I originally planned to call this post "Brindletown to Callico," but in the end that would not be a true description. I set out yesterday morning to visit several spots, the first of which would have been the spot on the lake not far from Hockamick where Beck described a crumbled dance pavillion and other remains of the leisure pursuits of an earlier time. I knew from the maps that there was a good chance it was on Ft. Dix and inaccessible, but I thought it was worth a try.
There was no way in from the east off 539 that I could find, so I wandered south and west, let Whites Bogs disappear into the mist behind me, and came up onto Range Road not far from Hanover, another of my targets for the day, but not yet at the top of the list. I haven't been anywhere near Ft. Dix in some time, and was surprised I could travel up Range Rd., Cookstown-Browns Mills Rd., and Cooks Corner Rd. to Hockamick Rd. unmolested, passing rifle ranges with names like Aisne-Marne and Chickamauga. Making a right onto Hockamick I passed the corners where that town should once have been, and saw nothing of note. Continuing on to where the road became Cranberry Canners Rd. I turned onto the sand road that should have taken me to Brindletown... and saw the gate. Oh well. I guess it goes on the list with Pointville and other places swallowed by the base.
I retraced my steps back to Hanover Furnace. It was a crappy day for taking pictures, and the furnace site looked very forlorn in the mist and drizzle. I don't know why - there wasn't an overabundance of trash - but it just seemed gritty and dirty. The first thing I saw was this sign, one of two large and identical warnings:
Potholers beware! The Feds own all this stuff: on the ground and below it. Nearby were other signs warning me away from areas containing ammunition, about which I don't need to be warned twice. I saw nothing much else of note at the site: some clam and oyster shells; a chunk or two of slag; lots of black earth; and this scorched giant:
That must have been quite a fire. There aren't really many signs of recent fire nearby, so either this damage occured some time ago, or someone actually built a fire at the base and tried to burn the tree. Maybe a lightning strike? I don't know. After looking around a little bit more I headed for my second stop of the day: Hanover Farms/Upton Station.
I didn't stay long. There are several houses right there where the right of way crosses 70, a bunch of people were riding ATVs around, and I felt like I was intruding. I didn't see any remains of the station, or any foundations, but I didn't really look very hard.
My next stop was Harrisville. Most of my visits to the site were ancillary to the launching of kayaks, or just drive-bys on the way to Martha or points east. I had checked out the ruined mill on the west side of the road, but had never explored the woods to the south and east of the dam where a good chunk of the town once was. After parking on Martha Rd. I followed the canal around back to 689 and got into the rectangle that way. The first thing of interest that I came upon was a cellar hole with a partial wall remaining, that I think is in the right position to be the Harris mansion. This shot gives some idea of the dimensions:
Here is a shot from the other side, showing the partial remains of what looks like the cellar wall:
And here is a little more detail of the wall remains:
There were numerous pieces of brick and chunks of sandstone in the area. Leaving the cellar hole I wandered north and a bit east and came upon what I am going to guess are the ruins of the grist mill. This was the find of the day for me. This was pretty much my first view of them:
There is a good-sized chunk of the north wall in place, with a brick-lined arch:
Detail shot of the arch with partial brick lining remaining. Not sure if this was for water, or is a partially-buried entrance.
A detail shot showing a cross section of one wall.
And a pull-back shot to get as much of the site into view as possible. Really a striking ruin.
Running north from it is a smaller ditch or canal, that I fancied might have carried a stream to the mill, but I really don't know. Here's a shot from near the north end of it, looking south toward the site of the ruins:
Near the center of the site I found this specimen, that looks as if it has been trod upon by a Titan. Some living trees become art:
This is a shot of the southeastern corner of the outer canal that carried water power from the pond around to the paper mill (and earlier works that it replaced, I assume). This shot caught my eye because of the apparent scouring of the south bank by water. It caused me to wonder whether the original operators of the site had trouble maintaining this bank due to having forced the water to turn a hard corner to the west?
From Harrisville I drove to Martha and wandered a bit, taking a closer look at the ground than I have on past visits. I quickly located this cellar hole.
On the ground nearby are numerous chunks of brick, and one rather large chunk of undressed sandstone.
Some dead trees become art, too.
I didn't take a picture of that other dead tree for which this site is famous, but I can say it is still there, and it still wants to eat you.
I said "No," dammit.
And finally, to close out this long and memory-hogging post, I present this sight which greeted me as a I passed through Medford Lakes on my way to a friend's house. A reminder, I guess, of the not long-ago flood that is responsible for the brand new dam and causeway just north of this spot. You can barely see the lag screw that someone has sunk into the living flesh of the tree in order to keep this memorial intact.
