All,
This past weekend, Yvonne and I paddled the Mullica from Atsion to Sweetwater, camping over night on a bluff overlooking the river. Water levels were high, the weather was pleasant, and the river was quiet. We got on the water just before noon and it wasn't ten minutes before we encountered a blowdown that required removing everything from the canoe in order to lift over the tree. A rough start, but things got much simpler from there.
In about an hour, the river opened up as we entered the northern stretches of what used to be a man-made lake. Here is one of a few beaver lodges in the area:
It was around 180 years ago that Samuel Richards dammed the river to create the lake that was. Just below the dam, Richards built a forge. He also at this time erected another forge on the nearby Batsto River which has come to be known as Lower or Washington Forge. Under Richards, the iron industry at Atsion was in its heyday. In order to accomodate the many barges that would float pig and wrought iron up and down the river, Richards constructed a lock system at this location on the Mullica. Today, a failing modern bridge marks the location of the lock:
After a few more hours of paddling down the Atsyunk, it was time for Sleepy. Sleepy Creek had its geologic beginnings during the last Ice Age in a large outwash plain located here: braided channel scars This intricate web of shallow stream channels was formed when torrents of meltwater washed over frozen ground. When the climate warmed significantly in the early Holocene, one of these channels was selected to be incised considerably deeper, giving us the Sleepy Creek we know today.
We took a turn up the Sleepy and paddled for some distance:
In 1765, Charles Read and John Estell dammed the Sleepy Creek to form a small pond by which a pair of sawmills were powered. Here are the cedar supports for the original dam:
Many thanks to my fellow PBXers for showing me this location. Incidentally, does anyone know of any other historic names for this stream?
After eating a snack atop the earthen dam, we headed back down to the stream's confluence with the Mullica. Just before arriving at our campsite, I stopped to take a shot of an osprey as it was flying away from us over a savannah:
We set camp around 6 o clock and started a fire to keep us warm. The air was brisk, the woods were silent, and the eating was good. At around 10 pm, the silence was broken by the eerie music of coyotes. Not to be outdone, ghosts soon appeared on the scene in the form of orbs:
Or maybe they are better explained as dust particles.
We slept well and kept warm throughout the night. After breakfast the next morn, we packed our things and prepared for a second day on the river. Here I are striking a pose before leaving the campsite:
Soon we approached Constable Bridge, so named after James Constable who ran a nearby cranberry operation before selling his land to Mr. Jospeh Wharton. Constable Bridge is falling down:
Not long afterward, we came upon the site where New Pond Dam once stood. In Iron in the Pines,Arthur Pierce said that this dam was built in the 1780's. He was over a hundred years wrong. The dam was built in 1895 to supply more water power to the demanding paper mill at Pleasant Mills. The dam broke in a 1939 storm, never to be mended. Not much is left today except for the earthen dam remains:
A half hour later, we reached the stone buttresses of Miller's bridge. The bridge and its road were constructed in 1853 in order to transport Batsto glass products to the railroad station in Elwood. The bridge was destroyed along with New Pond Dam in the 1939 flood.
The night was closing in by the time we neared our destination point:
All in all, a memorable trip with pleasant company. Thanks for reading, and if anyone can correct me on any of the historical info, I am always appreciative.
This past weekend, Yvonne and I paddled the Mullica from Atsion to Sweetwater, camping over night on a bluff overlooking the river. Water levels were high, the weather was pleasant, and the river was quiet. We got on the water just before noon and it wasn't ten minutes before we encountered a blowdown that required removing everything from the canoe in order to lift over the tree. A rough start, but things got much simpler from there.
In about an hour, the river opened up as we entered the northern stretches of what used to be a man-made lake. Here is one of a few beaver lodges in the area:
It was around 180 years ago that Samuel Richards dammed the river to create the lake that was. Just below the dam, Richards built a forge. He also at this time erected another forge on the nearby Batsto River which has come to be known as Lower or Washington Forge. Under Richards, the iron industry at Atsion was in its heyday. In order to accomodate the many barges that would float pig and wrought iron up and down the river, Richards constructed a lock system at this location on the Mullica. Today, a failing modern bridge marks the location of the lock:
After a few more hours of paddling down the Atsyunk, it was time for Sleepy. Sleepy Creek had its geologic beginnings during the last Ice Age in a large outwash plain located here: braided channel scars This intricate web of shallow stream channels was formed when torrents of meltwater washed over frozen ground. When the climate warmed significantly in the early Holocene, one of these channels was selected to be incised considerably deeper, giving us the Sleepy Creek we know today.
We took a turn up the Sleepy and paddled for some distance:
In 1765, Charles Read and John Estell dammed the Sleepy Creek to form a small pond by which a pair of sawmills were powered. Here are the cedar supports for the original dam:
Many thanks to my fellow PBXers for showing me this location. Incidentally, does anyone know of any other historic names for this stream?
After eating a snack atop the earthen dam, we headed back down to the stream's confluence with the Mullica. Just before arriving at our campsite, I stopped to take a shot of an osprey as it was flying away from us over a savannah:
We set camp around 6 o clock and started a fire to keep us warm. The air was brisk, the woods were silent, and the eating was good. At around 10 pm, the silence was broken by the eerie music of coyotes. Not to be outdone, ghosts soon appeared on the scene in the form of orbs:
Or maybe they are better explained as dust particles.
We slept well and kept warm throughout the night. After breakfast the next morn, we packed our things and prepared for a second day on the river. Here I are striking a pose before leaving the campsite:
Soon we approached Constable Bridge, so named after James Constable who ran a nearby cranberry operation before selling his land to Mr. Jospeh Wharton. Constable Bridge is falling down:
Not long afterward, we came upon the site where New Pond Dam once stood. In Iron in the Pines,Arthur Pierce said that this dam was built in the 1780's. He was over a hundred years wrong. The dam was built in 1895 to supply more water power to the demanding paper mill at Pleasant Mills. The dam broke in a 1939 storm, never to be mended. Not much is left today except for the earthen dam remains:
A half hour later, we reached the stone buttresses of Miller's bridge. The bridge and its road were constructed in 1853 in order to transport Batsto glass products to the railroad station in Elwood. The bridge was destroyed along with New Pond Dam in the 1939 flood.
The night was closing in by the time we neared our destination point:
All in all, a memorable trip with pleasant company. Thanks for reading, and if anyone can correct me on any of the historical info, I am always appreciative.
