Holland Brook is a

tributary A tributary, or affluent, is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream or main stem (or parent) river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries and the main stem river drain the surrounding drai ...

of the

South Branch Raritan River The South Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in New Jersey.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. Description The source of the South Branch is the outflow from Budd Lake, a glacial remnant locate ...

in Hunterdon and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

Counties,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

in the

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. Holland Brook flows through Readington and Branchburg. It is the last tributary of the South Branch Raritan River before it combines with the

North Branch Raritan River The North Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. The North Branch Raritan River rises in Morris County, in eastern Mendham Borough rising o ...

. The brook is over seven miles in length running from its headwaters near Cushetunk Mountain, a plutonic intrusion of igneous rock surrounding Round Valley Reservoir, to its convergence with the South Branch Raritan River near Studdiford Drive in Branchburg. The brook is ten to twenty feet across most of its length. It changes over 300 feet in elevation from its headwaters to its convergence with the Raritan River. Holland Brook was originally named Holland's Brook for Thomas Holland of

Piscataway Piscataway may refer to: *Piscataway people, a Native American ethnic group native to the southern Mid-Atlantic States *Piscataway language *Piscataway, Maryland, an unincorporated community *Piscataway, New Jersey, a township *Piscataway Creek, Ma ...

, who was married to Winifred Pound. Thomas Holland was a descendant of the translator

Philemon Holland Philemon Holland (1552 – 9 February 1637) was an English schoolmaster, physician and translator. He is known for the first English translations of several works by Livy, Pliny the Elder, and Plutarch, and also for translating William Camden's ...

. Holland was an early property owner along the brook, although he never resided there. The recorded Lenape name for the Brook was Amanmechunk. This word in the Unami dialect meant large creek.

Greenway

The Holland Brook Greenway is a proposed five-mile greenway project in Readington and Branchburg. If both townships completed the trail, it could link another future trail on the North Branch Raritan River with the Middle School in Readington and the Lachenmayr Trail. Branchburg’s proposed section of the Greenway would fit into a larger plan and would connect with a 16-mile cross-township trail. The Holland Brook Greenway trail could eventually provide access to the Raritan River Greenway and the

East Coast Greenway The East Coast Greenway is a pedestrian and bicycle route between Maine and Florida along the East Coast of the United States. In 2020, the Greenway received over 50 million visits. The nonprofit East Coast Greenway Alliance was created in 1991. ...

. The township of Branchburg would need to gain four additional properties to have public access from the Readington border to the Confluence Reservoir Park land along the North Branch Raritan River. A possible trail along this path would need to make minor crossings at South Branch Road (near a number of farms), Evergreen Drive (in a residential neighborhood) and the somewhat busier Old York Road. A fourth crossing over US-202, however, would need to be constructed to ensure a safe passage for bicycles or pedestrians. At-grade crossings with crosswalks would be possible at South Branch Road and Evergreen Drive and the trail could possibly go under the bridge at Old York Road. The Readington section still has several gaps in it and no official segments of the Greenway has been built in either township.

Tributaries

Holland Brook has ten unnamed tributaries in Branchburg and Readington listed on NJDEP's website. They all are categorized as FW2-NT (fresh water second level classification generally not suitable for trout). Two named ones are below: * Dreahook Creek * Stone Creek

Crossings

Readington

Roosevelt Road Bridge, over Holland Brook

*Dreahook Road *Voorhees Road *Dogwood Drive * CR 523/ Flemington-

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Road (brown sign on bridge) *Holland Brook Road (2 crossings) *Roosevelt Road *Pine Bank Road (2 crossings) *Hillcrest Road in Readington Village

Branchburg

Old York Road Old York Road (originally York Road, with reference to New York) is a roadway that was built during the 18th century to connect Philadelphia with New York City. Through New Jersey it was built along the Raritan (Unami tribe) "Naraticong Trail", ...

US 202 U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a spur route of US 2. It follows a northeasterly and southwesterly direction stretching from Delaware to Maine, also traveling through the states of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massa ...

*West County Drive

Schools

The first Holland Brook School was in Readington Village in the 19th century. In 1791, an act was passed "to incorporate societies for the advancement of learning". On August 4, 1804, Abraham Post, Peter Quick, Isaac Berkaw, William Dalley, William Spader, Cornelius Van Horn, Abraham Smock, Andrew Mattis, Adrian Stryker, Peter Ten Brook, William Ditmars and Derrick de Mott incorporated the Holland Brook School. One of the teachers at the school was Colonel John Mehelm. The site of Mehelm's house on New Bromley Road, which burned in the 1960s, has a historical marker in front of it.Site of Colonel John Mehelm House Marker
/ref> The school eventually changed names to Readington School and closed in 1897. The second and current Holland Brook School is a primary school for fourth and fifth grades and was built adjacent to the Readington Middle School.

References

{{authority control Tributaries of the Raritan River Rivers of New Jersey Rivers of Somerset County, New Jersey Rivers of Hunterdon County, New Jersey