that Ended the U.S. Involvement in World War I
by Bruce Doorly
That joint resolution passed by Congress was signed in Raritan by President Warren Harding at the home of U.S. Senator Joseph Frelinghuysen.
His house was located where the PC Richard is now. That home, that was known as The Hill during the years that it was occupied and in later years as The Old Mansion, is long gone.
Finally, on July 1st 1921, both houses of Congress came up with a resolution that the United States found acceptable.
The visit by Harding had been well publicized in advance. The front page of The New York Times told of his pending arrival to Raritan. Harding arrived by train at the Bound Brook Train Station on Friday Night, July 1st. (Back then that train station had an extension that headed south.)
In his party was his wife, the Speaker of the House Frederick Gillett, Senator Frederick Hale of Maine, and Senator Frank Kellogg of Minnesota. They then rode by car from Bound Brook through Somerville to Raritan. Crowds lined up along the route to welcome him. The President acknowledged the crowd by waving and smiling.
On Saturday, July 2nd a courier was sent from Washington D.C. with the paperwork for the President to sign. The courier arrived in Raritan at the Frelinghuysen Mansion around 2 PM. But the President was not there, as Harding, Frelinghuysen, and the other congressmen were golfing at the Somerset Hills Country Club in Bernardsville. (Some local historical publications today state that President Harding was at the Raritan Valley Country Club. But the New York Times article which is very detailed in its documentation says that it was Somerset Hills.)
Four different cameramen were summoned to take pictures of the event. The signing took place at 4:10 PM in the Frelinghuysen Living Room. Thirty people witnessed it. They included congressmen and their wives, local officials, Frelinghuysen family members and assorted servants.
The photo of the signing that we know today appeared in the New Jersey newspaper The Home News.
Joseph Frelinghuysen
After the signing President Harding and Senator Frelinghuysen went back to play golf again. This time they went across the street to The Raritan Valley Country Club.
The headline stated HARDING ENDS WAR, SIGNS PEACE DECREE AT SENATORS HOME.
The sub heading said Thirty Persons Witness Momentous Act in Frelinghuysen Room at Raritan. No photo would appear in the New York Times.
Inside, the church was packed to capacity. Outside, over 500 people waited to get a view of the President. A photo of President Harding on the steps of the church was taken. This photo has become part of the history of Raritan.
That day the President and his wife took a tour in an automobile of the surrounding area. They also visited Raritan Valley Farms. After that Harding relaxed on the porch of the Frelinghuysen home reading newspapers.
Mr. Harding stood in line with Mrs. Harding and Senator and Mrs. Frelinghuysen as the people in single file passed along and greeted him. A photo of this event survives.
On Tuesday, July 5th, the President headed back to Washington D.C. . Since then, no U.S. President has visited Raritan.
met many people in Raritan on July 3rd 1921
The house would be surprisingly vacated by the Frelinghuysen family in 1927 just six years after the signing. They felt that the traffic on the roads in front of them had become too much and they sought a quieter location in Far Hills. (The move was well timed as the Somerville Circle would be constructed just a couple years later.)
The mansion would be mostly vacant for decades after that. It was used as a restaurant starting 1934 for a few years and also later used for a time by the state police. In 1945, Frelinghuysen sold the mansion and property to a charitable foundation, but no use of significance emerged from that.
Coincidentally in the middle of the demolition a suspicious fire finished off the house.
Today the stone pillars from the entrance of the Frelinghuysen Estate remain.
There is also a plaque (by the pillars) that commemorates the signing.
As for President Warren Harding, he would not survive his full term as he passed away after a brief illness in August of 1923.
The desk that the resolution was signed on has been saved by the Frelinghuysen family. Ten years ago, that desk was brought to the Raritan Library for a commemoration to mark the 90th Anniversary of the signing. Hopefully this July 2nd some kind of event will be held in Raritan to mark the 100th Anniversary of the historic signing.