Although the Kirch House and the Mt. Bethel Baptist Meeting House receive the lion's share of attention, Warren's third entry on the State and National Registers of Historic Places is every bit as interesting. The Smalley-Wormser House, a private home at 94 Mountain Avenue, dates from the last quarter of the 18th century. The Smalley-Wormser House was originally built as a small, country farmhouse in the New Jersey Dutch Colonial style, according to research by Eileen Cameron, upon whose writings this article is based. It sits on a knoll 200 feet north of a stream with the back of the house, where the original kitchen was located, facing south to catch the sunlight even in winter's dreariest days. The house is of wood construction, 24 feet wide and 33 feet long, with two chimneys, one on either side. A large beehive Dutch oven can be seen on the west side of the house alongside the fireplace in the original kitchen. The windows on the second floor are small eyebrow or knee windows. The original beams are exposed in the living room. Wide floor boards are found in the 19th century portion of the house. The structure was built in what is known as the "half-house" style, that is, one room wide and two rooms deep, and two and a half stories high; the front elevation gave the appearance of half a house, with two windows in the center and the front door at the end of the house rather than in the middle. This was done to enable the owner, when finances permitted, to enlarge the house by adding another identical half. The two sections when combined had the appearance of the traditional house with a door in the center and windows on either side. This is what happened in 1848-50 when Bartholomew Wormser bought the house and doubled its size. The Colonial house consisted of, on the first floor, a front living-sleeping room and a back room which served as the kitchen/living room. This is the area where the fireplace and Dutch oven are seen. The second floor consisted of two bedrooms, one in the front and one in the back. The third floor under the eaves may have been a sleeping loft as it has a high ceiling, and may also have been used for storage. In 1848-50 the house was doubled in size but its character did not change. The exterior of the new half was made to look much like the older section; for example, the second story window matched the existing eyebrow window [although the 19th century window is much shallower than the 18th century one). By mid-century, then, the house consisted, on the first floor, of a dining room [the old living room] and the kitchen, with fireplace and Dutch oven; a narrow hallway that curved around a central staircase separating the new from the old half, and front and rear sitting rooms in the new half. The bake oven's cast iron door bears the legend, "Design Patented 1848." The second story now contained the two old bedrooms, a hallway, and two new bedrooms, front and rear. The attic or sleeping loft almost exactly matched its 18th century predecessor excepting the type of jointing and quality of lumber. The beams in the older section are obviously rougher, barely more than trimmed trees, while those in the new section are smoother. Moreover, the older beams are joined by round wooden pegs, the newer by nails. Some of the attic beams in the newer half have arrows scratched on them, indicating the direction in which they were to be placed. The floors in the newer section are wide pine planks. The right or older side of the house now contains one large first floor room which until 1950 was two rooms. Dormers upstairs. bathrooms and a porch are more recent additions. In 1946 indoor plumbing replaced the old outhouse. Until the 20th Century a well 15' to the rear of the kitchen supplied water for cooking, bathing and drinking. Like most of Warren, Smalleytown changed slowly. Thomas Crehore, writing in 1988, recalled how, "in the summer of 1956, it was very country in feeling. The cows across the street would often come right up to the fence and if the windows were open in the living room you'd suddenly hear a 'moo in your ear. None of the property behind Rose Hill [the house's name then] was developed yet. There was no road, no houses, no school addition and no highway. It was an event when a car came down Mountain Avenue." The Smalley-Wormser House is the only 18th Century house still standing in Smalleytown, one of the original villages comprising Warren Township. John Smalley, the first of that family to live in the township [then Bernards Township] settled about a mile from the house, close by the Passaic River. Research by Eileen Cameron, a founding member of the Historical Society, indicates that the house was built and owned by David Smalley, a large landowner. Smalley was a patriot in the Revolution, signing on to his first post in July, 1776 as an ensign with Col. Hunt's Battalion, General Heard's Brigade. Captain Smalley was also a Justice of the Peace and Judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas. His brothers and descendants were also men of education and civic responsibility, holding local and state offices. Cameron's conclusion that Captain David Smiley built and owned the house is based on a number of facts. She traced the property ownership back to a deed of 1828 conveying lands and premises from the Estate of David D. Smalley, the captain's son, to Martha Dunham, David W's sister. Although John Littell, in his history of the first settlers of the Passaic Valley, does not list a "Martha" as a daughter of Captain David, he does list a "Patty" who married John Dunham, "who went to Michigan when her husband died." That Patty was a nickname for Martha is clear since Captain Smalley's 1816 will leaves $550 to his daughter