Harrisville Ruins

[Piney Boy]

Short and sweet, check out the pics of the ruins I posted in the gallery. Hope you all enjoy them as much as i enjoyed taking them...

 

[BEHR655]

Nice shots Piney. The ruins always make for interesting shots.

Steve

 

[Boyd]

Very nice. I really like Harrisville too. A couple years ago I went there several times and spent a few hours shooting stills and video each day. I never edited any of it down, but it's all there waiting for me.... someday

 

[Piney Boy]

Thaks fellas, hard to not like that place isn't it.

 

[Krloucks]

Thought that looked familiar, never knew the name.

 

[long-a-coming]

Hey Piney Boy,
It looks like you were able to get inside the gate. Did you arrange that with the rangers? Really nice pictures.

 

[Piney Boy]

I took these pics like three years ago on a stealth hiking mission

 

[Krloucks]

I didn't know you could go in, I just kept following the fence...

 

[Piney Boy]

The fence is there indeed to keep people out, usually an unprotected site is one that, unfortunately, will be looted and vandalized.

 

[ebsi2001]

I took these pics like three years ago on a stealth hiking mission

Dear Piney Boy,

One of my correspondents remarked about the artesian well at Harrisville or "Harrisa." Do you know if these places are identical? When you were at Harrisville, did you see an artesian well? Do you know of any other artesian wells in The Pines --- at abandoned sites/ghost towns? --- that are actually in use today?

ebsi

 

[Teegate]

The artesian well is right there in front of the main ruins right off the road. If you visit there you can't miss them. There is a photo of my brother, a friend of mine, and Jessica and one other person in my galley standing next to and sitting on it in the "Then And Now" album.

Guy

 

[Boyd]

Do you know of any other artesian wells in The Pines --- at abandoned sites/ghost towns? --- that are actually in use today?

There's an artesian well in Estell Manor park at the end of..... Artesian Well Road! The road is on your left around 3 miles South of Mays Landing on Route 50. It's part of the ruins of the old power plant at Belco. Not really "in use" but the water flows continuously through a pipe.

http://www.aclink.org/PARKS/mainpages/estell_trails.asp

 

[ebsi2001]

Harrisville --- Artesian Wells

The artesian well is right there in front of the main ruins right off the road. If you visit there you can't miss them. There is a photo of my brother, a friend of mine, and Jessica and one other person in my galley standing next to and sitting on it in the "Then And Now" album.

Guy

Thanks, Guy...

From your answer, I gather there is more than one artesian well at Harrisville?
Are they located inside or outside the fence? If you have visited the site more than once, have you noticed an appreciable increase/decrease in the water flow between visits? Do you know if the water has been tested? If so, any data? Would you know how deep the well is; what acquifer it "taps" into; and where the water flow goes?

ebsi

P.S.: Are "Harrisville" and the former Post Office "Harrisa" (sp.?) synonymous? How does one get to the "gallery section" of this site?

 

[ebsi2001]

Artesian Well --- Estell Manor

There's an artesian well in Estell Manor park at the end of..... Artesian Well Road! The road is on your left around 3 miles South of Mays Landing on Route 50. It's part of the ruins of the old power plant at Belco. Not really "in use" but the water flows continuously through a pipe.

http://www.aclink.org/PARKS/mainpages/estell_trails.asp

Many thanks for the info. and the link, Boyd! Although the well isn't exactly in "The Pines," I'll gladly take what is offered.

If you have visited the site more than once, have you noticed an appreciable increase/decrease in the water flow between visits? Do you know if the water has been tested? If so, any data? Would you know how deep the well is; and what acquifer it "taps" into. From the map, it looks like the water flows into the South River, a tributary of the Great Egg Harbor River. Is that so?

Thanks again, Boyd!

ebsi

 

[Teegate]

The one and only well is located outside the fence. It is very very iron tasting, and I see no reason why anyone would test that. I have not thought much about the water flow. The post office is one and the same. To get to the gallery go to the very top of this page and click on the "Photo" link. Then click on "Users Galleries" and then go to Teegate, and choose the "Then And Now" album. Remember there are multiple pages in each area so look for the numbers at the bottom to go to the next page.

