1883 Bailey Bird's-Eye View of Flemington, New Jersey

Seat of Hunterdon County.

This is an 1883 O. H. Bailey bird's-eye view of Flemington, New Jersey. It was produced as the town was undergoing a post-Civil War boom, driven largely by greater integration with regional rail networks. Today, Flemington is admired for the many Victorian and Federal-era buildings lining its downtown streets, many of which are illustrated here.

A Closer Look

This view is oriented with north towards top-right and includes not only Flemington but also parts of Raritan Township, which surrounds the titular town. Seventeen sites throughout the view are numbered, corresponding to an index at bottom. These include industrial sites, rail depots, the local school, the Union Hotel, and the County Courthouse opposite, the latter two still standing. Churches are also noted, including the large Presbyterian Church, which had just been rebuilt in 1882 - 1883 and still stands today. Seven vignette views of important buildings in town also appear at bottom below the main view, including the Deats Building, the first in town to boast electricity and telephone lines.

The rail depots were part of a dedicated branch line of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the New Jersey Central Railroad. A third rail line also served the area, the Easton and Amboy Railroad, a subsidiary of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, which had a stop at 'Flemington Junction' some two miles north of town. The same year this view was published, construction began on a short branch line terminating at a depot closer to town, but still a mile north of the other two stations; this branch line was completed in 1884. Together, these lines helped to burnish Flemington's reputation as a growing regional industrial and commercial center.

Historical Context

On March 14, 1870, Flemington was officially incorporated as a town within Raritan Township, later reclassifying as a village in 1894. In the following decades, its separation from Raritan Township was formalized, resulting in the present, rather unusual arrangement in which Flemington is entirely surrounded by Raritan Township while also serving as the seat of Hunterdon County. The late 19th century was defined by the expansion of rail networks that subsequently transformed commerce and agriculture. The economic benefits led to the construction of several modern buildings that still stand alongside even older buildings in Flemington's Historic District, which is listed on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

American City Views

City views were being produced in the United States as early as the 1830s, but the genre exploded after the American Civil War (1861 - 1865). Bridging the gap between maps and pictures, most 19th-century American bird's-eye views presented cities to the public from high points. Some were imagined, but others were drawn from hot-air balloons or nearby hills. The presentation, combining high elevation, commercial interest, and new printing technology, created a uniquely American artform, as described by historian Donald Karshan,

Some print connoisseurs believe that it was only with the advent of the full-blown city-view lithograph that American printmaking reached its first plateau of originality, making a historical contribution to the graphic arts. They cite the differences between the European city-view prints and the expansive American version that reflects a new land and a new attitude toward the land.

The vogue for bird's-eye city views lasted from about 1845 to 1920, during which period some 2,400 cities were thus portrayed, some multiple times. Although views were produced in many urban centers, the nexus of view production in the United States was Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The major American viewmakers were Stoner, Wellge, Bailey, Fowler, Hill, Ruger, Koch, Burleigh, Norris, and Morse, among others.

Publication History and Census

This view was prepared and published by O.H. Bailey and Co. in Boston in 1883. It is rare, being cataloged only among the holdings of the Morristown-Morris Township Library and the Boston Public Library.

Cartographer

Oakley Hoopes Bailey (June 14, 1843 - August 13, 1947) was a prolific American viewmaker, artist, and lithographer active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Bailey was born in Beloit, Mahoning County, Ohio. He matriculated in 1861 at Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, where he studied architecture. At the outbreak of the American Civil War (1861 - 1865), he briefly abandoned his studies for 2 years, during which time he saw combat as a Union soldier. After the war, in 1866, he returned to Mount Union to complete his degree. Bailey was the younger brother of another view artist, Howard Heston Bailey (1836 - 1878), and followed his brother into the print business, producing his first city views of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1871. Active from 1871 to 1926, Bailey produced more than 375 recorded city views across more than 13 states and 2 Canadian provinces, making him one of the most active viewmakers in American history. In 1875, he settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and most of his subsequent work focused on Massachusetts and Connecticut. Bailey worked with many other American viewmakers of the period, including his brother, Howard Heston Bailey, Thaddeus M. Flower, and J. C. Hazen, among others. Even his wife, Sarah F. Bailey (1846 - 19??), got into the business, drawing at least one view of Watkins Glen, New York. Around 1904, in his 60s, Bailey entered a publishing partnership with Thomas S. Hughes, publishing their 'Aero-Views' as 'Hughes and Bailey'. Together, Hughes and Bailey revisited many of Bailey's early view sites, remaking them sometimes 20-40 years later, with the idea of setting them beside the earlier views to show how much the towns had changed. The partnership lasted until about 1926. Bailey died in his hometown of Alliance at the ripe old age of 103.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Few marginal mends.

References

OCLC 173484647.