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What a shame. River herring were a locally-important food resource for both Native Americans and European settlers. Pinelands streams used to “boil” with river herring, and there are accounts of bog iron-workers taking off for runs. Forty-years ago I used to easily snag (treble-hook) a hundred...

Why not? Jerseyman’s etymology of spruto (Swedish: spruts–to sprout water) from the Pole Bridge post is convincing. Excellent sleuthing as usual! I would very much like to know the spring’s location. S-M

Gabe, I’m not surprised. Rhodehamel (1973: 24) reported that between the late nineteenth and mid twentieth centuries a hydraulic head decline of ~3 to 5 feet had occurred along the Mullica River basin. He’s the US Geological Survey engineer who calculated that 17-trillion gallons of aquifer...

Yes Manumuskin, The hog holes are still swamp land, but their period of water fill or “hydrofill” has decreased over time. The basins now remain dry long enough for woody trees to invade them, when once pond bottoms were meadows. Trees could not survive in ground that remained too wet for too...

PancoastD, I personally recommend that you not to treat for Cedar-Apple Rust. Wet springs will be worse than dry springs for disease expression. Crabapples have varying degrees of resistance to this and other maladies. If you have planted a cultivar that is particularly susceptible to such...

PancoastD, That is Cedar-Apple Rust, Gymnosporangium juniperi-virginianae. Here’s a link to a Cooperative Extension document download on this plant disease: http://njaes.rutgers.edu/pubs/publication.asp?pid=FS1133 And no, I don’t eat it!

Manumuskin, That indeed is Harshberger’s Watering Place Pond. It has since been slightly modified by modern road construction to impound water so as to not dry out, which seemed not to be a problem in Harshberger’s time. Pollen-expert Watts (1979) chose this location for an Ecological...

Smith, Harris, Mattox, Nichols, Ford, Doughty's Tavern – the right Parsons? Cyanna, Now I know why I shy away from genealogy. Shish! The names all sounded so familiar. Smith’s have been cutting wood in the area since the mid eighteenth century (e.g., Smith’s Little Mill near Weymouth). The...

Relations? Cyanna, By the way, according to Mints (1968: 13), in 1837 Tabitha Ford operated Doughty’s Tavern. Doughty’s was the next hamlet on the Bears Head Trail (red arrow #3, Figure 1 in my post above) just four-miles east of Parsons. Her grandson:“John Ford,” was drawing charcoal when a...

Even More Forgotten Towns Cyanna, Perhaps we have more than one Parsons Towne, as is the case with Steelman- and Carman-Towns! Here’s some more information about Cumberland Furnace's Parsons or Parsons Field. I heard the name used by old woodcutters, forest-fire fighters, and local hunters to...

Parsons Field Cyanna, I write to you from the Cape May Lewis Ferry on return from presenting at a climate change session for the Middle Atlantic Archaeological Conference in Ocean City, MD, so I will be brief. There is a Parsons Field and settlement associated with Bennetts Mill, between...

Yes! It is believed that this valley asymmetry is related in part to sunshine or “insolation” dynamics. The Pine Barrens experienced extended cold periods for the last couple of million years. During frigid episodes the ground remained frozen late into the summer (deep seasonal frost) or...

Relict Cold, Nonglacial Landscapes Bob, You make a keen observation. There is an asymmetry to many Pinelands stream valleys, and a solution to the question can be found if you carefully think about Ice Age conditions. So what bank orientations seem steepest, and what geomorphic forces...

Karl, Very nice. Sportsmen are often passionate conservationists. There are so many good reasons to get out and celebrate the Pine Barrens. I bet we can stop a whole lot of potentially destructive land-use decisions if the officials in charge of this place became familiar with the region’s...

Boyd, Motorsports Park hired the same grant writing firm that advised Richland Village and the unused Woodbine package-sewer plant that never should have been built. http://forums.njpinebarrens.com/newspaper-articles/8187-coming-village-near-you.html#post87631 Millions are wasted in...

Response to Manumuskin, from Another Thread Manumuskin, I’ve taken this thread into another post out of respect for Mrs. Jenkins memory. Agreed. From a geographer’s perspective there is little difference between the upper “Core Area” of the Pinelands National Reserve and its southern...

Opening Pandora's Box Woodjin, It isn’t money well spent. Remember that these redevelopment plans usually include a ten-year tax abatement for the developer as well. Another Pinelands boondoggle, a 3-million dollar sewerage plant in Woodbine, remains unused. According to an article in the...

Richland, an Ethnic Archipelago Yes, I grew up between Richland and Milmay in an area know as Buckhorn, settled by Swiss Germans during the 1880s. That is why I’m so passionate about things Pine Barrens, which don’t end at the Mullica’s banks. There’s wonderful Pinelands cultural and...

I am sad to report that Richland lost Daisy Lee Jenkins on March 1, 2011 at age 101. It takes a village to raise a child, and “Miss Daisy,” as she was affectionately called, played her role well. She watched after a great many children in this farming community. She loved to cook, sew, and fish...

And Boy I Will Konya... A slightly-dented can of cranberry sauce, from Konya Plain, Turkey.