Montclair’s Secret Walkways
A street sign that reads “Hinck’s Alley” may have caught your attention during your drive down Grove Street. Or maybe you’ve noticed by the railroad that cuts through North Fullerton Avenue a small street sign that reads “Essex Way”. Otherwise, these historic walkways that are scattered throughout Montclair might be completely overseen. But as summer and sunshine approach, why not consider trying to locate these secret paths and take a walk down them, revisiting the history of former Montclair landowners and farmers? In those days, when everybody walked everywhere, landowners were willing to allow people to walk across portions of their property to access business districts and transportation hubs more easily. Still available for the public to use as walkways today, we’ve listed these shortcuts below for you to explore them yourself and learn more about their significance.
Hinck’s Alley
This is the longest “secret” path in Montclair and runs for two blocks between Grove Street and Montclair Ave. In the 1860s, the land between Walnut Street and Watchung Avenue, reaching from Montclair Avenue to the border of Glen Ridge, was purchased by the Hinck brothers, Christopher Andrew Hinck and Claus Frederick Hinck I. Christopher, in tandem with his wife, Johanna Maria (Fliedner) Hinck, worked to beautify and build homes on the land. The Hinck brothers never intended to keep the land, but wanted to turn it into a profit via real estate. Streets like Frederick Street and Christopher Street as well as Christopher Park are markers of the brothers’ legacy. Hinck’s Alley served as a border between Frederick’s property and another Montclair landowner named James McLaughlin. After Christopher Hinck passed away in 1885, his daughter Louise Hinck, who was very entrepreneurial, continued to develop the property surrounding her family’s farm. With her brother Otto, together they developed and opened many of the streets perpendicular to Grove Street including Oxford, Cambridge, Tremont, Tuxedo and Ardsley Roads.
Dike’s Lane
Probably the most historic secret path in Montclair is located between South Mountain Avenue and Clinton Avenue, directly across from where Plymouth Street meets Clinton Avenue. In 1873, a large estate on South Mountain Avenue was built by a man named Henry Albyn Dike. He made his fortune as a wool merchant with his brothers and operated the business out of Brooklyn where Dike had lived for many years before moving to Montclair to retire. He lived on South Mountain Avenue until his death in 1887. The lane that is named for him, however, is notable not only for its age, but also for the fact that it passes the former art studio of renowned Montclair impressionist, Thomas Manley, who lived from 1853 until 1938. Manley is considered the “Dean of Montclair Artists” and his studio is the carriage house belonging to 22 Clinton Avenue. While the structure is not visible from the street, a walk down Dike’s Lane and a peek over the fence can offer a glimpse at the artist’s former workshop.
Mid-Park Lane (Minsch’s Marvel)
One of Montclair’s hidden pathways is located between Midland Avenue and Park Street, close to the historic Erwin Park neighborhood. This path is called Mid-Park Lane and cuts across Toney’s Brook. Establishing the path officially was highly advocated for by a man named William J. Minsch. Minsch served as Town Commissioner for finance and revenue between 1942 and 1946. It wasn’t until during his term that the path had a rustic wooden bridge built in 1944– prior to that, residents had to hop from stone to stone over the brook to get to the other side. Today, the bridge has since been replaced with a steel and concrete one. However, residents of the past would joke about how much Minsch wanted the pathway’s bridge completed. The fact that Minsch lived on Midland Avenue meant it was likely he used the pathway occasionally– no wonder he wanted a bridge built so badly! Thus, this led Montclair residents to poke fun at their Town Commissioner’s passion project, dubbing it “Minsch’s Marvel”.
Essex Way
Very close to Mid-Park Lane is another alleyway called Essex Way. It is located between Park Street and Watchung Avenue. It is said that Essex Way once served as the border between the property of Deacon Samuel Holmes and a man named Thomas McDonough, son of Commodore McDonough. Holmes owned around 100 acres of land in Montclair in the mid to late 1800s. Most famously was the Marlboro Inn located at the corner of Watchung Avenue and Grove Street, where Christopher Court stands today. Meanwhile, Thomas McDonough lived in Montclair for twenty four years until his death in 1894. He was an engineer and an inventor, owning two houses at the intersection of Christopher Street and McDonough Street. Rumors say that the two houses were connected by an underground tunnel. What remains of the property border is today’s Essex Way, which saw major improvements in 1946.
The Walkway
This secret path is probably the most hidden among all the others previously mentioned. It can be found running between Highland Avenue and Edgecliff Avenue, near the NJ Audubon Society’s Montclair Hawkwatch. This pathway marks the border of the old Osborne and Marsellis Quarry and land owned by a man named Frank Lord. Lord came to Montclair in 1888 and built many of the houses on Upper Mountain Avenue, near Bradford Avenue. He served on Montclair’s Town Council and worked in real estate for nearly seventy years, developing and remodeling many of the houses close to Mills Reservation. The walkway itself is very narrow and is no more than an asphalt path. It is almost unnoticeable from Highland Avenue, and in order to climb up to Edgecliff Avenue on the other side, one must ascend a flight of stairs. The pathway’s original use is unknown, but could have served as access to the Hawkwatch, the quarry, or the water tower that may have been located at the overlook.
Pleasant Ave Walkway by Rosedale Cemetery
Last but not least is a small walkway that runs along Rosedale Cemetery that connects Pleasant Avenue to Pleasant Way. These two streets were once connected completely for automotive use and the avenue was often used by motorists to bypass traffic in the South End Business District. As a result, enough complaints from neighbors came in that Pleasant Avenue was no longer very pleasant at all. In 1964, the neighborhood asked the town to close off the connection between the two streets. The town obliged and put in a sidewalk instead leaving this final Montclair secret walkway with a nod to modern history; its existence not due to land ownership, farming, or mining, but instead to traffic and noise control.
Can you think of a spot in Montclair where a secret walkway might pop up next?
By Jess Titterington
Sources
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montclair-times-obit-christopher-an/37804646/
https://www.opengreenmap.org/greenmap/historic-montclair/sadler-house-10-euclid-place-30482
https://www.seekingmyroots.com/members/files/G001673.pdf (pages 276-278)
https://jimsoflambertville.com/artist-biography.php?artistId=322702&artist=Thomas%20R.%20Manley
https://www.nytimes.com/1894/06/26/archives/the-obituary-record-thomas-mcdonough.html
https://montclairlocal.news/2024/03/then-and-now-marlboro-inn/
https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montclair-times-1946-frank-lord-obit/36000354/