Rowan University. In 1911 Gov.Woodrow Wilson appointed Calvin Kendall to oversee the school system in New Jersey. Kendall found that many New Jersey schoolteachers were inadequately prepared for their positions. He proposed that the state create at least two more teacher-training schools and that one of these schools should be in southern New Jersey. In 1917, the state appropriated the necessary funds.
The competition among towns for the new school was intense. Residents of Glassboro pushed hard for their community to be selected and even purchased twenty-five acres for the site of the new school. Glassboro Normal School opened its doors on September 4, 1923, with 236 full-time students, all young women.
The school developed rapidly, and the college began offering a four-year degree program for teachers in I937. The school then changed its name to the Teachers College at Glassboro. During the 1950s, the college curriculum grew beyond training teachers, and the college greatly expanded, adding 117 acres to its site. In 1958 the name of the school changed to Glassboro State College. In June I967 the college, chosen for its location between Washington, D.C., and New York City, hosted a summit between President Lyndon Johnson and the Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin.
In 1992 businessman Henry Rowan and his wife donated $100 million to the college; at the time this was the largest gift ever to a public institution of higher learning in the United States. The college then changed its name to Rowan College in recognition of the gift and achieved university status as Rowan University in I997.
By 200I the university had evolved into a graduate school and six academic colleges. There are thirty-one undergraduate majors, twenty-five master’s degree programs, and a doctoral program in educational leadership. The university has an enrollment of approximately ten thousand students.
Roxbury. 22.0-square-mile township in Morris County. The fourth municipality in Morris County, Roxbury was founded on December 24, I740, and reduced to today’s boundaries in I890. The township is divided into five traditional segments: Succasunna, Kenvil, Ledge wood, Landing, and Lower Berkshire Valley. Landing was part of the Lake Hopatcong summer resort community, as was a sixth segment, Mount Arlington, which seceded in I890 after the explosion of a munitions plant on the Shore Hills in Landing created a rift of opinion in the population over safety and contamination of the lake.
The first white settlers were the Rogerenes, a religious sect from Connecticut. They settled Mountain Pond Colony in what is now Landing in 1708. There were a number of Indian villages along the Succasunny Plains, but the first recorded white land purchase was on May I5, I7I3, by Peter Gairbut and Francis Beck. The township was traversed by the Morris Canal, and Inclined Plane #2 at Ledgewood was reconstructed during the I970s. In the mid-twentieth century, the township was populated primarily by professionals employed at nearby Picatinny Arsenal. Since then, many housing developments have been constructed for commuters to industries in the east. Ledgewood and Succasunna have an extensive contiguous highway commercial district.
The 2000 population of 23,883 was 93 percent white. The 2000 median household income was $72,982.
Rubber industry. One of America’s first rubber factories was built in New Brunswick in I838. There Horace H. Day made shoes by dipping wooden lasts into his own hand-mixed combination of alcohol, white lead,lampblack, and rubber that he had obtained by cutting up the crude shoes and bottlelike syringes that had been shipped to New Brunswick from Brazil on ships owned by fellow New Brunswick resident James Bishop.
Catalog of "Snag-Proof Rubber Footwear” manufactured by Lambertville Rubber Company, Lambertville, c. 1895-1914.
Another early shoe manufacturer, Christopher Meyer, built a rubber factory in I843 in what is now Milltown. A founder of the U.S. Rubber Company, Meyer was one of the first rubber pioneers to receive a license from Charles Goodyear, who had obtained a patent in I844 to manufacture vulcanized rubber. Horace Day, insisting that he, not Goodyear, first vulcanized rubber, refused to purchase a license, and was sued by Goodyear for patent infringement in the sensational "Great India Rubber Trial” of 1853. With U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster as his lawyer, Goodyear defeated Horace Day, who was financially ruined by ongoing litigation with other Goodyear licensees.
Despite this legal setback, New Jersey continued to be the center of the American rubber industry until the latter decades of the nineteenth century when production moved to Akron, Ohio. But New Jersey rose to prominence again in I907 when the Michelin Tire Company of France built the world’s most modern tire factory on the Milltown site of the old Meyer factory. Employing over two thousand workers, this factory produced 4,500 tires and I5,000 tubes each day. Because hundreds of French employees were transferred to Milltown, for several decades the French language and culture influenced the political and social life of the town.
In the I920s Thomas Edison began a series of pioneering experiments in West Orange with the elusive goal of producing rubber from goldenrod. Backed by Harvey Firestone and Henry Ford, these unsuccessful experiments continued until his death. New Jersey’s century of prominence in the rubber industry came to an end when the Michelin factory closed in 1930 and Thomas Edison died a year later.
