Pine Barren History Shorts
- Thread starter Teegate
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I never heard of blackout curtains being used in the Pines. Mostly I come across stories from along the coast. Very interesting.
I have one on my arched window up in my bedroom. It keeps the moon from shining on my face when sleeping. I took it off for the sale. I'm sure they are more common than you might think. Bought them here.
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I can understand that lights along the coast could provide enemy ships or subs with a point of reference and that lights from cities and towns could do the same for aircraft but it is almost laughable that Abbott's home in Nesco could be a beacon for the Germans.
Interesting how 75 years later blackout curtains are used to keep light out and not in!
While Beck did most of the leg work and was quite good at that, the truth of the matter was he received many important bits of information from the readers of the Courier who wrote in to voice their point of view. And during the short hiatus that apparently occurred during some of Beck's stories, he would pen articles on how the "Lost Town Hunters" were not infallible and tell the readers about individuals who had corrected some of his mistakes.
One such reader was J. Wilmer Lundy of Bucks County Pennsylvania who by the kindness of friends would have Beck's articles sent to him as he apparently could not get the Courier in Bucks County. Mr. Lundy grew up in Rancocas, and owned 12 acres along the Mount Misery Brook that was passed on to him by his grandfather who acquired the property in 1851.
Mr. Lundy disagreed with Beck's informant on the origin's of the Ong's Hat name, and gave Beck a much more plausible explanation. He also told Beck about the grave of Deborah Lincoln, the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, and the chapter in "More Forgotten Towns of South Jersey" titled "Abe Lincoln's Kin Near Varmintown" most likely was the result of that tip. To his credit, Beck was not afraid to admit to mistakes or believing false information, and it is up to all of us to come to our own conclusion as to the accuracy of his tales.
And as I always do when someone interests me, Jessica and I took a quick jaunt to visit Mr. Lundy this morning. In a fine old interesting cemetery, in the original town he came from, we cleaned his residence and took a few photos.
One such reader was J. Wilmer Lundy of Bucks County Pennsylvania who by the kindness of friends would have Beck's articles sent to him as he apparently could not get the Courier in Bucks County. Mr. Lundy grew up in Rancocas, and owned 12 acres along the Mount Misery Brook that was passed on to him by his grandfather who acquired the property in 1851.
Mr. Lundy disagreed with Beck's informant on the origin's of the Ong's Hat name, and gave Beck a much more plausible explanation. He also told Beck about the grave of Deborah Lincoln, the ancestor of Abraham Lincoln, and the chapter in "More Forgotten Towns of South Jersey" titled "Abe Lincoln's Kin Near Varmintown" most likely was the result of that tip. To his credit, Beck was not afraid to admit to mistakes or believing false information, and it is up to all of us to come to our own conclusion as to the accuracy of his tales.
And as I always do when someone interests me, Jessica and I took a quick jaunt to visit Mr. Lundy this morning. In a fine old interesting cemetery, in the original town he came from, we cleaned his residence and took a few photos.
Beck's first article on exploring the pines reached the public on November 21, 1929. Four years later on April 11, 1933 it is apparent that the practical-minded editor of the Courier Post wanted to move on. Beck obviously didn't want to stop and wrote this to his readers hoping to change some minds.
Our travels have proved that there are still more secrets in the pines, still more Lost Towns to be found in out-of-the-way places of South Jersey. Burlington and Ocean Counties have been scoured fairly well, if you remember the material obtained in former invasions of the jungle. There are more facts to be obtained, more data lying right under our noses. But for the time being, unless the interest of our readers is attested in letters to the editor, we shall have to postpone our adventures. These are anxious times and practical-minded persons feel that there are more important issues than the rediscovery of Forgotten Towns.
His articles continued, and by 1935/1936 his book was in print.
Our travels have proved that there are still more secrets in the pines, still more Lost Towns to be found in out-of-the-way places of South Jersey. Burlington and Ocean Counties have been scoured fairly well, if you remember the material obtained in former invasions of the jungle. There are more facts to be obtained, more data lying right under our noses. But for the time being, unless the interest of our readers is attested in letters to the editor, we shall have to postpone our adventures. These are anxious times and practical-minded persons feel that there are more important issues than the rediscovery of Forgotten Towns.
His articles continued, and by 1935/1936 his book was in print.
Beck traveled with many individuals in his "Lost Town Hunter" group that included photographers, reporters, friends and even individuals who asked to go with him. Many of them contributed to the stories Beck wrote and deserve to be mentioned. In this post I will mention two of them, and will have more information on them soon.
