Mendham Township Historic Preservation Committee

12/10/2025

The year was 1944 and Thanksgiving and Christmas were just around the bend. But times were hard as WWII was raging in both the European and Pacific theaters. See how our community pulled together and offered some hope and holiday cheer for those directly involved with the war effort.

https://historicmendhamtwp.com/wwii-christmas-booklet/

Ruth Ann (Alderson) Meyer with original 1944 booklet,
generously donated to the Mendham Township Archives

10/23/2025

We pick up the story of Sammy Fornaro in part 2 of his 2000 interview from the Mendham Township Oral History Series.
Sammy’s father bought the Cider Mill in 1930, after the untimely end of the previous owner (read about that in the blog post), and ran it until 1938-39. Sammy was too young to work there, but he recalls how the mill operated, the weighing of trucks loaded with apples, how it was converted from water-powered to machine-powered.

His father also owned a stand across the street, which became Sammy’s Ye Olde Cider Mill Restaurant, still in operation to this day. “The place with no sign” was well-known and over the years visited by many celebrities including Roosevelt “Rosie” Grier, Mets announcer Ralph Kiner, Phil Rizzuto (whose son attended Delbarton), Bill Bradley, John Amos, Celeste Holm (whose family owned a farm nearby) and Carol Burnett (in 1961 while visiting her sister Chrissy at St. John Baptist School). Sammy worked in the restaurant after Morristown High School until he was drafted into the Marine Corps, where he served as a Control Tower Operator during the Korean War. When he returned he started working full time in the restaurant, describing it as “a 24 hour job.” He also gives us a glimpse into the area at the time, the mill pond, Skunk’s Misery, Nature Lovers Club, Pine Hill Camp, Swain’s Cabins.

At the end of the interview he talks about his hopes for the future of the Cider Mill. He lived to see them come true. In 2004 Mendham Township purchased the Mill and rights were transferred to the non-profit Trustees of the Ralston Cider Mill. Restoration work began and in 2008 the Ralston Cider Mill Museum became the only operational cider mill open to the public for research and education.

The legacy continues! The Cider Mill has its annual Apple Pressing Day on Saturday October 25, from 1-4pm - further info at Ralston Cider Mill Museum page.

Sammy's Part 2 story can be found at this link:
https://historicmendhamtwp.com/nufri-sammy-fornaro-part

04/06/2025

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗵𝗮𝗺 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀

After being safely stored at the Community of St. John Baptist Convent during Town Hall renovations, the Mendham Township Archives are in their new home at the Old Police Station on Cherry Lane. DPW crew Tyler Szarek, Michelle Stadta, and Teddy Visha moved over 60 boxes of Mendham history documents, photographs, negatives, VHS tapes and books, along with framed artworks and maps, and other artifacts.

Soon the Historic Preservation Committee will initiate cataloguing and digitizing this collection. Among the oldest items are Township books from 1753 to 1888, Brookside Store ledgers 1887-1925, historic documents dating from 1708 to 1900s and the collection of Ancient Native American Artifacts circa 6,000 BC-1150 AD, donated by M.D. Hall of Brookside.

𝗗𝗼𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀

If you have Mendham related memorabilia, including artifacts, letters, documents, photographs, albums, newspaper clippings or postcards, please consider donating them to the Archives. You can contact the Committee at [email protected].

Special Thanks to the Sisters of CSJB

photos:
Mendham Town Book 1753-1749
Indenture between David Oliphant of Amwell and Jacob Drake of Mendom [sic], 1756
Mountain View Farm Brookside, Geo. Savadge
Florence McKinnell’s school bus (1935). She bused Township kids for 37 years.
DPW crew Tyler Szarek, Michelle Stadta, and Teddy Visha

03/26/2025

The first in our Mendham Oral History Series is Madeline Ormond Laederach Post (1905-2006). Madeline lived in Brookside from the age of 1 to 101. In interviews between 1997 and 2004, she describes growing up in a house built in the late 18th c., with no indoor plumbing or electricity, and attending the two-room schoolhouse. The town back then had dusty dirt roads and the only telephone was in the General Store/Post Office. She remembers riding by horse and buggy to Day’s Restaurant in Morristown with her parents as a young child and later taking the bus to the High School.

