May 22, 2013 THE VILLADOM TIMES 1 & III • Page 15 Remembering Thomas Edison’s Concrete Mile by Ray Lemasters One of Thomas Edison’s brightest ideas – New Jersey’s first concrete highway -followed the establishment of the Portland Cement Company in Warren County. Edison had originally come to northwestern New Jersey with a plan to develop a new process for refining iron ore using magnets and massive crushing rollers. More than a decade of effort and several million dollars were wasted on the failed project. However, instead of selling the equipment for scrap and calling it a day, Edison decided to use the huge rollers to manufacture high-grade cement. By 1906, four years after its opening, the cement plant had become a money pit. Edison, ever the inventor, declared that if no one wanted his cement he would create his own demand. In August of that year, he announced his latest brainchild: the concrete house. Concrete houses, he said, would revolutionize American life because they would be fireproof and insect-proof. Since the walls could be pre-tinted in attractive colors, they would never need to be repainted. Everything from shingles to bathtubs to picture frames would be cast as a single monolith of concrete. In more than one instance, these concrete homes have proven to be a repairman’s nightmare. One Union resident lamented, “Just try and get someone to come and Thomas Edison posing beside a model of his concrete house. make repairs. They may come in once, but they never come back.” Cement produced at this plant was used to construct New Jersey’s first concrete highway near the plant in 1912. This concrete highway was part of what is now Route 57. A one-mile portion of this original highway has been preserved. It is known as the Concrete Mile and has historic markers placed at either end. June 2, 2012 marked the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Concrete Mile. “Nice roads changed life,” said celebration organizer Brenda Higgins of the Franklin Township Historical Commission. “(They) made life easier.” The celebration was presented by the Franklin Township Historical Commission with the Greenwich Township Historical Society, The Highlands Project, and the Warren County Morris Canal Committee assisting. The event took place at Bread Lock Park, part of one of the preserved sections of the Morris Canal. The park includes the Morris Canal Museum and a replica of a 90-foot long canal boat. This was the site of Lock 7 West, one of 23 lift locks that, along with 23 inclined planes, allowed more change in elevation than any other manmade canal in the world. This lock got its nickname because, during the years the canal operated, fresh bread was available for sale to passing boatmen. The Morris Canal stretched 102 miles from Phillipsburg on the Delaware River to Jersey City on the Hudson River and operated from 1831 until its abandonment in 1924. Despite the gloomy weather all week preceding the Concrete Mile anniversary, everyone was treated to a beautiful day. Event organizers had hoped to have at least 57 pre-World War II cars (since the highway is Route 57) to participate in the memorial trek over the Concrete Mile. A staff member reported that 60 car owners had pre-registered. What transpired that morning surprised everyone: More than 100 cars filled the field. The vast majority of the cars were pre-WWII as had been requested. At 10 a.m., the cars left the park to travel a (continued on page 17)