MC 1147

Inventory to the Free Acres Association Collection, 1892-1996

By Fernanda Perrone, assisted by Catherine Keim

Special Collections and Unversity Archives, Rutgers University Libraries

Finding aid encoded in EAD version 2002 by Caryn Radick, 2010
Note: Preparation of this finding aid was funded by a grant-in-aid from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Descriptive Summary
Title: Free Acres Association Collection
Dates: 1892-1996, bulk 1910-1980
Quantity: 15.7 cubic feet (37 manuscript boxes, 2 phase boxes, 43 map folders)
Abstract: Free Acres, an isolated, single tax community located primarily in Berkeley Heights Township, Union County, but also partly in Watchung Township, Somerset County, was founded in 1910 based upon the single tax theory of Henry George as interpreted by Bolton Hall. At first a summer colony (comprised of artists, writers, actors, and intellectuals from New York City), the community was governed by its leaseholders, whose social life centered on several communal institutions, including a community center, various athletic facilities, a dramatic guild, and other clubs. The community's original covenant was changed in 1936, as the result of an influx of permanent residents (who built actual houses instead of shacks), so that thereafter each leaseholder paid a flat fee only for the use of the communal services, and individual property taxes were assessed on top of that amount. Although no longer isolated, Free Acres today retains a cooperative structure, through the Free Acres Association, by which residents regulate their land use and make payments to support shared services and facilities. This collection includes both official records of the Free Acres Association and assembled historical materials concerning the Free Acres community. The Association records consist of leases; meeting minutes; general financial files; board of assessors files; board of trustees files; finance committee files; auditor's reports; maps and blueprints; and newsletters. The collected historical materials include files pertaining to the dramatic guild, the garden guild and the library guild; records of Camp Wanoga; miscellaneous photographs; anniversary files and publications; separate sets of research files on Free Acres gathered by residents Laurel Hessing and Martin Bierbaum; biographical files concerning selected residents; oral history interviews; writings which pertain in some way to Free Acres; and a small quantity of materials that relate to other experimental communities. An addendum to the collection consists of Harry A. Maslow's files on the Free Acres Association.
Collection No.: MC 1147
Access: Stored offsite. Advance notice of two working days required to consult bulk of collection. (Only oversize materials in boxes 38 and 39, plus the contents of the 43 map folders, available without advance notice.)
Language: English.
Repository: Rutgers University Libraries. Special Collections and University Archives

Historical Sketch

Free Acres is a small community located partly in Berkeley Heights and partly in Watchung, New Jersey. Originally founded in 1910 as a single-tax colony, Free Acres retains many unique characteristics today. Free Acres was founded by Bolton Hall (1854-1938), a New York attorney, real estate developer, writer, and social reformer. Bolton Hall was a disciple of the radical political economist Henry George (1839-1897). According to Henry George's single-tax theory, the accumulation of wealth and power was dependent on control of the land. He believed that if everyone was taxed according to the amount of land they owned, it would discourage land speculation and limit the power of large landowners. Bolton Hall, who was also influenced by the philosophic anarchists Leo Tolstoy, Peter Kropotkin, and William Morris, (1) took George's ideas further, advocating setting up small communities based on single-tax principles. Free Acres was actually one of several single-tax colonies which were established between 1895 and 1930. Two of these, Fairhope, Alabama, and Arden, Delaware, are—like Free Acres—still in existence today.

In 1910, Hall decided to turn the Murphy farm, one of his properties in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey, into a single-tax colony. He set up the Free Acres Association as a non-profit corporation, in order to:

establish and conduct a community for the purpose of study and demonstration of problems of municipal government and taxation, in which all members . . . shall be free from all forms of private monopoly of natural resources. (2)

Hall divided the land into leaseholds, which ran for one year each. The rents were used first to pay local property taxes and then for community services. Rents were based on the annually appraised value of the land. Each leaseholder had the right to vote at Association meetings. The officers of the Association were the trustees, who administered the colony; the Town Clerk; and the Treasurer. The Free Acres Constitution prohibited discrimination on the basis of age, color, or gender, (3) and also prohibited allowing monopolies, including water and utilities, to enter Free Acres. Free Acres had its own water supply until it began buying water from the Commonwealth Water Company in 1930. Another stipulation of the Constitution was that if leaseholders attempted to mortgage their land, it would revert immediately to Bolton Hall.

In the early years, Free Acres was primarily a summer colony of artists, writers, actors, and intellectuals from New York. Living conditions were primitive: there were no lights, roads, or cars and not much water, and people lived in makeshift shacks that they built themselves. The colonists were an ideologically-mixed group, including single-taxers, socialists, anarchists, and conservatives. Some of the more noteworthy residents in the early years were Amy Mali Hicks, a set designer, costume-maker, and feminist, who became the first Town Clerk; two Romanian immigrants, Konrad Bercovici, author of The Volga Boatman, and Dr. Benzion Liber, pioneer in public health, preventative care, mental health, and holistic medicine. Other figures were Harry Kelly, later a founder of the anarchist Ferrer Colony in Stelton, New Jersey; newspaper editor Spencer Brodney; Thorne Smith, author of the Topper series; illustrator Will Crawford; and novelist and short story writer MacKinlay Kantor. Actors James Cagney and Victor Kilian also spent summers there.

In spite of the rugged living conditions, an active community life developed at Free Acres, which revolved around communal institutions: the Farm House (acquired from Bolton Hall in 1919), the ball field, tennis court, and swimming hole. Free Acres was administered by various committees including the Finance Committee, Building Committee, Constitution and Bylaws Committee, and Nominating Committee. The Forestry Committee oversaw communal property and could protect trees on individual leaseholds. From 1911 to 1913, a Horse Association provided a horse and wagon to transport people from the Berkeley Heights train station to Free Acres. Free Acres also had several clubs: the Dramatic Guild, the Archery and Folks Guild, the Garden Guild, the Library Guild, the Tennis Court Club, and the Young People's Club. The Dramatic Guild was very popular; every year elaborate performances were put on in the colony's Open-Air Theater.

Free Acres remained fairly stable until the 1930s. With the advent of the Depression, a number of families found it more economical to stay in Free Acres all year. At this time, a new group of German immigrants, many of whom were skilled craftsmen, arrived in Free Acres. They learned about Free Acres through Camp Elsinore, a German nature and hiking club that owned land adjacent to the community. The Germans built new homes, constructed roads, improved the water supply, and built a new swimming pool. Their enterprise inadvertently forced Free Acres to modify its single tax structure. The Free Acres Association collected rents from each leaseholder, from which it paid a lump sum to Berkeley Heights to pay for property taxes. Free Acres properties were assessed at a low and roughly equal rate. When Berkeley Heights saw the improvements that the Germans had made to their leaseholds, it raised taxes on these properties. According to the Free Acres Constitution, however, the Association could not tax improvements, so the Association had to raise the general assessment, thus making all the residents subsidize those who had made improvements to their holdings.

Dissatisfaction with these developments led the Association to ask Bolton Hall to let it alter the method of taxation. Hall did not agree, but in 1936, a compromise was reached, known as the "communal advantage tax," where each leaseholder paid a flat rate for the use of the colony's communal services, and individual property taxes were assessed on top of that.

In spite of these changes, Free Acres remained a unique and thriving community after the Second World War. A children's summer camp, Camp Wanoga, was organized in 1945, and the system of committees and guilds continued operating. By 1950, two-thirds of the residents lived year-round in Free Acres. The area was changing, however, becoming part of the New York commuter belt, with the attendant rise in property values. Banks finally agreed to allow Free Acres residents to have mortgages, and the term of the leases was extended from one to 99 years, thus abandoning completely the single-tax ideal. Today, Free Acres is similar to a cooperative or condominium complex, where residents are charged fees to pay for shared services and facilities. The Free Acres Association continues to meet every month in the Farm House, however, and the committees continue to maintain the swimming pool, Farm House, and other communal property. The community also remains strongly environmentalist, retaining its trees and open spaces, and in recent years, has become increasingly aware of its unusual history.

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Notes

(1) Martin Bierbaum, "Free Acres: Bolton Hall's Single-Tax Experimental Community," New Jersey History Vol. 102, No. 1-2 (Spring-Summer, 1984), p. 40.

(2) Certificate of Incorporation of the Free Acres Association.

(3) Joseph Albert Romano, "Free Acres Single Tax Colony, 1910-1930: An Experiment in Pleasant Living." Unpublished University of Tennessee M.A. Thesis, 1972, p. 17.

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Scope and Content

The Free Acres Association Collection spans the period 1892 to 1996, with the bulk dating from 1910 to 1980. It is approximately 15.7 cubic feet in size, including 37 manuscript boxes, 2 phase boxes, and 43 map folders.

The collection has essentially two parts: the official records of the Free Acres Association, and historical materials. The official records were originally presented to Special Collections and University Archives in 1967 by the Association. The historical materials were donated by Free Acres resident and newspaper editor Spencer Brodney between 1954 and 1973. In 1995, Free Acres Historian and Historical and Archives Committee member Laurel Hessing donated additional records of the Association and historical material.

The Free Acres Association records comprise over two-thirds of the collection, including leases; minutes of the Association and related materials; financial records; maps and blueprints; and correspondence and minutes of other official bodies such as the Board of Trustees and the Board of Assessors.

The historical materials includes files of Free Acres' clubs or guilds, records of a children's summer camp, Camp Wanoga, run by the Free Acres Association; and files of committees set up to coordinate the decennial (and 25th) anniversary celebrations. The files of the 70th Anniversary Committee (1980) are particularly important because a questionnaire was sent out to all current and former Free Acres residents which yielded much biographical information. The booklets published to commemorate each anniversary can be found in the publications series.

The historical gatherings also include research materials used by Laurel Hessing and Historical and Archives Committee Chairman Martin Bierbaum, in their respective publications on Free Acres. The materials that Laurel Hessing collected about individuals constitute a separate series of biographical files, approximately two manuscript boxes. These files contain information about the many notable residents of Free Acres. Biographical material filed with individual leases has been transferred to this series. The historical materials also include Free Acres newsletters, and articles and other writings about Free Acres and Free Acres residents.

