History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 59

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140

USA > New Jersey > Sussex County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 59
USA > New Jersey > Warren County > History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers > Part 59

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" Pruise Girl, from whomi alt bier-ings flow ; Prudso Hini, all creatures here below ; Praise Him above, ye heavenly host ; Praise Futher, Son, and Holy Ghost.

" The audience then retired with the benediction of the speaker.

" It was not till after midnight that the festivities may be said to have concluded. The roar of cannon was heard, bonfires and torches illumined the darkness, and strains of vocal and instrumental music filled the air. Every house in town, both public and private, was gladdened by social enjoyment. Friends from a distance interchanged their greetings. The patriarch

· Dr. Tuttle is now president of Wales's College, Indiana.

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of threescore and ten gazed proudly on his descendants as they again surrounded his fireside and heard him recount the labors and privations of early life. Thus the evening wore away, and many a bosom glowed with generous emotions, and many a brother's hand felt the warm grasp of friendship and affection, as the celebration closed."

We quote two passages from the centennial orations, -one from near the beginning of Mr. Edsall's, and another from the closing remarks of Rev. Mr. Tuttle. Mr. Edsall said,-

"The early annals of Sussex County occupy but a brief space on the historie page. This, however, is to be accounted for without detracting in any degree from the character or merit of your ancestors. Blood and rapine, civil and ecclesiastical feuds, intrigue and usurpation, kingly duplicity and aggression, are the prominent topics of history ; while the deprivations and hardships endured in the subjugation of the wil- derness, the frequent encounters with beasts of prey, the daily exposure to the vengeance of the treacherous savage, and the numerous other dangers which beset the path of the pioneer, are matters which receive only a passing notice. Nevertheless, these latter trans- actions have formed the basis of all national super- structures ever since the first couple were sent forth from Eden to people the whole earth with their seed. The men who from time immemorial have gone out to subdue the forests and reclaim waste places have dis- played greater courage than any of the titled warriors who, at the head of panoplied hosts, have desolated the nations of the earth and been deified in marble. If the deeds of the first settlers of Sussex have not been preserved in the pages of the annalist, they are engraved in more enduring characters upon the hills and vales and plains and promontories of our county. The 'continuous woods' which originally shadowed the fat soil yielded acre by acre to their sturdy blows; the cabin of hewn logs replaced the first rude hut; orchards were planted, and the virgin soil displayed its strength in rich products of waving grain. The streams which had flowed for centuries in the gloom of the o'erarching trees were opened at intervals to the light of day; the click of the busy mill in due time was heard upon their banks, and the verdure which skirted their margins was eropped by lowing herds. The unerring rifle drove the beasts of prey from the clearings, and in their places flocks of sheep, whose fleeces were wronght by fair hands into gar- ments, disported upon the hillside. And, finally, to complete the picture,

" Where prowled the wolf and where the hunter roved, Faith raised hier altars to the God she loved.'"

Rev. J. F. Tuttle closed his very able and eloquent address in the words following :

"In behalf of New Jersey, fellow-citizens of Sus- sex, I thank you for this celebration,-the first of the kind in the State. I trust all our counties will follow your example, and gather together to pay a worthy

tribute to the men of the past. You have begun to gather scattered materials of your own history : never desist until you have, at least in manuscript, the his- tory of every township, church, and society. Write out the lives of such men as Ogden,-father and son, -Hooper, Sharp, Rosenkrans, Symmes, Hearker, Hankinson, Schaffer, and other men equally dis- tinguished. I do not conceive that you have a right to let their names perish. Let the New Jersey His- torical Society have the fruits of these labors of love, and then, should some other generation desire to make such a celebration as this, the orators of the occasion shall not be driven to such straits as my colleague and myself have suffered. Had your an- cestors done this, I might have been able to confine myself to their history alone, but you must excuse me for doing what I could.

" Whilst not permitted to deal with your local his- tory, yet I have led you over a very pleasant field. We have traced the growth of popular rights in the commonwealth, and we have seen that our fathers were true to the instinets of liberty and acted nobly for the 'remotest posterity.' Like the oak, monarch of the forest, this tree has grown slowly, but con- stantly. Tyranny has sent many whirlwinds to up- root it, but these only eaused it to wind its roots, toughened by resistance, more firmly around the rocks of brave and loyal hearts. The storm of 1776 bent it, but neither broke nor tore it up. Some of its leaves and twigs may have been torn off, but its roots were twisted and twined about the moveless rocks too tightly, and its brawny trunk and limbs had become too stoutly gnarled and hardened into compactness of knot, to be east down. It still stands with its giant arms lifted heavenward,-not defiantly, but in the meek trust which freedom confides in God."

