PARK AND CEMETERY 
436 
1— THE NEW RED MILL, ARCOLA, N. J. 
2— THE POND. RED MILL PARK. 
3 -LAWN AND TREES. RED MILL PARK. 
4-BIKD'S EYE VIEW OF THE PARK. 
Red Mill ParK, Areola, N. J. 
One of the prettiest places in the countryside about 
Paterson, X. J., is a tract of ground laid out as a park 
and maintained as a private residence by Charles East- 
man, of Areola. As one drives from Paterson to 
Hackensack, a suburb of Areola, the scene as one 
turns the bend in the road about three miles outside 
the city limits has often been commented upon as 
being the most beautiful sight in Elorthern N^ew Jer- 
sey. 
During the Civil War the estate was a stretch of 
farm land, and on the site of the mill shown in the 
photograph there was an old mill known far and wide 
as the “Old Red Mill.” It was here that blankets 
were woven for the Union soldiers during the five 
years of the w'ar, and it was said by the troops in the 
field that the blankets woven at the “Red Mill” never 
wore out. 
Mr. Eastman tore down the historic mill and from 
material left built the little structure shown in the 
photograph. The water power is used to supply elec- 
tric light to Mr. Eastman’s house, and water power 
sufficient is furnished to pump water to the house. 
The park covers a stretch of some fifteen acres. 
The roads are well laid out and there is a succession 
of fine lawns stretching into vistas at every approach. 
Rare trees and shrubs lend variety to the slopes, and a 
pond in the center of the estate furnishes opportunity 
for boating and adds beauty to the scene. 
An interesting story is told of Mr. Eastman's pur- 
chase of the estate. It was owned by a somewhat 
crusty old bachelor, who finally agreed to sell a large 
tract provided that he could retain a portion on which 
to build himself a house. Mr. Eastman, impressed 
with the desirability of securing the place for a park, 
assented to the terms laid down. Later on, however, 
he decided that it would be useless to own the estate 
unless it could be secured in its entirety. 
The owner refused to sell, however, and it was 
after considerable effort and much persuasion that 
Mr. Eastman bought the remaining lot at a price 
which made the cost of the rest of the tract seem small 
in comparison. The pictures shown are reproduced 
from photographs taken in the park last spring and 
they will give one an idea of its beauty. Although a 
private park, Mr. Eastman restricts no one from 
going through it. John Hartmeier, Jr. 
