Larisons Corners, New Jersey
Larisons Corners, New Jersey | |
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![]() Larisons Corners | |
Coordinates: 40°26′29″N 74°51′23″W / 40.44139°N 74.85639°W | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
County | Hunterdon |
Township | East Amwell and Raritan |
Elevation | 266 ft (81 m) |
GNIS feature ID | 877673[1] |
Larisons Corners, also spelled Larison's Corners, is an unincorporated community located along the border of East Amwell and Raritan townships in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States.[1][2]
History
[edit]The area was settled in 1749 after a ship bound for New York City carrying German settlers was blown off course and instead landed at Philadelphia.[3] The settlers resumed their journey north to New York City by traveling along Old York Road, where they "fell in love with the land" while passing through Larisons Corners.[3]
Their settlement was first called "Pleasant Corners", and a German Reformed Church was established.[3] Several members of the Rockefeller family are buried in the church cemetery.[4]
An inn was established in 1779 at the crossroads of Dutch Lane and Old York Road.[4] The inn was sold and renamed Larisons Corner Tavern, and was "one of the Old York Road's most popular taverns, which featured ballroom dancing downstairs and a gambling den upstairs where professional card players fleeced farmers of their hard-earned cash".[3]
By 1811, "the name Larisons Corner had become attached to the surrounding town", and the settlement had a blacksmith shop.[4][5]
The nearby community of Ringoes held their annual Ringoes Grange Fair in Larison's Corner in 1940. It featured chicken-catching contests, bingo, music, and milking cows, while gambling and alcohol were forbidden.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Larisons Corners". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Variant name: Larison's Corners, Pleasant Corner
- ^ Locality Search, State of New Jersey. Accessed January 31, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e East Amwell. Arcadia. 2010. pp. 31, 52. ISBN 9780738573212.
- ^ a b c Martinelli, Patricia A. (2012). New Jersey Ghost Towns: Uncovering the Hidden Past. Stackpole Books. pp. 25–27. ISBN 9780811745789.
- ^ Ellis, Franklin (1881). History of Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey. Everts & Peck. p. 356.