This collection also contains material in other formats. Among the official records are 41 map folders and about half a manuscript box of maps and blueprints of Free Acres and Free Acres leaseholds. Photographs can be found in the biographical files and guild files, as well as in the general photographs series, which mostly contains views of Free Acres. In addition, there are nine audiocassette tapes of interviews with Free Acres residents conducted by Livingston College student Robert Snyder in 1975. Three interviews have been transcribed. The audiocassettes, along with the transcripts and documentation of the project, constitute approximately half a manuscript box.

An unsorted addendum to the collection, received in 1997, consists of papers and photographs relating to Free Acres that were kept by Harry A. Maslow. He was a Free Acres resident who also served the Free Acres Association as a member of its Board of Trustees.

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Related Materials

Related Collectons

The Spencer Brodney papers (MC 1401), the Eberlein family papers, and the Edith Schulze papers in Special Collections and University Archives all contain materials related to the Free Acres Association Collection. Newspaper editor Spencer Brodney, Edith Schulze, and the Eberlein family were all residents of Free Acres. Edith Schulze's papers document her work as the chairperson of the Free Acres Association Forestry Committee.

In addition, the Bolton Hall Papers at the New York Public Library, Manuscripts and Archives Division, contain correspondence related to Free Acres.

Research Based on the Collection

Bierbaum, Martin A. (1984). "Free Acres: Bolton Hall's Single-Tax Experimental Community," New Jersey History, Spring/Summer, 102 (1 & 2).

Bierbaum, Martin A. (1986). "Bolton Hall's Free Acres Experiment: The Single Tax and Anarchism in New Jersey," Communal Societies, 6 (Fall).

Hessing, Laurel, ed. and comp. (Spring, 1992). Annotated Anthology of Free Acres Writing. [SPCOL/UA SNCLNJ F144.B512A66 1992]

Leon, Lilian. (1949). Free Acres Chronicle. Stenciled by Frieda Leon. Mimeographed by Raymond Leon. [SPCOL/UA SNCLNJ F144.B512L]

Romano, Joseph Albert. (March, 1972). Free Acres Single Tax Colony, 1910-1930: An Experiment in Pleasant Living. Thesis. Graduate Council of the University of Tennessee. [SPCOL/UA SNCLNJ F144.B512R]

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Restrictions

No Restrictions.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Free Acres Association Collection. MC 1147. Special Collections and University Archives, Rutgers University Libraries.

Processing Information

Except for photographs and fragile originals, all duplicate materials have been culled from the collection. In many cases, preservation-quality photocopies have been made to replace damaged or acidic paper for materials which are of enduring value due to their subject matter rather than their format.

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Detailed Description of the Collection/Container List

This section provides descriptions of the materials found within each record series. Each series description is followed by a container list, which gives the titles of the folders and their locations in the numbered boxes that comprise this collection.

