The Van Kannel Estate on Church Street ~ Revisited

We are revisiting the Van Kannel Estate on Church Street. Most people living today do not realize what a beautiful estate this was. Many stories and rumors have been told, many are interesting, but most are lore.

I have been fortunate to have been contacted by Mr. Jack Van Kannel, nephew of Theophilus Van Kannel and been given some wonderful photos and some interesting facts about the man and the estate. I would love to have met this man; he must have been quite interesting.

One misconception, earlier I found that Mr. Theophilus Van Kannel was of Dutch ancestry, then today while researching him on Wikipedia; it stated that he was a Swiss-American inventor. The truth from Mr. Jack Van Kannel is that we are not of Dutch ancestry, but Austrian. Our original name was von Kanel. A spelling mistake was made when Abraham came over. Much to the dismay of his relatives in Europe, he kept the new name for "good luck in America.

Jack Van Kannel stated that Theophilus Van Kannel was a great uncle of his. Jack's father, Dr. Harvey Van Kannel, was mentored by Ben Van Kannel, the man Theophilus lived with before he died in 1919. The papers, documents and mementoes came down to him through that line. Jack's father was especially involved in those papers and published two books that chronicled Theophilus's journals.

Jack Van Kannel said that Theophilus Van Kannel kept notes, letters, drawings and almost anything of interest to him, these papers were saved by Ben Van Kannel who was a mentor for Jack's father, Dr. Harvey Van Kannel. Jack's Dad organized and published some these documents into two volumes called T. Van Kannel, The Inventor: His autobiography and Journal. Unfortunately, the journal itself does not take us up past the 1870's, long before his moving to New York in 1899. There are a number of personal letters and notes that have come down to me. For example, He wrote a letter to his wife in '06 finishing with "I hope all is well at Vanhurst with the farm and park, this was the first reference to the name “Vanhurst”, Jack states he does refer to the estate as Vanhurst several times after that.

In doing some research on my own, I found that the word “Hurst” translated into German or could be Austrian, it’s just over the border and spelled “Hyrst” means “Wooded Hill”, if this is right it would be quite appropriate.

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A little note about Mrs. VanKannel on July 21, 1939 Mrs. Elizabeth Van Kannel celebrated her 96th birthday at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Adelaide R. Powers of Reeder Ave, Bordentown. She was born in Salem, NJ in 1843 and spent 50 years of her life there. In 1893 she moved to New York City and remained there until 1911. Since 1911 she has resided with her daughter in Bordentown. Her late husband, Theopholis Van Kannel, was the inventor of the modern revolving door. The company in New york City is still doing business. There are four children, 3 daughters and 1 son: Mrs. Paul Miller of Philadelphia, Mrs. George House of Salem, Mrs. A. Powers of Bordentown, and Mark Fowler of Trenton.

The following are the photos that Jack Van Kannel sent to me, they are fantastic, quite an addition to this chronicle of history for our area, I can’t thank him enough,

This is the man that invented, among other things, the “Revolving Door”, something seen in every large building, I think of the joy he gave children, just spinning in a revolving door, who has not done that.

The following photos appear as snap shots, not posed, but if you notice in each of the photos, except one, there is a discretely placed white sign, leaning against the base of a tree. I could not read this sign and was about to inquire as to what was on it, when I received a set of photos with the sign visible if I enlarge the photo, it states “Sep 22, 1917”. Guess these photos were not as “Spur of the moment” as I thought.
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This entrance is on Church Street, the pillar on the left is the only surviving remnant of the Estate. At some later date a Pump House was erected blocking this drive, about where the men are standing. The Main Entrance was about fifty yards to the left and climbed the hill you see in the left side of this photo.

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If you enlarge this photo by clicking on it and look the the left of the two men, you will see a tree, a very Dark tree. If you look near the top of this tree you will see a set of steps coming down the hill, these steps led from the upper drive, near the garden, to the lower drive. I do not know what purpose these steps served as they were not near any of the houses, I do know we spent a lot of time running up and down these steps. These were very long and sturdy, decorative concrete steps.

This photo shows the Carriage House to the left, the main house is at the end of the straight drive in the trees past the car. This photo would have been taken if you were standing on the property with your back towards Bordentown and facing Church Street, Route 130 (if it was built) would be behind the Carriage House.

This is the main house on the hill, the porch seen in the left of the photo is the Carriage House, once again you would be standing with your back towards Bordentown and facing Church Street.

This is the Carriage House, the right side would have been the Chauffeur's quarters, the upper right side would have been for the stable help, the center and the lower right would have been for the carriages and horses,and later cars.