The population of Rumson was 7,137 in 2000, 98 percent white. The 2000 median household income was $120,865.
Rudyard, Thomas (b. 1640; d. 1692).Proprietor and deputy governor. Born in Staffordshire, by the 1670s Thomas Rudyard was a London lawyer and an important Quaker activist who served as a defense attorney in the Penn-Mead trial involving religious freedom. A friend of William Penn, he became involved in Quaker colonization efforts, becoming a first purchaser (investor) of Pennsylvania and a proprietor of both West and East Jersey. When the proprietors purchased half the province of East Jersey in 1682 they appointed Robert Barclay governor and Rudyard his deputy. While Barclay remained in England, Rudyard moved to the colony. He served as deputy governor until succeeded by Gawen Lawrie, then continued as secretary and register of land deeds. He was replaced because he wanted to distribute lands and encourage settlement more rapidly than did the proprietors remaining in England. In 1685 he emigrated to Barbados.
Rumson. 5.22-square-mile borough in Monmouth County. The early Native American name for Rumson was Navarumsunk. Variations of the name evolved from the 1660s. In 1907, Rumson separated from Shrewsbury Township and became a borough. Rumson is bordered by the Navesink and Shrewsbury rivers. These waterways provide access to Sandy Hook Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, making Rumson an excellent location for fishing and water recreation.
Rumson was a rich farming and fishing community through the nineteenth century. In 1845, Thomas Hunt built the Port Washington Hotel, which later became known as the Pavilion Hotel. He also built a pier and established a line of steamships that turned the quiet coastal community into a summer resort area. From the late 1840s through the early twentieth century, large summer residences were constructed. Rumson remained primarily a resort community until the 1930s, when the hired help of the summer residents
Rundlett, Emilie Melanie Viett (b. Jan. 30,1876; d. Nov. 17,1959). Physician. Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Emilie Melanie Viett Rundlett graduated from the Medical College of South Carolina in 1901, married a doctor, Henry Albert Rundlett, in 1902, and was widowed in 1904. She practiced medicine in Jersey City from 1906 to 1959, specializing in pediatric infectious diseases. Her research included the use of sulfadiazine in meningococcal treatment, and she encouraged Sister Kenny’s physiotherapeutic approach to treatment of poliomyelitis. Rundlett was the first woman to graduate with a medical degree in South Carolina, to head a clinical service (infectious disease), and to be medical staff president in a major teaching hospital (Jersey City Medical Center).
Runnemede. 2.0-square-mile borough in Camden County. Runnemede was settled in 1688 by the British on the site of the Indian village of Armewamex in old Gloucester County. The community benefited from its location on the tidal waters of Great Timber Creek and seven-mile proximity to Philadelphia. In 1831, Runnemede was included in Union Township and in 1844 became part of the new Camden County. In 1855, it became part of Center Township. In 1926, it split off from Center Township and incorporated into a borough.
The 1891 advent of a railroad with ferry connections to Philadelphia initiated a change from a completely agrarian society to a community of commuters to the industries and businesses of Camden and Philadelphia. Runnemede remains predominantly residential with mostly single-family homes. There are few industries, the most notable being Mister Softee. Transportation is convenient. New Jersey Turnpike’s Exit 3 is on the borough’s border with Routes 42, 55, 295, and the Atlantic City Expressway is within three miles.
The 2000 population of 8,533 was 92 percent white. The 2000 median household income was $41,126.
Runyon, William Nelson (b. Mar. 5,1871; d. Nov. 9, 1931). State senator and federal judge. William Nelson Runyon was born in Plainfield, the son of Nelson and Wilhelmina Troy Runyon. He graduated from Yale University in 1892, and from New York Law School in 1894. Runyon married Florence McDonald, and in addition to having several of their own, the couple adopted two children.
Runyon’s political career began in 1897 with his election to Plainfield’s common council. He was city judge (1899-1910), member of the General Assembly (1915-1917), and state senator from Union County (1918-1920). Runyon was the Republican candidate for governor in 1922, campaigning in support of Prohibition and against the rising power of Hudson County boss Frank Hague. He lost to George S. Silzer. In December, President Warren Harding appointed him to the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of New Jersey, a position he held until his death in 1931.
Russell, Henry Norris (b. Oct. 25,1877;d. Feb. 18, 1957). Astronomer. Henry Norris Russell is remembered today as the first theoretical astrophysicist in the United States and one of the most influential astronomers worldwide in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Oyster Bay, New York, he was the son of a Presbyterian minister, Alexander Gatherer Russell, who had trained at the Princeton Theological Seminary, and Elisa Hoxie Norris, the daughter of a prominent Princeton resident. He was sent to the Princeton Prep School at age twelve, lived with his aunt Ada Norris on Canal Street (now Alexander), and remained based in Princeton for the rest of his life. His scientific specialties included the gamut of solar and stellar astrophysics, planetary atmospheres, double stars, atomic physics, and spectroscopy.
