FRENCHTOWN
This is
the second of our 8 part series visiting New Jersey sites of a particular
statue honoring soldiers from World War 1. This year marks the 100 year
anniversary of the start of this war. The extremely detailed “Spirit of the
American Doughboy” Viquesney statue features a soldier striding forward into
“No Man’s Land” holding a grenade above his head in his right hand and carbine
in his left. The soldier carries a backpack and a gas mask pouch is across his
chest. He steps between two tree trunks and the original statue had barbed wire
laced between them. Around 300 of these statues were erected throughout the
country to honor our war heroes and approximately 140 are known to still
survive. New Jersey has eight.
The
surviving statues are in various conditions. The last statue we visited in
Secaucus was sort of leaning. The Frenchtown statue is in better shape, having
been refurbished and cleaned a number of years ago and with a replacement bayonet
added in the mid-90’s. This particular memorial and its “Spirit” statue honors
43 men from the Frenchtown area who served in the war and stands on the grounds
of a local elementary school on Harrison Street, also known as Route 619.
THINKING of VISITING?
LOCATION
Frenchtown
is one of several charming little Delaware River towns in New Jersey, all of
which are potential destinations by themselves. It is a few miles north of my
hometown of Lambertville, so technically this truly is a “vacation from home”
as I personally consider all of this in my backyard. Why, just getting to
Frenchtown is a joy as it is at the northern end of a scenic driving byway
recognized by both the state and federal governments. The byway is basically
route 29 and offers wonderful views of the Delaware River as it passes through
historically important towns like Raven’s Rock, Stockton, Lambertville,
Titusville and Washington’s Crossing State Park on the way to Trenton 34 miles
south. Following an old track bed of the Belvidere-
Delaware Railway and the old
towpath of the Delaware and Raritan Canal there is a multi-use trail that goes
the entire length of the byway and is ideal for running or biking, as long as
you don’t mind dodging deer or an occasional snapping turtle on the wooded
Delaware & Raritan Canal Park trail. Ending in Frenchtown are Routes 513,
12, which starts in Flemington, and 619 which goes north along the river towards
Milford. Directly across the Delaware is Uhlerstown, Pennsylvania. An earlier entry
of this blog talked about the Tinicum Park Polo Club just south from Frenchtown
on the Pennsylvania side. The club holds matches at the park nearly every
Saturday May through to October. Opening Day is May 17 this year.
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| Delaware River scenic byway |
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| slow down... |
The
Spirit of the American Doughboy memorial is on the grounds of the Frenchtown
Elementary School on Harrison Street, which is also Route 619. If you come from
Route 12 or 29, make your way to Bridge Street and then head north onto
Harrison Street. A word of caution, the speed enforcement is spirited in
Frenchtown and limits are strictly monitored, especially along Harrison Street
and even more so near the school. Perhaps you should plan your trip when school
is not in session where the speed limit drops to 15 mph? There is plenty of parking
on the street or nearby. The school and the memorial are at the north end of
town, near 8th street. It is a quiet town with many beautifully
painted Victorian homes set on large lots. The downtown area features many
shops, galleries and restaurants. It is a pleasant place. Some call the town a
secret treasure. Frenchtown and its environs are well worth a day or overnight
trip. There are several charming B&B’s in the area and although it is very
rural here, New York City and Philadelphia are little more than an hour’s drive
away.
(The Short) HISTORY
The
normally placid Delaware River has been a huge influence throughout the history
of America. Today bridges cross the river in several places from Philadelphia
to the New York state border, but during the colonial era commerce and people
were transported across the river by ferries. Often the ferries were little
more than a dock and boat and the site was named for the owner of the ferry at
the time. The original name for my hometown, Lambertville, was Coryell’s Ferry
and Frenchtown went by names like Calvin’s Ferry, Mechlenberg’s Ferry and
Prigmore’s Ferry among others. Because Frenchtown’s ferry was so strategic during
the revolutionary war the owner and his employees were exempt from militia
duty. A grist and saw mill had started up in the area at that time and the
growing settlement was called Sun Beam. Years later members of a prominent
Huguenot family from Switzerland (although some have said they were from
Belgium), arrived in the area and purchased large tracts of land. The (very
short version) of the story says they were fleeing the French Revolution and
its Reign of Terror and somehow settled on this western edge of New Jersey. Over
the years Paul Henri Mallet-Prevost and his family became prominent members of
Sun Beam and he even served as a justice of the peace. Because of his accent
and his stature in town neighbors began to refer to Sun Beam as Frenchtown a
mistake that has endured all these years.
