Whiskey Lane

In 1776, during the Revolutionary War, a group of Hessian soldiers chose Caleb Baldwin's barn to spend the night. When they laid their heads to rest on a large bundle of hay, the hay was not as soft as the soldiers had expected. Digging down into the hay, they discovered several barrels of Caleb Baldwin's whiskey.

The next morning, a group of Regular British soldiers came upon the surly, drunken Hessian soldiers and they, too, enjoyed a few drinks of their own. The street became known as Whiskey Lane until 1850, when it was changed to its present name of Grove Street.

We don't know exactly when this old handrawn map was made, but it must have been between 1776 and 1850! First Road is called Main Street (or Martin Luther King Blvd. in East Orange) today.