Brief History of the Street and Area

Basking Ridge is a very old town in Somerset County, and it borders Morris County. It is famous for its tree which Washington and Lafeyette picnicked under, and for being the town in which general Lee was captured during the Revolutionary War. East Lewis Street branches off of South Maple Avenue, so it is very close to the center of town. During most of its recent history the place where the street is now was a farm. In the late 1800s and early 1900s Charles Wickenhauser owned the property. He was a wealthy contractor. Up until then there had only ben 2 houses on East Lewis Street, and the street was partially a dirt path. A house was built in 1910 that was later knocked down, and my family used to grill on its foundation which was recently taken down. In 1924 my house was built by (name soon to come), who owned the land there at that time. Houses were also built up the street closer to maple. The street was concrete up until my house where a dirt path started. In the late 1990s to early 2000s the grandson of (name to come) who had inherited the property sold off the land, and orchards and forest was knocked down to build 6 houses. The rest of the concrete street was also made, and now there is a koldosak at the bottom. The street rarely attracts huge crowds. However on Charter Day and other festivities many people park on the street due to its location. One family at the bottom of the street was recently visited by Tiki Barber, and a show was filmed about parenting for nbc. A small creek surrounding the streeting and remnants of the woods is full of artifacts, the ones which I have found can be seen in the pictures section of this website. There are also old pipes and broken stone walls. East Lewis Street holds many more artifacts yet to be discovered.