FREE ACRES ASSOCIATION LEASES, 1910-1991 (1.4 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by surname of original leaseholder following two folders labeled "Free Acres Association."
Summary: Contains court actions to recover delinquent taxes, divorce agreements, indentures, index cards noting the various leaseholders of one property, leases, lists of leaseholders, powers of attorney, releases, site drawings, and wills.
In the Free Acres Association folder are the 1910 Deed of Gift from Bolton Hall and Susie Scott Hall to the Free Acres Association and the 1980 transfer of land from Camp Elsinore to Free Acres.
Of particular interest are the 1917 lease of illustrator Will Crawford, early settler and well-remembered member of the community, signed by Bolton Hall, for the Free Acres Board of Trustees, and witnessed by Free Acreites William Armbruster and Amy Mali Hicks (who was the first Free Acres Town Clerk) and the leases of Town Clerks Katharine Clay, Geraldine Runfeldt, and Fritz Schade, oral history interviewee Catherine Blohm, actor Victor Kilian, artist Charles Lester, and the 1911 leases of Walter B. Danforth, A. B. Firth, and Margaret M. P. Louchard, which Bolton Hall also signed.
Box Folder
1 1 Lease Applications, 1935-1946
2 List of Leaseholders, 1950-circa 1980
3 Free Acres Association, 1910-1980
4 Free Acres Association, Blank Forms
5 Abramson, Maurice and Pearl
6 Albert, Milton and Ethel
7 Anderson, Margarete
8 Andrus, Clark M., 1915
9 Armbruster, William, 1915
10 Bacher, Edward V., and Browning, Douglas R.
11 Bachmann, Francine and Frank
12 Barbarin, G., 1916
13 Barber, Mary C., 1915
14 Baron, Louis
15 Basseches, Maurice and Beatrice
16 Beinfest, Eleanor
17 Beisswenger, Caroline
18 Beisswenger, John
19 Benjamin, Gershon and Zelda
20 Berger, Ernest
21 Berlinrut, Peter
22 Berthold, Marjorie
23 Blackman, Irwin N. and Roslyn B.
24 Blohm, Chris and Wife
25 Blohm, Henry and Gerda
26 Bohne, Matilde
27 Bonaski, George
28 Boni, Mrs. Chas. (Charles) S.
29 Breene, Harold and Marianne
30 Breene, Sol and Ethel P.
31 Broche, Agnes
32 Brodgesell, Harold, and Brodgesell, Jean
33 Brodney, Edith
34 Brodney, Spencer
35 Brown, E. L.
36 Brown, Edmund L., 1915
37 Byers, John
38 Cairns, T. Alex, 1917
39 Carr, Ethel S.
40 Carver, Calvin R., Jr., and Delanney, Anne
41 Catrambone, Albert J. and Rona (a/k/a Rona Stern)
42 Chadwick, (Mrs.) George, 1912
43 Chodrow, Samuel, and Chodrow, Rose
44 Ciccone, Estelle V.
45 Citarella, Salvatore P.
46 Clark, William [M.?], and Clark, (Mrs.) W. M., and Clark, Anita
47 Clay, Clifford, Clay, Katharine B., and Clay, Richard Henry, and Clay, Dorris B.
48 Cohen, Meyer, and Cohen, Rose
49 Cohen, Tirca, and Cohen, Charles C.
50 Colbron, Grace Isabel, 1915, 1920 and 1922
51 Conner, Marion Smith
52 Corbyons, Raymond, and Corbyons, Sheila
53 Corell, Lydia
54 Costello, Edith W., and Costello, Frank
55 Costello, Julia and Frank, and Costello, Fannie, and tenants, Brown, W. and E.
56 Cowan, Rose F.
57 Crawford, William, 1917
58 Danforth, Walter B., 1911
59 Daum, Martin and Esther
60 Davis, Jeffrey R. and Katie L.
61 De Blanco, Anthony, and De Blanco, Lillian
62 Delaney, Floyd, and Delaney, Helen, and Delaney, June Smith
63 Delia, Edward J.
64 De Long, Harriet B. and David K.
65 Devlin, Francis L. and Anne
66 DiNardo, Leonard
67 Doros, William
68 Duff, Donald
69 Eberlein, Undena, undated
70 Ennslen, Fred
71 Epstein, Louis and Norma
72 Evans, Mary and Noah
73 Farber, Sonia
74 Feher, George
75 Fehr, Ralph and Anna
76 Felshin, Daniel and Lili, and Felshin, Daniel
77 Feltenstein, Milton D., and Feltenstein, P.
78 Fertig, Ethel (formerly Rubin, Ethel)
79 Field, Frederick
80 Fink, A. Alfred and Isabel
Box Folder
2 1 Firth, A. B., 1911, 1912 and 1921
2 Firth, Marie L., 1912
3 Firth, Pearl B.
4 Fischer, O. G. and Emma
5 Fitelson, Jacob (Jack), and Fitelson, Mollie
6 Fitzpatrick, Joseph, 1912
7 Fouts, Bertie
8 Franck, Michael, and Franck, Marianne, and Franck, Marga
9 Freidman, Alice M. Seijas, and Freidman, Grover R.
10 Frey, Robert L., and Frey, Debra D.
11 Fuchs, Rupert, and Fuchs, Else
12 Fuller, Timothy J., and Fuller, Mary A.
13 Galicky, F. Peter
14 Gerard, Harold, and Gerard, Dorothy
15 Gibian, Fannie, and Gibian, Jerry
16 Gitnick, Florence and Stephen R.
17 Godfrey, Harriet E.
18 Goeddert, William
19 Goldberg, Albert I., and Goldberg, Muriel K.
20 Goldman, Anna and Harry
21 Goldstein, Gerald and Pearl
22 Goodby, John William
23 Gopinath, Bhaskarpillai, and Gopinath, Karin
24 Gottlieb, Josephine
25 Graf, Fred
26 Graham, Ulysses, and Vincent, Helen
27 Gray, Terence E., and Gray, Colette M.
28 Gruen, Kurt M., and/or Gruen, Sonia L.
29 Hall, Michael, and Hall, Amanda
30 Hauser, Leo
31 Hazard, Harry
32 Heaney, Patrick H.
33 Heerens, Paul Donald, and Heerens, Sylvia
34 Heifetz, Vladimir and Pearl
35 Herbst, Helen
36 Hessing, Laurel, and Hessing, Sigmar
37 Heukelekian, (Heller) A., Heukelekian, O., and Heukelekian, H.
38 Hewlett, Gregory, and Hewlett, Nina
39 Heyman, Ida
40 Hicks, George E., 1912 and 1914
41 Holsten, Richard J. and Laurianne
42 Hotson, Viola K.
43 Howell, Clarence V., and/or Howell, Ida Oatley
44 Hudnall, Joe M. and Patricia M.
45 Huse, David M., and Huse, Julia Smith
46 Ioriatti, Ernest C. and Elizabeth W.
47 Ising, Muriel
48 Jacobs, Jack and Margery
49 Johnson, Wm. C.
50 Kaiser, Keith Adam
51 Kane, James R., and Kane, (Mrs.) Neale
52 Kaye, Carol
53 Kemp, Mary L., and Kemp, Henry
54 Kennedy, Kevin D., and Kennedy, Donna Jean
55 Kennel, Karl
56 Kenny, John T. and Florence M. (May)
57 Kilian, Victor A., 1917
58 Klatzkie, Margaret, and Klatzkie, Louis
59 Kleederman, Dr. and Mrs. Allan
60 Kleinberg and Godfrey and Ortman (-Wilde) and Wechsler [surnames], undated
61 Kleinberg, Alfred and Helen
62 Kleinberg, Joseph and Minnie
63 Kleinberg, Meyer
64 Kleinberg, Ralph, and Kleinberg, Rona
65 Kleinberg, Sydney and Florence
66 Kluver, J. Wilhelm, and Kluver, Olga
67 Kniberg, Bernard and Anita
68 Knoop, Frederick, and Knoop, Marion
69 Kohler, Henry and Carol
70 Koontz, Nancy Jo
71 Krien, Kurt, and Krien, Johanna
72 Kupfer, Esther
73 Ladd, J. Alfreda
74 La Rosa, Leonard M. and Frances
75 Lauten, Charles, and Lauten, Anna
76 Leon, Raymond
77 Lester, Charles F. and Davida
78 Levendusky, Mrs. G. (Edith), and Levendusky, Krupkin, Mrs. May (Mrs. Ben)
Box Folder
3 1 Liber, B., 1912
2 Lingenfelter, Gerald, and Lingenfelter, Crystal
3 Loewy, Sylvia and Martin
4 Louchard, Margaret M. P.
5 Maccarelli, William C. and Paula D.
6 Mackenberg, Charles
7 MacLennan
8 MacPherson, David R., and MacPherson, Polly J.
9 MacVicar, Hugh J. and Sheila A.
10 Margulies, Emanuel and Rae
11 Margulies, Philip
12 Maslow, Harry and Theresa
13 Meier, Gottfried, and Meier, Bertie
14 Menth, James, and Menth, Karen
15 Minguez, Ralph M., and Minguez, E. Katherine
16 Mohan, W. Keith, and Mohan, Catherine
17 Moore, Edith S., 1916
18 Moore, Gertrude Tyler
19 Mueller, Otto and Anna
20 Murdock, Johanna M., and Murdock, Newton A.
21 Muxo, Dolores
22 Napolitano, Mr. and Mrs. (Theodora) George
23 Navarro, Ronald Jeffrey, and Navarro, Annie Francoise
24 Neuman, Esther
25 Neuman, Mark Herbert, and Neuman, Sheryl E.
26 Neuman, Mollie
27 Newcomb, O. W., 1915
28 Newlon, Michael Clark, and Newlon, Carol Shaw
29 Nilsen, Walter G., and Nilsen, Margaret H.
30 O'Brien, Andrew J. and Evelyn
31 O'Donnell, Kathleen S.
32 Ogielski, Andrew T. and Sophia
33 Oppenheimer, Mary, 1914
34 Padlo, Victor A., and Padlo, Gina
35 Palamara, Edward and Julia
36 Payes, Cain and Helen
37 Percario, David J.
38 Perkis, Morris, and Perkis, Ruth
39 Pickett, Jack and Mary
40 Pinzone, Christopher, and Pinzone, Marie Ann
41 Pleines, Else
42 Pleines, John
43 Plotch, Samuel, and Plotch, Ruth
44 Prinz, Julius, and Prinz, Rose
45 Randall, Dora
46 Rawitz, Michael and Kana B.
47 Rawson, Elizabeth
48 Reich, Molka
49 Riceman, Fred O.
50 Rokosky, Paul and June
51 Romano, Joseph A., and Romano, Suzanne
52 Rosenberg, Elsie
53 Ruben, Charlotte
54 Rubin, Abraham
55 Rubin, Bess, and Rubin, Herman, and Rubin, Alan
56 Rubin, Dr. Henry
57 Rubin, Mr. and Mrs. Nathan
58 Runfeldt, Andrew T., and Geraldine
59 Runfeldt, Theodore and Paula
60 Russell, Dorothy
61 Ryan, Thomas P., 1916
62 Rychlik, Richard
63 Sander, Irmgard
64 Schade, Fritz, and Schade, Hermine
65 Scheff, Fred K., 1927
66 Scheff, Elsie, and Scheff, Frederick
67 Schlosberg, Mrs. Goldie
68 Schoenfield, Sarah
69 Schultze, Edith [Wright], and Schultze, Max A.
70 Schwam, Jeanne
71 Scott, Anna L. and Claude
72 Seib, Daniel W., Jr., and Seib, Patricia A.
73 Seijas, Alice M.
74 Seijas, Rose H., and Seijas, William V.
75 Seitz, Ferd.
76 Shapiro, Lawrence
77 Shapiro, Leo and Lillian
78 Shapiro, Murray
79 Shih, Henry and Susan
Box Folder
4 1 Siegal, Joseph D.
2 Siesler, Helen
3 Silberberg, Samuel D. and Sophie C.
4 Sloan, Clifford and Helen, 1917
5 Southgate, M. K., 1917
6 Sternberg, Jack and Natalie
7 Sullivan, Harold E., and Sullivan, John L.
8 Sullivan, William
9 Sullivan, William J., Jr., and Sullivan, Marion, and Sullivan, Harold
10 Swaminathan, Verikat, and Swaminathan, Suseela
11 Taller, Rose and Samuel
12 Tamaroff, Isadore L. and Lee
13 Tarmy, Barry, and Tarmy, Marianne
14 Taylor, Maryellen E.
15 Thomas, William and Rosemarie
16 Thomson, Evelyn, landlord, and Sweet, Harry E., tenant
17 Thomson, M. B.
18 Tisdall, James, and Tisdall, Elizabeth
19 Tomasetti, Joseph and Helen
20 Trench, John, and Trench, Anne
21 Urdang, Elizabeth, 1916
22 Vance, Richard, and Vance, Carmen
23 Van Dover, Robert Bruce
24 Van Orden, William
25 Van Straaten, Jonas, and Van Straaten, Freda
26 Vincelli, Kenneth V., and Vincelli, Susan G.
27 Wadekuhl, Otto
28 Walter, Dennis, and Walter, Mary Ann
29 Warde, David W., and Youse-Warde, Arminda E.
30 Watters, Bessie Duncan, 1915
31 Weaver, Jay
32 West, Wallace G.
33 Wherett, John T., 1912
34 Wilde, William and Sylvia
35 Winn, Samuel, and Winn, Bertha Esther
36 Winn, Wilma
37 Wobus, Bruno, and Wobus, Gussi
38 Wolf, John T., and Wolf, Albert
39 Wood, W. Graham and Jane L.
40 Yamane, Tetsuo, and Yamane, Mitzi
41 Yanoff, Louise
42 Youngman, Adelaide
43 Zimmermann, Melchior, and Zimmermann, Mary K.
44 Zinn, Rose
45 Ziser, Joseph, and Ziser, Rose M.
46 Zoss, Abraham O.
FREE ACRES ASSOCIATION MEETING MINUTES FILES, 1910-1993 (7.7 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically; oversize items filed separately..
Summary: Minutes of the Free Acres Association monthly, special, and annual meetings, with related materials interfiled. Minutes include multiple copies with annotations.