Frenchtown embraces its small “mistake” to this day with a Bastille Day celebration every July.
ATTRACTIONS, FOOD and
DRINK
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| FRENCHTOWN |
Just
south of town along Route 29 is the Frenchtown Roller Rink. It’s a dinky little
place where my kids would go to skate when they were younger. Incredibly, this
ancient relic recently produced two Olympians, Kyle Carr and Chris Creveling.
They were inline speed skaters who transitioned to ice and competed in
short-track speedskating in the recent winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Both
Olympians started on the Frenchtown Speed Team when they were around 10 years
old. In Sochi Creveling took silver with the Men’s 5000 meter relays. The cash only rink is open throughout the
week in the afternoon and evenings. Check their website for times and prices.
Over the past ten years the Delaware has flooded several times and will swell with winter melt or after storms. Residents of the river towns always keep an eye on the capricious Delaware and conversations in coffee shops often hover around its antics, but most of the time the Delaware is a placidly flowing, shallow river. During the summer the river brims with kayakers, canoers and tubing. Located in the same parking lot as the Frenchtown Rolling Rink is the Delaware River Tubing Company, where one can rent equipment. With your rental fee you get a couple of hot dogs at the RIVER HOT DOG MAN where you have to stand in line knee deep in the Delaware to get your food. There are several other rental houses on both sides of the Delaware, but this is the closest one to Frenchtown. This is a wonderful way to spend a lazy summer afternoon on the Delaware.
At the bottom of the hill is a parking lot and boat launch area for your own watercraft.
Food
in Frenchtown is eclectic. There are
fancy places like the Frenchtown Inn, on Bridge Street and diners like the
Frenchtown Café which serves wonderful breakfasts. Prepare to wait in line
here. Both are on Bridge Street. The Bridge Café is also nice for a light lunch.
It is in a renovated station house that once served the Belvidere-Delaware
Railway. They have outdoor seating on the former platform with great views of
the river and bridge. The National Hotel on Race Street serves interesting and
diverse cuisine like crabcakes and Lebanese small plate appetizers. There is an
upstairs formal restaurant and bar and downstairs in the renovated cellar is
the Rathseller. Sadly their selection of beers is pedestrian. Hopefully this
will change soon. Cocina del Sol is a byob Mexican restaurant on Bridge Street.
Usually
if I travel the distance upriver I will go a little further to Milford where
the Ship Inn is located. They are NJ’s first brew pub since the prohibition era.
Very British and very nautically themed, the Ship Inn has a small selection of British
style beers brewed on the premises served in 20 oz. British sized pints. There’s
usually a couple on hand pump. According to their website, their beer is never
too cold and never too fizzy. The menu has several British inspired foods like Scotch
Eggs and Cheese and Onion Pies and not so British Nachos. Go on
Wednesdays for
their Fish and Chips special, when a pint is included in the price. The Ship
Inn is in a renovated Victorian, doesn’t have a television, but it has an open
mic night every Tuesday and live entertainment on Saturday nights. The wood for
the bar came from a two lane bowling alley that was once in the building. It
has a tin ceiling and brick walls and seafaring things hanging from the walls
and pewter mugs hanging above the bar. You can buy locally grown food at the
Ship Inn and then have your growler filled for $5.00. This cozy, local joint is
a personal favorite. If you pass through Frenchtown on Harrison Street to see
the World War 1 memorial, you just keep going north until you come to a traffic
light make a left and the Ship Inn is on your right.
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| THE SHIP INN |
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