Madison

The Borough of Madison, New Jersey, known as Bottle Hill until 1834, was first settled in the middle of the eighteenth century. Its historical significance, now often forgotten by its cosmopolitan population, includes a railroad heritage dating to 1837, commuter traditions that began with the railroad's arrival, the founding of Drew University in 1866, the development of fabled millionaire estates that have largely disappeared, and the location of a nationally known rose-growing industry that is now gone. Even as it attracted a number of very wealthy estate owners, Madison also became home to a richly diverse ethnic population that came to work in the palatial homes and in the huge rose-growing greenhouses found nearly everywhere in the borough. This evolution of Madison is chronicled in this exciting new pictorial history through the presentation of vintage images and informative caption text.