Types of documents include minutes; reports of the Free Acres Town Clerk, Board of Assessors, Board of Trustees, and the various committees; meeting announcements; correspondence addressed to the Association or Town Clerk; broadsides; contracts for work done for the Association; newspaper clippings; notes, Berkeley Heights ordinances, resolutions, statistics, and tax maps. Also includes leaseholder requests which will be addressed at the meeting, and announcements of births, marriages, and deaths, as well as community activities such as dances and parties. This series contains one oversize item, a "No Trespassing" sign (1922).
Of particular interest is a copy of the Free Acres original Certificate of Incorporation (1910).
Free Acres Association correspondence, usually directed to the Town Clerk, concerns leases, taxes, the payment of bills, the coordination of the work of the various committees, etc. Much of the correspondence consists of requests to allow family members or tenants occupying the leasehold to have a proxy vote. Of interest is a letter from James Cagney authorizing the transfer of the Cagney leasehold in 1936.
The Free Acres Association Annual meeting files contain budget reviews of the past fiscal year, and the proposed budget for the next. Special meetings are called to discuss lease transfers, lot improvements, taxes, bond issue votes, and emergencies. The tax structure, the Constitution and Bylaws, lease transfers, and lot improvements are recurring meeting topics.
Box Folder
4 47 Undated
48 Undated
49 Undated
50 1910-1918
51 1910-1918
52 1935
Box Folder
Map Drawer 3 42 No Trespassing Sign, 1922
Oversize broadside (never posted).
Box
38 [phase box] August 28, 1920-December 28, 1930
Oversize volume.
Box Folder
5 [inner box] December 1910-July 1920
[inner box] January 25, 1931-January 15, 1936
1 January 26 and February 23, 1936
2 March 15 and 29, 1936 and April 21, 1936
Special meeting and two regular meetings.
3 May 21 and June 28, 1936
4 July 26, 1936
5 August 30, 1936
Annual meeting.
6 September 27, 1936
7 October 25, 1936
8 November 29, 1936
9 January 31, 1937
10 February 28, 1937
11 March 28, 1937
Box Folder
6 1 April 25, 1937
2 May 30, 1937
3 June 27, 1937
4 July 25, 1937
5 August 29, 1937
Annual meeting.
6 September 26, 1937
7 October 31, 1937
8 November 28, 1937
9 January 30, 1938
10 February 24, 1938
11 March 27, 1938
12 April 24, 1938
13 May 29, 1938
14 June 26, 1938
15 July 31, 1938
16 August 28, 1938
Annual meeting.
Box Folder
7 1 September 25, 1938
2 October 30, 1938
3 November 27, 1938
4 January 29, 1939
5 February 26, 1939
6 March 26, 1939
7 April 30, 1939
8 May 28, 1939
9 June 25, 1939
10 July 30, 1939
11 August 27, 1939
Annual meeting.
12 September 24, 1939
13 October 29, 1939
14 November 26, 1939
15 January 28, 1940
16 February 25, 1940
17 March 31, 1940
18 April 28, 1940
19 May 26, 1940
20 June 30, 1940
21 July 28, 1940
22 August 11 and 25, 1940
Special and annual meetings.
23 September 29, 1940
24 October 27, 1940
25 November 24, 1940
26 January 26, 1941
27 February 23, 1941
28 March 30, 1941
29 April 27, 1941
30 May 25, 1941
31 June 29, 1941
32 July 27, 1941
33 August 31, 1941
Annual meeting.
34 September 28, 1941
Box Folder
8 1 October 26, 1941
2 November 30, 1941
3 January 25, 1942
4 February 22, 1942
5 March 29, 1942
6 April 26, 1942
7 May 31, 1942
8 June 28, 1942
9 July 26, 1942
10 August 30, 1942
Annual meeting.
11 September 27, 1942
12 October 25, 1942
13 November 29, 1942
14 January 31, 1943
15 February 28, 1943
16 March 28, 1943
17 May 2, 1943
The meeting for April.
18 May 30, 1943
19 June 6 and 27, 1943
Special and regular meetings.
20 July 25, 1943
21 August 29, 1943
Annual meeting.
22 September 26, 1943
23 October 31, 1943
24 January 2 and February 27, 1944
Special and regular meetings; no quorum in November 1943 or January 1944.
25 March 26, 1944
26 April 30, 1944
27 May 7 and 28, 1944
Special and regular meetings.
28 June 25, 1944
29 July 30, 1944
30 August 27, 1944
Annual meeting.
31 September 24, 1944
32 October 29, 1944
33 November 26, 1944
34 January 28, 1945
35 March 25, 1945
No quorum in February 1945.
36 April 29, 1945
37 May 27, 1945
38 June 24, 1945
39 July 1 and 29, 1945
Special and regular meetings.
40 August 26, 1945
Annual meeting.
Box Folder
9 1 September 30, 1945
2 October 28, 1945
3 January 6 and 27, 1946
Special and regular meetings; no quorum in November 1945.
4 March 31, 1946
No quorum in February 1946.
5 April 28, 1946
6 May 12 and 26, 1946
Special and regular meetings.
7 June 30, 1946
8 July 21 and 28, 1946
Special and regular meetings.
9 August 25, 1946
Annual meeting.
10 September 30, 1946
11 October 27, 1946
12 November 24, 1946
13 January 26, 1947
14 March 30, 1947
No quorum in February.
15 April 13 and 27, 1947
Special and regular meetings.
16 May 11 and 18, 1947 and June 29, 1947
Special meeting and two regular meetings.
17 July 27, 1947
18 August 31, 1947
Annual meeting.
19 September 28, 1947
20 October 26, 1947
21 March 15 and April 5, 1948
Special meeting and regular meeting for March; no quorum in November 1947 or January or February 1948.
22 April 25, 1948
23 June 27, 1948
No quorum in May 1948.
24 July 25, 1948
25 August 29, 1948
Annual meeting.
26 September 26, 1948
27 October 8 and 31, 1948
Special and regular meetings.
28 November 28, 1948
29 January 30, 1949
30 March 28, 1949
No quorum in February 1949.
31 April 24, 1949
32 May 29, 1949
33 June 26, 1949
34 July 24, 1949
35 August 10 and 28, 1949
Special and annual meetings.
36 September 25, 1949
37 October 30, 1949
38 November 27, 1949
39 January 29, 1950
Box Folder
10 1 February 26, 1950
2 March 26, 1950
3 April 30, 1950
4 May 28, 1950
5 June 25, 1950
6 July 30, 1950
7 August 9 and 27, 1950
Special and annual meetings.
8 September 24, 1950
9 October 29, 1950
10 November 12 and December 1 or 3, 1950
Special meeting and the regular meeting for November.
11 January 28, 1951
12 April 1, 1951
Meeting for April and March; no quorum in February.
13 May 27, 1951
14 June 10 and 24, 1951
Special and regular meetings.
15 July 8 and 29, 1951
Special and regular meetings.
16 August 17, 26, and 31, 1951
Special, annual, and regular meetings.
17 September 23 and 30, 1951
Special and regular meetings.
18 October 21 and 28, 1951
Special and regular meetings.
19 November 23 and 25, 1951
Special and regular meetings.
20 January 27, 1952
21 February 24, 1952
22 March 7 and 30, 1952
Special and regular meetings.
23 April 27, 1952
24 June 29, 1952
No quorum in May.
25 July 27, 1952
26 August 31, 1952
Annual meeting.
27 September 28, 1952
28 October 26, 1952
29 November 30, 1952
30 January 4 and 25, 1953
Special and regular meetings.
31 March 29, 1953
No quorum in February.
32 April 18 and 26, 1953
Special and regular meetings.
33 May 10 and 31, 1953
Special and regular meetings.
34 June 28, 1953
35 July 26, 1953
36 August 30, 1953
Annual meeting.
37 September 27, 1953
38 November 29, 1953
No quorum in October.
39 January 31, 1954
Box Folder
11 1 February 28, 1954
2 March 28, 1954
3 April 25, 1954
4 May 30, 1954
5 July 25, 1954
No quorum in June.
6 August 29, 1954
Annual meeting.
7 September 26, 1954
8 October 31, 1954
9 November 28, 1954
10 January 30, 1955
11 February 13 and 27, 1955
Special and regular meetings.
12 March 27, 1955
13 April 18 and 24, 1955
Special and regular meetings.
14 May 28 or 29, 1955
15 June 26, 1955
16 July 31, 1955
17 August 12 and 28, 1955
Special and annual meetings.
18 September 25, 1955
19 October 7 and 30, 1955
Special and regular meetings.
20 November 27, 1955
21 January 29, 1956
22 February 26, 1956
23 March 25, 1956
24 April 29, 1956
25 May 27, 1956
26 June 24, 1956
27 July 29, 1956
28 August 26, 1956
Annual meeting.
29 September 30, 1956
30 October 28, 1956
31 January 27, 1957
No quorum in November 1956.
32 February 24, 1957
33 March 24, 1957
34 April 28, 1957
35 May 26, 1957
36 June 20, 1957
Box Folder
12 1 July 28, 1957
2 August 25, 1957
Annual meeting.
3 September 29, 1957
4 October 27, 1957
5 November 24, 1957
6 January 26, 1958
7 March 30, 1958
No quorum in February.
8 April 27, 1958
9 May 25, 1958
10 June 29, 1958
11 July 11 and 27, 1958
Special and regular meetings.
12 August 25 and 31, 1958
Special and annual meetings.
13 September 28, 1958
14 October 26, 1958
15 November 30, 1958
16 January 25, 1959
17 February 22, 1959
18 March 22, 1959
19 April 26, 1959
20 May 31, 1959
21 June 28, 1959
22 July 26, 1959
23 August 30, 1959
Annual meeting.
24 September 27, 1959
25 October 25, 1959
26 November 29, 1959
27 January 30, 1960
28 February 28, 1960
29 March 27, 1960
30 April 24, 1960
31 May 29, 1960
32 June 26, 1960
33 July 31, 1960
Box Folder
13 1 August 31, 1960
Annual meeting.
2 September 25, 1960
3 October 30, 1960
4 November 27, 1960
5 January 29, 1961
6 February 26, 1961
7 March 26, 1961
8 April 30, 1961
9 May 28, 1961
10 June 25, 1961
11 July 16 and 30, 1961
Special and regular meetings.
12 August 13 and 27, 1961
Special and annual meetings.
13 September 24, 1961
14 October 29, 1961
15 November 26, 1961
16 January 28, 1962
17 February 25, 1962
18 March 25, 1962
19 April 29, 1962
20 May 27, 1962
21 June 24, 1962
22 July 29, 1962
23 August 26, 1962
Annual meeting.
24 September 30, 1962
25 October 26, 1962
26 November 25, 1962
27 February 24, 1963
No quorum in January.
28 March 10 and 31, 1963
Special and regular meetings.
29 April 28, 1963
30 May 26, 1963
Box Folder
14 1 June 30, 1963
2 July 28, 1963
3 August 25, 1963
Annual meeting.
4 September 29, 1963
5 October 27, 1963
6 November 24, 1963
7 January 26, 1964
8 February 23, 1964
9 March 22, 1964
10 April 26, 1964
11 May 31, 1964
12 June 28, 1964
13 July 26, 1964
14 August 30, 1964
Annual meeting.
15 September 27, 1964
16 October 25, 1964
17 November 29, 1964
18 January 31, 1965
19 February 28, 1965
20 March 28, 1965
21 April 26, 1965
22 May 30, 1965
23 June 27, 1965
24 July 25, 1965
25 August 13 and 29, 1965
Special and annual meetings.
Box Folder
15 1 October 3, 1965
The meeting for September.
2 October 31, 1965
3 November 28, 1965
4 February 6, 1966
The meeting for January.
5 February 27, 1966
6 March 27, 1966
7 April 24, 1966
8 May 29, 1966
9 June 26, 1966
10 July 31, 1966
11 August 28, 1966
Annual meeting.
12 September 25, 1966
13 October 30, 1966
14 November 28, 1966
15 February 26, 1967
No quorum in January.
16 April 2, 1967
The meeting for March.
17 April 30, 1967
18 May 28, 1967
19 June 25, 1967
20 July 30, 1967
21 August 27, 1967
Annual meeting.
22 September 24, 1967
23 October 29, 1967
24 November 26, 1967
25 January 28, 1968
26 February 25, 1968
27 March 31, 1968
28 April 28, 1968
29 May 26, 1968
30 June 30, 1968
31 July 12 and 28, 1968
Special and regular meetings.
