What used to be by Brainard Lake?
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 4:52 pm EDT    Post subject: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

For the Cranbury history aficionados out there, I am curious what used to border the shores of Brainerd Lake before houses went up along Evans drive? It seems like all the houses on Evans, or most of them anyway, are from the Twentieth Century. So what used to be on the short of the lake along the South side before the Evans/Brainerd neighborhood? Was it always private land? Did someone own the whole track and sell it to develop early in the century? And was Heritage park always along the North shore or what was there before it?

Just curious. It seems like such prime land that it seems curious there is so little mention or reference to it and that it would suddenly be developed as private tracks in the Twentieth Century.

Thanks.

(hopefully an entirely non-political topic for a change!)
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 5:33 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

A flop house
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 5:42 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

You would probably enjoy looking through the two volumes of "Images of Cranbury" by Frank and Peggy Brennan. The History Center sells them and Barnes and Noble, and maybe the library has them. Vol.1 Page 55 photo from the water tower, shows a sweeping vista of the lake and farmland as far as the eye can see, where the Evans Drive tract is now (c1907). There were also large ice houses on both sides of the lake. The Middlesex Creamery dairy occupied the land where Village park is. When that closed and houses were built, supposedly their backyards stretched all the way down to the lake. Maplewood Ave, formerly Monroe Street was considered the poor section in town.
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 6:46 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

I assume you are referring to Village Park. Heritage Park is adjacent to Cranbury Green off of South Main Street. The property which is now Village Park was sold to the Town by Ed and Marie Lasche in 1964 for $10,000. The Lasche's lived on
Maplewood Avenue.
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 7:46 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

I love the history of this area.
What were the businesses on Main Street back in the day?
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PostPosted: Tue, Oct 19 2010, 7:56 pm EDT    Post subject: Re: What used to be by Brainard Lake? Reply with quote

a farm
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