Martha. When David D. Smalley's property was sold at auction in 1828, Martha was the high bidder for the house and 401 acres, paying $360. Martha Dunharn owned the house until May 1832 when she sold it and 40 acres to William Clark. This may have been the year she moved to Michigan. Littell also states that David French, who lived in Union Village, which is exactly a mile from the house at 84 Mountain Avenue, "settled about one mile east of David Smalley's Esq." Not mentioned by Cameron, but as her other facts, equally persuasive, is Littell's assertion that Jonathan Ruckman "lived on Stony Hill, south of David Smalley Esq." The map accompanying Littell's book shows Ruckman family property directly south of W. M. Clark's property. Captain David's will of 1816 bequeaths to his wife Hannah "the use of the North room of my house, and the privilege in the kitchen during her life...." Logically, his widow would have used the front room of the house as her sitting and sleeping quarters and the kitchen to the rear for cooking and eating. Other members of the family occupied the other rooms. Mrs. Cameron's assertion that the house was built "about 1765" is the only part of her thorough research that is subject to question. If David Smalley built the house then, he would have been but 20 years of age, an unlikely time to be building a house. His brother James lived on his father's farm near the Passaic river and his other brother Isaac lived on Stony Hill on a farm later owned by Mahlon Smalley. It is unlikely either of them built the house. Jacob, his other brother, lived in Smalleytown but where is not known precisely; but he too was only 20 in 1765 and is another unlikely candidate. Most probably, David Smalley built the house at the time of the Revolution. William Clark, who purchased the house from Martha Dunham in 1832, sold it to Batholomew Wormser in September 1845. The Wormser family owned the house until 1937 when Bartholomew Wormser and Caroline, his wife, sold 3.11 acres [the present lot size] to C. Reich and C. Bernales. Other owners since then have been: George Nothstein, William and Janet Shrewsbury, Ervine and Ruth Smith, Austin and Catherine Crehore, William and Winnifred Drews, Edward and Eileen Cameron, and Mr. & Mrs. Samuel Glasgow. Smalleytown takes its name from the descendants of John Smalley who heavily populated the region. The center of Smalleytown seems to have been the crossroads of Mountain Ave. and Stirling Rd by the old stone schoolhouse known as the Smalleytown School. Standing at that comer today on the north side of Stony Hill, looking across the fields rolling down to the Passaic River, one can sense how the area may have looked 250 years ago- the green meadows, planted with corn, rye and flax, peacefully sloping down to the river with Long Hill rising hazily in the background. John Smalley settled near the Passaic River on what would become Stirling Rd. on one of the "river lots." These lots were also known as "the swamp lots" with good reason, for when the Passaic flooded, they were under water. John Smalley may have settled here c. 1750. His son, James, who lived on his father's farm, owned 147 acres when he died in 1812, evidence that the farm was one of the original 100-acre lots carved from the Dockwra tract. John Smalley's original homestead remained in family hands continuously for over 200 years except for two periods: three decades ending in 1857 when John Littell sold what he advertised as "The Smalley farm;" and a short time in the late 1800s. In both instances the farm was bought back by members of the family, who lived on the land until the early 1960s. The Smalleys were staunch supporters of the American cause, as were their neighbors in Union Village. After the war Tory-owned land was appropriated by the victors: In 1788 N.J. seized the interest to 3,000 acres of land claimed by Oliver Delancy and Henry Cyler [which they had purchased from the heirs of William Dockwra, originally Lot 49 on the Elizabethtown. Bill in Chancery Map] for "joining, aiding, and assisting the army of the King of Great Britain." The property was auctioned, the purchasers being neighboring large landholders, James Smalley and Alexander Kirkpatrick of Warren, and Jonas Carle and George Cooper of Long Hill Township. John Smalley's four sons, James, David, Jacob, and Isaac, lived near each other. James remained on the homestead near the river. From 1800 to 1810 he was appointed annually by the County as manager of Little's Bridge [sometimes called Smalley's Bridge], where Stirling Rd. now crosses the Passaic. In 1803 the County paid him $2 "for repairs done to Littles bridge, and other services rendered." James, David, Jacob and Isaac had a total of 37 children, some of whom settled on land in the Smalleytown area. With so many Smalleys thereabouts, it is little wonder the crossroads became known as Smalleytown. Littell's map, dated 1845, shows about 10 houses in the neighborhood on lands owned not only by Smalleys but by Littell, Ruckman, Cory, Moore, Clark, Tucker and Williams. The 1855 state census lists 20 Smalleys living in the area. The Smalleys were large landowners and, in a society in which land was a significant measure of wealth and importance, influential members of the community as well. Jacob was the moderator of the first meeting of the newly-formed township in 1806 and a county freeholder. Isaac was a member of the Township Committee for five years; and David, the most active, served in many capacities. Three of the brothers [David, Isaac and Jacob] served in the American Revolution. When James Smalley died in 1812 without a will, his property was divided "equally" among his 11 children by court appointed commissioners: His sons inherited two