Morgan, New Jersey

Stewart's Root Beer - Route 35 Morgan, NJ

Get your root beer heah!

There was nothing better on a hazy, hot, and humid summer day than to bike over between Stevens Avenue and Vineyard Avenue on the northbound side of Route 35 to get a California cheese burger and a frosty cold glass mug overflowing with a root beer float at Stewart’s Drive-In.  Remember the orange colored wooden stand?  If your bike couldn’t handle the whole family, then driving up for the car hop service was another great experience.  Much as was done with the sound speakers at the Amboy Drive-In on Route 9 near the Edison Bridge, a [young female] car hop would hang metal trays with rubberized feet containing your family’s meal off of the driver side window.  Yum!!

In the 1960’s and 70’s – and probably earlier & later – Stewart’s was a seasonal restaurant with big wooden slats hinged to the roof which would be folded and locked down each evening and during the off season.  There was no year round enclosed dining area as would come later (see photo).  Patrons either stayed in their car or sat on a padded metal stool some where along one of the open windows.  The slats kept the dining customers dry – and sometimes – shaded.  I preferred the metal stools on the Vineyard Avenue side next to the freezer.  This was the east side of the building and was shaded from the afternoon sun.  One shouldn’t drink root beer in the morning after all.

Does anyone know when this stand was first built or anything else about its early days?  Sadly, as of the time of this writing, all that is left of our beloved Stewart’s is a pile of rubble in the building’s footprint and a clothing donation box near Stevens Avenue.  The restaurant was torn down sometime between the summer of 2005 and 2009.

Fortunately for those still living in Morgan or who live somewhere else where there are no nearby Stewart’s Drive-ins, bottled Stewart’s Root Beer is offered by many grocery store chains with that classic combination of root beer and maple syrup taste.  You can even drink it in your car!

Click here to see a video on the history of the Stewart’s Root Beer Drive-in Restaurant chain.

Boat Transporter at Lockwood Boat Works

We are looking for anything relating to Morgan, NJ which helps expand on some facet of Morgan’s unique location and history. You can contact us by selecting “Comments” and providing your contact and content information. We will get back to you as soon as we can!

This includes but is not limited to:

• Article submissions to be posted on this website!
• Performing research
• Photos, negatives, slides
• Significant documents – paper or electronic
• Stories – personal or otherwise
• Personal recollections and remembrances
• Maps, Charts, Sketches, Diagrams, Floor plans, Schematics
• Leads to information sources or people to contact
• Corrections to inaccuracies
• Recommendations on what you would like to see discussed on Morgan-NJ.org
• Web links
• Book references
• Periodical references (include date or issue #)
• Newspaper articles (include newspaper name and date)
• Sound files
• Movie/video files
• Movie or Video references
• In short – whatever!

In addition to this Morgan-NJ.org web site, there are a number of local sources of historic information regarding Morgan, NJ and the greater Morgan area.  Here is a partial list of local historical societies near Morgan you are encouraged to visit.  All of these non-profit institutions have interesting and amazing local historic artifacts on display.  There is much to learn from the passionate individuals who volunteer their time at these museums.

• Sayreville Historical Society  – 425 Main Street, Sayreville, NJ
• Keyport Historical Society Steamboat Dock Museum  – American Legion Drive & Broad Street, Keyport, NJ
• Thomas Warne Museum  – 4216 Route 516, Matawan, NJ

Even though this web site is but only a few weeks old, folks from all of the above institutions have already greatly aided me with my research.  I very much look forward to learning more from them and sharing what I have learned with all with you via this web site.

I would particularly like to express my thanks to two individuals at the Sayreville Historical Society both of whom were my school teachers: Ms. Carol Kadi and Mr. Al Baumann.  Ms. Kadi and Mr. Baumann dedicated their professional careers to helping many a Morgan/Sayreville student learn about history or physical fitness and now continue to freely and enthusiastically share their knowledge, wisdom, and passion with all who wish to learn.  They have made a difference in many people’s lives including mine.  Thank you!

Verne A. James, Jr.

Morgan is located along the southwestern shores of Raritan Bay in central eastern New Jersey. It is one of the “sections” of and is located in the southeastern portion of the Borough of Sayreville.