In August of 1930, ninety years ago next month, Beck traveled to the old Fairton Cemetery in Cumberland County which is one of the early cemeteries in the nation. Along on the excursion was photographer Howard Francis Shivers, reporter Joseph Gearhart Crate (Affectionately called Doc) and at least one other person, unless someone from the church took the photo. Beck obviously had a particular interest in one of the old stones there. What he was doing to it is unclear, but our visit there today may give a clue. The stone is hard to read, and Beck may have been using chalk or some other compound to get the results he wanted. To the far left is photographer Shivers who settled himself between two stones on a stool that he may have borrowed from the church nearby, and leaning down on the far right is Crate looking at a map.
The caption under the photo is humerus, calling Shivers the "official expedition explorer; Capt. Henry Beck, B. A. (Botcher of Archaeology) and Dr. Gearhart Crate in charge of charts and maps for the explorers. I would guess Beck was not good at whatever he was doing.
With all of this in mind, Jessica and I headed there today to see if we could revisit the location where this photo was taken ninety years ago next month. With our car GPS taking us on every back road imaginable, and even in circles if you can believe that, we finally made it there. Round and round we went studying the stones until finally I zeroed in the spot. It is unbelievable how many stones are no longer there in the photo or have fallen and placed in the wrong location. Time, lawnmowers and vandals have taken their toll, but for the most part it is in good shape and interesting.
My photo is slightly on the wrong angle, and modern photos change the depth of view, but in the end I am pretty close. And because of the heat and the angle of the sun, we need to return and spend more time to see what is written on the stone. Jessica has a general idea as she looked it over more closely than me. She even found the Wescoat stone mentioned in "Forgotten Town of South Jersey" in the "Fairfield: Fairton: New England Crossroads" chapter. And again, more on the gentlemen in the photo later. .......... Jessica you already know about
In August of 1930, ninety years ago next month, Beck traveled to the old Fairton Cemetery in Cumberland County which is one of the early cemeteries in the nation. Along on the excursion was photographer Howard Francis Shivers, reporter Joseph Gearhart Crate (Affectionately called Doc) and at least one other person, unless someone from the church took the photo. Beck obviously had a particular interest in one of the old stones there. What he was doing to it is unclear, but our visit there today may give a clue. The stone is hard to read, and Beck may have been using chalk or some other compound to get the results he wanted. To the far left is photographer Shivers who settled himself between two stones on a stool that he may have borrowed from the church nearby, and leaning down on the far right is Crate looking at a map.
The caption under the photo is humerus, calling Shivers the "official expedition explorer; Capt. Henry Beck, B. A. (Botcher of Archaeology) and Dr. Gearhart Crate in charge of charts and maps for the explorers. I would guess Beck was not good at whatever he was doing.
With all of this in mind, Jessica and I headed there today to see if we could revisit the location where this photo was taken ninety years ago next month. With our car GPS taking us on every back road imaginable, and even in circles if you can believe that, we finally made it there. Round and round we went studying the stones until finally I zeroed in the spot. It is unbelievable how many stones are no longer there in the photo or have fallen and placed in the wrong location. Time, lawnmowers and vandals have taken their toll, but for the most part it is in good shape and interesting.
My photo is slightly on the wrong angle, and modern photos change the depth of view, but in the end I am pretty close. And because of the heat and the angle of the sun, we need to return and spend more time to see what is written on the stone. Jessica has a general idea as she looked it over more closely than me. She even found the Wescoat stone mentioned in "Forgotten Town of South Jersey" in the "Fairfield: Fairton: New England Crossroads" chapter. And again, more on the gentlemen in the photo later. .......... Jessica you already know about
I am aware of no cemetery there Boyd and I live fifteen minutes away and work three minutes from there and use that road frequently
I was just basing the guess on the 1949 topo (in the link above), which shows the symbol for a cemetery at that location.
This is something we all can think about and discuss.
Joseph Gearhart Crate shown next to Beck in my photo above at the cemetery had an interest in history and would write about various aspects of that. An avid hunter, Crate was involved with various gun clubs in the Batsto area and even wrote an article about hunting and the history of various clubs. Since he was from Haddonfield, his article mentions the existence of the "Indian King Hunting and Fishing Club" named after the famed tavern on Kings Highway in Haddonfield where the Revolutionary Council met and pushed for Independence and adopted the state seal. The Indian King Tavern currently is owned by the state of NJ and the last time I knew it was administered by the superintendent of Wharton.
Crate describes the actual clubhouse as a "fine clubhouse" located on the banks of the Mullica River between Batsto and Weekstown. And even more interesting, at least to me, is that the clubhouse along the Mullica was erected using materials taken from the demolition of the old Hopkins homestead which stood at the site of the present Tavistock County Club between Barrington and Haddonfield.
Basically, somewhere between Pleasant Mills and Sweetwater I would think, there was a gun club made from the Hopkins homestead. Does anyone have any idea???
