Did you know that there is actually a connection between Abraham Lincoln and Cranford New Jersey.. . . . beyond the fact that there is a “Lincoln Avenue” in town?
In February 1861, Cranford ‘s Springfield Avenue resident William P. Westervelt helped foil the little known first assassination plot again President-elect Lincoln as he made his way to Washington, DC for his first inauguration. Westervelt secretly cut the telegraph lines to Baltimore, preventing news of Lincoln’s arrival by train from reaching would-be assassins lying in wait there. Westervelt later died at his Springfield Avenue residence in 1900, largely unknown to the world.

Local historian and retired lawyer Steven D. Glazer, author of “Discover Your Community’s Civil War Heritage,” will give a two hour lecture on “Cranford and President Lincoln” on Sunday, February 10, 2013, at the Crane-Phillips House Museum. Topics discussed will be the surprising connections between the town and the former president, including other Civil War veterans who made Cranford their home after the war. The museum will open at 2:00, and the lecture will begin at 2:15. For more information, visit the website at www.cranfordhistoricalsociety.org .
What a perfect way to celebrate upcoming Presidents’ Day!

Flickr CC Image By Marion Doss