Russians. A Russian presence in New Jersey was not felt until the late 1800s, when the first of five waves of Russian immigrants arrived. The first group, largely land-poor peasants and small farmers fleeing oppressive feudal landlords, came between 1870 and 1914. Immigrant organizations developed, such as the Russian Consolidated Mutual Aid Society, which in 1934 purchased 1,400 acres, later known as Rova Farm, in Cassville. The second group, mainly White Russians, comprised tsarist army officers, professionals, large landowners, and representatives of political parties ranging from moderate socialists to the extreme left. They came in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution, the White armies’ defeat, and the famine of the early 1920s. World War II, its aftermath, and legislation facilitating the entry of displaced persons were responsible for the third wave of immigration. The fourth group was the Kalmyks, Asians from the steppes in the Caspian Sea region. Displaced by the Bolshevik Revolution and again by World War II, they were reclassified as Europeans and permitted to enter the United States in 1951. The final wave came after the fall of the Soviet Union and its dissolution into fifteen independent republics.
Initially, Russians settled in industrial areas and worked in plants and factories. Churches and parishes soon followed. The first Russian Orthodox parish, the Three Saints Russian Orthodox Church, was established in 1898, and its church was built in 1901. Today it includes a cultural center and pavilion in addition to a new church. By the 1920s, most major New Jersey cities had at least a small Russian community. Between the two world wars, there was a shift to agricultural areas, such as Lakewood and Cassville. At the end of the twentieth century, fifteen Russian Orthodox parishes continued in New Jersey. Many of their congregations have been enlarged with immigrants who arrived after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. However, some Russian communities, such as Rova Farms, face a markedly declining population.
In addition to Russian communities, which extend from Garfield and Rahway to the Millville/Vineland area, there are many sites of Russian religious and cultural interest in New Jersey. Among them are the Kuban Cossack Library and Museum in Howell; the All Cossack Stanitza in Vineland; Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Howell, with its Saturday school offering instruction in the Russian language, history, and religion; the nearby cultural center of Rodina; and Rova Farm, with its restaurant and hall, weekly flea market, Pushkin Memorial Home for the Aged, and monuments. Adjacent to Rova Farms are two Russian Orthodox churches, Saint Vladimir’s and Saint Mary’s, and a large Russian Orthodox cemetery.
The Three Saints Russian Orthodox Church, Garfield.
Russian culture is also manifested in New Jersey in holidays and feast days. Russians celebrate Christmas and Easter, for example, thirteen days after most Christian denominations. Other important Russian holidays include the feast of Saint Thomas, which involves the blessing of graves and the sharing of food in the cemeteries on the Sunday after Easter; the Blessing of the Fruit, specifically the first harvest of grapes on August 19; the Blessing of the Flowers on August 28; the Easter vigil; and Saint Vladimir’s Day, the last Sunday in July. At Rova Farms, thousands of visitors gather on Saint Vladimir’s Day to view the icon of Our Lady of Pochaev and to partake of traditional Russian foods, including kotley, borsch, pirozhki, and nut pastries.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. Founded as Queen’s College in 1766, Rutgers is the eighth-oldest college in the United States. The institution owes its existence to a group of Dutch Reformed clerics who fought to secure the right to educate ministers in the colonies. On November 10, 1766 William Franklin, the royal governor of New Jersey, granted a charter for Queen’s College, named in honor of Charlotte, the Queen Consort.
The college trustees convened for their first meeting in Hackensack in May 1767, but it took five years for Queen’s College to become operational. After repeated efforts to amend the original charter, Governor Franklin issued a new charter on March 20,1770. In November 1771 the college commenced instruction at the Sign of the Red Lion, a former tavern located on the corner of Albany and Neilson streets in New Brunswick, which housed the students of the college and the grammar school, as well as Frederick Frelinghuysen, the first tutor. By 1774, when the first commencement was held, there were over twenty students enrolled. The Rev. Jacob Hardenbergh, a staunch supporter of Queen’s College, conferred the first and only degree of the day on Matthew Leydt of New Brunswick.
Soon after, students, tutors, and trustees alike joined in the struggle for independence. In 1777, during the British occupation of New Brunswick, half a dozen students gathered in an abandoned church at North Branch to resume their studies. The college relocated to Millstone the following year, and returned to New Brunswick in the spring of 1781.