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I believe the horses would be in the far left, judging by the stable like windows and it would be best to have the horses as far from the Chauffeur's Quarters as possible

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Behind this building was the log cabin, Doctors Creek and later Route 130. When I was younger I was always amazed by the clock tower, visible from Route 130 and Route 156, protruding high above the tree tops. Its hands were still at that time, but at one time it was operational, visible then only to the Estate and the South Amboy - Bordentown Road

Carriage House, with log cabin in view behind, this taken facing south, towards Bordentown.

This is the log cabin behind the Carriage House, this was used as a "tenant House" for the hired help. This was build on a large stone structure which extender over the hill to "Doctors Creek". The lower floor served as the "Pump House"

This is the Log Cabin showing how high the stone structure was that supported it. You can see the rear of the Carriage house in the upper left of the photo. .

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Story has it there was a tunnel from the cellar of this building to the cellar of the main house to be used as an escape tunnel, should the house be raided during the thirty's when there was a large illegal liquor operation here during Prohibition, long after it left the Van Kannel's ownership.

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Most likely this was used to carry pipes to the main house to refill the water storage tank in the attic. I really like the escape tunnel story better. When I saw this building the Log Cabin had collapsed and had fallen in to the stone cellar, guess this is why I didn't see the tunnel.

This is the spring we all drank from, the pipe was shorter when we saw it. The spring was located along Doctors creek about fifty yards from the Church Street Bridge on the Groveville side of the creek.
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The girl is holding a glass and the boy is drinking straight from the pipe, as he should, that's the way we did it. When I was young people came for miles to fill their jugs at this spring. My Grandfather Fred Lippincott moved from Groveville to a farm in Georgetown, past Chesterfield, he still came back to fill his drinking water jugs.
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The Spring photo would be taken if you were standing with your back to Church Street, with Doctors Creek to your right. The bridge in the background is the Bordentown-South Amboy Turnpike, now State route 156, the State Route 130 bridge was not built till around 1950.

This photo was taken with the people in the photo either looking through an opening in the trees facing Yardville or Bordentown, my guess is Yardville due to the high hill in the distance.

Some Groveville People & Family

My cousin Carol Jones found some old family photos and thought I might like to have them. Carol is now retired and living on the cost of Connecticut. Carol grew up in Groveville living with her Mother Edith Rollings Jones and her Father James Melvin Jones, along with her Brother James Melvin "Jimmy" Jones, on Church Street in the big house that used to be across from the Groveville Elementary School. All that is left of the house is the large Sycamore Tree and the Boxwood Hedge.

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When we were kids, Carol was just ten years older than me and she would come to our house, next door, get me pinned under my mothers piano and tickle me until I could not stand it anymore, guess that is what older cousins do.

Carolyn Jones, age 10, Memorial Day, 1944, in Groveville Cemetery

Katharine Anna Rollings Johnson - Naomi Rollings - Edith Rollings Jones

Here is a photo of Kate, Edith and their Mother Naomi, standing behind the large house that used to be across from the Groveville School.

Kate and Edith were life long Groveville residents, Naomi was born in South Wolverhampton, England.

Kate was married to John A. Johnson, they had two children Alfred Rollings "Al"Johnson, who had one daughter Cindy A. Johnson Landholt, now of Rochester Hills, Michigan. Kate also had a daughter Dorothy Naomi "Dot"Johnson Lippincott, who had one son, Kenneth Gary Lippincott (me)

Groveville Fire Co. ~ Our 1957 Ward LaFrance Comes Home

Groveville Fire Company's 1957 Ward LaFrance came home to the Fire House, August, 2009. It is not the shining beauty of a truck that left, so many years ago but it will be. It may never fight another fire or save another life, but once again we can all be proud of the beauty of a classic.

The following is a little history of the 1957 Ward LaFrance, the color Gray and the color Yellow, and how they came about.

Memorial Day ~ 1967 ~ Gary Lippincott, Driver

Memorial Day ~ 1967

1957 Ward LaFrance, followed by 1947 Ward LaFrance, followed by

Ladies Auxiliary Chevrolet Canteen Truck

1957 Ward LaFrance ~ 1947 Ward LaFrance ~ 1958 Ford Utility Truck

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In 1956 the Groveville Volunteer Fire Company had two pieces of apparatus, a 1941 Ward LaFrance and a 1947 Ward LaFrance, both 500 GPM pumps. The company decided it was time to replace the 1941 Ward LaFrance. New equipment and new technology along with the age of the equipment prompted this decision. There was also discussion of the purchase of a utility truck, something to carry a portable pump and portable generator, lights, and something that this new technology in firefighting was coming into use, Masks, to breathe fresh air while fighting a fire, older Engines or Pumpers did not have compartments for such frivolous equipment, so the discussion of a third piece of apparatus meant the need for another apparatus bay.

