Cox Farm/Community Park

Remnants of the Cox farm, Dec. 2021. Left to right: wagon house, WW Recreation and Parks storage barn (not part of the original farm), guest/tenant cottage, garage.

Historical Overview

Standing at 10 North Mill Road, just north of an entrance to Community Park, is an old, small, 5-bay, vertical-planked wagon shed with a larger, modern, metal barn behind it, standing across a driveway from a small cottage and small garage. All but the large metal barn were once part of a farm owned by Howard Cox - publisher of the world-famous "Raggedy Anne" series. This property is also on West Windsor's "100 Club" and a contributing property to the historic community of Vanhiseville.

Long ago, this property actually had at least six structures:

1. A 5-bay, 2-story wood residence, likely constructed prior to the mid-1800s, standing close to North Mill Road.[1]
2. A 2-story, vertical-planked "Pennsylvania Dutch" style barn, standing roughly where the large, modern, metal barn exists today. Possibly late 1800s or early 1900s.[2]
3. The current 5-bay, vertical-planked, 1.5-story wagon shed with central corn crib. Possibly early 1900s.[3]
4. A small guest/tenant cottage - including its own living room, bedroom, kitchen, and basement. Likely early-mid 1900s.[4]
5. A small garage - possibly 1920s or 1930s era.[5]
6. A small utility shed.[6]

Small, vertical-plank wagon house. The oldest remnant of the Cox farm.

It is unknown who originally owned this property - once part of a larger farm that also encompassed all of present-day Community Park west of the Trenton-New Brunswick trolley Line.[7] A house seems to appear here on an 1849 map, showing ownership or tenancy by William H. Thomas.[8] later maps show other owners: J. Vanhise (1860),[9] John Lewis or Jasper Wyckoff (1875),[10] and J. Allen (1905).[11] Maurice Hawk - after whom one of our town's elementary schools was named - also reputedly owned this property for some time.[12] However, a 1938 map shows Howard L. Cox as the owner of a 66-acre tract here.[13] 

Cox is best known as the publisher of the "Raggedy Ann" series, created by an illustrator and author named Johnny Gruelle. Generations ago, dolls for children were often homemade, created out of whatever was available - including rags. In 1915, Gruelle was awarded a design patent for a mass-produced rag doll named "Raggedy Ann."[14] Three years later, the first related children's book - Raggedy Ann Stories - brough Raggedy Ann and her friends in book format to children.[15] In 1920, a second main character - Raggedy Ann's brother, Raggedy Andy - was introduced.[16] The series was immensely popular - by the 1940s, sales were in the millions of copies of books.[17]

​Although Gruelle died in 1938, the series continued.[18] Between the 1920s and 1970s - the height of the Raggedy Ann series' popularity -  dozens more books, films, shows, games, and other media had been produced.[19] In 2002 and 2007, Raggedy Ann and Andy respectively entered the National Toy Hall of Fame.[20] In Even in 2023, the dolls are still manufactured.[21]
​
However, the series would not have reached its popularity without the help of Howard L. Cox. When Gruelle first authored Raggedy Ann Stories in 1918, he worked with the P. F. Volland Company as his primary publisher.[22] The manager of Volland's book division was Howard L. Cox.[23] One year after Gruelle died in 1938, Cox, alongside Gruelle's widow and son, established the Johnny Gruelle Company to carry on publication of the books, keeping the series alive for decades.[24] By the early 1950s, Cox was conducting most Raggedy Ann business from his farm in West Windsor.[25] In 1959, he fully moved the business to his farm.[26] The next year, the company was sold to Bobbs-Merrill of Indianapolis, although Cox continued to work with them for some time.[27]

Howard L. Cox died in 1966 at the age of 73,[28] whereafter the property was owned by his estate. By the early 1990s, this property was still inhabited by his daughter, Lynn Cox-Scheffey.[29],[30] However, also at this time, the West Windsor government was looking for a site for a township park, and decided on the Cox tract. It purchased 72 acres, including all of the Cox farm's buildings.[31] In 1996, the Township demolished the old farmhouse.[32]

​In 1993, West Windsor Community Park formally dedicated.[33] It has significantly expanded over the years - now featuring numerous sports fields, the "Water Works" swimming complex, a pavilion, skate park, dog park, hiking trails, and much more.

Around 2010, the large metal storage barn replaced the old wood-sided 2-story barn.[34] However, in early 2023, three of the buildings remain - the wagon house, the garage, and the guest/tenant cottage. They stand as testaments to this property - once the home of the publisher of one of the world's most popular children's series.