And with that I bid you all good day
.
There was no way in from the east off 539 that I could find, so I wandered south and west, let Whites Bogs disappear into the mist behind me, and came up onto Range Road not far from Hanover, another of my targets for the day, but not yet at the top of the list. I haven't been anywhere near Ft. Dix in some time, and was surprised I could travel up Range Rd., Cookstown-Browns Mills Rd., and Cooks Corner Rd. to Hockamick Rd. unmolested, passing rifle ranges with names like Aisne-Marne and Chickamauga. Making a right onto Hockamick I passed the corners where that town should once have been, and saw nothing of note. Continuing on to where the road became Cranberry Canners Rd. I turned onto the sand road that should have taken me to Brindletown... and saw the gate. Oh well. I guess it goes on the list with Pointville and other places swallowed by the base.
I retraced my steps back to Hanover Furnace. It was a crappy day for taking pictures, and the furnace site looked very forlorn in the mist and drizzle. I don't know why - there wasn't an overabundance of trash - but it just seemed gritty and dirty. The first thing I saw was this sign, one of two large and identical warnings:
Potholers beware! The Feds own all this stuff: on the ground and below it. Nearby were other signs warning me away from areas containing ammunition, about which I don't need to be warned twice. I saw nothing much else of note at the site: some clam and oyster shells; a chunk or two of slag; lots of black earth; and this scorched giant:
That must have been quite a fire. There aren't really many signs of recent fire nearby, so either this damage occured some time ago, or someone actually built a fire at the base and tried to burn the tree. Maybe a lightning strike? I don't know. After looking around a little bit more I headed for my second stop of the day: Hanover Farms/Upton Station.
I didn't stay long. There are several houses right there where the right of way crosses 70, a bunch of people were riding ATVs around, and I felt like I was intruding. I didn't see any remains of the station, or any foundations, but I didn't really look very hard.
My next stop was Harrisville. Most of my visits to the site were ancillary to the launching of kayaks, or just drive-bys on the way to Martha or points east. I had checked out the ruined mill on the west side of the road, but had never explored the woods to the south and east of the dam where a good chunk of the town once was. After parking on Martha Rd. I followed the canal around back to 689 and got into the rectangle that way. The first thing of interest that I came upon was a cellar hole with a partial wall remaining, that I think is in the right position to be the Harris mansion. This shot gives some idea of the dimensions:
Here is a shot from the other side, showing the partial remains of what looks like the cellar wall:
And here is a little more detail of the wall remains:
There were numerous pieces of brick and chunks of sandstone in the area. Leaving the cellar hole I wandered north and a bit east and came upon what I am going to guess are the ruins of the grist mill. This was the find of the day for me. This was pretty much my first view of them:
There is a good-sized chunk of the north wall in place, with a brick-lined arch:
Detail shot of the arch with partial brick lining remaining. Not sure if this was for water, or is a partially-buried entrance.
A detail shot showing a cross section of one wall.
And a pull-back shot to get as much of the site into view as possible. Really a striking ruin.
Running north from it is a smaller ditch or canal, that I fancied might have carried a stream to the mill, but I really don't know. Here's a shot from near the north end of it, looking south toward the site of the ruins:
Near the center of the site I found this specimen, that looks as if it has been trod upon by a Titan. Some living trees become art:
This is a shot of the southeastern corner of the outer canal that carried water power from the pond around to the paper mill (and earlier works that it replaced, I assume). This shot caught my eye because of the apparent scouring of the south bank by water. It caused me to wonder whether the original operators of the site had trouble maintaining this bank due to having forced the water to turn a hard corner to the west?
From Harrisville I drove to Martha and wandered a bit, taking a closer look at the ground than I have on past visits. I quickly located this cellar hole.
On the ground nearby are numerous chunks of brick, and one rather large chunk of undressed sandstone.
Some dead trees become art, too.
I didn't take a picture of that other dead tree for which this site is famous, but I can say it is still there, and it still wants to eat you.
I said "No," dammit.
And finally, to close out this long and memory-hogging post, I present this sight which greeted me as a I passed through Medford Lakes on my way to a friend's house. A reminder, I guess, of the not long-ago flood that is responsible for the brand new dam and causeway just north of this spot. You can barely see the lag screw that someone has sunk into the living flesh of the tree in order to keep this memorial intact.
And with that I bid you all good day
.
Seriously, if you have the info, I'll pass it on to Dave. Water pressure is a cruel master!
