Industry at the Hermitage
The Mills in Ho-Ho-Kus
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In 1826, neighbor James Laroe converted an old bark mill on the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook into a paper mill in and Andrew Zabriskie built a cotton mill downstream. In 1828, Dr. Rosegrant acquired property between them with intent to build a cotton mill. Despite that Laroe had enlarged his mill and built a new mill race upstream in 1829, Dr. Rosegrant went ahead in the following year with the construction of a mill race of his own, a wheel pit and a cotton mill as a rental property.
This strained the family's resources, as son John noted in a letter to his brother George, “we cannot raise cash enough to pay the shoemaker bill.” Nevertheless, the mill was successfully finished in 1830, and a 10 year lease was signed by Abraham, Henry and Peter Prall to operate the mill as the firm of Prall and Brothers for an annual rent of $400. They began operation around December 1830. In April 1831, a flood damaged the mill and it temporarily ceased operation, but was restarted by 1832. |
Mill Pond and dam for Rosencrantz cotton warp mill on the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook
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While many in Bergen County were enticed by the possibility of economic gain during the emerging industrial revolution, their endeavors reaped conflict between 1825-1830. Rosegrant brought Laroe to court over road obstructions and changing of the direction of the flow of water in Ho-Ho-Kus Brook. Although he obtained the legal services of Philemon Dickerson, one of the top lawyers in New Jersey, the court judged that Laroe’s obstructions did not prevent Rosegrant from moving around his property nor deter his mill interents.
The Rosencrantz Mill
John Rosencrantz became very interested in growing industrialism and focused his attention on the cotton warp mill built by his father. By 1834 the Prall brothers were willing to cease running that mill and sell their interest in it. That year, John borrowed the capital necessary to buy the Prall brothers' machinery so that he, himself, could run the cotton warp mill. He began the spinning operation on July 7, 1834 with 22 people working at carding, spinning on throstles and ruling. In 1836 the mill had 888 spindles, was producing 1000 pounds of yarn a week for a net income of $98. John gave thought, but not action, to adding weaving looms at the mill. He also involved his younger brother, Elijah II in the mill.
Carding machine used in producing cotton warp
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By 1834, twenty-year-old Elijah Rosencrantz had joined his brother John in operating the family cotton mill. Like many early American industrialists, Elijah had no formal training in mill management. Instead, he learned through hands-on experience, observation, correspondence with his brother after 1838, and interactions with other local mill owners. This practical, self-directed approach was common during the early Industrial Revolution in the United States. By 1840, the township had become an active center of manufacturing, home to six cotton mills and five paper mills.
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Carding machine used in producing cotton warp
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Who worked at the mill?
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Hand pickers in a cotton mill
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Elijah was able to obtain raw cotton through merchants in New York City that included his brother’s firm of Rosencrantz and Watts. He also associated with New York cotton merchant Samuel Dayton. Equally important, Elijah had a reliable market for his finished warp in Philadelphia through his brother John’s connection to the Ripka mills.
The Railroad Comes to Ho-Ho-Kus
In the 1840s, as Elijah Rosencrantz rebuilt The Hermitage, Ho-Ho-Kus was also being transformed by the arrival of the railroad. The proposed Paterson and Ramapo Railroad was designed to connect two of America’s earliest rail lines: the Paterson and Hudson Railroad, completed in 1832, and the Erie Railroad, which by 1851 stretched across New York State to Lake Erie and was then the longest railroad in the world. Railroad planners hoped to serve industries along the route, and an 1847 map identified the Rosencrantz cotton mill and other mills on the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook as important local businesses. The single-track railroad was completed in 1848, with a stop near the Rosencrantz mill.
Schedule, Paterson and Ramapo Railroad, 1852
For Elijah Rosencrantz, the railroad promised major economic advantages. Before its construction, raw cotton arrived from New York City by boat and wagon, while finished products were shipped overland to markets such as Philadelphia. Rail service dramatically improved the speed and ease of transportation, encouraging Elijah to expand his business ventures. In 1848, he partnered with Mathew Dunlap to establish a paper mill on the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook, purchasing a paper-making machine from Worcester, Massachusetts the following year. The railroad also strengthened local agriculture by opening access to urban markets. Strawberry farming expanded rapidly along the rail line, and by the 1850s Bergen County produced more strawberries than any other county in the nation.
The railroad’s impact extended beyond industry and agriculture. Easier travel drew visitors from New York City seeking relief from crowded urban life, helping establish Ho-Ho-Kus as an attractive rural retreat. One such visitor was cotton merchant Captain Samuel Dayton, who first summered in the village before purchasing property beside The Hermitage in 1850. Yet the railroad also brought challenges. Elijah Rosencrantz soon complained that construction debris dumped into the Ho-Ho-Kus Brook interfered with the water flow that powered his mills. Even so, the railroad fundamentally connected Ho-Ho-Kus and its industries to a growing regional and national economy during a period of rapid industrial change.