Pine Barren History Shorts

Teegate

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November 23, 1934

All,

I was reading one of Beck's articles and find it interesting that Willis Buzby felt Beck was running out of interesting finds after 5 years of exploring and gave him a tip on what to do about it. Beck seemed uninterested in Buzby's thoughts it appears. And in the same article Beck traveled to Washington on a route by his own admission he had never traveled before. Lets follow along.

After five years of jaunting along through the Lost Town country, there are still things to be seen. Though we listened courteously this week while Willis Buzby, of Chatsworth, said that to find more than we have in our travels would mean excavations, we went down beyond Speedwell and found a road we have never used before.

In this, as in many similar cases, the newer road, hard-surfaced between Chatsworth and New Gretna (563), has cut off many older roads and changed the terrain so that you have to hunt for them.

This one is serviceable, if you like trails hemmed in on either side. You'll find it by going down through Chatsworth to Speedwell (563) and then turning to the right (Speedwell Friendship road) toward the home of Speedwell's last all-year-round resident. Here the track would take to Eagle, if you followed it through--but you don't; you swing quickly left again (Hawkins Speedwell road), beside a house that has lost its tar-paper, and start a gradual climb.

Here the county is varied, scatted cedars giving way to groups of tall pines which, in turn, drop off on a plain of scrub oak. Suddenly, the road crosses a narrow one-car-width bridge (Hawkins Bridge). The stream is the Featherbed branch (maybe) that eventually reaches the Wading river via the Tulpehocken creek. The cedar water is pungent and, when we were there the other day, careless picnickers had left cups and papers about on the rise above the swamp (the current camp site on the hill south of Hawkins Bridge). Keeping to the middle road, despite interlocking cross-trails that may bewilder you, you will arrive in -- Washington, , N. J.
 

Teegate

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The Chatsworth Cemetery Deed. June 25, 1888

Chatsworth Cemetery.jpg
 
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Teegate

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July, 20 1928

To Erect Memorial Tablet New Where Carranza Fell


New York, July 20 A tablet calling attention to the site near which Captain Emilio Carranza, Mexico's good-will flyer met his death, will be erected shortly by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, at Sandy Ridge, near Chatsworth, on its Atlantic City route. It will be placed within a quarter of a mile of the scene of the accident.

Erection of this memorial was suggested to officials of the railroad by Wilbur E. Jacobus, engineer of the company for the past forty years, which suggestion was promptly acted upon. It was learned that Superintendent E. T. M. Carr, of the New Jersey Southern Division, was the first to report the accident to the army officials at Fort Monmouth and Mitchell Field.

Engineer Jacobus won distinction as the pilot of the Queen Marie "special" carrying the queen and her party from New York to Washington on her vist to this county.
 
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Boyd

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I have read that before, perhaps in another thread here? Just had a quick look at some of my Pine Barrens Books and the only thing related that I saw was in Barbara Solem-Stull's Ghost Towns book. It says the monument was built "near" the site of the plane crash. It also said his body was taken to Buzby's after recovery.
 
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Boyd

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stiltzkin

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Feb 8, 2022
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John McPhee recounts it a bit differently:

Henry Carr, of Chatsworth, and his wife, Marie, were out gathering wild blueberries a couple of days later and came upon the wreckage - at the site of the present memorial, in Tabernacle Township, six miles from Chatsworth.

Another Legionnaire informed the crowd that men of the American Legion had hacked a trail twenty-five miles through the wilderness to carry Carranza's body out to Mount Holly. Actually, Carranza crashed beside a sand road, and his body was removed easily to Chatsworth.

He also recounts Fred Brown's (I'm guessing fanciful) version:
"I knew from the sound that it was out in the Hocken Lowlands where he crashed. I come out here the next day. This was tall timber here. It's burnt since he went down." Fred walked to a large pine that had been left standing in the cleared area, and he paced out four yards from the tree. "Carranza's wing fell three hundred yards up that way," he said, gesturing to the east. "The rest of the airplane hit this tree, and right here is where his head was."

This is all taking place decades after the event, though. I would believe the contemporary account over these stories.
 
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Teegate

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As many of you know Henry Beck use to give Pine Barren tours in his later years and my boss who died about 10 years ago went on one. But I never really imagined how many people went on them until now.

My mom and I actually knew Maurice Horners daughter and saw him in the field at his house when my mom acquired a signed copy of his book on the history of Evesham township. And my mom knew Edith McClelland and I believe we knew the Powels as well. But the amount of people who went on this tour is a shocker.

MARLTON RESIDENTS ENJOY LOST TOWNS TOUR

October 2, 1958

Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Horner, Mrs. Elwood Powell and Diane, Mrs Edith McClelland and the Norton McClelland family, of Marlton, were part of a 140-car caravan, police escorted, that traveled with the Audubon Wildlife Society on their 10th Annual Lost Town Trip on Saturday. The noted lecturer, Dr. Henry Beck, conducted the tour that included stops at Batsto, Pleasant Mills, Harrisinville (Harrisville), Hermann, and Lebanon Glass Works. The tour was cut short at 3:30 when rain called a halt to the proceddings.
 

bobpbx

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Incredible, and unmanagable. It would take 20 minutes at each stop for everyone to park and get to the site. And then another 20 minutes to walk back to the cars and assemble themselves, and this is generous I'm sure.
 
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Pan

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Also gotta wonder how many of those 1950's rear-wheel drive cars got stuck (and how accurate that 140 car figure is)...



My 1957 rear wheel drive VW Beetle went through those narrow sandy Pine Barrens roads great. I think this one in the (1971) picture was a '61, but I did have a '57 VW briefly too. I had a few of them. I'm forgetting which was which now. My last one was a 1968 Super Beetle that I bought used. It made it to over 300,000 miles, much of that NYC driving too, and the original trans and engine ran better than new, but it was being eaten away by rust. I never changed the oil, just replaced the Mobil 1 that fell out. I finally gave it away.
 

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Boyd

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Ben's Branch, Stephen Creek
My 1957 rear wheel drive VW Beetle went through those narrow sandy Pine Barrens roads great

IIRC, those cars had very good traction because the weight of the engine was above the rear wheels, unlike US rear-wheel drive cars where the engine was in front.
 
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Pan

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IIRC, those cars had very good traction because the weight of the engine was above the rear wheels, unlike US rear-wheel drive cars where the engine was in front.


Yep, plus they were lightweight and narrow and had good ground clearance, plus I cld dip a rag in the gas tank to get some gasoline to put on ticks (u can't do that with the new cars) to make them back out, tho they then said, "Don't do dat!",
 
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