![Delaware Water Gap cliffs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a7/Delaware_Water_Gap_cliffs.jpg)
The Minisink or (more recently) Minisink Valley is a loosely defined geographic region of the Upper
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
valley in northwestern
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 ...
(
Sussex
Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...
and
Warren
A warren is a network of wild rodent or lagomorph, typically rabbit burrows. Domestic warrens are artificial, enclosed establishment of animal husbandry dedicated to the raising of rabbits for meat and fur. The term evolved from the medieval Angl ...
counties), northeastern
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
(
Pike
Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to:
Fish
* Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus''
* Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes
* ''Esox'', genus of ...
and
Monroe counties) and New York (
Orange
Orange most often refers to:
*Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis''
** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower
*Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum
* ...
and
Sullivan counties).
The name was derived by Dutch colonists from the
Munsee
The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along t ...
name for the area, as bands of their people took names after geographic places which they inhabited as territory throughout the mid-Atlantic area. Originally inhabited by
Munsee
The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along t ...
, the northern branch of the
Lenape or Delaware Indians, the area's first European settlers arrived in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries and were
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
and French
Huguenot
The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...
families from colonial New York's
Hudson River Valley
The Hudson Valley (also known as the Hudson River Valley) comprises the valley of the Hudson River and its adjacent communities in the U.S. state of New York. The region stretches from the Capital District including Albany and Troy south to Yo ...
. The term "Minisink" is not used often today. It is preserved because of its historical relevance concerning the early European settlement of the region during the American colonial period and as an artifact of the early "first contact" between Native Americans and early European explorers, traders and missionaries in the seventeenth century.
Much of the historical Minisink region has been incorporated into the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle ...
after defeat of
a controversial dam project proposed to be built by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Delaware River near
Tocks Island
A 1950s proposal to construct a dam near Tocks Island across the Delaware River was met with considerable controversy and protest. Tocks Island is located in the Delaware River a short distance north from the Delaware Water Gap. In order to co ...
.
Meaning of the name "Minisink"
![Minisink Island upstream end 4](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Minisink_Island_upstream_end_4.jpg)
The name Minisink comes from the
Munsee dialect of
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
, a group of similar
Algonquian dialects that were spoken by the various groups of
Lenape
The Lenape (, , or Lenape , del, Lënapeyok) also called the Leni Lenape, Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. Their historical territory includ ...
, Lenni Lenape, or Delaware Indians who inhabited the region before European colonization. ''Minisink'' means "at the island" from the Algonquin root word ''minis'', meaning island.
During the colonial period, the Minisink was also an area of significant skirmishes and raids between British and French-allied forces in the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
(the North American front of the
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754 ...
). In response to attacks by larger forces of Delaware,
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...
ordered the construction of a series of forts along the
Pennsylvanian side of the
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
. These forts included
Fort Hyndshaw
Fort Hyndshaw was a fort in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania, built in 1755 and 1756 during the French and Indian War.
The need for fortifications
In response to an increasing number of attacks in Pennsylvania by French tro ...
,
Fort Dupuy
Fort Depuy, located in Shawnee on Delaware, is a village in Smithfield Township. It was one of many forts in Colonial Pennsylvania built in 1755 and 1756 during the French and Indian War.
The need for fortifications.
In response to an increas ...
, Fort Norris, and Fort Hamilton, among others.
Earlier historians posited that Minisink meant "people of the stony country" or "where the stones are gathered together." However,
Smithsonian linguist
Ives Goddard
Robert Hale Ives Goddard III (born 1941) is a linguist and a curator emeritus in the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution. He is widely considered the leading expert on the Algonqui ...
states that any of the attempts to derive either ''Minisink'' or ''Munsee'' from words meaning "stone" or "mountain," as proposed by these writers (including Lenape scholar
Daniel G. Brinton
Daniel Garrison Brinton (May 13, 1837July 31, 1899) was an American surgeon, historian, archaeologist and ethnologist.
