Guy, that is the canal we've been discussing, right? The article makes it sound like Richards dug other ditches by which flow was increased to the Forge Pond. Am I missing something?
Purchase A & B Stone, and a Canal
- Thread starter Teegate
- Start date
Very interesting! Great observations Guy. Unfortunitely I could not access the photo links in the first post of this thread. I seem to be the only one experiencing this problem though. Count me in on a hike or kayak to the canal.
Jeff
Jeff
Well, maybe there are other ditches coming off the river. If you look at the last photo just above this post, notice something coming from the river to the main ditch I have marked. Maybe he had several of these.
Jeff .. if you are referring to the first post of mine, yes the links do not work. They were from the old gallery before I starting uploading to the new gallery I use. I deleted some of them and many of the links now fail to work.
Maybe we can shoot for a Sunday in November? Saturdays are out because there are hunters all over that area as Jessica and I found out when we were there.
Guy
Today a few of us returned to the location of the canal and spent a little more time looking around. We bushwhacked across from West Mill Road and crossed the same tree Jessica and I did on our last visit. Here is Jessica crossing today with Bob looking on.
If you have not kept up on the historical importance of this canal, here is a brief explanation. At this location along the Nescochague River both Joseph Wharton and Augustus H. Richards owned property. Richards family as you may or may not know were owners of Batsto in the past. Richards property did not quite make it to a little island in the river where he wanted to divert a portion of the river to increase the amount of water for his cranberry bog operations. In order to do this he acquired a small strip of land from Joseph Wharton on May 20, 1876, which enabled him to build the canal in the later months of that year, and divert the water to his property.
To build the dam he carted the remains of a glass-works and dumped them into the river, effectively blocking it off and forcing the water into his canal. The problem with this is it stopped the flow of water to a mill down stream at Pleasant Mills. The owner William E. Farrell investigated why this had occurred and brought a lawsuit against Richards to remove the dam. It is interesting to note that in 1876 according to John Pierce on page 71 in “Heart of the Pines”, the glass works at Batsto were abandoned and decaying. Could the remains Richards used to build this dam have been from the Batsto glass-works? And Wharton had to have known that his selling of the strip of land in question, and Richards damming of it, would have caused trouble downstream.
In the 1950’s when the state purchased Wharton’s property, the state must not have had clear title to this small portion of land (0.2781 acres), so they placed survey monuments on all the corners. Today, Jessica found one while pushing her walking stick into the ground while we were milling around.
This one is unlike any I have viewed before. It was the 4th one placed in Hammonton Township, and we have decided that the 37 C means it is 37 feet from the center of the river.
Gabe (Pinelandpaddler) reached into the water and found a piece of glass obviously from the glass-works mentioned above. Here is a slightly blurry photo of Jessica holding it, and a photo of the remains of the glass-works building.
It is interesting to note that presiding judge at the trial wrote this: “The defendant (Richards) should be restrained from diverting this water and maintaining the dam. There will be injunctions accordingly”.
Guy
If you have not kept up on the historical importance of this canal, here is a brief explanation. At this location along the Nescochague River both Joseph Wharton and Augustus H. Richards owned property. Richards family as you may or may not know were owners of Batsto in the past. Richards property did not quite make it to a little island in the river where he wanted to divert a portion of the river to increase the amount of water for his cranberry bog operations. In order to do this he acquired a small strip of land from Joseph Wharton on May 20, 1876, which enabled him to build the canal in the later months of that year, and divert the water to his property.
To build the dam he carted the remains of a glass-works and dumped them into the river, effectively blocking it off and forcing the water into his canal. The problem with this is it stopped the flow of water to a mill down stream at Pleasant Mills. The owner William E. Farrell investigated why this had occurred and brought a lawsuit against Richards to remove the dam. It is interesting to note that in 1876 according to John Pierce on page 71 in “Heart of the Pines”, the glass works at Batsto were abandoned and decaying. Could the remains Richards used to build this dam have been from the Batsto glass-works? And Wharton had to have known that his selling of the strip of land in question, and Richards damming of it, would have caused trouble downstream.