Guy

 

[ebsi2001]

Harrisville --- Artesian Well

The one and only well is located outside the fence. It is very very iron tasting, and I see no reason why anyone would test that. I have not thought much about the water flow. The post office is one and the same.

Guy

Thanks, Guy!

You didn't mention where the water flow went... One reason for testing any water flow is a law on the NJ "books": Any flow into a body of water in NJ must be tested/reported. Secondly, this is potentially potable water, if it is not contaminated by MTBE or something else. If it is potable (and tests under the limit for E. coli, for example), the water could be used for drinking purposes --- either locally (tourist attraction), or pumped to an area where it is needed, (e.g. farm irrigation). If the flow was great enough, the water could be treated and used to augment the water supply of a nearby community...

As a lad, I routinely had the opportunity to taste artesian well water: It tasted like iron, and I suspect it contained quite a bit of it, perhaps enough to actually stain white clothing left soaking in it...

I noticed that the artesian well I visited, some 50 years ago, sometimes flowed faster, sometimes slower. It was said that it tapped into an acquifer some 300 feet down... Also, I was told that the water supply for the well came from PA...

It would be interesting to know to just what extent a severe drought, or even a "perceived" drought (lower than "usual" water supply) has on the flow from those artesian wells...

ebsi

Thanks for the statement about Harrisville/"Harrisa": Interesting!

e.

 

[Boyd]

Many thanks for the info. and the link, Boyd! Although the well isn't exactly in "The Pines," I'll gladly take what is offered.

I'm not sure what you mean by that... I always thought Estell Manor Park was "in the pines": http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/landuse/gis/maps/200310_02_Comprehensive_Land_Protection.pdf

Sorry, I really don't know anything about the artesian well myself. You might want to visit the park, there are a number of interesting things to see there in the ruins of the old Belco munitions plant and the Estellville glass factory. If you visit the nature center in the park they could probably tell you more about the well, or put you in contact with somebody with more information.

http://www.aclink.org/PARKS/mainpages/estell.asp

 

[ebsi2001]

"The Pines" and "Estell Manor"

I'm not sure what you mean by that... I always thought Estell Manor Park was "in the pines": http://www.state.nj.us/pinelands/landuse/gis/maps/200310_02_Comprehensive_Land_Protection.pdf

Sorry, I really don't know anything about the artesian well myself. You might want to visit the park, there are a number of interesting things to see there in the ruins of the old Belco munitions plant and the Estellville glass factory. If you visit the nature center in the park they could probably tell you more about the well, or put you in contact with somebody with more information.

http://www.aclink.org/PARKS/mainpages/estell.asp

Boyd,

I thought you might "call" me on that, after I posted that comment. For me, any way, the term "The Pines" refers to an (undefined) area of Burlington, Ocean and Monmouth counties...

Technically speaking, you're correct, of course, and I guess I should look at the broader picture.

Thanks for the link to the park in Estell Manor.

ebsi

 

[bobpbx]

You tickled my interest in artesian wells, so I googled it up to see if my theory is correct, that the pines do not have many powerful artesian wells because the sand is permeable for a long ways down, which does not trap water and allow a buildup of pressure (which would force it back up). Here is a great explanation of these wells:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/gwartesian.html

With that said, there are many, MANY places in the pines that really are artesian for most of the time to a point. Its just that nobody drives a pipe down and allows it to stick above the level of ground to prove the point. The potential is especially evident at the edge of creek beds in the bogs. There, the packed muck of decayed matter acts as a sort of impermeable surface and allows the water pressure to build a bit as it enters the stream area underground from the surrounding high country. I know many areas like that, where you can see clean, crystal clear water bubbling up out of the bog and flowing into the stream.

 

[ebsi2001]

Artesian Wells --- Development of a new thread...

You tickled my interest in artesian wells, so I googled it up to see if my theory is correct, that the pines do not have many powerful artesian wells because the sand is permeable for a long ways down, which does not trap water and allow a buildup of pressure (which would force it back up). Here is a great explanation of these wells:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/gwartesian.html

With that said, there are many, MANY places in the pines that really are artesian for most of the time to a point.

Many thanks, for the link!

Now that your interest has been "piqued;" if it has been "tickled" enough, maybe you would be interested in starting an "Artesion Well" thread, asking NJPB members to report the wells they know of --- any mapping those wells using GPS???

Please...

ebsi