32 August 25, 1968
Annual meeting.
33 September 29,1968
34 October 27, 1968
Box Folder
16 1 November 24, 1968
2 January 26, 1969
3 February 23 and March 30, 1969
4 April 27, 1969
5 May 25, 1969
6 June 29, 1969
7 July 27, 1969
8 August 31, 1969
Annual meeting.
9 September 28, 1969
10 October 26, 1969
11 November 30, 1969
12 January 25, 1970
13 February 22, 1970
14 March 22, 1970
15 April 26, 1970
16 May 31, 1970
17 June 28, 1970
18 July 26, 1970
19 August 30, 1970
Annual meeting.
20 September 27, 1970
21 October 25, 1970
22 November 29, 1970
23 January 31, 1971
24 February 28, 1971
25 March 28, 1971
26 April 25, 1971
27 May 30, 1971
28 June 27, 1971
29 July 25, 1971
Box Folder
17 1 August 29, 1971
Annual meeting.
2 September 26, 1971
3 October 31, 1971
4 November 28, 1971
5 January 30, 1972
6 February 27, 1972
7 March 26, 1972
8 April 30, 1972
9 May 28, 1972
10 June 25, 1972
11 July 30, 1972
12 August 27, 1972
Annual meeting.
13 September 24, 1972
14 October 29, 1972
15 November 26, 1972
16 January 28, 1973
17 February 25, 1973
18 March 25, 1973
19 April 29, 1973
20 May 27, 1973
21 June 22 and 24, 1973
Special and regular meetings.
22 July 29, 1973
23 August 26, 1973
Annual meeting.
24 September 30, 1973
25 October 28, 1973
26 November 25, 1973
27 January 27, 1974
28 February 24, 1974
Box Folder
18 1 March 31, 1974
2 April 21 and 28, 1974
Special and regular meetings.
3 May 26, 1974
4 June 30, 1974
5 July 28, 1974
6 August 23 and 25, 1974
Special and annual meetings.
7 September 29, 1974
8 October 15 and 27, 1974
Special and regular meetings.
9 November 24, 1974
10 January 26, 1975
11 February 23, 1975
12 March 10 and 23, 1975
Special and regular meetings.
13 April 27, 1975
14 May 25, 1975
15 June 13 and 19, 1975
Special and regular meetings.
16 July 27, 1975
17 August 24 and 29, 1975
Special and annual meetings.
18 September 28, 1975
19 October 26, 1975
20 November 30, 1975
21 January 25, 1976
22 February 29, 1976
23 March 28, 1976
24 April 25, 1976
25 May 23, 1976
26 June 27, 1976
27 July 25, 1976
28 August 29, 1976
Annual meeting.
29 September 26, 1976
30 October 31, 1976
31 November 7 and 28, 1976
Special and regular meetings.
32 January 30, 1977
33 February 27, 1977
34 March 27, 1977
Box Folder
19 1 April 24, 1977
2 May 22, 1977
3 June 26, 1977
4 July 31, 1977
5 August 28, 1977
Annual meeting.
6 September 25, 1977
7 October 30, 1977
8 December 4, 1977
The meeting for November.
9 January 29, 1978
10 February 26, 1978
11 April 2, 1978
The meeting for March.
12 April 30, 1978
13 May 21, 1978
14 June 25, 1978
15 July 26 and 30, 1978
Special and regular meetings.
16 August 27, 1978
Annual meeting.
17 September 24, 1978
18 October 29, 1978
19 December 3, 1978
The meeting for November.
20 January 28, 1979
21 February 25, 1979
22 March 25, 1979
23 April 29, 1979
24 June 3, 1979
The meeting for May.
25 June 24, 1979
26 July 29, 1979
27 August 26, 1979
Annual meeting.
28 September 30, 1979
29 November 4, 1979
The meeting for October.
30 December 2, 1979
The meeting for November.
31 January 27, 1980
32 February 24, 1980
33 March 30, 1980
34 April 27, 1980
35 June 1, 1980
The meeting for May.
Box Folder
20 1 June 29, 1980
2 July 27, 1980
3 August 11 and 24, 1980
Special and annual meetings.
4 September 11 and 28, 1980
Special and regular meetings.
5 October 26, 1980
6 November 23, 1980
7 December 5, 1980, and January 25, 1981
Special and regular meetings.
8 February 22, 1981
9 March 29, 1981
10 April 26, 1981
11 May 31, 1981
12 June 28, 1981
13 July 26, 1981
14 August 30, 1981
Annual meeting.
15 September 27, 1981
16 October 25, 1981
17 December 6, 1981
The meeting for November.
18 January 31, 1982
19 February 28, 1982
20 March 28, 1982
21 April 25, 1982
22 May 23, 1982
23 June 27, 1982
24 July 25, 1982
25 August 29, 1982
Annual meeting.
26 September 26, 1982
27 October 31, 1982
28 December 5, 1982
The meeting for November.
29 January 30, 1983
30 February 27, 1983
Box Folder
21 1 March 27, 1983
2 April 24, 1983
3 June 5, 1983
The meeting for May.
4 June 26, 1983
5 July 31, 1983
6 August 28, 1983
Annual meeting.
7 September 25, 1983
8 October 25 and 30, 1983
Special and regular meetings.
9 November 2 and December 4, 1983
Special meeting and the regular meeting for November.
10 January 29, 1984
11 February 26, 1984
12 March 25, 1984
13 April 29, 1984
14 June 3, 1984
The meeting for May.
15 July 29, 1984
No quorum in June.
16 August 26, 1984
Annual meeting.
17 October 28, 1984
No quorum in September.
18 December 2, 1984
The meeting for November.
19 January 27, 1985
20 February 24, 1985
21 March 31, 1985
22 April 28, 1985
23 June 2, 1985
The meeting for May.
24 June 30, 1985
25 July 26 and 28, 1985
Special and regular meetings.
26 August 25, 1985
Annual meeting.
27 September 29, 1985
28 October 27, 1985
29 November 24, 1985
Box Folder
22 1 January 26, 1986
2 February 23, 1986
3 March 23, 1986
4 April 27, 1986
5 June 1, 1986
The meeting for May.
6 June 29, 1986
7 July 27, 1986
8 August 24, 1986
Annual meeting.
9 September 28, 1986
10 October 26, 1986
11 November 23, 1986
12 January 25, 1987
13 February 22, 1987
14 March 29, 1987
15 April 26, 1987
16 May 31, 1987
17 June 28, 1987
18 July 26, 1987
19 August 30, 1987
Annual meeting.
20 September 10, 17 and 27, 1987
Special and regular meetings.
21 October 8 and 25, 1987
Special and regular meetings.
22 December 6, 1987
The meeting for November.
23 January 31, 1988
24 February 28, 1988
25 March 27, 1988
26 April 24, 1988
27 June 5, 1988
The meeting for May.
28 June 26, 1988
29 July 31, 1988
30 August 28, 1988
Annual meeting.
31 September 25, 1988
32 October 30, 1988
33 December 11, 1988
The meeting for November.
Box Folder
23 1 January 29, 1989
2 February 26, 1989
3 April 2, 1989
The meeting for March.
4 April 30, 1989
5 June 4, 1989
The meeting for May.
6 June 25, 1989
7 July 30, 1989
8 August 27, 1989
Annual meeting.
9 September 24, 1989
10 October 29, 1989
11 December 3, 1989
The meeting for November.
12 December 17, 1989, and January 28, 1990
Special and regular meetings.
13 February 25, 1990
14 March 25, 1990
15 April 29, 1990
16 May 20, 1990
17 June 24, 1990
18 July 29, 1990
19 August 26, 1990
Annual meeting.
20 September 23, 1990
21 October 28, 1990
22 November 18, 1990
23 January 27, 1991
24 February 25, 1991
25 March 25, 1991
26 April 29, 1991
27 May 27, 1991
28 June 24, 1991
29 July 29, 1991
30 August 26, 1991
Annual meeting.
31 September 30, 1991
Box Folder
24 1 October 28, 1991
2 November 25, 1991
3 January 27, 1992
4 February 24, 1992
5 March 30, 1992
6 April 27, 1992
7 May 18, 1992
8 June 29, 1992
9 July 27, 1992
10 August 31, 1992
Annual meeting.
11 September 1992
12 October 1993
FREE ACRES ASSOCIATION GENERAL FINANCIAL FILES, 1910-1980 (1.3 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped by document type; oversize items filed separately.
Summary: Documents produced by the Free Acres Town Clerk, Treasurer, leaseholders, and vendors having to do with Free Acres monies.
Includes Free Acres Association bonds, lists of accounts receivable, lists of associate members, general ledgers, invoices, and notes of payment due or bills paid.
Ledgers document road repair, bond issues, the annual budget, capital and interest revenues, rental fees for associate members, and swimming pool fees.
Includes the 1980 hearing document, Free Acres Association v. Berkeley Heights Tax Assessor. Unlike in times past, in 1980 the Berkeley Heights Tax Assessor did not lower the assessed valuations when Free Acreites complained about the difference between the way property improvements made by Berkeley Heights homeowners, and those made by Free Acres leaseholders were taxed, since Berkeley Heights residents could get mortgages or tax breaks for these improvements.
Box Folder
24 [inner box] Ledger, Accounts Receivable, 1952-1960
[inner box] Ledger, Accounts Receivable (includes Associate Members), September 1, 1961-August 31, 1967
[inner box] Ledger, Accounts Receivable (includes Associate Members), 1967-1968
Box
39 [phase box] Records of Receipts, 1954-1966
Leaves from an oversize volume, now disbound.
Box Folder
25 [inner box] Ledger, 1930-1933
[inner box] Ledger, 1951-1954
[inner box] Ledger, Accounts Receivable (includes Associate Members), 1968-1969
[inner box] Ledger, Accounts Receivable (includes Associate Members), 1968-1969
[inner box] General Ledger, 1953-1964
[inner box] Ledger, 1964-1965
1 Bank Correspondence and Statements, 1910-1917
2 Bills, 1911-1915
3 Bills, 1916
4 Bills, 1917-1919
Box Folder
26 1 Bonds, 1969-1971
[inner box] Ledger, 1960-1961
[inner box] Ledger, 1962-1963
[inner box] General Ledger, 1965-1969
Box Folder
27 [inner box] Ledger, 1969-1970
1 Union County Tax Board Hearing: Free Acres Association, Inc., vs. The Township of Berkeley Heights, The Tax Assessor of Berkeley Heights, October 28, 1980
2 Lease Applications, 1915
3 Lease Rent Payments, 1910-1918
4 Miscellaneous, 1913-1940
FREE ACRES BOARD OF ASSESSORS FILES, 1910-1994 (.2 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Files of the Board of Assessors, the body which assesses and oversees the Free Acres leaseholds.
Includes leasehold assessments, proposed tax schedules, activity and annual reports, list of leaseholders, taxes owed and/or paid, correspondence, charts, adding machine tape calculations, dockets, assessment form, and notes. Also includes Free Acres Treasurers' Reports and annual Free Acres budget statements.
Of particular interest is the memorandum and appendix for the 1980 lawsuit by Free Acres against the Tax Assessor of Berkeley Heights, regarding property tax assessments carried out by Berkeley Heights.
Includes correspondence with Township of Berkeley Heights assessment officials specifically dealing with Free Acres land and leaseholds, forwarded from the Free Acres Association.
Charts (circa 1980-1982) illustrate the Berkeley Heights and Watchung "Gross Real Estate Tax Credit Computation."
Notes include a list of Watchung tax rates (1965-1978); Free Acres assessment worksheets (1979), including old and new budget calculation formulae; and Duties and Procedures for Free Acres Assessors (1981).
Box Folder
27 5 Lists of Assessments, 1915-1917
6 1910-1936
7 1956-1963
8 1969-1975
9 1976-1977
10 1978-1979
11 1980-1981
12 1982
13 1983
14 1983
15 1984-1985
16 1986-1994
BOARD OF TRUSTEES FILES, 1933-1977 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Primarily files of Henry Blohm, Free Acres Association Board of Trustees Secretary in the 1960s and 1970s.
Types of documents include reports later read at Free Acres Association meetings, correspondence, and minutes.
