The Prallsville Mills in Stockton, NJ, will come alive with one of the New Jersey’s most fascinating and little known stories along with photographs of our historic canal system.
Historian Joseph J. Macasek, President of the New Jersey Canal Society, will tell the story of the Joint Companies, one of the most powerful and controversial monopolies in New Jersey history. His talk begins at 1 pm on Sunday, September 10, 2017.

The Delaware & Raritan Canal, completed in 1834, was built to carry Pennsylvania coal to the New York Market. And since the canal’s route also connected the country’s two greatest cities, New York and Philadelphia, the state also issued a similar charter to the Camden & Amboy Railroad. Rather than compete, these two interests formed a Joint Company.

The Joint Companies use technical innovation, sharp business practices and political manipulation to create a transportation empire. For forty years, they fought off all comers, spared no expense to win and put profits above all else. Their little known story is one of the New Jersey’s most fascinating tales.

Mr. Macasek has had a life-long interest in local New Jersey history and industrial archeology and has pursued this interest on both a personal and leadership level. He is President of the Canal Society of New Jersey, former President of the Roebling Chapter of the Society for Industrial Archeology, Director of Communication for the Friends of Historic Speedwell, and serves on the Morris County Heritage Commission. He is the author of the Guide to the Morris Canal in Morris County and offers lectures on local history topics and industrial archaeology. Mr. Macasek holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in design from the Pratt Institute. He is self-employed as a graphic designer and has a special interest in historic interpretation.

Local photographer, Ted Settle’s collection of images from the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, which includes locations all along the main canal from Bordentown and Trenton to New Brunswick, and the feeder canal from Bulls Island to Trenton, will also be on display. His work explores the hidden treasure of Central New Jersey.

The Prallsville Mills complex in Stockton, NJ, is considered a significant example of early American industrial architecture that was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. Today, the Mill proudly features cultural and historic events for the entire community. You can find the Mills online at www.prallsvillemills.org.

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