In 1845 Lumberland was home to hunters, tanners, lumberjacks, timber rafters, canal related workers, as well as shoemakers, blacksmiths, wagonmakers, carpenters, and any other job necessary in a town. The D&H Canal had brought more people to the area. By … Continue reading
Five miles northwest of Halfway Brook Village was Beaver Brook (sometimes called Beaver Brook Mills), where James K. Gardner supervised a lumbering operation for St. John and Dodge. James K., his wife Eliza Eldred, and their three children lived in … Continue reading
The Delaware and Hudson Canal opened in October 1828. In November 1828 the first canal boats loaded with coal arrived at the Hudson River. From then until 1899, barges carried anthracite coal from the Moosic Mountains of Northeastern Pennsylvania mines … Continue reading
Lumberland, 1825–1831 “Lumbering was the only business of the section, cutting and drawing logs, sawing and hauling boards, rafting and running lumber down the stream.”—Johnston, p. 293. Lumberland hummed with the sound of sawmill blades as they ripped through huge … Continue reading
In 1830 circuit riding preachers from the Methodist Episcopal Church began teaching in areas and villages on both sides of the Delaware River. They traveled mostly on foot or horseback. Every two weeks Mr. Grace and Mr. Street preached in … Continue reading
In the early 1800s church was held in log cabins, barns, and sawmills. In 1799 Isaac Sergeant helped organize the Narrows Falls Congregational Church, which became the Lumberland Congregational Church and eventually the Congregational Church of Eldred. In 1816 Stephen … Continue reading
There was still no good way to travel on land in 1828. Whether you walked or rode a horse, the roads were rough and through the wilderness. In 1829 whether by foot, horseback, canal or all three, Doctor Perkins journeyed … Continue reading
Recently I was sent the following photos of Halfway Brook in the fall of 2021, that I thought went along with the last post on Freshets and Floods. Special Thanks and Credit: Laughing Water Photos.
A freshet is a sudden rise in the level of a stream, or a flood, caused by heavy rains or the rapid melting of snow and ice. Freshets were necessary to float the rafts of lumber to market, but they … Continue reading
Around 1764, the year after the French and Indian War, Daniel Skinner built a 15 foot by 80 foot raft from six felled pine trees. Daniel ingeniously lashed these logs (masts for boats), together, added a rudder, and floated the … Continue reading