Subjects discussed include delinquent tax cases (after both the Free Acres Association and Finance Committee have attempted to collect payment); questions of constitutionality (principles and procedures of the Free Acres Constitution and Bylaws); and Free Acres expenses and leasehold disputes in general. Correspondence includes letters about the availability of land to lease.
Box Folder
28 1 circa 1933-July 1936
2 August 1936-April 1939
3 July 1939-1943
4 1944-1961
5 1968-September 1969
6 October 1969-April 1970
7 May 1970-July 1971 and June 1977
FINANCE COMMITTEE FILES, 1935-1986 (.5 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Includes balance sheets, budgets, correspondence, memoranda, minutes, notes, and reports of the Free Acres Association Finance Committee.
Correspondence concerns the Free Acres Constitution and Bylaws, leaseholder taxes, and fees.
Box Folder
28 8 1935-July 1936
9 August 1936-June 1937
10 July 1937-June 1938
11 July-December 1938
12 1939
13 1940-May 1942
14 June-December 1942
15 January-July 1943
16 August 1943-June 1944
17 July 1944-May 1945
18 July 1945-August 1947
19 September 1947-August 1948
20 September 1948-September 1949
21 October 1949-July 1962
22 1969
Box Folder
29 1 August 1977-July 1978
2 August 1978-July 1979
3 August 1979-July 1980
4 August 1980-July 1981
5 August 1981-July 1982
6 August 1982-July 1983
7 August 1983-July 1984
8 August 1984-July 1985
9 August 1985-March 1986
10 April 1986-August 1986
AUDITOR'S REPORTS, 1961-1970 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Bulk arranged chronologically in two sequences.
Summary: Free Acres Association financial statements, with gaps, and a 1967 income tax return and 1968 I.R.S. not-for-profit determination letter, prepared by certified public accountants.
The financial statements include a Balance Sheet with assets and liabilities, a Statement of Budget Appropriations, Revenues and Expenditures, and a Statement of Arrears and Sewer Assessments due from leaseholders.
These statements document revenues and expenditures of the Association, including leaseholder tax assessments, taxes to townships, insurance, salaries, postage, and fire and rescue squad donations.
Box Folder
29 11 Financial Statements, 1961-1965
12 Financial Statements, 1966-1970
Box Folder
30 1 Income Tax Return and I.R.S. Determination Letter, 1967-1968
FREE ACRES GUILD FILES, 1915-1969 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped into three subseries: the Dramatic Guild, the Garden Guild, and the Library Guild.
Summary: The Dramatic Guild Files, 1915-1965, arranged alphabetically, document the activities of the club which put on plays in Free Acres. Types of material include minutes (1915-1923); photographs (1915-1930); and costume sketches (1965).
Photographs include stereographs of the Open-Air Theater and cast and performance photographs. Programs include those for a 1915 production of Robin Hood, with Ethel Webster Fischer in the title role and O.G. Fischer as Richard, and a 1917 performance of a Lady Gregory play featuring Amy Mali Hicks. Of particular interest are costume sketches for "Treasure Island" by Jane Eberlein Hall.
The Garden Guild Files, 1932-1951, which are arranged chronologically, are the files of a club which looked after the Free Acres gardens. Its members planted trees, pruned shrubs and prepared the ground for seedlings. At Garden Guild meetings, lectures were given on bulb planting, trees, and landscaping.
Includes a business card, 1932-1940 meeting minutes, and meeting announcements from 1951, when an attempt was made to revive the Garden Guild.
The Library Guild Files, 1940-1969, include material pertaining to the library in Free Acres.
Types of documents include minutes, correspondence, reports, lists, a brochure, and canceled checks.
Book reviews were presented at meetings of the Library Guild and of the Library Group (a name change which only seemed to be in effect in 1941). The 1964 Report of the Library Committee decries the death of Free Acres cultural institutions, including the Dramatic Guild and summer camp, and stresses the importance of the surviving cultural institution, the Free Acres Library.
The minutes are from the Library Guild (1940), and the Library Group (1941). The list of books may be ones that were donated to the Free Acres Library by MacKinlay Kantor.
Dramatic Guild Files
Box Folder
30 [inner box] Dramatic Guild Minutes, August 29, 1915-July 15, 1923
2 Dramatic Guild Photographs and Programs, 1915-circa 1930
3 Dramatic Guild "Treasure Island" Costume Sketches by Jane [Eberlein] Hall, 1965
Garden Guild Files
Box Folder
30 [inner box] Garden Guild Minutes, 1932-1940
4 Garden Guild Miscellaneous, 1951
Library Guild Files
Box Folder
30 5 Library Guild, 1940-1969
6 Library Group, 1941
CAMP WANOGA FILES, 1946-1971 (.2 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically.
Summary: Files of Camp Wanoga, a children's summer camp run by the Free Acres Association, which ceased operation in 1964 because of declining numbers.
Includes applications, general correspondence, expense sheets, insurance brochures and policies, meeting minutes, a camper's play script for "Hansel and Gretel," plumber's bills, annual reports to the State of New Jersey, roll books which include inventories and activities, as well as attendance records, rosters, and schedules of events.
Of particular interest is the camp's Certificate of Incorporation (1945), and the 1951 agreement between the Free Acres Association and Camp Wanoga, Inc., designating leasehold 6 as the campsite.
Box Folder
30 7 Activities, undated
8 Administration, 1946-1971
9 Finances, 1957-1966
10 Insurance, 1962-1966
11 Roll Books, undated
MAPS AND BLUEPRINTS, 1922-1991 (1.5 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped into separate subseries for Community Property (chronological) and for Individual Leaseholds (bulk by lease number, most of remainder alphabetical by surname); oversize items filed separately.
Summary: Architectural drawings, blueprints, maps, and sketches of Free Acres and additions and/or alterations to individual leaseholds.
Includes building application forms and Free Acres Building Committee actions with building permit approvals or denials noted.
Correspondence concerns building permits. Correspondents include the Building Inspector and residents of Free Acres, and the Building and Zoning Officer of Berkeley Heights.
The list below includes an item checklist for map folders 1 through 6 (documents pertaining to community property), but only summarizes the contents of map folders 7 to 41 (documents concerning individual leaseholds). A complete list of all the items in map folders 1 through 41 is available in the repository.
Individual Leaseholds
Box Folder
30 12 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 3-34
13 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 35-55
14 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 60-82
Box Folder
31 1 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 14-56
2 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 64-106
3 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Leaseholds 89-111
4 Building Application Forms: Approvals, Blohm-Sullivan
5 Building Application Forms: Approvals Withheld, Leaseholds 55 and 104
6 Building Committee Actions: Plans Received
7 Building Permit Inquiries: Bachman-Brodney
8 Building Permit Inquiries: Cohen-Kniberg
9 Building Permit Inquiries: Lauten-Wobus
10 Leasehold Blueprints and Architectural Drawings, undated
Community Property
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 1 Item
Free Acres Association / John J. Kentz, Civil Engineer and Surveyor, Summit, N.J. [code in lower corner: "B 41-P _____ {torn}"; 18" x 18.5" before encapsulation; blueprint], September 1922
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 1 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 2 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 3 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 4 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 5 [36" x 24"; blueprint], undated
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 7 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 8 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 2 Item
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 9 [36" x 24"; blueprint], undated
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 10 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 11 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 12 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 13 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 14 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 15 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 16 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 17 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 18 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 3 Item
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 20 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 21 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 22 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 23 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 24 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 25 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 26 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 27 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 28 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [attached to binding strip for all New Providence tax map sheets and annotated (with reference to the set, not this sheet): "Revised September 21, 1955"; 38.5" x 24"; blueprint], January 1931
Free Acres Association Survey Map, Drawing of Free Acres Lots 1-105 / John J. Kentz, Surveyor [49" x 35.5" before encapsulation; copy], Revised, December 1932
Free Acres Association Survey Map, Drawing of Free Acres Lots 1-105 / John J. Kentz, Surveyor [another copy, with notes; not encapsulated], Revised, December 1932
Free Acres Association Survey Map, Drawing of Free Acres Lots 1-105 / John J. Kentz, Surveyor [transparency], Revised, December 1932
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 4 Item
Zoning Map of the Township of Berkeley Heights / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint] May 5, 1937; Revised, February 16, 1947
Township of New Providence, [tax map], Sheet 25-A, Supplement to Sheet 25, Tax Map Covering Twin Falls Section of Blue Mountain Farms / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [46" x 23"; blueprint], November 10, 1942