Howard Cox farm buildings in 2007. Note the larger barn in the center - demolished around 2010.

Go To Vanhiseville

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Bibliography

1. Bergman, Elmer W. “Memorandum: Inspection of 10 North Mill Road Buildings.” West Windsor, NJ: Historical Society of West Windsor's Archives at the West Windsor History Museum, October 26, 1989. 
2. ​Ibid.
3. ​Ibid.
4. ​Ibid.
5. ​Ibid.
6. ​Ibid.
7. Fryer, H L. “Tax Maps of West Windsor Township.” Map. Trenton, New Jersey: H. L. Fryer, C.S., 1938. Revised by C. S. Sincerbeaux, 1938.
8. Otley, J W, and James Keily. “Map of Mercer County, New Jersey.” Map. Camden, New Jersey: L. Van der Veer, 1849.
9. Lake, D J, and S N Beers. Map of the Vicinity of Philadelphia and Trenton from Actual  Surveys By D.J. Lake and S. N. Beers. Assisted by F. Beers, L. B. Lake and D. G. Beers. Philadelphia, PA: C.K. Stone and A. Pomeroy, 1860. https://dspace.njstatelib.org/xmlui/handle/10929/34112?show=full.
10. "West Windsor Township.” Map. 1875 Historical Atlas of Mercer County, New Jersey - Map of West Windsor. Philadelphia, PA: Everts & Stuart, 1875. https://www.loc.gov/item/2010587333/.
11. “Automobile Driving and Trolley Map of Mercer County, New Jersey, 1905 : from the Latest Geological and Actual Surveys.” Map. Princeton UniveArsity Library - Digital Maps & Geospatial Data. https://maps.princeton.edu/catalog/princeton-5q47rr19d, n.d. Accessed May 19, 2022.
12. Piece of its history demolished by WW.” Princeton Packet, October 18, 1996. 
13. Fryer, H L. “Tax Maps of West Windsor Township.” Map. Trenton, New Jersey: H. L. Fryer, C.S., 1938. Revised by C. S. Sincerbeaux, 1938.
14. Gruelle, John B. Design for a Doll., issued September 7, 1915.
15. “Raggedy Ann Doll.” DIGITAL INDY. The Indianapolis Public Library. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.digitalindy.org/digital/collection/tcm/id/210/. 
16. “Raggedy History.” Simon Says. Simon & Schuster, Inc, 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040817134358/http://simonsays.com/content/feature.cfm?sid=686&feature_id=463. 
17. "Just What Is It, Raggedy Ann, That Makes You So Lovable?” New York Times, July 31, 1971.
18. Gruelle, Johnny Barton. “Johnny Barton Gruelle - Gravestone.” New Canaan, Connecticut: Silvermine Cemetery, January 9, 1938. URL for more info: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/12352811/johnny-barton-gruelle
19. Hall, Patricia. Essay. In Johnny Gruelle: Creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy. Grenta La.: Pelican, 1998
20. “Raggedy Ann and Andy.” The Strong National Museum of Play. The Strong National Museum of Play. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.museumofplay.org/toys/raggedy-ann-and-andy/. 
21. “Raggedy Ann & Raggedy Andy.” Aurora World. Aurora World Inc. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://auroragift.com/collections/raggedy-ann-andy. Online store for Raggedy Ann plush dolls. Still active in February 2023.
22. "A Raggedy Ann Tale.” Des Moines Tribune, September 30, 1960.
23. Ibid.
24. "Former Resident Starts New Publishing Firm." Scarsdale Inquirer, September 15, 1939.
25. Hall, Patricia. Raggedy Ann and Johnny Gruelle: A Bibliography of Published Works. Gretna, LA: Pelican, 2001. 
26. "A Raggedy Ann Tale.” Des Moines Tribune, September 30, 1960.
27. Ibid.​
28. "Howard Lee Cox.” Princeton Herald, February 2, 1966.
29. “Lewis Scheffey Obituary (2012) - Pittsfield, MA - the Berkshire Eagle.” Lewis Scheffey Obituary. Legacy.com. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/berkshire/name/lewis-scheffey-obituary?id=9908032. Originally published in the Berkshire Eagle on Nov. 10, 2012.
30. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.​
31. ​Ibid.
32. "Piece of its history demolished by WW.” Princeton Packet, October 18, 1996. 
33. "West Windsor Park Dedication is Planned.” Town Topics, June 23, 1993. 
34. ​​“West Windsor Township Meeting Minutes, 1797-2012.,” n.d. Original Township Committee meeting minute database located in the Municipal Center.​​​