shares each, his daughters, one each. The land was surveyed, then partitioned in 1814, with lots drawn by the children. As reported by the commissioners, "We proceeded ... in a public manner to number as many tickets as there are heirs on separate tickets and put them in separate boxes, Jacob Smalley, Sen., being appointed by us to draw the tickets proceeded until all the ticket were drawn equally to the directions...." The inventory of James' estate demonstrates how these early Americans, living in the countryside, led self-sufficient lives, their farms providing them with the basic necessities. James's estate inventory included cattle for milk products and meat, one horse, presumably used for transport and plowing, swine for meat, bees for honey, fowl for eggs and meat, and flax in the field for weaving into linen, and a "lot of rye" used for baking. The all-important farming utensils were lumped as one item while cash in hand and furniture were also grouped together. James' brother, David, died in 1816 leaving a will. After dividing his extensive lands equally between his five sons, he left his four married daughters or their heirs $450 each and his one unmarried daughter $550. David's concern for his "beloved wife, Hannah" is endearing. He left her $75 annually and required that his sons and heirs shall "furnish her with keeping for her cow both winter and summer and shall furnish her with sufficient of firewood cut off at the door during her life ...." David also left Hannah "one cow, bedding, my clothes cupboard and as much furniture as will enable her to keep house comfortable to her .... " David Smalley's sons, David D. and Mahlon, acquired considerable property in the Smalleytown neighborhood. David D. Smalley, who died young at 45 in 1828, was a wealthy man for the times, as his estate inventory discloses. His land and livestock, both measures of wealth, were considerable, and his house was called "the mansion house." Although it is not known where David D. Smalley lived, it was not the house at 84 Mountain Ave., because when his estate was sold, the Mountain Ave. property was acquired by his sister, Martha, and his own house -- "the homestead house and lot" -- was set off for his widow as part of her dower. David D. Smalley's estate inventory included horses valued at $170.50, horned cattle, $212.75, sheep, $40, swine, $40, a few geese, $3, and household good and utensils, $191.09. Like many of his compatriots whose wealth was in their land, David's estate had insufficient cash to pay his creditors, and it was auctioned. Among those listed as his creditors, all of them neighbors, were: Elam Genung, for funeral expenses, $7.22, Elam Genung, debt owed to his Union Village store, $32.44, Isaac Coddington, $3.87, Martha Dunham, a note, $15.88, William Titus, notes, $299.46, Willis French, $8.76, Henry Smalley, $49, and Samuel Smalley, $73.05. David's property was sold at auction as six separate lots, all bought by neighbors and relatives: Samuel Smalley, probably his son, William Allen, his father-in-law, William Moore, Martha Dunham John Small and Nathan Ruckman. Across the road and near Spring Ln. was the home of Levi Ruckman. A little further up the road on the north side was William Moore's house, and further on, at the comer of Mountain and Stirling, stood an old house that burned in the early 1970s, perhaps originally owned by a Coon. Across the street on the north side stood the schoolhouse, and immediately behind it was another old house reputed to be 150 years old when it burned c. 1970. This house could well have been David D. Smalley's "mansion house" since it had three rooms on the first floor. This house may have later belonged to a Coon and to a Moore. Littell's 1845 map shows several Smalley homes on Mountain Ave. west of the schoolhouse. From Mountain Ave. on Stirling Rd. to the river there were no houses until very near the river. There, on the east side was a home owned by John Cory. On the west side of the road lived John Littell, the author and genealogist, in the original Smalley homestead where James Smalley had lived until his death in 1812. Littell bought the 130-acre farm from Reuben, James' son, probably when he moved to New York. This same property was bought from Littell in 1857 by David D. Smalley, David W's son. The latter sold it but his son, David D.III, bought it back. By the time David D. III bought the property around 1920 the original home had burned, but the old lilacs that had stood by the door remained. David D. Smalley III, who had taught at the Smalleytown School when he was a young man, later became a Methodist minister. He served many churches, including Mount Horeb and Union Village; the latter, through his zeal, he kept from dying out. David D. Smalley built his new home, still standing, just about the spot where the original homestead had stood. Agriculture was the mainstay of Smalleytown for two centuries. In Colonial times most farm produce was used by the farmers themselves. Later, they sold their excess at market. The Smalleys tell an amusing tale of David D. Smalley II who, in the mid-1800s hauled his hay to Summit for sale. After discovering that folks living along the route helped themselves as his wagons passed their homes, he arranged for some of his hired men to ride shotgun. In later years, some of the farmers, including the Wormsers, raised fruit for market. The only industry that developed in Smalleytown was the Stirling Foundry owned by Oscar Carliss on Stirling Road across from the present high school. Around the turn of the century it manufactured small metal items, including fancy door hinges. The Smalley-Wormser House was listed on the State and National Region of Historic Places in July, 1978. |