"Experiment in Living," Newark Sunday News, Page 4 (and attached page 17 with possibly related map) / Lawrence G. Foster, September 4, 1949
Township of Berkeley Heights, [tax map], Sheet 19 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], September 25, 1954
Township of Berkeley Heights, [tax map], Sheet 6 / John J. Kentz, Township Engineer [36" x 24"; blueprint], July 29, 1955
Free Acres Association, Sanitary Sewers / Elson T. Killam Associates, Inc., Millburn, N.J. [48.25" x 36.5"; copy; notes on verso], May 20, 1958
Free Acres Association, Inc., [printed map with surnames of leaseholders keyed to 111 numbered plots], [14" x 11" before encapsulation; amended slightly by hand], April 1, 1960
Survey at Township of Berkeley Heights, Plot / Walter L. Aurnhammer, Civil Engineers, Summit, N.J. [14" x 8.5"; copy], April 4, 1963
Free Acres Association, Addition and Alteration to Farm House, Section, Floor Plan and Elevations / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Elizabeth, N.J. [24.25" x 18.25"; copy], December 28, 1965
Free Acres Association, Pump House Alteration, Plan, Section and Elevation / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Elizabeth, N.J. [21" x 18.25"; copy], December 28, 1965
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 5 Item
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool Site, Repairs and Alterations, Site Plan and Sections, Sheet 1 / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Middlesex, N.J. [36" x 18"; copy], January 20, 1976
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool Site, Repairs and Alterations, Plan and Details, Sheet 2 / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Middlesex, N.J. [36" x 18"; copy], August 18, 1975
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool Site, Repairs and Alterations, Details, Sheet 2-A / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Middlesex, N.J. [36" x 18"; copy], undated
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool Site, Repairs and Alterations, Valve Pit 1 & 2, Expansion Joints and Details, Sheet 3 / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Middlesex, N.J. [36" x 18"; copy], August 18, 1975
"Outdoor Swimming Pools," / From Edwin E. Seeler, Designer [8.5 x 11"], undated
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool Site, Repairs and Alterations, Sheets 1-4 / Harry A. Maslow & Irwin Miller, Architects, Middlesex, N.J. [36.25" x 18.25"; copy], Revisions, July 4, 1976
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 6 Item
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool--Toilets [building application form; 8.5" x 11"], April 25, 1978
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool, Plot Plan / F.A. 7801 [14" x 10"; graph paper], undated
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool, New Toilets, Elevations, Plan and Section / F.A. 7801 [14" x 10"; copy], April 25, 1978
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool, Sidewalks and Shower Receptor / F.A. 7801 [14" x 10"; copy], April 25, 1978
Free Acres Association, Inc., Free Acres Pool, Side A: New Toilets, Elevations, Plan and Section; Side B: Sidewalks and Shower Receptor / F.A. 7801 [14" x 10" before encapsulation; graph paper], April 25, 1978
Preliminary Plan for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 1 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Preliminary Profiles for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 2 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Preliminary Profiles for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 3 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy] May 2, 1979
Preliminary Cross Sections for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 4 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Preliminary Cross Sections for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 5 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Soil Erosion and Sediment Control Plan for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 6 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Standard Details for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 7 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer, Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Details for the Improvement of North Woods, Sheet 8 / Richard D. Scherzer, Aurnhammer Associates, Inc., Succasunna, N.J. [36" x 24"; copy], May 2, 1979
Individual Leaseholds
Box Folder
Map Drawer 1 7 Leases 3 and 5
8 Leases 7, 10, 12 and 14
9 Leases 18, 20 and 21
10 Lease 22
11 Leases 23 and 25
12 Lease 25
13 Leases 28, 30 and 35
14 Lease 35
15 Leases 36 and 37
Box Folder
Map Drawer 2 16 Leases 38 and 46
17 Lease 49
18 Lease 50
19 Lease 53
20 Leases 54 and 55
21 Leases 56 and 57
22 Leases 63 and 70
23 Leases 71 and 76
24 Lease 77
25 Leases 80 and 82
26 Lease 82
27 Lease 83
28 Leases 84 and 85
29 Leases 87, 88 and 89
30 Lease 104
Box Folder
Map Drawer 3 31 Lease 105
32 Leases 107 and 108
33 Leases 110 and 111
34 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Anderson, Bachmann, Benjamin and Blohm
35 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Corbyons, Cowan, Delaney and Deutsch
36 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Eberlein and Feltenstein
37 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Fitelson, Gerard and Goldman
38 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Hewett
39 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Jacobs, Kniberg, Ladd and Lester
40 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Margulies, Napolitano and Neuman
41 Additions and Alterations to Residences (lease numbers not stated): Perseldy, Plotch, Rubin, Sternberg and Sullivan
GENERAL PHOTOGRAPHS, circa 1920-1980 (1 folder)
Arrangement: Grouped chronologically by size.
Summary: Photographs of buildings and grounds in Free Acres.
Includes a photograph of a house, possibly a platinotype by Free Acres resident and professional photographer, William Armbruster.
Also includes photographs of the farmhouse, and photographs taken of the illustrations in the Free Acres Twentieth Anniversary booklet, including Free Acres buildings and grounds drawn by Will Crawford and Charles Lester.
Box Folder
31 11 Free Acres Buildings and Grounds, circa 1920-1980
FREE ACRES ANNIVERSARY FILES, 1930-1980 (.25 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped chronologically by anniversary date.
Summary: Files of special committees of the Free Acres Association set up to coordinate the anniversary celebrations which are held throughout the anniversary year, especially in the summer months.
Includes broadsides, correspondence, questionnaires, notes, lists of potential committee members, typescripts of songs and poems, manuscript copies of brochures, programs, and receipts for purchases made for the celebrations.
Activities held during the anniversary year included picnics, theatricals, dances, displays of art, lectures, sports and games, and, often, the production of an anniversary publication about Free Acres.
The 70th Anniversary files include questionnaires, arranged chronologically by leasehold number, notes about the history of each leasehold, and a grant proposal. The 70th Anniversary Committee contacted as many residents and former residents of Free Acres as they could find, and solicited biographical information, help with the celebration, and historical documents. They received a grant for the celebration from the New Jersey Historical Commission.
Box Folder
31 12 Undated
13 20th Anniversary [duplicate without cover], 1930
14 25th Anniversary, 1935
15 50th Anniversary, 1960
16 60th Anniversary, 1970
17 70th Anniversary Poems, Presentations, Programs, and Proposal, 1980
18 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, (Abramson) Miller-Welles, 1980
19 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 02-20, 1980
20 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 21-40A, 1980
21 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 45-60, 1980
22 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 61-80, 1980
23 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 82-100, 1980
Box Folder
32 1 70th Anniversary Questionnaire and Notes, Leases 101-111, 1980
LAUREL HESSING RESEARCH MATERIALS, 1912-1994, bulk 1943-1994 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped by document type.
Summary: Includes correspondence, lists, and research notes of Laurel Hessing, Free Acres Historian, while compiling her Annotated Anthology of Free Acres Writing (1992).
Much of the correspondence was received from Katharine Clay, Free Acres Town Clerk (1963-1976), and includes biographical information on many residents of Free Acres as well as town history. Other correspondents are Clay's daughter, Kay Williams, Charles Armbruster, Ernestine Benninger, and Alma Jane Bogart, (nee Gitnick). Of particular interest is a 1943 letter about a Japanese-American internment camp, and a list of Free Acreites in the Armed Forces.
Research materials prepared by Hessing include a catalogue of the leases in the collection and a list of leaseholders, (both circa 1980), arranged alphabetically.
Box Folder
32 2 Correspondence Received from Katharine Clay, 1963-1976
3 Correspondence Received, 1912 and 1968-1994
4 Catalogue of Leases, circa 1980
5 List of Leaseholders, circa 1980
6 Miscellaneous (including Japanese Internment Camp Letter), 1943-1991
MARTIN BIERBAUM RESEARCH MATERIALS, circa 1980-1982 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically.
Summary: Includes correspondence, notes, and an undated typescript.
Martin A. Bierbaum, an attorney, Director of Urban Studies at Rutgers University–Newark, Chairman of the Free Acres Association Historical and Archives Committee, and Project Director of the Free Acres 1980 Local History Project, used this material for his research, which eventually led to the publication of an article "Free Acres: Bolton Hall's Single-Tax Experimental Community." New Jersey History, Vol. 102, No. 1-2 (Spring-Summer, 1984).
Box Folder
32 7 Correspondence and Notes, circa 1980-1982
8 Typescript, undated
BIOGRAPHICAL FILES, circa 1912-1993 (.8 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by individual, with information and photographs about groups at the end.
Summary: Files on people who lived in Free Acres or were associated with it, collected by Laurel Hessing for her book, an Annotated Anthology of Free Acres Writing, produced in 1992.