Biography
Brinton was born in Thornbury Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. After graduating from Yale University in 1858, ...
), are incorrect.
Geology and geography
Defining the Minisink area
The Minisink has never been known as a region with distinct, set boundaries. It generally has been conceived as the valley of the Delaware River going northward from the Delaware Water Gap and including the valley of the
Neversink River
The Neversink River (also called Neversink Creek in its upper course) is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in southeastern Ne ...
(a tributary entering the Delaware near Port Jervis, New York). According to Vosburgh, "The 'Minisink county' consists of the valley of the Neversink west of the
Shawangunk Mountains Shawangunk ( ) may refer to:
In New York
*Shawangunk, New York, a town in Ulster County
*Shawangunk Correctional Facility, in Ulster County
*Shawangunk Grasslands National Wildlife Refuge, in Ulster County
*Shawangunk Kill, a tributary of the Wallk ...
, and the Delaware valley, as far as the Delaware Water Gap." Some sources imply that it was confined to the width of valley of the Delaware and its surrounding hillsides.
Other sources define the region as an area extending for 20–30 miles to the east and west of the river. This latter definition would include parts or all of the Kittatinny Valley to the east of
Kittatinny Mountain
Kittatinny Mountain (Lenape: Kitahtëne) is a long ridge traversing primarily across Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey, running in a northeast-southwest axis, a continuation across the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ...
in New Jersey, and westward deep into northeastern Pennsylvania. East of the Shawangunk ridge, in New York are the
Town of Greenville and the
Town of Minisink, both often included as part of the Minisink region. Their residents attend
Minisink Valley Central School District
The Minisink Valley Central School District is a unified school district in Orange County, New York. The district consists of five schools; an elementary, intermediate, middle, and high school, which are all located in the township of Wawayanda, N ...
.
Course of the Delaware River
The
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...
was often referred to as the ''Minisink River'' in early Dutch colonial documents and on early maps. The Delaware River constitutes part of the boundary between
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, and the entire boundary between
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 ...
and
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The middle section of the Delaware River's course, roughly between
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...
and the
Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap N ...
(a break in
Kittatinny Mountain
Kittatinny Mountain (Lenape: Kitahtëne) is a long ridge traversing primarily across Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey, running in a northeast-southwest axis, a continuation across the Delaware Water Gap of Pennsylvania's Blue Mountain ...
where the river runs through) constitutes the north and southern points of the Minisink or Minisink Valley. The river flows down a broad
Appalachian valley. The Minisink is a
buried valley A buried valley is an ancient river or stream valley that has been filled with glacial or unconsolidated sediment. This sediment is made up of predominantly gravel and sand, with some silt and clay. These types of sediments can often store and trans ...
, where the Delaware flows in a bed of
glacial
A glacial period (alternatively glacial or glaciation) is an interval of time (thousands of years) within an ice age that is marked by colder temperatures and glacier advances. Interglacials, on the other hand, are periods of warmer climate betw ...
till
image:Geschiebemergel.JPG, Closeup of glacial till. Note that the larger grains (pebbles and gravel) in the till are completely surrounded by the matrix of finer material (silt and sand), and this characteristic, known as ''matrix support'', is d ...
that buried the eroded bedrock during the
last glacial period.
At
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...
, the river enters the Port Jervis trough. At this point, the
Walpack Ridge deflects the Delaware into the Minisink Valley. It follows the southwest
strike
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
of the eroded
Marcellus Formation
The Marcellus Formation or the Marcellus Shale is a Middle Devonian age unit of sedimentary rock found in eastern North America. Named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York, in the United States,
it extends throughou ...
beds
A bed is an item of furniture that is used as a place to sleep, rest, and relax.
Most modern beds consist of a soft, cushioned mattress on a bed frame. The mattress rests either on a solid base, often wood slats, or a sprung base. Many be ...
along the Pennsylvania–New Jersey state line for to the end of the ridge at Walpack Bend in
Walpack Township, New Jersey
Walpack Township is a township in Sussex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the township had a population of 7, reflecting a decline of 34 (−82.9%) from the 41 counted in the 2000 Census, which had in t ...
in the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle ...
