Chatsworth

Title: Into the Woods

Author: Mark Zimmaro

Pubisher: Burlington County Times

Date: 11/1/2010



Ellen and Stan Fayer managed to wrap up about 150 years of history in 128 pages.



The married couple spent the last five years diligently compiling fading photographs, listening to old stories and gathering the heritage of the village of Chatsworth.



The finished product is now on local bookshelves, much to the delight of historians and people interested learning about the tucked-away area of the Pine Barrens known mainly for its production of cranberries.



The book, "Chatsworth: Capital of the Pine Barrens," is part of Arcadia Publishing's "Images of America" series.



"It was a lot of fun but it was a lot of work putting a book like that together," said Ellen Fayer, who has been living in Chatsworth with her husband since 1981.



The couple collaborated with Dr. Walter Brower, dean emeritus of the School of Education at Rider University, who grew up in Chatsworth before eventually moving to Hamilton, Mercer County, where he now resides.



"He was really fun to work with," Stan Fayer said of Brower. "He was there when the Blue Comet crashed. He's amazing. He can actually still remember the names of the people he helped that day."



Fayer was referring to the passenger train, which traveled from Jersey City to the Jersey Shore. It derailed in 1939 due to bad weather, killing one and injuring several people.



He said Brower's knowledge of history, along with the Fayers' current ties to the community, helped bring the book to fruition. The authors were also aided by Donna Horner and Diane Sooy, who helped out with the genealogy and the large map of the town that is featured in the middle of the book.



The book is filled with illustrations of early Chatsworth settlements with detailed descriptions of each picture.



Stan Fayer said it was a tricky process of deciding which photographs to use.



"It's funny because when the book was finished, people would complain that we didn't use their photos," he said with a laugh. "But we went through a lot of them. The good thing was I could take my laptop and scanner right to people's houses and scan their photos so they didn't have to worry about losing them. We could scan them right there in their living rooms."



The book is available at local bookstores and on Amazon.com.



Ellen Fayer said she was happy to complete the book and has taken pleasure in seeing it in stores since July. She said she was proud to accomplish writing the book about her hometown.



"I love it here," she said. "I love the woods. We don't have any neighbors, just lots of deer and eagles and peace. It's the perfect place to live."

Title: Book on Chatsworth highlights glory days
Author: Paula Scully
Publisher: APP.com
Date: 07/29/2010


CHATSWORTH -- Chatsworth, known today for its Cranberry Festival, was once the site of the elite Chatsworth Club, whose members included the Astors, Morgans, Vanderbilts, Biddles, Drexels, Goulds and Levi P. Morton, who served as vice president of the United States from 1889 to 1893

These prominent families were attracted to the town because Prince Mario Ruspoli de Poggio-Suasa was an attache at the Italian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and lived here with his wife, a daughter of land speculator Joseph Beers Curtis.

The history of Chatsworth is celebrated in a new pictorial book "Chatsworth: Capital of the Pine Barrens" by Ellen V. Fayer, Stan Fayer and Walter A. Brower, published by Arcadia Publishing.

The three plan a book signing from 2 to 4 p.m. July 31 at "Hot" Diggidy Dog at the corner of routes 532 and 563 in Chatsworth.

The Fayers owned and operated Island Camera Center in Surf City for 15 years.

Brower, who was born and raised in Chatsworth, is Professor Emeritus of Education and Dean Emeritus of the School of Education at Rider University where he serves as an adjunct professor. He has written professional publications for McGraw-Hill Book Company and historical publications about Rider College, with another history in progress.

The three Chatsworth residents received help from the Woodland Township Historical Society, from neighbors and former residents who shared family photographs. Proceeds from the book will be used to beautify Woodlawn Cemetery with wrought-iron fencing.

Settlers first came to the area in the 1700s. Shamong, renamed Chatsworth in 1901, was a stagecoach stop between Philadelphia and the Shore. Travelers stayed at the Peacock Inn on Main Street. Visitors and workers lodged at The White Horse Inn. The railroad arrived in 1850.

Chatsworth was instrumental in the development of the cranberry industry from the early to mid-1800s. In the next century, Chatsworth became instrumental in the development of the blueberry industry because many residents owned blueberry fields.

Brower, who once traveled on The Blue Comet, an elegant commuter train, was one of the first on the scene when it wrecked at 5:30 p.m. Aug. 19, 1939, a mile from Chatsworth Station. The roadbed had washed away after an all-day rain.

"There were injuries and one death and that was the cook in the dining car," he said.

Fayer said the residents are thrilled to see their family histories in print.

"Chatsworth has been portrayed as a rough and rascally town," Fayer said. "A lot of people who came out of here became doctors and lawyers and have gone on to be very successful: Dr. Brower, for example."

Brower called the book a labor of love. "It had to be," he said, "because it has to do with my town."