Bevan Destroys Baileytown

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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I just came back from walking the gated Snow Hill rd that runs from the laurel lake shooting Range north to Battle Lane rd.I walked it south to the range.I had walked it last week and noticed they had bulldozers at the range and had knocked down some of the Russian Olive thickets that bordered the field.I had no idea how far they were going to go .A pproaching the gate from the north today I saw before me a desolate waste land.I could see all the way to Ackley rd.Normally this isn't possible because of the trees that surrounded the cellar holes of several Baileytown foundations..Normally I would turn around at the gate but now I had to see what had happened to the cellars in the now desolate waste land.as I approached the Smith ( before that it was the Enos Bailey )house. http://www.baileytown-nj.com/images/johnsmap.gif I seen the cellar was gone.This cellar was visible while walking down the road and was not very big but had a small section of the original stone masonry visible in the hole.There was a five foot high grassy hill next to the hole.This hill is still there.I believe the Hill (the only green thing left in a sea of mud) is probably the stone pile from the chimney that has collected dirt and turned into a hill.It sat right next to the house where a chimney would be and since the dozer left it there I assume it could not push it over because it was full of rocks.It looks as if the tried. I then crossed Snow Hill rd and headed toward where I knew the knew the Brady (formerly Harrison bailey) house sat. http://www.baileytown-nj.com/images/BaileytownAreaFarms89.gif This was more in the woods and sat about forty feet north of Ackley Rd. There is nothing left of what used to be a three feet deep 10 by 10 hole with original stone masonry visible.Now there is a slight dip in the field around which are huge sandstone rocks,pieces of concrete,slate and busted up red brick.If you didn't know the cellar was there you might think someone had dumped some rubble there once. I have posted pics of both these holes on this site in the photography section.They were some of the smaller less impressive holes but were still a reminder of a time when people lived,worked,raised kids and crops here before the state threw them off their land so they could play war games in their fields.Thats why these fields are here.they were peoples farms before they were state deer gardens.You would think that whoever is running Bevan would be somewhat interested in protecting these reminders of a day gone by.I doubt they even knew they were there.It's ironic that the people we depend on to protect the historical and natural resources of an area are often the very ones to destroy it.I wonder what other plans they have for the other foundations in the area.This intersection where these two houses were rubbed out is THE center of what was Baileytown.It shows on all old maps of the area.How can you not know something was here?Those patches of woods in the middle of the field are not some freak accident.They were there because they used to be peoples yards.because there was a foundation there that would have been very hard to run a plow over.That is back before the age of Bulldozers and uniformed state workers and even more uniformed state managers. Whoever ios managing Bevan,Thanks!You just wiped out one more piece of South jersey History that the pickup truck driving foundation thieves had over looked.Who needs thieves when they have WMA Superintendants? Right?
 

Boyd

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That is really too bad. Were you out there in the rain this afternoon? As it happens, I decided to take the long way home from an appointment today and passed through that exact area. Had thought about checking out some Baileytown locations but the rain was coming down really hard!

I've been working on a very detailed topo map and have discussed Baileytown recently with Al. My new map includes historical buildings throughout the pines - more than 1600 of them. It's taking a long time to finish but I hope to offer it for download in the next month. Here's a sneak preview of the Baileytown area at a resolution of 3 feet per pixel. It's a .kmz file you can use in Google Earth or other compatible software.

boydsmaps.com/download/bailey.zip

UPDATE, JAN 2022: see this map:

https://boydsmaps.com/#17.00/39.361413/-75.077314/pines2020/0.00/0.00

Historical buildings are shown as purple outlines on the map - such as these two next to the motor sports park.

historic.jpg
 
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manumuskin

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Jul 20, 2003
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Boyd,
I was out there as it began to rain.I had almost a mile walk back and by the time I got back it was a soft rain.Got a little wet but not soaked.
Those buildings on your map above are the Bartholomew Place.It still exists but is now fenced in and part of the new Dirt Track that I abhor almost as much as the track.You can barely see the cellar hole through the fence.It was a beautiful yard returning slowly to woods.I have a 360 degree photosynth posted on here somewhere of the yard back before the track.They destroyed right up to the edge of the yard but the yard and cellar are still intact.
 

manumuskin

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Jul 20, 2003
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manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
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millville nj
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By the way I talked to the grandson of the man who lived in Bartholomew place.That was his last name.His son used to frequent this site but I forget His name now. Excuse me it was His grandson.He told me His Grandpop used to talk about the old place and all the rattlers that used to come up out of the swamp and into his yard and get killed on Buckshutem Rd.That never happens now.I think they are gone though I have talked to a guy a little younger then me who had his hunting dog killed by a rattler in Bevan back in the 80"s. But in a loaction about five miles from Bartholomews.
 

Boyd

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I see your maps shows the dirt track so it is very update

Ha, I thought you would notice that. :) When I started working on Baileytown I realized that all my maps were based on 2008 aerial imagery that didn't show the track(s). So I used the 2015 aerials to update that area - I'd post a link to NJPB maps, but the 2015 aerials aren't loading for me at the moment (as discussed in another thread).

Anyway, it was quite a shock when I looked at how much changed. It's shame that they destroyed a big chunk of a historic airfield and surrounding woods to build that mess.
 
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manumuskin

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The 2015 aerials are loading for me but very slowly.Then again I have a lot of crap running right now.
many of the cut over areas you will see in the area on the newer aerials,and one big area just behind the dirt track are the areas where the sate destroyed the forest to save the trees....from Pine Beetles.They saved the forest by destroying it ahead of the beetles.Boyd I know I"m not the brightest crayon in the box but these state folks must be light years ahead of me.The preserve trees by cutting them down.They preserve history by bulldozing cellar holes.These fellas are so smart i can never hope to comprehend their superior wisdom.I give up:-(
 
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manumuskin

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PS scratch the Brady and Smith houses from your historical maps at the Snow Hill/Ackley intersection. Then again it's history so maybe a memento to the location would be nice.A few rocks and bricks can still be found.
 

manumuskin

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Actually, the whole idea of the historical (purple) buildings is to show things that aren't there anymore. :)
But you can usually find something.Other then the mysterious green capped hill that I think may be the chimney pile there is nothing but a few rocks and some red brick dust where there used to be two cellars with walls.I just wonder if it was done out if ignorance or just not giving a rats patootie?
 

JOstrofsky

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Jul 11, 2017
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Folsom, NJ
I never visited Baileytown before, but was interested in going next week. Then, I came across this post. Are there any cool structures left that are worth driving out for? Or did the WMA destroy all of the interesting structures?
 

manumuskin

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Jul 20, 2003
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There are still many structures left.The two they destroyed were two of the smaller cellars though a couple of the oldest.many cellars and foundations with a few walls left are scattered around the WMA.The two destroyed though were the ones closest to the original baileytown intersection.I have pics of them on this site but I can't seem to find the thread.
 

Gerania

Explorer
May 18, 2004
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Marlton

manumuskin

Piney
Jul 20, 2003
8,549
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millville nj
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I have known several people that have drowned while drunk.Do folks actually forget how to swim while drunk? A friend of mine drowned in Union lake drunk at the age of 15. He was a good swimmer. Didn't one of the Beach Boys also drown while drunk?
 

GermanG

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Apr 2, 2005
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Little Egg Harbor
I have known several people that have drowned while drunk.Do folks actually forget how to swim while drunk? A friend of mine drowned in Union lake drunk at the age of 15. He was a good swimmer. Didn't one of the Beach Boys also drown while drunk?

I tend to believe people overestimate most of their abilities when drunk. This applies to swimming, driving, and perhaps most of all singing and dancing.
 
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