. It skirts the
Kittatinny ridge, which it crosses at the
Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap N ...
, between nearly vertical walls of
sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...
,
quartzite
Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tect ...
, and
conglomerate.
Appalachian Mountains
The features of the Ridge and Valley province were created approximately 300–400 million years ago during the
Ordovician period
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya.
The ...
and
Appalachian orogeny
The Alleghanian orogeny or Appalachian orogeny is one of the geological mountain-forming events that formed the Appalachian Mountains and Allegheny Mountains. The term and spelling Alleghany orogeny was originally proposed by H.P. Woodward in 1957 ...
—a period of tremendous pressure and rock thrusting that caused the creation of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
. This physiographic province occupies approximately two-thirds of the county's area—the county's western and central sections. Its contour is characterized by long, even ridges with long, continuous valleys in between that generally run parallel from southwest to northeast. This region is largely formed by
sedimentary rock
Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles ...
.
[Lucey, Carol S. ''Geology of Sussex County in Brief.'' (Trenton, NJ: New Jersey Geological Survey, November 1969), 21pp]
located online here
(Retrieved August 28, 2012).[Dalton, Richard. "New Jersey Geological Survey Information Circular: Physiographic Provinces of New Jersey" (Trenton, NJ: Department of Environmental Protection, State of New Jersey, 2003, 2006), 2pp.]
located online here
(Retrieved August 28, 2012).
Kittatinny Mountain is the dominant geological feature in the parts of the Minisink located within New Jersey. It is part of the
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...
, and part of a ridge that continues as the Blue Ridge or Blue Mountain in Eastern Pennsylvania, and as
Shawangunk Ridge
The Shawangunk Ridge , also known as the Shawangunk Mountains or The Gunks, is a ridge of bedrock in Ulster County, Sullivan County and Orange County in the state of New York, extending from the northernmost point of the border with New Jersey ...
in New York. It begins in New Jersey as the eastern half of the
Delaware Water Gap
Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.
The gap makes up the southern portion of the Delaware Water Gap N ...
, and runs northeast to southwest along the Delaware River. Elevations range from 1,200 to 1,800 feet and attains a maximum elevation of 1,803 feet at
High Point, in Montague Township.
[U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resource Conservation Service. Soil Survey of Sussex County, New Jersey (Washington, DC: 2009), 3.] Between Kittatinny Mountain and the Delaware River is the
Walpack Ridge, with elevations of 500 to 800 feet.
It is a smaller ridge that parallels Kittatinny Mountain between the
Walpack Bend and
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city located at the confluence of the Neversink and Delaware rivers in western Orange County, New York, United States, north of the Delaware Water Gap. Its population was 8,775 at the 2020 census. The communities of Deerpark, ...
, and encloses the watershed of the
Flat Brook
Flat Brook, also spelled as Flatbrook, is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Delaware River in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United Sta ...
which is also called
Walpack Valley
Wallpack Valley (or Walpack Valley) is a valley located in Sussex County, New Jersey, Sussex County in northwestern New Jersey formed by Wallpack Ridge (elevation 600–900 feet) on the west, and Kittatinny Mountain (1400–1800 feet) on the east.F ...
.
The
Kittatinny Valley
The Kittatinny Valley is a section of the Great Appalachian Valley in Sussex and Warren counties in northwestern New Jersey that is bounded on the northwest by Kittatinny Mountain, and in the southeast by the New Jersey Highlands region. The val ...
lies to the east of Kittatinny Mountain and ends with the Highlands in the east. It is largely a region of rolling hills and flat valley floors. Elevations in this valley range from 400 to 1,000 feet.
