How Manville, N.J. Won the Johns-Manville Plant: 1913

I was playing around on eBay the other day and came across for sale a copy of Ellis Island, The Coal Mines, to the Asbestos Capital of the World which I described in my January 22, 2021 blog at https://theasbestosblog.com/?paged=5&page_id=147. This is quite a book and I never expected to see a second copy on the market; so, I scooped it up to potentially gift to a friend.

I was checking out the book upon its arrival and I soon felt like a kid opening a Cracker Jack box, but with two surprises inside. The first is a private cardstock letter dated June 12, 2000 from Ruth to Alice, and we will endeavor to see it find a home if possible. The second is the February 2005 Newsletter for The Summerset County Historical Society which contains a reproduction of a 1913 article in the Bound Brook Chronicle. This article is entitled “Big Industry for Finderne” and is contained in the newsletter under the editorial language, “An example of how public opinion can change in a 50 year time span.” The article from 1913 discusses a visit by the Johns-Manville executives to the region as they looked to replace their New York manufacturing facility which had been condemned.

I had not heard many of these facts, and so this was a wonderful surprise. Some of the interesting information discussed in the article are:

1. The area used to be called Dunn’s Landing, a flag stop for trains on the Central Railroad.

2. A real estate boomer renamed it “Finerne” in order to sell lots and erect houses. This effort failed.

3. The Manville immense plant at 39th Street, South Brooklyn was condemned for public use by the City of New York and, as such, Manville was having to vacate it.

4. Manville and the Boards of Trade and Chambers of Commerce were “overwhelmed” with propositions from over 100 towns as this was a facility wanted by just about everyone.

5. As stated and thought at the time: “it is bound to help all of the towns within the radius of a few miles, and for that reason everybody is interested in the project.”

Just think, if the City of New York had not condemned the Johns-Manville plant in Brooklyn, how the world might have changed in terms of asbestos exposure arising from the plant. Remember, until the early 1930s, July could be white with asbestos snow from this facility. Imagine that loose asbestos floating around in the air in a more dense population area of New York than in a less dense Manville, NJ? That one decision unknowingly may have saved thousands of lives.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments by either leaving a comment or emailing me at TheAsbestosBlog@gmail.com. Marty