In the 1950’s when the state purchased Wharton’s property, the state must not have had clear title to this small portion of land (0.2781 acres), so they placed survey monuments on all the corners. Today, Jessica found one while pushing her walking stick into the ground while we were milling around.
This one is unlike any I have viewed before. It was the 4th one placed in Hammonton Township, and we have decided that the 37 C means it is 37 feet from the center of the river.
Gabe (Pinelandpaddler) reached into the water and found a piece of glass obviously from the glass-works mentioned above. Here is a slightly blurry photo of Jessica holding it, and a photo of the remains of the glass-works building.
It is interesting to note that presiding judge at the trial wrote this: “The defendant (Richards) should be restrained from diverting this water and maintaining the dam. There will be injunctions accordingly”.
Guy
I had a great time yesterday.
All of us learned quite a bit about a remote area of the pines that has a very significant history with regard to modern riparian laws.
It was impressive to me to walk through a piece of woods, across a savannah, through a cedar swamp and then arrive at a branch of the Nescocgague marked by signs of manmade intrusions.
The non-native rubble used to construct the dam was obviously hauled there and deposited in the stream to create the diversion into the manmade canal.
I always wonder about the laborers and the monumental tasks involved to accomplish things like this before modern machinery was available.
Here is a piece of a structure that was used as fill for the dam or might have been part of the dam itself. It is flat on the bottom and consists of sandstone and a portland cement/sand mix.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6947/ppuser/177
Here is the throttled down section of the creek adlacent to the canal entrance.
You could hear the water rushing from about 50 yards away.
Our humble website owner and Pine Barrens Explorer Ben Ruset can be seen pondering the rush of water (or possibly stabbing a frog with his walking stick) while Guy and Jess plot the next move.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6946/ppuser/177
Finally, a view of the Nescochague that Augustus Richards had no doubt enjoyed over a hundred years ago.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6945/ppuser/177
An educational day in the big woods complete with a formal tailgate cocktail reception at the end.
Thanks Guy and everyone for another winner.
Scott
All of us learned quite a bit about a remote area of the pines that has a very significant history with regard to modern riparian laws.
It was impressive to me to walk through a piece of woods, across a savannah, through a cedar swamp and then arrive at a branch of the Nescocgague marked by signs of manmade intrusions.
The non-native rubble used to construct the dam was obviously hauled there and deposited in the stream to create the diversion into the manmade canal.
I always wonder about the laborers and the monumental tasks involved to accomplish things like this before modern machinery was available.
Here is a piece of a structure that was used as fill for the dam or might have been part of the dam itself. It is flat on the bottom and consists of sandstone and a portland cement/sand mix.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6947/ppuser/177
Here is the throttled down section of the creek adlacent to the canal entrance.
You could hear the water rushing from about 50 yards away.
Our humble website owner and Pine Barrens Explorer Ben Ruset can be seen pondering the rush of water (or possibly stabbing a frog with his walking stick) while Guy and Jess plot the next move.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6946/ppuser/177
Finally, a view of the Nescochague that Augustus Richards had no doubt enjoyed over a hundred years ago.
http://gallery.njpinebarrens.com/showphoto.php/photo/6945/ppuser/177
An educational day in the big woods complete with a formal tailgate cocktail reception at the end.
Thanks Guy and everyone for another winner.
Scott
Good trip Guy, thanks for setting it up.
Site of the Mill. Notice the cleared ground (no underbrush) in the background. Probably from years of industrial use and Paradise Lake Campers.
A lowland exploring area. Plenty of briar at the start.
Ben out enjoying the day.
Laurel leaf greenbriar. Our least abundant green briar. Very lovely.
Another shot of the area where the defendant damned the stream.
I had walked upstream a bit while the others were talking. They did not get to see this remote spot. Nice place to while away a summer day in the future.
Oh, the dreaded crossing on the way back. Scott and Gabe have the right, sensible idea.
Then Ben decides to be brave at first.
But he is oh so quickly humbled. “I dropped a quarter” he said.
So Guy decides to show how a pro does it. Starts walking across like he owns the place.
But oh no! Guy goes down! Is he hurt? His leg sure is slowing down that water some.