CHAPTER XII.

PHYSICAL FEATURES OF SUSSEX COUNTY. I .- GENERAL TOPOGRAPILY AND SCENERY.

THE topographical features of Sussex County pre- sent a bold and picturesque outline, its uplands being crowned by the erests of the Kittatinny, or Blue Moun- tains, which pass through the county from northeast to southwest. This range extends from New England to Virginia, and is a continuous chain save where the Hudson breaks through it at the Highlands, and the Delaware at the Water Gap. Its gradual approach to the Delaware River, preparatory to taking its final leave of New Jersey and entering the neighboring State of Pennsylvania, gives to the water-courses on the west of it a short range compared with those on the east, which form tributaries of the Hudson. But, as if in defiance of this restriction of nature, the Flatbrook has eut for itself a long and nearly parallel

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channel with that of the Delaware in its passage from the northern to the southern extremity of the county, where it apparently loses its determination to run farther in competition with the principal stream, and falls gracefully into its bosom. The Paulinskill, Wall- kill, and Papakating are the principal streams cast of the Blue Mountains, the first running southward and entering the Delaware below the Water Gap, and the others coursing to the northeast and falling into the Hudson in Orange Co., N. Y.

The country to the cast of the Blue Mountains, although presenting in some places considerable ele- vations, may be regarded as a large valley, nearly one hundred miles in length and varying in width from ten to twenty miles. This valley embraces four counties, -Warren and Sussex, in New Jersey, and Orange and Ulster, in New York. It was called by the Indians the Kittatinny Valley,-the name which they gave to the Blue Mountain range, which bounds it on the west, in the shadows of which the ancient Lenni Lenape had their chief town, for such is the meaning of the word "Kittatinny." On the cast is the Hamburg or Schooley's Mountain, called by the Indians Wawa- yanda. Connected with this valley, to the northward of Sussex, is the Mamakating Valley, down which flows the beautiful Rosendall and its tributaries, emp- tying into the Wallkill. "Mamakating" is said to mean "the valley of the dividing of waters." It is in this valley that the Neversink, emptying into the Delaware, and the Lackawanna, which discharges it- self into the Rosendall, both rise in the same foun- tain. And so likewise the Sandkill and Basha's Kill originate in the same spring in this valley. If it would serve to recover this significant Indian name and preserve a knowledge of its meaning, we might mention also the fact that a branch of Paulinskill and the Papakating rise in the same fountain and part in different directions. The Rev. Mr. Murphy is authority for saying that the Indian word " kating" meant "dividing of waters," which is countenanced by the above facts, the termination in each name being the same, and in each valley one fountain originates twin streams, descending in opposite directions,-on the one side to the Delaware, and on the other to the Hudson.

Scarcely in the Union, or in the world perhaps, is there to be seen a richer or more picturesque land- seupe, than presents itself to the eye as you aseend the Wawayanda or the noble Kittatinny, where the immense valley opens the distant prospective bestud- ded with cottages, hamlets, and villages embossed in outstretching lawns and fields waving with the rising harvest.

Says a recent writer, " Within fifty miles of New York City lies a hillside country leading up to the Blue Mountain rango that offers health, rest, and ree- reation for the tired city merchant or the weary so- ciety belle unsurpassed by any spot in the land. This inviting retreat is the county of Sussex, in the State

of New Jersey, lying in the triangle formed by Or- ange County, in New York, and Pike County, in Pennsylvania. From lofty hills overlooking rich valleys through which run ereeks and brooks filled with trout and other choice fish can be seen here and there beautiful lakes surrounded by cool woods, while green orchards and waving fields of grass and grain meet the eye on every hand. The farms of Sussex are generally from one hundred to one hundred and fifty acres in extent, and are well supplied with sub- stantial buildings, giving an air of comfort and thrift refreshing to behold. The atmosphere is pure at all times. The high altitude, with its cool breezes, im- parts health-giving vigor. The soil is either limestone or slate, both of which furnish good hard roads, af- fording fine drives in all directions, with an ever- varying landscape, in marked contrast with the monotonous lowland of the southern portion of the State.

