Early on the morning of June 6, 1780, there was an incredible explosion originating near the wagon trail that ultimately became Morris Turnpike/Rte 124, in Summit. The explosion came from the “Old Sow” cannon, fired by the cannon master, Richard Swain, a member of the New Jersey Militia. It was fired to alert George Washington’s Continental soldiers, bivouacked at Jockey Hollow, in Morristown, that New Jersey was being invaded by about 6,000 British and Hessian troops.

America’s Centennial year of 1876 arrived with the ringing of church bells at midnight, January 1, in the small village of Oxford, New York. People rushed out of bed thinking there must be a terrible fire. A couple of weeks after the patriotic celebrations my grandmother, Kate Hull Bundy, was born to Nathan and Ella Bundy on January 16th.

At the end of Evergreen Road in Summit, NJ, was an impressive sign stating:  
                              The Summit Home For Children       
                                The Chesebrough Foundation

I don't believe it was ever called "The Summit Orphan Asylum" after it was built.  Most of the children living there had at least one parent, as I did when I lived at The Summit Home from January 1943 to January 1947.

The 1741 Carter House is not only the oldest building in town and the headquarters of the Summit Historical Society, it is the city's local history museum and home to a vast archive of research materials available to the public year-round.

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She became know as Summits's " Mother of Recreation," while he was noted New York attorney and football hero during his days at Yale who later prided himself on his civic activism.

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by Patricia E. Meola

A long-time local resident has been honored with the Rocky Marciano award for lifetime achievement by his hometown in Italy.

Aldo Curiale of Whittredge Road, a lifetime member of the Summit Historical Society, grew up in San Bartolomeo in Galdo part of Benevento. He arrived in the U.S. in 1970...

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Georgianna Klingle Holmes was a woman of many interests and ahead of her time.  A philanthropist and artist, she founded the Arthur Home for Destitute Boys (later The Blind Babies Home) on Pine Grove Avenue in memory of her son, Arthur, who died at age eight after being bitten by a rabid dog.  Georgianna was also a prolific writer and poet, writing under the name of George Klinge.

Accounts of Summit's early days rarely fail to mention Nicholas D.C. Moller, who is described as a wealthy New York merchant who moved to town in the 1850s, bought up extensive acreage in West Summit and cut Kent Place Boulevard through his properties. Few other details are provided. Curious to know more about Moller (the house I live in was built by his son Fredrick on land inherited from his father), I delved into the Summit Historical Societies archives, conducted extensive research on-line and sought the guidance of an historian at Mystic Seaport. Through these efforts I was able to to uncover more about Moller and his Family.

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Tucked away in a cramped space in the Summit Fire House on Broad Street is an aging icon of the city's past. Chemical Engine No.1 ,as it is known, became part of the city's lore and tradition when it was purchased in 1927 from the Seagrave Fire Apparatus Company of Columbus Ohio. The new fire truck was officially designated as a 750 gallon combination pumping engine and hose car with water tank. The price was $11,500, according to an official of the Summit Fire Department comparable engines of today are in the $500,00 to $700,00 range.

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