The fire company had purchased the home next-door where the Mickshultz family lived, this by the way was one of the homes that had the capability of receiving fire calls, the fire calls when you called for help came into the fire house (sometimes someone was there) or the Mickshultz home, or the Post Office on Church Street to Jim and Betty Stackhouse, all three had the capability to activate the siren.

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Jim and Betty Stackhouse, also received emergency calls and dispatched the Yardville First Aid Squad. They were also a second radio base for both organizations, should there be no one at either building, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, there was no charge for their service, this was the way they served the community, they also ran the Post Office & store, were active members of both organizations, and their auxiliary. What spare time?
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The Mickshultz family moved to a new home on Main Street, a brick house just past Richbell Road, and the fire company demolished their home to make room for the new apparatus bay.

The new Engine arrived, a 1957 Ward LaFrance, 750 GPM, 3 Stage, High Pressure Pump, state of the art for 1957, the color, a special gray blend, know as “DuPont Groveville Gray”. This truck was housed in the “New Bay” and a new 1958 Ford, 1 ½ ton, Reading Body, Utility Truck, DuPont Groveville Gray, was housed in the vacant bay in the old part of the building.

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The 1957 Ward LaFrance, served as our first run piece of equipment until 1968 when it became necessary to replace the 1947 Ward LaFrance, only because of its age, at the time the Fire Underwriters deem a piece of fire Apparatus (Pumpers or Engines) at the end of their serviceability after 20 years. The 1947 Ward LaFrance was sold to the Crosswicks Volunteer Fire Company to be used as their second run or back up piece of apparatus. It was at this time The Groveville Fire Company purchased a 1968 Hahn Engine, Gasoline Powered (Diesel was an expensive option in 1968) and the 1957 moved to be our second run piece of apparatus.

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It was at this time that the Fire Commissioners decided to change the Fire Company’s color from DuPont Groveville Gray to DuPont Chrome Yellow, After a study back then in the mid '60's by the National Safety Council, studies had shown that Chrome Yellow was the safest and most visible color especially at night. But the 'icing on the cake' for Chrome Yellow came while the Fire Commissioners & Fire Company officers (I was fortunate to be there) were at the Hahn factory checking on Groveville's new 1968 Hahn just prior to painting, there was new Chrome Yellow Hahn fire truck destined for Honolulu, Hawaii and another going to Mount Bethel, Pennsylvania. There it was at this time at the Hahn factory, the Fire Commissioners decided to change the Fire Company’s color from DuPont “Groveville Gray” to DuPont “Chrome Yellow”. It was the birth of the “Nick Name” “Groveville’s Yellow Birds”.

In 1974, while returning from a fire call the 1957 Ward LaFrance was involved in a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Route 156 & South Broad Street. The apparatus returning with all lights on entered the intersection, a car coming from the Crosswicks direction failed to heed the stop sign, hit the truck in the drivers side just ahead of the pump panel, the operator of the car was thrown from the vehicle, under the apparatus and subsequently lost his life. The truck ended up on the grass, by the large house across from the old Yardville School (apartments).

The driver, Bob Simpson and the officer on the truck were not injured, but Roy “Smut” Champion was thrown from the Tail Board of the truck to the street and received minor injuries.

Gary Lippincott drove the Apparatus back to the fire house where it remained, out of service, until it could be evaluated by the mechanic. The mechanic found that the pump had been moved out of alignment and there was some slight frame damage, this all could have been repaired, but the Fire Commissioners were not comfortable with returning the Engine to service, they felt this was something that lives depended on and determined that replacement of the engine was the best route to take.

The 1957 Ward LaFrance was sold to the mechanic, to be used as a temporary replacement Engine, should he have to place someone’s Engine out of service for repair. It was then that the Fire Commissioners purchased the 1975 Hahn, Detroit 6-71 Diesel, 1000 GPM Pump.

After some time the 1957 Ward LaFrance was acquired by former Groveville Fire Chief Lyle Mushinski, and recently donated back to the company for restoration, a restoration back to the original color of DuPont Groveville Gray. When I saw this truck again it brought back so many memories, mostly good, it was like seeing an old friend again, the kind that gives you that old lump in the throat.

The story of the DuPont Groveville Gray color, as told to me was when the 1941 Ward LaFrance was in service during World War II, it was necessary during blackouts to have all reflective items painted a dull color, so even the Bumpers, fittings and light housings were painted Gray so as not to reflect.