" The principal lakes of Sussex are Wawayanda, Swartswood, Decker's, Culver's, Morris', Sand Pond, Struble's, Iliff's, Stickle's, Reservoir, Panther, Smith's, Turtle, French's, and many of lesser note. The largest ereeks are the Wallkill, the Pequest, the Clove, Paulinskill, and Flatbrook. The lakes have been generally stocked with black bass; Swartswood, Struble's, and Morris' with salmon. Swartswood Lake is now said to be the best fishing-ground in the State. It is reached by a romantic four-mile drive from Newton, the county-seat of Sussex. It is indeed a beautiful body of water. It is three miles long and one mile wide, with a pretty green island near the centre, on which has lately bee: erected a convenient building for camping-parties. An enterprising farmer, Mr. James Emmons, has also built a substantial cottage in his grove on the east side of the lake, which he lets to parties by the week. Greenwood Point, at the southern side of the lake, is one of the most beautiful spots to be found anywhere. A small steamer was built last year, and is available at all times during the summer. Scores of row-boats are to be found along the shores of the lake, which has become the central spot of attraction for the people of Newton, as well as of many visitors from New York City ; so that from June to October every pleasant day brings loads of pleasure-seekers to enjoy its attractions. Struble's Lake, near Andover, about five miles from Newton, over one of the smooth- est and hardest of roads, is, if possible, more beautiful than Swartswood, but it has not so many boats avail- able for pienie-parties. A family party can find plenty of enjoyment and the best of fishing at this lake. Stickle's Pond, three miles from Newton, by way of the Springdale road,-the finest natural drive in New Jersey,-is a pretty little round lake, as clear as erys- tal, as smooth as glass, and full of choice black bass and pickerel.

" The famous Red Gate Farm, owned by the Hon. Henry Kelsey, is situated upon the Springdale road,

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SUSSEX COUNTY, NEW JERSEY.

about one mile south of Newton. Mr. Kelsey has expended many thousands of dollars in making his firm a vast garden-spot in thoroughness of cultiva- tion. Among the other noted places are the country seat of Martin R. Dennis; the farm formerly the property of George C. Shaw ; the White Farm, now owned by Silas Youngs; the estate of the Hon. Thomas Lawrence, at Hamburg; the country resi- dence of Mrs. John Rutherford; the costly Babbitt and Horton properties ; the Lewis Dunn place; and last, but not least, the fine homestead of Gen. Kil- patrick."

II .- LAKE HOPATCONG.

Lake Hopatcong is situated partly in Sussex County, with its eastern shore lying upon the border of Mor- ris, and with the Morris and Essex Railroad just pass- ing its sonthern extremity, the outlet being the head of the Musconetcong River. Tourists on the Morris and Essex Railroad can obtain a prospect of the "sheet of blue among the hills" and continue on their journey west. The lake is amply provided with means of access, which, supplemented by the fact that a half-dozen first-class boarding-houses are ready to receive a large number of guests, gives sufficient corroboration of its admirable location as a place of summer resort. The lake is peculiar in its outline, and around on every side, from the lock of the Morris Canal branch at its southern extreme-of which it is now the principal supply, the reservoir about a half-mile below being fed from its waters-to the town of Woodport, nine miles north, is one con- tinuous display of large receding bays, slightly re- cessed coves, and open lagoons, behind which are the guarding reef roeks of the shores.

The lake contains about eighteen square miles sur- face of water. On the eastern boundary the Brook- land hills slope from a heavily-wooded shore-line, and thirty degrees to the horizon far up to the height of two hundred and fifty feet is one of those many par- allel ranges, spurs of the Kittatinny Mountains, that give to Northern New Jersey her fame for the scenic picturesque. The western pebbled bank lies modestly hidden beneath the luxuriant foliage of ancient chest- nut, oak, and maple forests that tradition says were once the favorite hunting-grounds of the local Indian tribes, and it is from this side that the far-reaching Byram's Cove, opposite the two pretty emerald islands in the northern part of the lake, and the river Styx, farther south, branch out, forming smaller separated lakes that bear in beauty and location all the sem- blance of the romantic ideal haven. Of the latter it is said the name was taken from the mythologieal stream of the Greeks across whose waters the gracious ferryman Charon was wont to carry the unfortunato dead into purgatory, but one matter-of-fact piscatorial hunter claimed the orthography was an imposition on the public, and maintained that it referred only to the decayed stumps and half-sunken trees at which he had so often vented his anger in unrefined epithets

when his fish-lines would become entangled beneath their roots and branches. About a mile from the out- let is Bertrand's Island, a fine piece of scenery for- merly owned by a wealthy German, Mr. Ernest Ber- trand, a New York sugar-refiner, whose intention was to erect an extensive branch establishment on the lake ; but his death prohibited the fulfillment of this plan, and also that of transforming the island into a German manor, with eastle, stone embattlement around the whole mile circumference, and causeway and drawbridge. The causeway had been already built and is now in existence, connecting by a huge timber bridge the estate with the eastern mainland.