Joseph Gearhart Crate shown next to Beck in my photo above at the cemetery had an interest in history and would write about various aspects of that. An avid hunter, Crate was involved with various gun clubs in the Batsto area and even wrote an article about hunting and the history of various clubs. Since he was from Haddonfield, his article mentions the existence of the "Indian King Hunting and Fishing Club" named after the famed tavern on Kings Highway in Haddonfield where the Revolutionary Council met and pushed for Independence and adopted the state seal. The Indian King Tavern currently is owned by the state of NJ and the last time I knew it was administered by the superintendent of Wharton.
Crate describes the actual clubhouse as a "fine clubhouse" located on the banks of the Mullica River between Batsto and Weekstown. And even more interesting, at least to me, is that the clubhouse along the Mullica was erected using materials taken from the demolition of the old Hopkins homestead which stood at the site of the present Tavistock County Club between Barrington and Haddonfield.
Basically, somewhere between Pleasant Mills and Sweetwater I would think, there was a gun club made from the Hopkins homestead. Does anyone have any idea???
I mentioned in the Fairton cemetery post above that I would tell you more about the two individuals in it along with Beck. This will be about Joseph Gearhart Crate.
Crate, who was a member of the "Happy Hamlet Hunter" group was a well respected reporter who acquired his intrest in reporting during his teens. Working his way through the ranks he became quite good at what he did and frequently would acquire information that the police would use to convict or capture murderers. And more to the point, he also gave valuable assistance to Beck during their explorations which eventually resulted in the "Lost Towns of South Jersey" books.
One of his obituaries described him like this.
His territory, in which he took great pride, comprised the most thickly populated suburban section of the county, which he developed as news sources with growth of towns themselves.
The towns, covering a territory much larger than ordinarily assigned to reporters, included Haddonfield, Haddon township, Delaware township (Currently Cherry Hill), Audubon, Haddon Heights, Collingswood, Oaklyn, Barrington and Woodlyn. With the Haddonfield police station as his headquarters he "fine-tooth-combed" the territory every night for spot news as well as frequently covering from three to four civic or borough and township meetings during the evening.
As borough officials assumed office and left office they learned that "Doc" and his ability to report accurately and not to violate information given to him in confidence, made him a dependable friend, and the esteem in which he was held was county wide.
Unfortunately, in November of 1937 when Mr. Crate was 43 he suffered a stroke at the funeral of his brother-in-law. In poor health, he again suffered another stroke in January of 1939 in the presence of two Doctors, but at the age of 45 this "Happy Hamlet Hunter" days with Beck were no more. Henry Beck and his piers were pallbearers, with services in Mr. Crate's home in Haddonfield on Mountwell Ave.
As always, we paid our respects and visited Mr. Crate at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. He keeps company with Beck, Pierce and various other individuals that Beck traveled with, that you will read about in my future posts here.
Crate, who was a member of the "Happy Hamlet Hunter" group was a well respected reporter who acquired his intrest in reporting during his teens. Working his way through the ranks he became quite good at what he did and frequently would acquire information that the police would use to convict or capture murderers. And more to the point, he also gave valuable assistance to Beck during their explorations which eventually resulted in the "Lost Towns of South Jersey" books.
One of his obituaries described him like this.
His territory, in which he took great pride, comprised the most thickly populated suburban section of the county, which he developed as news sources with growth of towns themselves.
The towns, covering a territory much larger than ordinarily assigned to reporters, included Haddonfield, Haddon township, Delaware township (Currently Cherry Hill), Audubon, Haddon Heights, Collingswood, Oaklyn, Barrington and Woodlyn. With the Haddonfield police station as his headquarters he "fine-tooth-combed" the territory every night for spot news as well as frequently covering from three to four civic or borough and township meetings during the evening.
As borough officials assumed office and left office they learned that "Doc" and his ability to report accurately and not to violate information given to him in confidence, made him a dependable friend, and the esteem in which he was held was county wide.
Unfortunately, in November of 1937 when Mr. Crate was 43 he suffered a stroke at the funeral of his brother-in-law. In poor health, he again suffered another stroke in January of 1939 in the presence of two Doctors, but at the age of 45 this "Happy Hamlet Hunter" days with Beck were no more. Henry Beck and his piers were pallbearers, with services in Mr. Crate's home in Haddonfield on Mountwell Ave.
As always, we paid our respects and visited Mr. Crate at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden. He keeps company with Beck, Pierce and various other individuals that Beck traveled with, that you will read about in my future posts here.
Guy, the Indian King Fish and Hunt Club was located at High Bank, although I'm not certain of the exact location. It was near the fake gravestone of Joe Mulliner. BTW, it was members of the club that placed the original fake gravestone at that location. They likely mistook a nearby property marker with "J.M." (John Monrow) inscribed into it as a gravestone.
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