Mary Ann Forge

[turtle]

Tom:

If you are coming to the Wing Ding tomorrow evening would you bring the book with you? I’d like to take a look at it.

Thanks!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

Any more books and this will revert to a "professional obligation"! You'll be reading all night..... (That's OK, when we need an answer we will just kick you under the table......) :hist101:

 

[Ben Ruset]

Today in Browns Mills we had a presentation by a local historian and as I listened he started talking about the canals dug out in the woods below Upper Mill. He said that in the 1890's a Mr. Black built cranberry bogs in New Lisbon which were dry bogs. He came up with a plan to provide water to the bogs by building a massive dam on Bispham's Mill Creek raising the water level around 10 feet. Then he proceeded to dig a canal to his bogs which included a large wooden flume where it crossed the Mt. Misery stream. I bought a copy of his book which has a picture of the canal in use and one of the flume.

Ooh, I want to get a copy of that book too. I've been trying to figure out just what exactly that canal was used for.

I think there's a picture of the flume in one of Beck's books as well.

 

[oji]

Ben, I'll look into getting more copies. It's titled A Reeves' Account of New Lisbon by Robert M. Reeves.

 

[woodjin]

I'd like to see that book as well. There was a very large disscussion about this canal. I led a PBX hike that inclueded a large portion of this canal as well. Ben and I traced it to Junction road once. The amount of work involved.. such an undertaking for what would seem to be such an illogical plan just didn't seem to make sense.

Jeff

 

[RednekF350]

I saw the book last night at the Pic.
There is a great picture of the flume structure and that chapter describes that Black maintained the sluice to carry the canal flow over Mount Misery Brook on its pathway to his bogs.
He allowed a relative to divert some of the flow for his own use in exchange for performing regular maintenence on the flume.
An amazing feat. All was blown to hell in storm in 1938 and never rebuilt.
It was interesting to read after having seen the canal and the dam remnants in person on Jeff's hike.

 

[bobpbx]

Good 'ol search engine still works!

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/content/canal-through-pines-part-2-36/

 

[oji]

Jeff, The book says that Blacks bogs were located by North Woods Rd. which is across Junction Rd. The funny thing about that is that the north branch of the Rancocas is a lot closer.

 

[Ben Ruset]

The canal starts to go through private property across Junction Rd. so sadly it's impossible to follow all the way up to the bogs.

 

[Tom]

I'm a little late to this thread but wanted to thank you, Jerseyman, for a very interesting read. If you would like, I will see if I can get a cleaner close-up of Marian Forge from the Jones Tract and forward it to you.

 

[Jerseyman]

I'm a little late to this thread but wanted to thank you, Jerseyman, for a very interesting read. If you would like, I will see if I can get a cleaner close-up of Marian Forge from the Jones Tract and forward it to you.

Tom:

If you can send me the clean close-up, I would be delighted to post it with full attribution to you.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Jerseyman

 

[Jerseyman]

Mary Ann Forge property from the Jones Family Map

Thanks to Tom, here is the Mary Ann (Mariann) Forge property from the published Jones Family property map:

Tom has an original of this entire map as he descends from the Jones family. Unfortunately, the map only depicts two structures at Mary Ann.

Best regards,
Jerseyman