Our Pick
Posted on @rawstates
Murphy Varnish Works, when Newark varnished America
1865
McWhorter Street, Ironbound, Newark, New Jersey
Mdmhaefner · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Franklin Murphy came home from the Civil War, started making varnish in 1865 and built the largest varnish works in a city that was already the leather and coating capital of the country. The Ironbound plant grew to six buildings, and the product was sold on the claim that it finally matched what carriage makers had been importing from England. Murphy went into politics and served as governor of New Jersey from 1902 to 1905. The company closed in 1950, one building was listed on the National Register in 1979, and it sat empty until a conversion to 46 apartments finished in 2016.
That was 1 of the hidden places.
Location: historic site
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