Hills Grocery and Paddocks Ice Cream Parlor in Newton – New Jersey Herald

By Wayne T. McCabe

President, Sussex County Historical Society

Sam Hills grocery store, located at the corner of Spring Streetand Moran Street in Newton, was the last store on Spring Street to have a structural canopy over the sidewalk. In the mid-19th century, virtually all of the stores along Spring Street had such structures that provided protection to pedestrians from both the sun and rain. Retractable canvas awnings eventually replaced these fixed structures.

Commonly known as the Old Foundry Building, this building was constructed for George Nelden and Samuel Bodine, stove founders, in 1859. When originally constructed, this brick building was two stories in height, with a one-story and a two-story section attached to the rear of the main building. The building was constructed of locally manufactured brick, with the Spring Street front being four window bays wide. The street level front of the business was a simple door in the middle and flanked by two double hung windows.

Edward C. Moore dramatically altered the building with the addition of a third floor on the front section of the complex in 1882. The rear of the expanded building became four stories in the rear on the Moran Street side as the road goes downhill toward Trinity Street. This newer storefront was designed to reflect the style used in the late 1870s to early 1880s, which used large plate glass windows flanking a recessed entryway to the store. Wood panels with ornate moldings were normally installed beneath the large plates of glass for support, about two feet above the level of the sidewalk. In the case of this building, there is a doorway on the right hand side of the storefront that leads to a set of stairs providing access to the second and third floors.

By 1890, the foundry was no longer doing business on the site and a hardware store occupied the first floor of the front building, with the rear sections being used for storage of stock. The second and third floors of the front section were occupied by a printing company.

In 1897, S. Hill Jr. operated a grocery on the first floor of the corner building. A barber and a doctor, along with a residence, were located on the second floor. The barber pole striping was painted on the right side supporting column of the structural awning.

The sign on the second floor wall denotes the offices of Dr. N. Jacobus, who treated chronic diseases. The third floor provided the meeting rooms of the local chapter of the Improved Order of Red Men (I.O.R.M.). Their emblem can be seen between the middle windows on the top floor with the letters T.O.T.E. set on top of an old-fashioned battle axe. The I.O.R.M. is reputedly the oldest patriotic fraternal organization of American origin. Chartered by Congress, the fraternity traces its origins back to 1765 and claims to have been descended from the Revolutionary War era Sons of Liberty. The structure of the organization was patterned after the great Iroquois Confederation and its governing body. The I.O.R.M. still exists today and, in part, focuses its efforts on raising funds to assist Alzheimers research.

By 1912, a two-story and one-story section had been added to the east side of the existing rear portion of the building. These wood-framed additions were scheduled to be abandoned upon the completion of a new garage that was being constructed behind 130-144 Spring Street.

Sometime during the 1920s, the F.W. Woolworth Company took up occupancy of this building and became a very successful business on the street. By 1936, Woolworths had outgrown this space and acquired a one-story building at 141-143 Spring Street from John and Charles Hendershot, and relocated their business. That same year, Sears, Roebuck & Company moved into the corner building.

The store on the right side of the Old Foundry Building was originally constructed in 1863 as a blacksmith and harness makers shop by John and James English. As with several local businesses in town, the English brothers moved further east on Spring Street, thus allowing for the expansion of their growing company.

Here, in 1888, Fred Walker opened an ice cream parlor and confectionery. In 1909, Walker sold the business to his son-in-law Sutton Paddock, who continued the same trade. Three years later, in 1912, Paddock sold the business to William Klingener, who ran the commercial venture for many years.

The accompanying photograph shows the building when it was the home of S.J. Paddocks restaurant and ice cream parlor. A teen-aged girl, in her Sunday finery, is seen standing in the front doorway of the restaurant. The sign on the far right, partially hidden by a tree, advertises the sale of root beer, ginger ale, sarsaparilla, and birch beer bottled by A.B. Brickner in Newton. The a-frame advertising sign, placed in the street, notes that the restaurants address was 129 Spring Street. Apartments were located on the upper two floors.

Today, the Beehive Thrift Shop, operated by the Auxiliary of Newton Medical Center, occupies the first floor of the Old Foundry Building, while Sensible Addictions is the first floor tenant in the old Paddock building.

The ornate picket fence seen in the bottom right corner of the photograph was in front of a three-story wood-framed dwelling next to Paddocks establishment.

The three-story brick building on the left side of the image is located on the west side of the intersection and was known as the McCarter Building, constructed in 1864. Howells hardware and paint store was located on the first floor there for many years. In 1903, there was a harness shop on the second floor, and the Young Womans Christian Association was located on the top floor. In the middle of the last century, the Town of Newton had its municipal offices and the police department on the second floor. Today, the entire building is the home of McGovern and Roseman, P.A., a law firm specializing in general civil practice, litigation, land use, and criminal law cases. The firm acquired the structure in 1970 and, following renovation work, occupied the building in 1972.

Sussex County Historical Society President Wayne T. McCabe may be contacted at sussexhistorian@juno.com

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Hills Grocery and Paddocks Ice Cream Parlor in Newton - New Jersey Herald