Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202) north of Cory Road, on the right when traveling north.
Early on a cold day in January 1838, a crowd gathered at Speedwell. Just days before, Alfred Vail and Professor Samuel F.B. Morse moved the equipment for their invention, the electromagnetic telegraph, from a workshop across the street at the . . . — — Map (db m32886) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
Today, electric power makes it possible to locate factories in convenient places close to transportation. In the early 1800’s, Stephen Vail built his ironworks not in the center of town but in a narrow ravine where the Whippany River could be . . . — — Map (db m32869) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
The Ford Cottage was built in the early 18th century by Gabriel Ford Jr., the grandson of Col. Jacob Ford Sr., Ironmaster, tavern owner and one of Morristown’s wealthiest citizens. Jacob Ford, Jr., was the builder of the mansion used by . . . — — Map (db m32887) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
Speedwell was an agricultural unit as well as an industrial one. Although Stephen Vail was a noted ironmaker, his world was firmly based on a centuries old agrarian lifestyle. The Homestead Farm had to be run with the same care and skill as the . . . — — Map (db m32855) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
Captain Moses Estey, a veteran of the American Revolution, moved to Morristown in 1783. A successful merchant and manufacturer, he purchased a home on a knoll overlooking the Whippany River at the corner of Water and Spring Streets. When the house . . . — — Map (db m32906) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
The L’Hommedieu House is an excellent example of late 18th/early 19th century domestic architecture. This stylish town house originally stood on Spring Street in Morristown on a lot first owned by Nathaniel L’Hommedieu and later sold to John . . . — — Map (db m32911) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
In 1830, when Stephen Vail purchased the Homestead Farm, the Granary was among the buildings already on the property. It was used to store corn and cereal grains grown on the farm to feed the livestock. The building was built high off the ground . . . — — Map (db m32870) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
An inventory of Stephen Vail’s property showed that he owned two carriages, two sleighs, two wagons and two buggies. This simple, one story building was used as extra storage for the Vail family’s vehicles. Its double sliding doors face the main . . . — — Map (db m32874) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
When not managing the Ironworks, Stephen Vail was often traveling in search of business. The Homestead Carriage House was his center for transportation. The main floor was used to store carriages for the summer and sleighs for the winter. Horses . . . — — Map (db m32876) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
Originally water for the Factory waterwheel was supplied from the Upper Pond, or reservoir, which was located beyond the housing development behind you. When the wheel was installed, the water from the pond was piped under ground to the standpipe. . . . — — Map (db m32894) HM
Near Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202), on the right when traveling north.
The original structure that became the Vail House was probably built in the 1790’s by Thomas Kinney. Stephen Vail, the proprietor of the nearby Speedwell Ironworks, acquired the property in the 1830’s. In 1844 Stephen extensively renovated what was . . . — — Map (db m32896) HM
On Speedwell Avenue (U.S. 202) 0.2 miles north of Cory Road, on the right when traveling north.
Stephen Vail, owner of Speedwell Iron Works, built machinery for S.S. Savannah, first trans-Atlantic steamship, in 1819. His son, Alfred Vail, and Samuel Morse first publicly demonstrated electromagnetic telegraph in 1838.National Register of . . . — — Map (db m32694) HM