Comments Encouraged

2009-05-31T14:48:00.000-07:00

This is a draft for my new e-books to be released in a few months.Volumes are being added now. If you read a "volume" like "THE GEOGRAPHY" and you think some feature should be added or you know of a great link that might expand on the thought - please add a comment in the area provided below the chapter.

There will be several volumes. Government, Commerce, Dining, Recreation, Infrastructure, Employment, Education, Communications, and much more. To comment on possible topics BEFORE the chapters are written here, you can email your thoughts to vic@buzzcreek.com. Provide links if you have some favorites.

Thanks! Read and enjoy. Remember - the final products will be full of links and pictures. All Content is -- Copyright Buzz Creek, Vic Campbell - 2009

The Geography Vol I

2009-05-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

536 Square Miles of farms, villages, woodland, lakes and streams: That is Sussex County. It is a rural part of the greater area encompassing what is known as the Metropolitan New York. As a matter of fact - except for the hilly terrain it might have become as densely populated as much of the rest of New Jersey (The most densely populated state of the Union). Back in the old days - the area was truly inaccessible. In 1794 a farmer near Branchville was quoted in the newspaper - complaining that the region was losing its rural character because of the turnpike (Hwy 206). Some weeks as many as two or three ox teams would pass through the area.

The British hated the prospect of patrolling the hilly region in revolutionary times, and avoided it as much as possible. That was good for the Colonials, who managed to mine a great deal of iron from the region to feed the armories. As it turns out, near to the border of the county is a modern remnant of that inaccessibility. Picatinny Arsenal is just down the road in Morris County.

About 15 square miles of the county are covered in water - either lakes, streams or rivers. Many parks in Sussex County are featured along or around these lakes and streams. Some of the largest lakes are Culver Lake, Swartswood Lake, Lake Mohawk, Highland Lakes and Lake Owassa. Sometimes you will find a mix of Dutch and Lenape Indian names for the streams or other features. Some of the key streams are The Pequest (Lenape), The Walkill (Dutch) The Flat Brook (English), and The Muscenetcong (Lenape). The biggest lake in New Jersey, Lake Hopatcong (Lenape), almost borders the Southern end of Sussex County. Actually the Muscenetcong is mostly in Warren County and it follows along some of the old Morris Canal - another major transportation artery that 19th century engineers carved out around the outside of Sussex County.

The Delaware river is not navigated by commercial traffic this far up but it is a tremendous recreation resource for the area. The Delaware River (named for the Delaware Indians - the original family of the Lenape), is the lowest point in Sussex County. Looking up from its surface near the Northwest corner of the county you can see the highest point. There is an obvious spire stabbing at the sky from the top of the Kittatinny Ridge. Appropriately named, it is called "The High Point Monument". The whole area is encompassed in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

Almost the entire Western side of the county including the Kittatinny Ridge is either state or national preserves. It is a hiker's, biker's, boater's paradise. Other mountainous areas of the county are also designated state or commercial recreation areas. Near Vernon you'll find Wawayanda State Park and tremendous hiking trails through the valley along Black Creek. Several ski facilities are in this part of the county around Vernon and Highland Lakes. You'll find summer water parks in regular use at the same locations.

All throughout the county you will find state or county maintained hiking trails. Those along the Appalachian Trail of the Kittatinny Ridge are the more famous, but dozens follow ridges or valleys or old rail paths in every corner of the county. Just to the East of Sussex County is the Mahlon Dickerson Preserve, another fantastic area to enjoy hiking and nature. To the South is Alamuchy State Park with even more fishing, boating and hiking wonders. Sparta developed a hiking preserve in and around Sparta Mountain and the old Edison Mines area. This location and many more are fun to explore. Geocaching sites are found all over the county and provide extra incentive to get out and find something new.

Speaking of mines - there were once many of them in the county. Some still remain as viable businesses - but primarily as quarries. You can learn a great deal about the mining era around the Franklin and Ogdensburg area by visiting the museum at the Franklin Mines, and the Sterling Mining Musem in the same, Walkill Valley.

