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From: "Thomas W. Johnston, Jr." <>
Subject: [NJHUNTER] Prallsville Mills
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 1999 10:36:09 -0400


I visited the village of Prallsville last Monday, and was intrigued to find
mill buildings preserved along the Delaware & Raritan Canal and near a
hiking trail made from an old railroad right-of-way. The site is under the
jurisdiction of a state agency.

My interest stems from the fact that an ancestor of mine, John Cavanaugh,
was a resident of the area in the late 1700's and early 1800's, and is
reputed to have been a well-to-do landowner and mill operator. He was also
Sheriff of Hunterdon County in the early 1820's and held other offices.

The clerk in the office at the site knew of no other mill sites in the
area, either extant or ruined. She was unable to provide much history,
other than handing me a folder with some printed information. That stressed
the ownership of the Prall family; no Cavanaugh was mentioned.

I am interested in learning just where John Cavanaugh's real property was
located, and especially the location of the mill operation he reputedly
had. Does anyone have this information, or know with reasonable certainty
whether it can be obtained from the Hall of Records at Flemington or from
the Historical Society? (I made one trip to the Hall of Records on another
aspect of John Cavanaugh's life several years ago, and was extremely well
treated, but the subject of his property holdings unfortunately never came
up. My dealings some time back with the Historical Society, by phone and
mail, were "mixed" at best.)

Thanks.


Tom Johnston

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