Larison's Corners, New Jersey
History
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. 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.
Their settlement was first called "Pleasant Corners", and a German Reformed Church was established. Several members of the Rockefeller family are buried in the church cemetery.
An inn was established in 1779 at the crossroads of Dutch Lane and Old York Road. 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".
By 1811, "the name Larisons Corner had become attached to the surrounding town", and the settlement had a blacksmith shop.
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.
References
- ^ "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.
- ^ East Amwell. Arcadia. 2010. pp. 31, 52. ISBN 9780738573212.
- ^ 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.