And now, Guy is humbled. Wait….what’s this? Is Ben clapping? While Guy looks chagrined?
The Savanna Man of Nesco Land
Gabe in the lovely savanna which had many plants and I will explore it some more next spring and fall. Very nice day Guy, thanks. Good fun at the tailgate party too! Thanks for the eats and drink again Scott!
Site of the Mill. Notice the cleared ground (no underbrush) in the background. Probably from years of industrial use and Paradise Lake Campers.
A lowland exploring area. Plenty of briar at the start.
Ben out enjoying the day.
Laurel leaf greenbriar. Our least abundant green briar. Very lovely.
Another shot of the area where the defendant damned the stream.
I had walked upstream a bit while the others were talking. They did not get to see this remote spot. Nice place to while away a summer day in the future.
Oh, the dreaded crossing on the way back. Scott and Gabe have the right, sensible idea.
Then Ben decides to be brave at first.
But he is oh so quickly humbled. “I dropped a quarter” he said.
So Guy decides to show how a pro does it. Starts walking across like he owns the place.
But oh no! Guy goes down! Is he hurt? His leg sure is slowing down that water some.
And now, Guy is humbled. Wait….what’s this? Is Ben clapping? While Guy looks chagrined?
The Savanna Man of Nesco Land
Gabe in the lovely savanna which had many plants and I will explore it some more next spring and fall. Very nice day Guy, thanks. Good fun at the tailgate party too! Thanks for the eats and drink again Scott!
Bob, nice shot of Guy saving face! I really was impressed with your recovery, Guy.
Oh, and, Bob, thanks for keeping that beautiful stretch of stream all to yourself.:jeffd:
Oh, and, Bob, thanks for keeping that beautiful stretch of stream all to yourself.:jeffd:
Bob, nice shot of Guy saving face! I really was impressed with your recovery, Guy.
Oh, and, Bob, thanks for keeping that beautiful stretch of stream all to yourself.:jeffd:
My chin took the brunt of it. It is sore today.
Bob did ask us to go there to see that spot, but we were all busy talking and forgot about it.
Guy
You should be glad it wasn't me singing. Jessica said you should have called it "Baba O'Really".
Guy
I guess better that than the family jewels. You got lucky on that one. That saddle don't look too soft!
All,
Recently, I acquired quite a bit of new information on the Augustus Richards Dam mentioned in this thread, and I am in the process of coming up with a small article for Ben to add to the front page. Today, Jessica and I revisited the location to get some of the facts straight in my head. Some of the info I mentioned above appears to be incorrect. So give me some time and I will be letting you know what I have found. In the interim here are a few tidbits you may be interested in.
As you may have read above, the remains of a glass factory was used to make the dam, and again today we found pieces of glass. Click the photo when it opens to see it larger.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/08162009/IMG_2894a.jpg
And a video of a piece of the wooden dam I found hidden under rocks in the stream. It is about 35MB so give it time to load. Turn up your volume to hear me. BTW that is my GPS in my shirt on my back.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/08162009/Richards_Canal.mov
Guy
Recently, I acquired quite a bit of new information on the Augustus Richards Dam mentioned in this thread, and I am in the process of coming up with a small article for Ben to add to the front page. Today, Jessica and I revisited the location to get some of the facts straight in my head. Some of the info I mentioned above appears to be incorrect. So give me some time and I will be letting you know what I have found. In the interim here are a few tidbits you may be interested in.
As you may have read above, the remains of a glass factory was used to make the dam, and again today we found pieces of glass. Click the photo when it opens to see it larger.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/08162009/IMG_2894a.jpg
And a video of a piece of the wooden dam I found hidden under rocks in the stream. It is about 35MB so give it time to load. Turn up your volume to hear me. BTW that is my GPS in my shirt on my back.
http://teegate.njpinebarrens.com/08162009/Richards_Canal.mov
Guy
Great going, Guy. This location offers a great one-two punch (history and natural beauty); I can't wait to read the article you compose for the front page. It's a shame the video files are so large. I could take an hour of that dam -- it's so beautiful and peaceful.
Guess I'll just have to plow my way back.
Guess I'll just have to plow my way back.