M Frieda Helmstetter

Raritan M Frieda Helmstetter

Raritan documents the growth of a Raritan River town from the 1800s through the 1970s. With intriguing photographs and text, it explores the emergence of a quiet farming area as, first, a bustling industrial town with mills and factories and, later, the modern suburb it is today. Working together, resourceful residents enriched life by harnessing the waterpower of the river, organizing the first fire department in the area, and opening schools, churches, and organizations. Worldwide recognition came when President Warren G. Harding, while visiting at the Raritan home of his friend Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen, signed the Knox-Porter Resolution, officially ending World War I.