Lake Hopatcong was not naturally over half its present extent, and until about fifty years ago its out- let only gave power to a few small blast-furnaces at a little village called Brooklyn, then located there, but which at the purchase of the water-privileges by the Morris Canal Company suspended operations.

A small pleasure-steamer has usually plied upon the lake, and also a steam-tug for the purpose of con- veying canal-boats to and from the lock, loaded withi iron ore, which finds its way through this channel to the furnaces.

III .- DELAWARE RIVER AND WATER GAP.

The Delaware River, which washes the western border of this county, forming the boundary between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, rises on the western slope of the Catskill Mountains. Mount Prospect, a mile or two southeast of its source, rises about fifteen hundred feet higher, and from its sum- mit Albany, some seventy miles distant, may be plainly seen on a clear day. This mountain-range is the oldest of the earth's upheavals. Long before the snow-elad Alps or the Rocky Mountains emerged from their ocean-beds, and before the Carboniferous period, the crests of the Kittatinny pierced the clouds, while their sides were laved by the vast expanse of waters whence they had risen "when the mountains were brought forth."

The grand scenery of the Delaware for the first two hundred miles as it hugs the northwestern slopes of this Titanic range, seeking an outlet, will well repay a visit along its entire distance. It is evident that for ages a barrier existed at the Water Gap which dammed back the river perhaps one hundred miles. Whether the gap was made by the slow action of the waters over a fall like Niagara or by some earthquake convulsion it is difficult to determine. In the latter case we may conceive of them as waiting, as it were, in calmness and patience for ages for the mighty shoek which should set them at liberty and send them, leaping and exultant, to tho bosom of old ocean; and when the giant sides of the old mountain began to tremble and the colossal barrier was heaved from thoir path, with what alaerity they rushed in and sped on their way rejoicing to the sea, the pent-up forces of a hundred miles of mountain-stream and the action

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PHYSICAL FEATURES OF SUSSEX COUNTY.

of gravity impelling them onward with resistless movement ! The draining of the waters left the val- ley of the Minisink as it now exists,-a rich garden,- and opened below its ancient prison-bounds mighty possibilities for commerce.

" The east and west branches of the Delaware-the Popacton and the Mohawk-flow a distance of about one hundred miles to their point of junction, near the northeast corner of Pennsylvania. The place of the union of these streams to form the Delaware proper is called, in the beautiful and significant language of the Indians, Shehawkan, meaning 'the wedding of the waters.' At this point the stream diverges in a southeasterly direction, and, moving on rapidly, re- ceives the waters of the Lackawaxen ( Lackanwek- sink ), whose wild ravines echo the songs of the 'merry raftmen.' Approaching the Blue Ridge at right angles, it reaches it again at the junction of the three States near Port Jervis, having journeyed in its rambles one hundred and fifty miles, yet being only half that dis- tance from its source. Along the western base of the mountain it flows in a majestic current, lighting up field and forest, adding a charm to a hundred land- scapes. Diverging from the Blue Hills at times to give New Jersey a portion of the rich valley, and again washing their rocky base and receiving the waters of Bushkill, Brodhead's and Marshall's Creeks, the unwearied stream at length reaches the Water Gap, to add the climax of its beautiful creations. The forty miles of the course of this stream along the base of the mountain from Port Jervis to this place is un- surpassed in the variety and beauty of the pictures it presents, and, taken in connection with the numerous adjacent waterfalls, is one of the most interesting portions of the country to the traveler."*

IV .- GEOLOGY OF SUSSEX COUNTY. GNEISS.

The gneiss rock of the Azoie formation is the oldest stratum of the geological structure of this county. It is the rock in which the iron and zine ores are found, and, in a mineral if not in an agricultural point of view, is of great interest and importance. Professor Cook divides the gneiss formation into four belts or parallel strips of territory extending across the State in a northeast and southwest direction, from the New York State line to the Delaware River. In the third of these belts is included the gneiss in Sussex County, consisting of the Hamburg range of mountains, Stir- ling Ilill, and the formation about Andover. "The eastern boundary line of this belt," says Professor Cook, "coincides with that of the crystalline lime- stone from the New York line to the end of Stirling Ilill, near Hamburg. . . . Northeast of Franklin Fur- nace to the southern limit of the blue limestone of the Vernon valley this belt joins the second belt, the white limestone of the valley bounding the gneiss of the Hamburg Mountain. Passing west of Sparta and the

Wallkill, the line passes near Columbia and the Ro-e- ville valley, and runs by Andover to Waterloo." We need follow the description no farther.

