Horan Lumber & Coal Co.

John J. Horan (1901-1984) and Helen M. Holmes Horan (1900-1990) founded Horan Lumber & Coal Co., Inc. in 1938. The company was originally located in Clark, NJ, at the junction of the Lehigh Valley Railroad mainline and their Bloodgood Branch. In 1962, Horan purchased a plot of land from the Central Railroad of New Jersey formerly occupied by a portion of their Cranford Yard, on the border of Roselle Park and Cranford. The parcel was located up against the RV. For years, the RV had issues with Horan storing its lumber incredibly close to the RV's tracks, causing visibility and clearance issues. Horan Lumber was a CNJ customer with a siding constructed from the Cranford Yard to serve the lumber yard. In 1976, the CNJ was folded into Conrail. The new company, created by the Federal Government, was attempting to streamline operations and asked the RV to service Horan Lumber - which it did sporadically through the 1970s and 1980s. John and Helen's daughter, Kathleen T. Horan (1932-2003), married Warren J. Hak (1930-1997). Their son, Timothy D. Hak, took over the family business. The company closed and the property was eventually sold in 2019. The property was redeveloped as a Wawa convenience store. A corner of the Wawa property features a curved fence line, which marks the location of the RV right-of-way.