Types of materials include correspondence, postcards, reminiscences, programs, meeting announcements, publications, magazine articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, original art work, and a diary.
Includes files on founder Bolton Hall and other noteworthy individuals who lived in Free Acres, including illustrator Will Crawford, artists Gershon Benjamin and Molka Reich, sculptor George Segal, photographer William Armbruster, writers Mike Gold, Konrad Bercovici, MacKinlay Kantor, and Thorne Smith, editor Spencer Brodney, translator Grace Colbron, and actors James Cagney and Victor Kilian.
Royall Moore's file contains a photocopy of a diary he kept as a gunner on an airplane in World War II. Original art work appears in the Clay family, Bolton Hall, and Gertrude Moore files. The photographs include one group portrait, and one stereograph of Free Acreites taken by William Armbruster.
Box Folder
32 9 Armbruster, William
10 Baker, Janet Hotson
11 Benjamin, Gershon
12 Benninger, Ernestine [Eberlein]
13 Bercovici, Konrad
14 Berger, Robert and Joan
15 Bierbaum, Martin A.
16 Bogart, Alma Gitnick
17 Breene, Harold and Marianne "Marion"
18 Brodney, Edith Seibel and Spencer
19 Blohm, Henry L. "Hank" and Gerda and Family
20 Cagney, James
21 Cain, Christopher David
22 Katharine Clay
Box Folder
33 1 Clay, Katharine and Clifford and Family
2 Cohen, Meyer and Rose and Family
3 Colbron, Grace Isabel
4 Comegys, Richard
5 Conner, Joseph H.
6 Corbyons Family
7 Crawford, William
Includes photograph.
8 De Blanco, Lilian and Anthony
9 De Long, David and Harriet
10 de Mille, Agnes
11 Eberlein Family
12 Felshin Family
13 Feltenstein, Pat
14 Field, Crystal
15 Fischer Family
16 Fitelson, J. and Mollie
17 Fuchs, Rupert and Else and Family
18 Gold [Granach], Mike
19 Goldberg Families
20 Goldman, Harry and Family
21 Goodby, John and Ann
22 Graf, Friedel and Fred
23 Hall, Bolton, 1914-1934
24 Hall, Bolton, 1935
25 Hall, Bolton, 1949-1980
26 Hall, Jane [Eberlein]
27 Heerens, Sylvia
28 Heifetz, Vladimir
29 Hessing, Laurel
30 Heyman, Ida Shevins
31 Hicks, Amy Mali
32 Hotson, Mr. and Mrs. Ronald
33 Huse, Julia
34 Kaiser, Kurt
35 Kantor, MacKinlay
36 Kennedy Family
37 Kilian, Victor
38 Kleinberg, Meyer and Family
39 Kleinberg, Roger
Box Folder
34 1 Kluver, Billy
2 Kniberg Family
3 Kohler Family
4 Koontz, Nancy Jo [Ising]
5 Ladd, Walter I.
6 Lester, Charles
7 Maccarelli, William and Warren
8 Mack Family
9 Maslow, Harry A.
10 McClay, Joan
11 Meier, Bertie
12 Menth, James J.
13 Moore Family
14 Murray, E. M.
15 Napolitano, George F.
16 Palamara, Edward R. and Julia
17 Randolph, David
18 Reich, Molka
19 Robinson, Sarah Snowden
20 Romano, Joe
21 Runfeldt Family
22 Schade Family
23 Scheff, Helen R.
24 Segal, George
25 Seib, Daniel W., Jr.
26 Smith, Thorne
27 Sullivan, Marion K.
28 Swaminathan Family
29 Tamaroff Family
30 Tarmy, Barry L.
31 Tench Family
32 Vance, Richard and Carmen
33 Walter Family
34 Wechsler Family
35 Welles, Walt
36 Wilde Family
37 Williams, Lillian
38 Williams, Mrs. Thomas
39 Winn Family
40 Yamane Family
41 Zimmerman, Mary
42 Zoss Family
43 General (groups)
44 General (groups)
45 Unidentified People
FREE ACRES NEWSLETTERS, 1929-1996 (.3 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Originals and facsimiles of Free Acres Association newsletters. Also includes logo of the Free Acres Newsletter, (1964-1967). Gaps in publishing as well as collection.
Subjects covered include local items, including announcements of births, marriages, and deaths, the arrival of new leaseholders, parties and celebrations, Free Acres Association meeting announcements, and regulations.
The newsletters were more political during the 1930s, (see satire directed at Hitler in 1934, for example), and less satirical, more reminiscent in the 1970s. 1980s editors, Martin Bierbaum and Laurel Hessing, emphasize historical coverage and fiction.
The Free Acres Town Crier, 1933-1934, and the Free Acres Review, 1938-1939, contain pointed columns about Nazism and events occurring in Europe at this time. The Wanoga Voice, 1947, contains information about Camp Wanoga. The Free Acres Newsletter, 1964-1973, documents life in Free Acres at this time, and the New Free Acres Review, 1990, adds more features to its coverage of Free Acres.
Box Folder
34 46 The Sycamore, 1929
47 Free Acres Post Mortem, 1933
Box Folder
35 1 Free Acres Town Crier, 1933-1934
2 Free Acres Gazette, 1937 and 1943
3 Free Acres Review, 1938-1939
4 Free Acres Herald, undated
5 Wanoga Voice, 1947
6 Free Acres Newsletter logo, 1964-circa 1967
7 Free Acres Newsletter, November 1964-1965
8 Free Acres Newsletter, 1966
9 Free Acres Newsletter, 1967-1968
10 Free Acres Newsletter, 1969-1970
11 Free Acres Newsletter, 1971-1973
12 Free Acres Follow-Up, 1980-1981
13 New Free Acres Review, 1990
14 The Free Acres Review, 1992
15 Free Acres Review, 1993
16 Free Acres Review, 1994-1996
17 Free Acres Town Crier, Eighty-Fifth Anniversary Edition, 1995
18 Originals, 1933-1934
FREE ACRES PUBLICATIONS, 1921-1970 (1 folder)
Arrangement: Arranged chronologically.
Summary: Includes one photocopy and two bound originals of a 1921 booklet, written and illustrated by Free Acreites, about the history and organization of Free Acres, and 20th, 25th, 50th, and 60th Anniversary booklets.
Besides text and photographs, the 20th Anniversary booklet contains drawings by Free Acreites Will Crawford and Charles Lester. The 25th Anniversary booklet contains a photograph of the community members. The 50th Anniversary booklet gives a brief history of Free Acres, and, in the 60th, Bolton Hall's comments in the 20th Anniversary booklet are reprinted, with additional commentary by local historian Joseph Romano.
Box Folder
35 19 Anniversary and History Booklets, 1921-1970
RECORDINGS AND DOCUMENTATION OF INTERVIEWS WITH RESIDENTS, 1975 (.2 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Bulk grouped by document type.
Summary: Audiocassettes and documentation of interviews conducted by Livingston College student Robert Snyder with residents of Free Acres for a 1975 oral history project.
Items include nine audiocassettes of the interviews, correspondence, reports, notes, a 3.5 inch computer diskette, and typescript transcriptions in alphabetical order.
Interviews with Catherine Blohm, Town Clerk Geraldine Runfeldt, and former Town Clerk Fritz Schade, have been transcribed. The other audiocassettes were difficult to understand. Robert Snyder's handwritten notes, which highlight "Passages in tapes worth noting," are the only record of what was said at those interviews.
Box Folder
35 [inner box] Catherine Blohm, Fall 1975
[inner box] Geraldine Runfeldt, December 1975
[inner box] Fritz Schade, circa 1975
[inner box] Henry Blohm
[inner box] Marion Smith-Conner, Fall 1975
[inner box] Jane [Eberlein] Hall, Tape I
[inner box] Jane [Eberlein] Hall, Tape II
[inner box] Henry Maslow, Tape II
Tape I missing.
[inner box] Helen and Joe Tomasetti
Box Folder
36 1 Notes and computer diskette, circa 1975
2 Transcript: Catherine Blohm, Fall 1975
3 Transcript: Geraldine Runfeldt (with Mr. Runfeldt), December 1975
4 Transcript: Fritz Schade (with Mrs. Schade), circa 1975
ARTICLES ABOUT FREE ACRES, RELATED TO FREE ACRES, OR BY FREE ACRES RESIDENTS, 1892-1992 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Grouped into two sub-series: Articles about or Related to Free Acres are arranged chronologically, and Articles by Free Acres Residents are arranged alphabetically by author.
Summary: Includes a Works Progress Administration Bulletin, journal articles, sightseeing brochures of Berkeley Heights and Union County (circa 1979), and newspaper clippings. Subjects include contemporaneous and retrospective histories of the community and its residents, and articles on topics such as housing in New Jersey and the building of Interstate 78, that had an effect upon Free Acres. Of particular note is a copy of The Touchstone Magazine (August 1918), with an article about Free Acres by Grace Isabel Colbron. Journal or newspaper articles written by Free Acreites, include Bolton Hall on taxation, Martin Bierbaum on urban policy, and photocopies of selected pages from the published autobiographies of Konrad Bercovici (It’s the Gypsy in Me) and Dr. Benzion Liber (A Doctor’s Apprenticeship [Autobiographical Sketches>]).
Articles about or Related to Free Acres
Box Folder
36 [inner box] The Touchstone Magazine, Volume III, Number 5, New York, August 1918
5 Articles about, or Related to Free Acres, 1910-1949
6 Articles about, or Related to Free Acres, 1950-1979
7 Articles about, or Related to Free Acres, 1980-1992
Articles by Free Acres Residents
Box Folder
36 8 Free Acres Authors, 1892-1960
COLLECTED MATERIALS ON OTHER COLONIES/SCHOOLS, 1901-1992 (.1 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Arranged alphabetically by state, then by name.
Summary: Material includes the 1932 Fairhope (Alabama) constitution, a 1920s Fairhope lease application, book chapters, correspondence, journal and newspaper articles.
Single-tax colonies documented are Fairhope, Alabama, and Arden, Delaware. Also includes material from the Henry George School of Social Science, in New York, which was founded to teach the single-tax principles of its namesake.
Other types of colonies documented are the Helicon Home Colony in Englewood, New Jersey, which was founded by writer Upton Sinclair as an experiment in co-operative living; the Modern School at Stelton, New Jersey, a libertarian school and anarchist colony; and The Straight Edge of New York, a Christian socialist community.
Box Folder
36 9 Fairhope, Alabama, 1920s and 1932
10 Arden, Delaware, 1939-1992
11 The Helicon Home Colony, Englewood, New Jersey, 1908
12 The Modern School, Stelton, New Jersey, 1932 and 1991
13 Henry George School of Social Science, New York, New York, 1928-1969
14 The Straight Edge, New York, 1901
HARRY A. MASLOW FILES ON FREE ACRES ASSOCIATION, 1932-1990, bulk 1954-1990 (.4 cubic feet)
Arrangement: Unarranged; oversize items filed separately.
Summary: Documentation created or received by Maslow, a Free Acres resident, which relates to the Free Acres Association. Much of the material was generated during the period that Maslow was a member of the Association's Board of Trustees.
Includes about 40 photographs, primarily color slide transparencies of dwellings dated 1983, and several oversize maps and drawings.
Box Folder
37 [all] Unsorted documents, 1954-1990
Box Folder
Map Drawer 3 43 Unsorted documents, 1932-1987 and undated
Primarily drawings relating to the Free Acres Association swimming pool.