A new book about the Morris Canal with previous unpublished archival photos, new signage at several points along the Morris Canal Greenway, and land acquisition in Warren County to be part of the Greenway were among significant updates presented at the Morris Canal Working Group’s biannual virtual meeting on May 28.
An interpretative sign with seven panels was dedicated at Inclined Plane 2 East in Ledgewood in May. Roxbury Township also completed a landscaping plan, stabilizing stonework, and excavation of sleeper stones. Canal Park is among the best Greenway locations for its inclined planes, Canal Society of NJ (CSNJ) President Joe Macasek said. “For the general public to understand the complexities of one of these sites, it needed a sign project,” he said.
New signage funded by the Warren County Morris Canal Committee was installed in Phillipsburg at Plane 10 West at Lock Street and behind the former Morris Canal House, a tavern that served Morris Canal boatmen, according to CSNJ Vice President Tim Roth.
At Lock 2 East in Wharton, the Locktender’s Shanty has been completed and the Locktender’s house has been decorated with historically appropriate furnishings. “It’s still a work in process, lots of things want to do,” Macasek said.
A new book about Morris Canal, featuring pictures from the CSNJ archives never before published, is now available, Macasek said.
Disappearing Act: The Abandonment of New Jersey’s Morris Canal, by Robert R. Goller, can be purchased through CSNJ and online.
In Warren County, the acquisition of Rockport Land was surveyed in November, according to Roth. The Warren County Parks Foundation and New Jersey Youth Corps worked to clear brush and trees for a towpath trail over the winter, making way for a trailhead, canal towpath, and bridge over a canal prism.
Warren County currently is under contract to purchase a 174-acre farm site on Route 57 that has various historic structures, including a former gristmill. It includes one-third of a mile of canal prism that can be potentially developed into a Greenway trail. Roth hopes to be able to announce the acquisition has closed at the next working group meeting in the fall and eventually come up with a plan to develop another piece of the Greenway trail.
CSNJ is organizing a trail crew for Morris County to maintain sections of the Morris Canal Greenway through Morris County. For those interested in volunteering, contact CSNJ Board member Lew Wefferling by email at
[email protected].
The New Heritage Museum at Meadow Breeze Park opened on June 1, relocating from Bread Lock Park where the former museum will become an environmental center. Last year, Washington Township Historic Commission, with assistance from the Warren County Parks Foundation, set out to develop the museum at Meadow Breeze Park, Roth said, making the move in December.
The new museum includes an original Morris Canal canoe from 1916 and the Morris Canal room contains a model of a working lock and inclined plane. The effort was partially funded by a grant from the CSNJ.
The NJTPA and the CSNJ are among the partners working collaboratively to complete the Morris Canal Greenway. Nearly 60 people joined the May 28 Working Group meeting; a recording is
available on the Morris Canal Greenway website.