The road was constructed with a foundation of heavy stone and over this a course of small-sized broken stone, then a thin coat of earth. The stone for this purpose was quarried from the rocks at the top of the Mountain and broken to the proper size by hand, giving employment to a large number of men. The road was kept in creditable condition under the management of Mr. Crane, who later became the sole owner of the stock. The revenue from the investment was the receipts of toll from four gates located, with residences for the gatekeeper, at proper distances from each other. One was a little west of the canal bridge near Branch Brook Park, one at the top of the Mountain, the third at the approach of the Pine Brook bridge, and the other one on the Pompton branch at Singac. The completion of this Newark and Bloomfield Turnpike was an important improvement for the times and proved a large and general benefit to this locality and the surrounding country, making the markets of Newark and New York accessible to the farm-producing country in the northern and western parts of the State. In the Fall and early Winter it was an interesting sight to see the long line of white canvas-covered wagons drawn by well-kept horses, and loaded with farm produce for the market, dressed hogs, poultry, butter, eggs, dried fruit, nuts, etc. Besides these were the regular teams from the grist mills of Morris and Susan Counties, furnishing the stores of this vicinity their entire supply of wheat and rye flour, buckwheat, Indian meal, oats and ground horse feed. Another industry, conspicuous in those days but now almost obsolete, was the manufacturing of charcoal, carried on extensively in the adjoining country to the west, and it was a common occurrence to see a long line of the big tapering-bodied, V-shaped wagons loaded with charcoal on their way to market. This, as a matter of course, was all changed with the development of the railroads throughout the State, furnishing a quicker and better transportation to the markets of Newark and New York.

In 1870 the executors of Mr. Crane sold the Turnpike to the Essex County Road Board, which Board had been created by the State Legislature with the primary purpose of constructing six fine avenues leading out from the city of Newark. By them the street was widened, graded and macadamized, and greatly improved as a public highway, and given the name of Bloomfield Avenue.

The original roadway from Newark running west and through this locality was called the Old Road (dating back to the early settlement). It followed Belleville Avenue to Second Avenue, a little south of Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, thence westerly on what is now Franklin Street, passing the Baptist and Westminster Churches in Bloomfield, then following Broad Street on the west side of the Common to Park Avenue, following this and Bloomfield Avenue to Glen Ridge Avenue, to Montclair Center, crossing Bloomfield Avenue to Church Street, thence to the Library corner, thence north on Valley Road to the corner of Clairmont Avenue, thence to the top of the Mountain, then following Clairmont Avenue till it again touched Bloomfield Avenue at Verona, then in and out of Bloomfield Avenue on to Pine Brook and Parsippany. For many years after the Turnpike was completed this old dirt road was chosen as the pleasanter driveway to Newark. It was more largely built up, and besides it avoided the toll-gate.

The Old Road, now Valley Road, was later continued from the corner of Clairmont Avenue north to connect with a road at Upper Montclair running over the Mountain to Little Falls. I have a copy of the report, dated May 13th, 1768, of the surveyors "who were duly chosen and called according to a law of the report, dated May 13th, 1768, of the surveyors "who were duly chosen and called according to a law of the Province in that case made and provided to lay out a Road or Public highway in the town of Newark." The description follows very much the same as the road now runs and is signed by the six surveyors appointed. The description begins at the road leading over the Mountain near Garret Speer's field, running south through the lands of Peter DeGarmo, Rynier Van Gieson, Gideon Van Winkle, John Egbert, William Egbert, Noah Crane, terminating at the house of William Crane, Washington's Headquarters. The above named streets, the Old Road, the Turnpike and what is now Bellevue Avenue connecting Speertown and Stone House Plains, at the north end, and Washington Street (laid November 1, 1744) at the south end, were the only streets running east and west. Those running north and south were Valley Road, which, near the Central School building, joined the Orange Road, Elm Street continuous with Grove Street, and South Fullerton Avenue, a narrow street then called the Lane. These were the only public roads of the town.

From memory I am able to located nearly every house and name each family living on these streets in my early days. The number of residences was about one hundred. The present numerous streets, fine residences, public buildings, churches, and schools that have sprung up in a single memory, present a wide contrast to one who can recall the early appearance of our town when it was an open country almost entirely farm land with a large portion of it heavily wooded. The land north of Walnut Street nearly to the northerly boundary of the township and from near Midland Avenue on the west to some distance beyond Grove Street on the east, with few exceptions, was overgrown with large trees and underbrush, and known as the Big Woods. Remnants of it are still extant as may be seen on Park Street, The Rand Park, etc. There was also Quite a strip of woodland north of the Turnpike (Bloomfield Avenue) between Park Street and Midland Avenue, reaching from the Turnpike north as far as Claremont Avenue. Another almost covered with wood was the square at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Elm Street, now occupied by the Mullen Stables, etc. These various woods furnished fine nutting grounds for the young people of those days. The land approaching the top of the Mountain was largely overgrown with cedar trees.