Queen’s College prospered under the leadership of Hardenbergh, who became the first president of Rutgers. Enrollment climbed slowly, and by 1789 the graduating class included ten students. But the college fell upon hard times following Hardenbergh’s death in 1790. The trustees closed Queen’s in 1795, and it remained dormant for the next twelve years. A new college building signaled the revival of Queen’s College, but financial difficulties forced the college to close again in 1816; it reopened in 1825, named for Henry Rutgers, Revolutionary war hero and supporter of benevolent causes.
The revitalized college had a small faculty who offered a curriculum that followed a classical and "modern” course of study. In 1830 students received lectures in geology, mineralogy, chemistry, and moral philosophy. Enrollment in the college slowly increased over the next several years as students, predominantly from Dutch families of New York and New Jersey, came to New Brunswick.
Rutgers College was transformed considerably during the decades following the Civil War. The Rutgers Scientific School, established in 1862, was designated by the legislature as the land-grant college for New Jersey in 1864 under the Morrill Act, bringing Rutgers into a relationship with the state for the first time. In January 1869 the first issue of the student newspaper, the Targum, was published, and two years later the first yearbook, the Scarlet Letter, was issued. In 1873 the Rutgers Glee
Club formed and with it came the school song, "On the Banks of the Old Raritan.” In 1869 the first intercollegiate football contest was played between Rutgers and Princeton.
As Rutgers approached the new century, it secured increased state and federal aid. In 1887, under the provisions of the Hatch Act, the agricultural experiment station was established. Rutgers also obtained additional federal funds for the Scientific School with the passage of the second Morrill Act of 1890. The state erected New Jersey Hall in 1889 on land conveyed to it by the college for the State Agricultural Experiment Station. In 1890 the legislature passed the State Scholarship Act, which provided one scholarship in each of the sixty assembly districts in New Jersey.
Under the stewardship of William H. S. Demarest, Rutgers achieved several milestones. The college aided the war effort in 1917 by establishing a unit of the Student Army Training Corps. The Agricultural College was designated the State University of New Jersey in 1917. The New Jersey College for Women emerged the following year. By 1924 total university enrollment hovered around twenty-five hundred students.
In 1925 Rutgers College changed its name to Rutgers University and shifted its focus toward becoming a public institution. What followed was a period of growth and expansion in student enrollment, academic programs, and physical facilities. By 1930 the university consisted of seven schools and colleges, with an undergraduate population of 2,662 students. However, when the nation was plunged into the depths of the Depression, state appropriations were drastically reduced. Nonetheless, President Robert Clothier embarked on an expansion program, which proved to be valuable for planning future development of the university.
With America’s entry into World War II, Rutgers found itself once again in the throes of a national emergency. The university immediately committed its resources to the war effort. The campus became host to the Army Specialized Training Program, which helped maintain enrollment levels. Through the program, Rutgers trained 3,877 men.
During the postwar years, Rutgers renewed its call for growth and expansion, as more than nineteen thousand veterans flooded the campus through the benefits of the GI Bill. Under the provisions of the State University Acts of 1945 and 1956, the state legislature designated all units of Rutgers as the State University. In 1946 the arts and science, business, and law schools of the former University of Newark became Rutgers-Newark. By 1950 Rutgers acquired a law school and the two-year College of South Jersey in Camden. To solidify its relationship with the state, Rutgers reorganized its governing structure by creating a board of governors to provide the state with a larger role in the control of the university. The board consisted of eleven voting members, six appointed by the governor and five from among the trustees, who continued to serve in an advisory capacity, manage certain funds, and oversee educational standards.
During the turbulent decade of the 1960s, under the leadership of President Mason Gross, Rutgers witnessed unprecedented growth and development. Three bond issues enabled the university to embark upon a massive building program. By 1964 enrollment had doubled, with more than twelve thousand full-time undergraduate students. In 1964 Rutgers acquired from the federal government 540 acres of the former Camp Kilmer army base where Livingston College opened in 1969. Scientific research and teaching facilities emerged on the Busch campus. The decade was also one of political action and social awareness; Gross promoted a sense of calm and reason when confronted with black student demands on the Newark campus in 1969, and again with the student protests over the Vietnam War in 1971.
During the final decades of the twentieth century, Rutgers achieved distinction as a public research university, as it enjoyed the benefits of a healthy economy and a governor who gave strong support to higher education. In 1989 the university joined fifty-six other prestigious academic institutions that make up the Association of American Universities.
As the 1990s unfolded, Rutgers University confronted massive cuts in state funding, prompting an intensive campaign for public support. The university redirected its energies toward teaching and undergraduate education, and renewed its commitment to support and include minorities through enrollment and hiring.
