Historical Committee

In 2018, the Garwood Historical Committee was a newly appointed and re-invigorated group of Garwood residents determined to preserve Garwood's short but rich history. The group is always looking for interested Garwood residents to participate in preserving that history. The Historical Committee meets on the fourth Monday of each month at 7:00 PM with the main goal to preserve any old photographs, memorabilia from town events, church events, school events (public and private), or anything that has to do with Garwood's past, recent or long-past. The Committee has the ability to scan these items and return the originals to the owners, or to keep them in the archives for safe keeping, whichever the owner prefers.

To reach the Historical Committee or for more information:

Email:

garwoodhistory@garwood.org   

Mail:

Garwood Historical Committee

Mrs. Carol Lombardo, Chair
Borough of Garwood
403 South Avenue, Garwood, NJ 07027

 

How Well Do You Know Garwood's History? 

The Garwood Historical Committee is periodically sharing interesting facts, stories, and photos about Garwood's past! Check out this first post and learn more about the Great Train Wreck of 1924: 

July 2024

Great Train Wreck of 1924, Lincoln Avenue Garwood, NJ

On Thursday, August 21^st, 1924 at 10:30am, almost 100 years to the day, a horrific train crash occurred at Lincoln Avenue crossing at the border of Garwood and Cranford. This happened before the railroad was raised high on embankments on bridges over streets or roads having an underpass.  Back then the rails ran flat at grade and streets like Center Street and Lincoln Avenue crossed right over the tracks.

The circumstances appeared unfortunate for the crash.  Construction was being done on North Avenue, so traffic was detoured southward down Lincoln Ave, across the railroad tracks onto South Avenue.  There was a warning bell at the crossing that went off, but there was a stationary freight train nearby and a driver of a truck thought that it was that train actuating the bell so he could easily cross.  However, the passenger train, Philadelphia & Reading express train #604, heading eastbound thru Garwood into Cranford and moving at 60 mph overtook the crossing and slammed into the 10-ton truck, throwing the truck 75 feet. The locomotive and 3 of the 4 train cars overturned and slid 3 city blocks.  Sadly, the truck driver died along with 3 people on the train including the engineer. 40 people were injured. Everyone living nearby set to work extricating the passengers, local homes were used as first aid stations, and the injured were rushed to Elizabeth General Hospital and Muhlenberg Hospital, many of them hailing from Philadelphia, PA., and Plainfield NJ. 

The accident made headlines of the major metropolitan newspapers. This was one of many subsequent but minor crashes over the next decade along the Jersey Central Railway where the company finally made the decision to raise the railroad in many places. Lincoln Avenue now has a bridge.  As for our Center Street at grade crossing, it wasn’t until 1963 that the underpass was built alleviating the concern of further incidents.