It is part of the
Great Appalachian Valley
The Great Appalachian Valley, also called The Great Valley or Great Valley Region, is one of the major landform features of eastern North America. It is a gigantic trough—a chain of valley lowlands—and the central feature of the Appalachian M ...
running from eastern Canada to northern Alabama. This valley is shared by three major watersheds—the
Wallkill River, with its tributaries
Pochuck Creek Pochuck Creek is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 tributary of the Wallkill River in Orange County, New York and Sussex County, New Jersey, in the United ...
and
Papakating Creek
Papakating Creek is a tributary of the Wallkill River located in Frankford and Wantage townships in Sussex County, New Jersey in the United States. The creek rises in a small swamp located beneath the eastern face of Kittatinny Mountain in Fran ...
flowing north; and the
Paulins Kill watershed
Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to:
Hydrology
* Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins
* Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...
and
Pequest River
The Pequest River is a tributary of the Delaware River in the Skylands Region in northwestern New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002.
The Pequest, Native American for "open land," drains ...
watershed flowing southwest.
Kittatinny's valley floor is part of the
Ordovician
The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago (Mya) to the start ...
Martinsburg Formation
The Ordovician Martinsburg Formation (Om) is a mapped bedrock unit in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is named for the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia for which it was first described. It is the dominant roc ...
(shale and slate) which make up most of the valley—and the
Jacksonburg Formation (mostly limestone). The mountain is of the
Silurian
The Silurian ( ) is a geologic period and system spanning 24.6 million years from the end of the Ordovician Period, at million years ago ( Mya), to the beginning of the Devonian Period, Mya. The Silurian is the shortest period of the Paleozo ...
Shawangunk Conglomerate which is mainly composed of quartz. Due to the hardness of the
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
, the mountain is extremely resistant to
weathering
Weathering is the deterioration of rocks, soils and minerals as well as wood and artificial materials through contact with water, atmospheric gases, and biological organisms. Weathering occurs ''in situ'' (on site, with little or no movement), ...
.
History
The Lenape and other cultures
![Delaware01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Delaware01.png)
This area was occupied for thousands of years by succeeding cultures of indigenous peoples. At the time of European encounter, the historic Lenape ( or ), a
Native American people, also called Delaware Indians after their historic territory along the Delaware River, inhabited the mid-Atlantic coastal areas and inland along the Hudson and Delaware rivers. As a result of disruption following the
French and Indian War
The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...
(1756–1763) the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
(1775–1783) and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, the main groups now live in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
(Canada), and Wisconsin and Oklahoma in the United States. In Canada, they are enrolled in the
Munsee-Delaware Nation
Munsee-Delaware Nation (Munsee: Nalahii Lunaapewaak, ''meaning: Lenapes from the Upstream'', in contrast with The Lenape at Moraviantown, referred to as "Downstrean Lenapes") is a Lenape First Nations band government located west of St. Thom ...
, the
Moravian of the Thames First Nation, and the
Delaware of Six Nations
Six Nations (or Six Nations of the Grand River, french: Réserve des Six Nations, see, Ye:i’ Níónöëdzage:h) is demographically the largest First Nations reserve in Canada. As of the end of 2017, it has a total of 27,276 members, 12,848 of w ...
. In the United States, they are enrolled in three
federally recognized tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
, the
Delaware Nation
Delaware Nation ( del, Èhëliwsikakw Lënapeyok), also known as the Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and sometimes called the Absentee or Western Delaware, based in Anadarko, Oklahoma[Delaware Tribe of Indians
The Delaware Tribe of Indians, formerly known as the Cherokee Delaware or the Eastern Delaware, based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, is one of three federally recognized tribes of the Lenape people in the United States, the others being with the Dela ...]
located in
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, and the
Stockbridge-Munsee Community, located in
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
. The
Ramapough Mountain Indians
The Ramapough Lenape Nation is a state-recognized tribe in New Jersey. They were previously named the Ramapough Mountain Indians (also spelled Ramapo), also known as the Ramapough Lenape Nation or Ramapough Lunaape Munsee Delaware Nation.
