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Folks: On an individual citizenry level, having the State of New Jersey issue an apology for slavery would be pointless and ineffective. However, the history of lawmaking and slavery in New Jersey is one of inaction, loopholes, and accommodation. In the years prior to the American War for...

Gabe: I will not express an opinion pro or con on whether New Jersey should offer an apology for slavery. Certainly residents in New Jersey engaged in the detestable practice of slave trading and slaveholding—more so in East New Jersey than West New Jersey. The presence of Dutchmen and the...

George: Your PM is already waiting for you, my friend! Best regards, Jerseyman

Guy: Man—I really hate it when the ER doctor “sticks” it to you!! I think he should probably pursue a different “branch” of medicine! I'm sure you’re “bushed” from all this activity!! I hope you heal up real soon!! :) :) :) Best regards, Jerseyman

Yoo—Guy—that story of the ER missing the stick is positively eerie! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: Seriously, though, I sure hope they get you fixed up pronto! It's no fun to have problems with your hearing!! Best regards, Jerseyman

Mark: Believe me, the availability of wood is not the issue here. With Camden serving as a regional lumber processing center, featuring numerous steam sawmills along its waterfront, and raftsmen bringing timber rafts down the Delaware River and also down the Susquehanna River and towed up...

TrailOtter: I considered Lower Forge, but then I did some background research on Washington Forge in Morris County and it seemed to fit better. I think the only way to know for sure is to contact the author of the book! I will do so today and report back. Best regards, Jerseyman

“Peter Collinson:– I engag’d an owner of part of Cedar swamp for my Guide without whome I could hardly have found It. Wee travel’d about Twelve Miles beyond the inhabitants over Desarts of sand & such deep mirery Swamps that sometimes both Wee and our Horses had much ado to gett out. The Sand...

Mark: I suspect that Mr. Potteiger is dabbling in prosaical juxtapositioning here. In carefully reading his text, I find no proximate geographical link between Washington Forge and Martha Furnace. Rather, I think he is attempting to discuss two locationally diverse New Jersey iron production...

Guy and Mark: Breakfast Point, or as originally identified, Break-Fast Point, is an interesting place. Writing in his place name book, Sign Posts, Doc Bisbee describes the place as: “The finger of land where Papoose Branch joins Oswego River at edge of Penn State Forest.” The first proported...

Sorry, Bob--I should have reread where you guys entered the woods near the stream before I posted my query about finding any mill remnants. Best regards, Jerseyman

Bob: Nothin' wrong with being anal about such things. I did not show the clutch arrangement because that was located at the bottom of the vertical driveshaft where the shaft derived its power from the main wheel shaft. A wooden lever on the milling floor connected with the power supply...

Chris: While you could just go out and look for clay deposits along the stream banks, if you want to take a more scientific approach to your search, point a web browser at this URL: http://books.google.com/books?id=KVwMAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage or this one...

Sorry, Guy--I forgot that I had read that information previously. It is amazing that our serendipitous discussion of the mill operations occurred in such a timely fashion! Did you observe any remnants of milling on the Ives Branch? Best regards, Jerseyman

Gentlemen: Thank you for your kind words. Back in the 1990s, I spent a considerable amount of time researching John Hallock and his mill operations for a book that is yet to be released but should be out in the next 1-2 years. I presented a slide-illustrated paper on the subject at a...

Very nice trip and report, Gentlemen! Had you planned this excursion prior to the Ives Branch discussion or did that discourse provide the impetus for your exploration? Either way, you could not have had a better day for it!! Best regards, Jerseyman

Wow, Mark--you and I are truly kindred spirits that you should be reading Swank's great work!!! I have had that volume in my library for many years and it never fails to provide a piece of information that I might need about a particular ironworks. Having sections devoted to the various states...

The illegality of bloomeries is limited to the colonial era when the Crown required American colonists to buy all of their iron needs from the mother country instead of making their own. However, shipbuilders in the New World could not wait until a shipment of British iron fittings arrived, so...

Jim: John Hallock arrived in the Tuckerton area from New York about 1812 and purchased the Mordecai Andrews plantation on the west side of Tuckerton Creek. He began raising Palma Christa or, more properly Ricinus communis (castor plants) and, from the bean or seed, he manufactured castor oil...

Folks: South Jersey sandstone, a.k.a. ironstone, provided early settlers with a ready building material for foundations and whole houses such as the Walker Forge House and many others. The “quarries” for this stone consisted of simply removing the overburden of soil from a stone-bearing...