One drawback to the rough terrain is that major transportation arteries were cut North of the county (I-84 in New York) and South of the county (I-80) but not through the County (The Morris Canal of 1830 avoided Sussex County as well) . The story is similar regarding the rails. For rail transport to NYC for instance, the best access is from the South end of the county, traveling to Dover, NJ or Mt. Arlington. Something on the order of 70 percent of Sussex County residents work OUTside the county, so those who commute to the Eastern commerce centers like NYC - who also want a country home - life, are probably wise to consider the South end of the county as a home base.

There has been talk for 25 years of bringing back a rail head to Sussex County. A prominent remnant of the old railroad days is the seemingly straight-as-an-arrow man made "mountain rail bed slicing across the South end of Sussex County. The Lackawanna Cuttoff was built about 1910. By 1960 it was no longer in use. The tunnels are obvious landmarks and the ridge of the railbed itself is quite prominent from the air. Like the Morris Canal, a wonder in its day, the Lackawanna Cutoff had only a few decades of steady use and then was abandoned.

The primary arteries inside the county are Hwy 15, Hwy 206 , Hwy 94 and Hwy 23. Check the map to see how these roads help you to access the Interstates or the rails.

One of George Washington's imported Generals, Casimir Pulaski, was assigned to patrol the NW portion of the county, the Delaware River and the Walpack Valley. He was in charge of a group known as Pulaski's Legion. They were mounted dragoons. The General became so bored with the lack of interest from the British that he begged for and received a re-assignment to South Carolina. It was in South Carolina that a cannonball ended his career. Maybe he should have just been happy and stayed in Sussex County and taken up fly fishing.

copyright Vic Campbell, Buzz Creek - 2009
More Links
Lake Mohawk .. NJ Soil Types .. NJ Topography .. NJ Cities ..
Sussex Co. Planning Maps .. NW NJ Geology and History DVD
Flickr Photos of NJ to Enjoy ..

THE PEOPLE -- Vol II

2009-05-03T09:13:00.000-07:00

Sussex County, New Jersey is a bit of an anomaly for anyplace within a gallon of gas range of New York City. Whereas NYC is a microcosm of every world culture under the sun - Sussex County is something like Mayberry, RFD and people like it that way. This section provides links to a number of demographic breakouts for the county and various towns in it. However, the author has decided to clarify the racial makeup of the county in more realistic terms. Here are the primary races represented in Sussex County:

The Insiders - The Outsiders - The Cultured - The Muscle - The Movers - The Shakers - The Vegetables. If you can identify some of these racial profiles you will be much more capable of forming good business and personal alliances with the community as a whole.

ONE:
THE INSIDERS
Here are some of the people you should get to know if you want to have a clue about what is going on in your county. Specific names are not provided here except in a few instances. As an outsider (you are probably one of them) you will have a better chance of having an impact on things that interest you if you know where the power lies. .... temp stop.

Where all the Money Goes - the Pit

2008-11-19T03:49:00.003-08:00

Should US Stop Dumping Money Into Hole? @ Yahoo! Video

Debriefing - Sussex County, NJ

2008-01-13T12:13:00.001-08:00

Exactly what have I learned about Sussex County in 23 years here?
Preliminary Chapters

Volume 1: Where Is This Place?

The Geography
The Lakes
The Streams
The Kittatinny Ridge
The Valleys
The Towns

Volume 2: Who Are These People?

The Demographics
The History
The Politics
The Schools
The Largest Employers
The Locals
The Transplants

Volume 4: Services Infrastruture

Hospitals

Clinics

Transportation

Law Enforcement

Waste and Recyling

Water Systems

Energy Systems

Volume 5: Entertainment

Sussex County, NJ Debrief

Comments Encouraged

The Geography Vol I

THE PEOPLE -- Vol II

Where all the Money Goes - the Pit

Debriefing - Sussex County, NJ