123 Liberty StreetArchie and Agnes moved from Quimby Street to Liberty Street in 1920, together with their 6 sons.
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123 LIBERTY STREET
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123 Liberty Street, Home of the Styles Family, Archibald and Agnes.
Carl, Lillian & Archie Stiles III - in the 1940s.
Celia (McDede) and Archibald Stiles, Sr. on the right.
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Archibald Winans Stiles, Jr. was born in Westfield in 1886. His family lived on Broad Street. He married Agnes Barber, an immigrant from Scotland, in 1905, and they moved to Quimby Street.
Archie found work as a Lather and would eventually become an Electrician at the Aluminum Company of America in Garwood. In 1920, the family, now with 6 sons, moved to 123 Liberty Street; they were the third white family to move to Turkey Swamp. Notably, Archie’s cousin Anson McDede Jr was the first white family. In 1924, their youngest son Carl accidentally set fire to the front porch of their home. The newspaper account of the fire described the difficulty for responding firemen to get apparatus to the fire, due to the rutted condition of Liberty Street. The firemen had to hand carry chemicals to extinguish the fire. It was also noted that the fire accelerated to the kitchen because the house was covered in tar paper. In WWII, Carl was captured by German soldiers in March, 1945. He was released in August, 1945. Donald Stiles received the Bronze Star for his service in Europe. Another son, Archibald Stiles, III operated an antique store in Meyersville. He celebrated Christmas for years dressed as Santa and would ride with his wife around the Great Swamp in a vintage horse-drawn carriage. He kept deer as pets behind his store and would take them schools and hospitals. CBS commentator Charles Osgood called Archie the most fascinating subject he ever covered and dubbed him “Santa of the Swamp”. Archibald, Jr. died in 1957 and his children sold the home to the Town in 1968 for $1,100. |