The gneiss formation of this county, like the same formation elsewhere, is a crystalline and stratified rock, composed of feldspar and quartz, with small quantities of mica, hornblend, magnetite, or other similar min- erals. "The quartz is generally in grains, which are flattened in the direction of the stratification, and which, in size, range from an eighth to half an inch in the plane of the stratum, and from one-sixteenth to an eighth of an inch in thickness."

CRYSTALLINE OR METAMORPHIC LIMESTONE.

This part of the Azoie formation appears in this county in a series of outerops along the Vernon val- ley, extending into the Wallkill valley east of Ilan- burg and Hardystonville, by Franklin Furnace to Stirling Hill. From Mounts Adam and Eve. and Round Hill in New York, this range is about twenty miles in length. " Although there is not a continuous exposure of the rock, the frequent outerops and the absence of Palæozoie rocks indicate an uninterrupted extent of this limestone." From Pochuck Mountain to Franklin Furnace the magnesian limestone bound+ it on the west. South of Franklin Furnace, or from Mine ITill to its southern limit, the gneiss of Pimple ITill range joins it on the west. On the east, from Stirling Hill to Franklin Furnace and Snufftown road, blue limestone lies in the valley. The surface of this range of crystalline limestone is very jagged and uneven.

"Generally this rock is coarsely crystalline, being made up of large rhombohedral crystals. Sometimes it is finely granular, and even amorphous, in appear- ance. The color is sometimes of a grayish or pinkish tinge, but most generally it is of a pure white, its lustrous cleavage surfaces giving it a bright and re- splendent aspect. Nearly everywhere the rock con- tains graphite in brilliant scales disseminated through the mass." Mica and other minerals are quite com- mon in it, and sometimes it appears interstratified with sienitie gneiss, seen in alternation, as at Mine Hill and southeast of Hardystonville.

POTSDAM SANDSTONE.

Passing to the Paleozoic rocks, the first subdivision is the Potsdam sandstone. This rock has a limited area in Sussex County. At Franklin Furnace is one of the best exposures in the State, where the sandstone can be seen lying unconformably upon the gneiss, and the magnesian limestone directly over it. "The meet- ing of the gneiss and sandstone is best seen just at the west of the road, while the meeting with the lime- stone is best seen in the road on the east of the wagon- track." The small area of Potsdam sandstone observ- able in the county is very thin : at. Franklin Furnace it is not more than from four to twenty feet thick. In German valley, in the Pequest valley, and in other

* Delaware Wator Gap, by Brodhead, 1870.

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places it is a fine-grained, light-colored freestone, working readily under the hammer, and is in some demand for building purposes.

MAGNESIAN LIMESTONE.

This name is applied to the common blue limestone of the Kittatinny valley and of the valleys of the Highlands. In the New York reports it is called cal- ciferous sandstone,-evidently a misnomer, as it con- tains no sand or other material to entitle it to such a designation. In the West, as in New Jersey, it is called, very properly, magnesian limestone, and Pro- fessor Cook remarks that "its usefulness will be in- creased by giving it a proper name."

This formation lies beneath the Trenton limestone and above the Potsdam sandstone. In New Jersey no fossils have been found in it. It is a fine-grained rock, varying in color from a drab to a deep blue and almost a black, and is so soft that it can be easily scratched with a knife. In some cases it is a pure magnesian limestone or dolomite, in others it contains a moderate percentage of impurities, and cavities containing quartz crystals are sometimes found in it. " Near its meeting with the Potsdam sandstone there is an alterna- tion of sandy and calcareous layers, as if the change from one to the other had been a very gradual one. This rock lies in a series of long and narrow parallel belts, which extend from the northeast to the south- west. They are not in horizontal strata, however, but are folded or doubled about certain lines or axes, which lie in their highest direction and very near their middle. In some cases the strata are folded upwards on these lines, when the axis is said to be synclinal ; in other cases they are folded downwards, when the axis is said to be anticlinal."

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History of Sussex and Warren counties, New Jersey, with Illustration and Biographical Sketches of its Prominent Men and Pioneers, Part 59

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1881 Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck Number of Pages: 1140

Author: Snell, James P; Clayton, W. W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1881
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts & Peck
Number of Pages: 1140