After Newark State Teachers College she worked in the Newfoundland School district, boarding with Grace Saltus Post who had a cousin, Russell. She loved her fourth and seventh graders, and taught for 22 years. Madeline and Russell were married in 1941 after a long courtship. Their son Edward was born in 1946. Russell trained as an engineer but never finished college because of the Depression. He was in charge of several New Deal Civil Conservation Corp (CCC) camps and later worked as a machinist in Newark, commuting by car.

Madeline had a deep connection to her community and vividly recalls her neighbors and some town characters. Her stories offer a glimpse into a bygone era, reminding us of the resilience, warmth, and close-knit spirit of Brookside. Through her words, we can step back in time to experience the community as she knew it.

To read the interviews and essay about Madeline Post, see www.historicmendhamtwp.com/madeline-post/

12/22/2024

As Mendham Township's 275th Anniversary year comes to a close, we extend our best wishes to you for a Happy Holiday Season and a great New Year!

09/08/2024

Mendham Township 275th Anniversary Festival
Join us in the celebration on October 26, 11am to 3pm
Ralston Field and Ralston Museum
Free fun for the whole family featuring
Community · History · Crafts · Games · Music · Food

Participants to date, stay tuned for updates!

Ralston Museum
Schiff Natural Lands Trust
Brusco & Son Blacksmiths
Loree Family Descendants
Clark Family Descendants
Pleasant Valley Mills Farm
Spirit of Liberty Fife and Drum
Brookside Ladies Auxiliary of the Fire Department
Civil War Reenactment by 27th NJ Volunteers Company F
Community of St. John Baptist Restoration Project
Environmental Commission/Nature of Mendham
Rotary Club of the Mendhams
Mendham Mud Clay Studio
Hometown History Podcast
Ralston Engine Co. #1
Black Horse Tavern
Boy Scouts Troop 1
Cub Scout Pack 3
Ralston Manor
Old Mill House

Festival updates: www.HistoricMendhamTwp.com
Facebook:
Email: [email protected]

Robin Johnston and Nick Monaghan, 275th Planning Co-Chairs

Sponsored by Mendham Township and Mendham Township Historic Preservation Committee

08/02/2024

𝐕𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐑𝐒 𝐍𝐄𝐄𝐃𝐄𝐃!

𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐦, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐭. 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬, 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖.

CSJB is looking for volunteers to help guide the tour groups through the various rooms. (Please note that the tour involves quite a lot of stairs.)

If you are interested, please email the event organizer Armstead Johnson at [email protected]
A mini-tour for volunteers will be held on August 13 at 10:30am, so sign-up soon to help CSJB with this wonderful event.

Read about the Sept. 28 Monastery in Mendham tour and small antiques appraisal included with admission, in the 𝑴𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒉𝒂𝒎 𝑴𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑨𝒖𝒈𝒖𝒔𝒕 issue linked here:

https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?e=[UNIQID]&u=6b1485238678e482ee18d4247&id=81c0ea848e

Mendham Township Historic Preservation Committee is a co-sponsor of this event.

08/02/2024

Join us to celebrate the 275th Anniversary of Mendham Township.
Saturday October 26, 11am-3pm
Ralston Field and Ralston Museum

Enjoy Community, History, Crafts, Games, Music, Food.
Free fun for the whole family.
Stay tuned for updates.

07/04/2024

Brookside 4th of July Parade
𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐥 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 goes to
Mendham Township Historic Preservation Committee and
Ralston Historical Association!

Congrats to all who made it possible and Congrats to the Grandest Little Hometown Parade, this year Honoring Mendham Township's 275th Anniversary.

Happy 4th of July!

06/13/2024

The last episode of Season 1 𝐇𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐚𝐦, 𝐍𝐉 has dropped! Be sure to listen to all 6 episodes. They've uncovered little-known and fascinating details about the Mendhams and woven them into entertaining stories.

Let’s all encourage Ryan and Katie to do Season 2! Any topics you’d like to pitch to them?

A podcast about the iconic places and events that make a town someplace people call home. Click to read Hometown History: Mendham, NJ, by Katie Feather, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.