By Doug Simon

His name was George Helm Yeaman. In his later years he lived in the Borough of Madison and helped to found the Madison Golf Club in 1896. But 31 years earlier on January 31, 1865, George Yeaman did something that dramatically changed the course of history of the United States. Yeaman was a Kentuckian. 

Fortwo years, 1920-1922, William Aiken Starrett, Jr. served as Mayor of the Borough of Madison.  He and his wife Eloise, his daughter Helen Ruth, and his son, David, lived in a five-bedroom Tudor home in Madison. That was one side of Starrett’s life. The other side was his enormous body of work as an architect and builder with his crowning achievement being the construction of the Empire State Building, at the time the tallest building in the world.

We all know that the Sayre family name is integral to the history of Madison. We know that the house built on Ridgedale in 1745 by Daniel Sayre was host to General “Mad” Anthony Wayne during the Revolutionary War. We know that Baxter Sayre was a leader in the anti-slavery movement and helped many runaway slaves along the Underground Railroad on their journeys north.

The Presbyterian Meeting House built in 1749 when Madison was called Bottle Hill. Citizens came to worship at the house from modern day Chatham, Florham Park, Madison and Chatham Township.

In 1804 New Jersey passed An Act for the Gradual Abolition of Slavery and the state soon became one of the key destinations for runaway slaves as well as a key section of the Underground Railroad for those seeking to go further north. The State’s location was crucial, positioned between two of the Railroad’s most active urban centers – Philadelphia and New York City.

Throughout the United States during World War II, it was not at all unusual for communities to offer expressions of support for the war effort and Madison was no exception. Fund raising campaigns to purchase tanks, trucks, and jeeps were popular choices. But Madison chose a war plane.

Madison has a few houses that were built during the 18th century. During the bicentennial celebration of 1976, the Bicentennial Heritage Committee recognized the houses with a special plaque that the borough placed on each of the houses.