| Record Group: | Morris Canal Investigation Committee of 1912-13 |
| Series: | Records, 1863-1921 |
| Accession #: | 1961.005, 1985.020 |
| Series #: | SZMOS001 |
| Guide Date: | 3/1992 (JK) |
| Volume: | 2 c.f. [5 boxes] |
Institutional History | Contents
On 27 February 1911, a bill was proposed to repeal the charter of the Morris Canal and Banking Company and to dispose of its property. A commission, consisting of Governor Woodrow Wilson, Attorney General Edmund Wilson, and Judge Bennet Van Syckel, recommended the abandonment of the canal upon terms providing for the payment to the State of "only about seven hundred thousand dollars" by the Lehigh Valley Railroad Co. By Assembly Joint Resolution No. 11, passed 28 March 1912, it was resolved that a 12-member committee be appointed to report on the extent, condition and value of the property owned by the canal company, and to investigate whether the company had forfeited its charter by reason of failure to operate or maintain the canal. The committee was appointed in April and the twelve men, along with other members of the legislature, toured the canal by boat in July 1912. In 1914, the committee reported that the company had not forfeited its charter; however, they recommended that the canal be abandoned.
Records of the Investigation Committee of 1912-1913 include correspondence, maps, photographs, newspaper clippings, reports, and transcripts of the committee's proceedings. The files also contain several writings of Hudson Maxim, a local land owner who vigorously supported abandonment of the canal. The "Miscellaneous records" file contains legislation, correspondence, and reports, as well as documents relating to the case in chancery between the Morris Canal and Banking Company and the Central Railroad Company of New Jersey, 1863.
| Box 1 | ||
| Committee Expenses, 1912-1914 | ||
| Correspondence of F. G. Stickel, 1912-1921 | ||
| Letter and draft of "Morris Canal Parkway Project: A Little Wisdom and Much Expensive Folly," by Hudson Maxim, 1914 | ||
| Legislation, 1804-1913 | ||
| Maps: | ||
a. |
"Profile
of Morris Canal, Compiled and Drawn under the direction of Wm. H.
Talcott, Engineer & Supt., by Charles D. Ward, January 1861..."
Scale: horizontal 1/2" = 1 mile, vertical 5/8" = 100 feet
(blueprint, 2 copies). |
|
| b. |
"Low
Water Map of Lake Hopatcong" (no date or scale shown). |
|
| c. |
"Property
Map of Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. Prepared by Hudson Maxim For
the Morris Canal Investigation Commission, November 16, 1912. Compiled
From Various Maps and Actual Surveys by P. E. Boomer, C. E."
Scale approx. 1" = 1030'. |
|
| d. |
"Map
of Northern New Jersey... Prepared by Hudson Maxim, Landing, New
Jersey, for the Morris Canal Investigation Committee, 1913."
Scale approx. 1" = 7.06 miles. Shows Lake Hopatcong Watershed
and other watersheds supplying the canal. |
|
| e. |
Map
of Jersey City: "This Map was drawn for the Morris Canal &
Banking Co., August 1863, by L. B. Ward under direction of W. H.
Talcott, Scale: 300 feet = 1 Inch." |
|
| Miscellaneous records, 1863-1914 | ||
| Newspaper clippings, 1912-1914 | ||
| Box 2 | ||
| Photographs: | ||
| a. | 42 small B&W prints, all labeled, Hackettstown to Jersey City. Apparently many missing. | |
| b. |
69
mounted 4.5" x 6.5" B&W prints, labeled, Phillipsburg
to Jersey City, taken 1-4 July 1912 and 30 December 1913, and index
[some missing]. |
|
| Box 3 | ||
| Photographs [cont'd]: | ||
| c. | 42 small B&W prints, all labeled, Hackettstown to Jersey City. Apparently many missing. | |
| Transcripts of Proceedings: | ||
| a. | 30 October 1912, Newark | |
| b. |
16 November 1912, Lake Hopatcong | |
| c. |
11 December 1912, Paterson | |
| d. |
11 January 1913, Jersey City (2 copies) | |
| e. |
18 January 1913, Jersey City (2 copies) | |
| Reports, etc.: | ||
a. |
Report
of the Commissioners Appointed under Concurrent Resolution of March
31, 1903, To Investigate and Report Upon the Abandonment of Navigation
of the Morris Canal by George T. Werts, John W. Griggs, and
Foster M. Voorhees, Commissioners, 1903 [photocopy]. |
|
| b. |
In
the Matter of the Investigation before Hon. George T. Werts, Hon.
John W. Griggs and Hon. Foster M. Voorhees, Commissioners, Pursuant
to a Concurrent Resolution of the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey (passed by the Assembly and concurred in
by the Senate, March 31, 1903), to provide for the Appointment of
Commissioners to examine into the report upon the question whether
legislation should be enacted permitting the abandonment of navigation
on the Morris Canal [brief] by Roderick Byington, Counsel of
the Lake Hopatcong Protective Association, 12 August 1903 [photocopy]. |
|
| c. |
Two
statistical tables [both broken]: one showing New Jersey agriculture
and industry statistics (1900-1910); the other showing Ship Canal
statistics, Construction Data, and Industries of States [1904 and
1909] Influenced by the proposed Atlantic Intercoastal Waterway
from Boston, MA, to Beaufort, NC. |
|
| d. |
Report
of the Morris Canal Investigation Committee appointed under Joint
Resolution of April 12, 1912 by Foster F. Birch et als., 1912. |
|
| e. |
Lake
Hopatcong the Beautiful: A Plea for its Dedication as a Public Park
and for its Preservation as a Pleasure and Health Resort for the
Benefit of all the People by Hudson Maxim, 1913. |
|
| f. |
Jersey
City's Interest in the Morris Canal issued by the Board of
Commissioners of Jersey City, 14 January 1915; signed by George
F. Brensinger, Director of Revenue and Finance, Jersey City, NJ. |
|
| g. |
The
Great Chinese Wall and the Morris Canal by Hudson Maxim, no
date. |
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Created September 2003
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