west of Fairmount Avenue. The fencing was erected early in the century to keep sheep and hops from invading local yards as they were driven toward Newark and Elizabeth markets.

Main Street, Chatham after a snowfall in the days just before World War I. Minton’s store is on the right, at the corner of Fairmount Avenue and Main St. Note the early electric lamp hanging over the center of the street.

Whitemans’s Livery stable was located on Passaic Avenue close to the Fairview House. One of their customers was Mrs. George Vanderpoel who lived in the “castle” near the river.

Frank Moore’s Sunnywood greenhouses, pictured here in the 1920s, were located in the area that is now known as Fuller Circle. Rose growing was a vital business and at the peak of Chatham’s rose production, eleven growers had seventy separate greenhouses.

James L. Littlejohn Sr., known as Jimmy, poses in front of his range (greenhouses) on Lum Avenue. He had seven of the “rose houses,” on of the best spreads in town.

Stanley Hall, built in 1876 on Hillside Avenue near Fairmount Cemetery, served as a community, social, and religious center. It later became the Vapo-Cresolene plant.

The Fairview House was located on Main Street on the site now occupied by the Library of the Chathams. Dozens of local people worked at the hotel during the busy summer months. At its height, the hotel accommodated more than 150 guests, who came to Chatham to enjoy the river and the “salubrious air.” The Fairview House also provided dancing, bowling, distinguished cuisine, and a large bar. Carriages entered the grounds through an arch on Main Street.

Telegraph linemen stringing new wires into Chatham in the 1890s.

Two temporary wooden school buildings were built during World War I to accommodate increased student enrollments. Each “Carr barn” (named for the teacher who taught there) had its own stove, and a school boy was assigned to keep it fed from the coal bin outside the door.

The infamous “ten on a toboggan” was built by Edward Phillips in the 1890s for his daughter. A toboggan ride began at the top of Fairmount Avenue, continued over the exposed railroad tracks, and rounded the corner onto Main Street.