They h ...
and the
Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape
The Nanticoke Lenni-Lenape people (also known as Nanticoke Lenape) are a tribal confederation of Nanticoke of the Delmarva Peninsula and the Lenape of southern New Jersey and northern Delaware. They are recognized by the state of New Jersey, havi ...
, recognized as tribes by the state of New Jersey, identify as Lenape descendants.
Settlement by Dutch and Huguenot families
Condemnation
The Delaware River is prone to floods—some resulting from seasonal snow melt or rain run-off from heavy rainstorms. However, record flooding occurred in August 1955 in the aftermath of two separate
hurricane
A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...
s (
Hurricane Connie
Hurricane Connie was a Category 4 hurricane that contributed to significant flooding across the eastern United States in August 1955, just days before Hurricane Diane affected the same general area. Connie formed on August 3 from a tropical ...
and
Hurricane Diane
Hurricane Diane was the first Atlantic hurricane to cause more than an estimated $1 billion in damage (in 1955 dollars, which would be $ today), including direct costs and the loss of business and personal revenue. It formed on August ...
) that passed over the area within the span of one week. On 19 August 1955, the river gauge at
Riegelsville, Pennsylvania
Riegelsville is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 868 at the 2010 census. It is included in the Delaware Valley, Philadelphia-Wilmington-Camden Metropolitan Statistical Area, des ...
recorded that the Delaware River reached a crest of 38.85 feet (11.84 m) above flood stage.
A project to dam the river near
Tocks Island
A 1950s proposal to construct a dam near Tocks Island across the Delaware River was met with considerable controversy and protest. Tocks Island is located in the Delaware River a short distance north from the Delaware Water Gap. In order to co ...
was in the works before the 1955 floods. But several deaths and severe damages resulting from these floods brought the issue of flood control to the national level. The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
, colors =
, anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day)
, battles =
, battles_label = Wars
, website =
, commander1 = ...
proposed the construction of the dam which would have created a 37-mile (60-km) long lake between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with depths of up to 140 feet. The area around the lake would be established as the ''Tocks Island National Recreation Area'' under the oversight of the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
to offer recreation activities such as hunting, hiking, fishing, and boating. In addition to flood control and recreation, the dam would be used to generate
hydroelectric power
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
, and provide a clean water supply to New York City and Philadelphia.
Starting in 1960, the present day area of the Recreation Area was acquired for the
Army Corps of Engineers through
eminent domain
Eminent domain (United States, Philippines), land acquisition (India, Malaysia, Singapore), compulsory purchase/acquisition (Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, United Kingdom), resumption (Hong Kong, Uganda), resumption/compulsory acquisition (Austr ...
. Approximately 15,000 people were displaced by the condemnation of personal property along the Delaware River and the surrounding area through eminent domain. An estimated 3,000 to 5,000 dwellings and outbuildings were demolished in preparation for the dam project and subsequent flooding of the valley. This included many irreplaceable historical sites and structures connected with the valley's colonial and Native American heritage. The plan was embroiled in controversy and protest by environmental groups and embittered displaced residents. Because of considerable opposition from environmental activists, the unavailability of government funding, and a geological assessment of the dam's safety given its location near active
fault lines
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
, the federal government transferred the property to the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
in 1978 and the project's land holdings were reorganized to create the
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle ...
.
[The Legacy of Tocks Island, Pocono Record, August 12, 2001]
See also
*
Brau Kettle The Brau Kettle is a geological feature known as a karst that is located along the Wallpack Ridge in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sandyston Township, New Jersey. Its name derives from the Dutch for "brewing kettle" or "boiling ...
*
Minisink Archaeological Site
References
External links
Minisink Valley Historical Society website (www.minisink.org) National Park Service
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Delaware River
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Sussex County, New Jersey
Warren County, New Jersey
Orange County, New York
Sullivan County, New York
Pike County, Pennsylvania
Northampton County, Pennsylvania
New Netherland