Briarwood East is an unincorporated community and residential neighborhood located within Edison Township in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States.[1] It is located in the northern half of Edison Township; east of Carriage Hill, south east of Glenwood Park and Chandler Hill, south of the Oak Tree Park, west of Timber Grove and north of Tamarack North.[1][2] The community is centered on the eastern half of Stephenville Parkway, a median strip-street which runs the entirety of the neighborhood between George Avenue and Midland Road.[1][3][4]
Briarwood East, New Jersey | |
|---|---|
  Briarwood East, New Jersey Location of Stephenville in Middlesex County Inset: Location of county within the state of New Jersey  Briarwood East, New Jersey Briarwood East, New Jersey (New Jersey)  Briarwood East, New Jersey Briarwood East, New Jersey (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 40°34′12″N 74°21′49″W / 40.57000°N 74.36361°W | |
| Country |  United States |
| State |  New Jersey |
| County | Middlesex |
| Township | Edison |
| Elevation | 141 ft (43 m) |
| ZIP Code | 08820 |
| Area code(s) | 732 and 908 |
Briarwood East was established in 1963 and consists mainly of ranch-style, bi-level and split-level homes.[5][6] The community was developed by contractors Jack J. Handshush and Albert Handshuh through their building and development firm Hand-Sum Homes.[5][6] Briarwood East was named after Briarwood, a similar community previously developed by the Handshuh brothers in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.[6][7]
History
editThe land on which Briarwood East sits was once owned by bridge engineer Gustav Lindenthal.[8][9] After his death in 1935,[10] the land was donated to Raritan Township.[8] In January 1952, Frank P. Tufaro optioned between 140 and 160 acres of undeveloped land from the Raritan Park Company between Plainfield Road, Grove Avenue and Oak Tree Road.[8] Tufaro intended to build an eastern addition to Stephenville, a residential community which he had developed through his firm, Terra-Nova Construction Company.[11][12][13] Tufaro completed his purchase of 145 acres in mid-August 1952,[9] planning for large residential homes to be built on the site, adjoining Arrowhead Park.[9] Streets and utilities were scheduled to be laid in the fall of 1952, with housing construction to start early in 1953, but delay in sewer construction for the original Stephenville development kept things on hold.[9][14]
On October 31, 1953, Tufaro sold the 145 acres of land between Plainfield Road, Grove Avenue and Oak Tree Road to the Absig Corporation, one of the many subsidiaries of the Sommer Brothers Construction Company of Iselin, New Jersey.[15] After several failed attempts to develop the land in 1958 and 1959,[16][17] the Absig Corporation sold off parcels of land to various developers, each of which established separate communities in the Oakview Heights proximity in Edison Township.[18][19][20] Joseph Deutsch and Jack W. Denholtz of Westover Realty acquired 37 acres of land in 1960 and hoped to build 62 houses but were denied by the Edison Township Planning Board due to lack of sewer connections.[21][22]
Briarwood East was announced in May 1963, as a new community developed by Jack J. Handshuh and Albert Handshuh through their firm Hand-Sum Homes.[23][5] The community was to be built on and off Stephenville Parkway, between Plainfield Road, Grove Avenue and Oak Tree Road, and adjacent to Carriage Hill, Oakview Heights, Timber Grove and Tamarack North.[1][24] Briarwood East was named after Briarwood, a similar community which the Handshuh brothers had developed in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey.[6][7] The first homes in Briarwood East were built during the spring of 1963,[5] and residents began moving into the community during the fall of 1963.[25][24][26] In May 1964, Briarwood East residents formed the Oak-Grove Civic Association and successfully protested the construction of a Socony-Mobil Oil Company gasoline service station at the corner of Oak Tree Road and Grove Avenue.[27][28][29] The Oak-Grave Civic Association also successfully protested the enlargement of Stephenville Parkway for the purpose of turning it into a highway.[1][30] connecting it to Route 27 and Talmadge Road.[31][32]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d e "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey". Central New Jersey Home News Tribune. July 11, 1963. p. 2. Archived from the original on August 3, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on May 21, 1959 · 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ Spies, Stacy (2001), Edison, Arcadia Publishing, ISBN 9780738505497
- ^ Passport to Edison - A Guide to Edison, Its History & Community Resources (PDF). Edison, New Jersey: A Nation Heritage Foundation. 2001.
- ^ a b c d "The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey on May 3, 1963 · 36". The Record. May 3, 1963. Archived from the original on August 7, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on May 5, 1963 · 32". Central New Jersey Home News Tribune. May 5, 1963. Archived from the original on August 5, 2021. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey on May 31, 1963 · 33". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ a b c "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on January 13, 1952 · 21". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
- ^ a b c d "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on August 17, 1952 · 19". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on August 6, 1935 · 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on December 14, 1948 · 2". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on October 16, 1949 · 26". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on October 23, 1949 · 15". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 24, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 18, 1952 · 1". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 1, 1953 · 23". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 17, 1958 · 8". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on November 12, 1958 · 20". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on May 22, 1959 · Page 5". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on June 27, 1960 · Page 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 30, 1960 · 7". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on August 18, 1960 · 4". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on September 22, 1960 · 5". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on May 3, 1963 · Page 26". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ a b "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 16, 1963 · 31". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 30, 1963 · 31". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Record from Hackensack, New Jersey on August 16, 1963 · 16". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 30, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on May 20, 1964 · Page 12". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on September 18, 1964 · Page 10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on October 21, 1964 · Page 10". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on June 10, 1964 · 14". Newspapers.com. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
- ^ "The Central New Jersey Home News from New Brunswick, New Jersey on December 17, 1964 · 34". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.
- ^ "The Courier-News from Bridgewater, New Jersey on December 17, 1964 · Page 3". Newspapers.com. Retrieved July 31, 2021.