It is actually more difficult to answer the question of “Where exactly is Morgan, NJ” than one would imagine. No specific “official” designation of what constitutes “The Morgan section of Sayreville” has been found by the author – at least not yet. For certain the area of land that is considered to be Morgan is bordered to the north by the City of South Amboy, on the east by Raritan Bay, and on the southeast by Cheesequake Creek. The western boundaries are a little more fuzzy. Probably the west border is that portion of State Highway Route 35 which heads in a northwest/southeast direction. Take this portion of Route 35 and draw a line to Cheesequake Creek and you’ll probably approximate what is generally considered to be the southwestern border.

If in doubt, go stand on Morgan Avenue. You’ll definitely be in Morgan there! It is hoped that further research will reveal the whole answer or that readers of this web site will be able to help provide it – if there really is an answer.

That is just the current borders. Ascertaining the original 18th century borders is even more difficult for a myriad of reasons. Land surveying methods and maps in Pre-Revolutionary America times lack the precision that GPS technology allows for modern day surveyors where they are able to measure within fractions of an inch. Additionally, the descriptions of property boundaries lose meaning over time as land marks and topography changes. For example, an 1823 Morgan family will pertaining to the distribution of property states, “begin at stone along Bayshore on line between me and Daniel Willmott to the back crick and down the crick…”

Another way of looking at it is to conclude that since this definition has not been needed for over two hundred years, why start now?

Replica of the John Bull Locomotive with Coach #3 (one of the original coaches) at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania in Strasburg, PA.

The spark which started my inquisition into Morgan history – which ultimately lead to this web site – was my family’s visit to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC in 2002.  My wife, son and I were in the museum and spotted the oldest still operable locomotive in America on static display.  I read the placard and learned that this locomotive, called the “John Bull”, operated from 1831 to 1866 on the Camden and Amboy Railroad.  We had never heard of the Camden and Amboy Railroad.

I grew up in the Morgan section of Sayreville in a house on a bluff overlooking a different railroad with the whole of Raritan Bay in the background.  All of this was visible from our living room window – how fortunate we were!  As a child, Morgan seemed to have a closer relationship with South Amboy than with Sayreville if for no other reason than our mail was processed by the South Amboy Post Office.  In fact, the Morgan section of Sayreville actually has a South Amboy mailing address and zip code (08879).  It turned out that the “Amboy” of “Camden and Amboy” was in actuality South Amboy.  The Camden and Amboy Railroad is the oldest railroad in New Jersey and one of the first railroads in the United States.  I had to cross over or under the right of way of the Camden and Amboy every day when I went to school.  None of this did I know despite living in the midst of it from infancy through college before moving 3000 miles away to California after graduating college.

Now I know it and so do you.

Future entries will expand on the history of the Camden and Amboy Railroad, the “John Bull”, South Amboy, Raritan Bay, and a slew of other topics relating to Morgan.

Canadian Goose on the Banks of Raritan Bay

Welcome to the Morgan-NJ.org web site! This web site is intended to be THE place to go to find out everything relating to Morgan as well as various related selected topics. There are many unique things about Morgan which, over time, this web site will have information regarding.

For example, did you know:

• The Morgan family settled in the area in the early 1700’s.
• James Morgan was one of several family members who served in the American Revolutionary War and was Captain of the 2^nd Regiment, Middlesex County Militia.  He and his Ranger’s duty: “at any signs of motion by the Redcoats was to harass and impede them by every means possible.”  He is said to have been a friend of George Washington.
• Major General James A. Morgan, Jr. served in his father’s regiment during the Revolutionary War and later served in the 12th Congress (March 4, 1811-March 3, 1813) as a member of the House of Representatives. 
• On Friday, June 25, 1875, President Ulysses S. Grant rode on an excursion tour train on the soon to be opened New York & Long Branch Railroad through Morgan on the newly laid tracks and over the newly built bridge over Cheesequake Creek.
• The T. A. Gillespie Shell Loading plant in Morgan, purported to be the largest facility of its type, produced 500,000 shells per week for World War I troops in Europe before three days of explosions started on the evening of October 4, 1918 shattering windows for miles around and closing subway tunnels in New York City some 25 miles away.

These are just some of the topics which will be included on this Morgan-NJ.org web site along with maps, photos, and diagrams.

Rather than waiting further to start incorporating content into this web site, I’ve decided to include you, the reader, in my journey to find interesting information and post it. At some point, this blog approach will give way to a logically structured web site. Until then, enjoy the journey.

Verne A. James, Jr.
Former resident of Morgan, NJ