Lyle heard a somewhat different story about the color, Groveville Gray. There was a 'G' in the paint code which had meant something else and not gray but the master painter in Wards paint dept. thought the 'G' was for 'gray' paint. And thus Groveville Gray was born. After the war someone had a slight accident with the '41 Ward's front bumper and scratched some of the gray paint off the bumper reveling the chrome underneath. That’s when someone decided to scratch the rest of the paint off and well, there you go, a shinny chrome bumper!

Just like every good story at the fire house, they all have different versions and get better each time they are told, somewhere in all the different versions lies the truth, I just hope the truth is as interesting as the others or it won’t be told.


The bulk of the restoration will take place at the Groveville Fire Company, by the Volunteers and the Career Staff; we are lucky to have George Meyers as part of our Career Staff, George has the knowledge and the love of old fire equipment that is needed to undertake a job like this, George and his group of restorers of old fire equipment will direct this giant undertaking. Believe me George will have this truck looking like 1957 again. I know trucks, I have been a truck mechanic, but if I looked at this, my first words would be “Where Do I Start”, that’s what is good about George, he knows where to start, he’s even happy about this.

We all wish we had that car we had in our twenty’s, this is the fire company’s chance to get back the apparatus it had when it was a mere thirty years old.

To me this looks like an “Old Friend” holding on, waiting for the miracle that will bring them back to health. That “Miracle” is here.

This is what they have to work with; George said it will look new again.

John C. "Jim" Donnell

John "Jim" Donnell seated on left, others in the photo,

including the dog, unknown. Location of photo,

unknown also.

Jim Donnell & Wilbur Reynolds, next to the house

on Church Street next to the Cemetery.

Jim during his time in the US Navy, during WW II , next to the house

on Church Street, next to the cemetery .

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Jim was a life long Groveville resident, he was life long active member of the Groveville Volunteer Fire Company, he was employed as a fireman at Fort Dix and was extremely knowledgeable of fire fighting techniques, he like his friend Wendell Fisher, also a fireman at Groveville and a fireman at Fort Dix could teach you the practical side of firefighting, the stuff that in a pinch could save your butt. Jim, like so many of the men of the fire company, would be there no matter what the emergency or the need, you could count on him.

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After Jim's retirement he had a small produce stand in front of his house, during the summer, most of the produce was grown in his garden. It was nice to buy fresh produce from Jim, the only problem I would be there almost an hour telling stories, good interesting stories, if Jim was still around today Jim it would make writing this blog a lot easier, he would have a lot of the answers to my Groveville questions. Jim passed away several years ago, he has been missed by many.

Three Crosses Along the Highway

This has nothing to do with Groveville, but I found it interesting. I just returned from a vacation that took me through Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland.

I had seen these crosses in years past, but never knew their meaning, this time I had my laptop and looked it up one night and found it quite interesting.

The story goes;

Have you ever been driving down the highway and wondered about the three crosses you've seen along the roadside?

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They were put up by a man named Bernard Coffindaffer, who was born in Craigsville, West Virginia. At 42 years of age, Mr. Coffindaffer became a Christian and had a vision to "plant crosses".

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He raised and spent $3,000,000 planting 1,864 trios of crosses in 29 states, Zambia and the Philippines. West Virginia has 352 sets of crosses, the most of any state.
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The crosses are for everyone, he said. Not for saints or sinners, but for everyone, just a reminder of Jesus as you drive by.

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You can't see it from the highway, but the crosses have three nails in them, symbolic of where a body would be.

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Mr. Coffindaffer died at his home in 1993. His crosses are now cared for by the people who own the land, or by nearby churches who "adopt" the crosses.
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Almost anywhere I drive, I pass crosses. I am inspired that one person could present such a strong reminder to the world in such a simple way. With just a glance as I whiz by at 70 miles per hour along the Interstate, I receive a gentle message.

Minutes of the First Meeting, Groveville Vol. Fire Co.

August 20, 1919

20 Men in Attendance

G. Rollings
A.J. Simpson
Robert Rogers
Louis Cook
W. Vogts
C. Berkeyhieser
E. McClure
C. McClure
C. Gravatt
Frank Whitman
Sam Pancoast
C. Doughty
A. Griffiths
Walter Dwier
William Trickett
Charles Fisher
William McEmoyle
J. Bougeault
George Borden
William Henry Sr.



William Tricket elected President
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Charles Fisher elected Secretary
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Frank Whitman elected Treasurer
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Committee set up to write By-Laws
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Maurice Doughty elected Chief
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Walter Dwier elected Assistant Chief
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Committee to get prices on Apparatus
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Meeting Adjourned