Trails leading from the Visitor Center take hikers along the water's edge on the perimeter trail, through forests, old conifer stands, and quiet trickling streams. We appreciate our visitors understanding while we are closed during this most challenging time. Merrill Creek Reservoir is a 650-acre reservoir surrounded by a 290-acre environmental preserve and 2000 additional acres of woods and fields. Located in central Warren County, New Jersey, Merrill Creek Reservoir is a 650-acre (2.6 km²) artificial lake that is surrounded by 290 acres (1.2 km²) of protected woodland and fields. In 2019, the Historic Moravian Village of Hope celebrated 250 years since the Moravians first settled the hills along the Beaver Brook. Sunday concerts on the manor lawn are a favorite during the summer. Though Merrill Creek Reservoir is in fact a man made lake, the 290 acres around the water are protected land and cannot be developed. During the late 1890s, hoping to turn a profit from his iron ore mine in northern New Jersey, Thomas Edison developed and used his own iron ore milling process. Although the first Valley View concrete houses had only four rooms, the rest had six rooms, and both types had modern bathrooms and basements, all cast in one operation. No one is permitted on the dam, but steep trails in the woods on either side lead up to a scenic view at the top. This is the valley of the Pohatcong Creek, a corridor of commerce and transportation from Washington to Phillipsburg for more than a century and a half. Nearby Merrill Creek Reservoir, with its vast open waters and network of wooded trails, is deserving of any excursion up the mountain. Back then, Pleasant Hollow's aura was one of beauty and mystery. 34 Merrill Creek Road. Then look for the gravel lane on the right in another half-mile, and a gated, unpaved parking area. From the Visitors Center, return to Richline Road then turn right and continue to its intersection with Montana Road. Mike W. & … Keep informed about all the great stuff to do in and around Northwest New Jersey by reading our seasonal publication, the Skylands Visitor magazine. One trail passes alongside the old farm ruins of the Cathers and Shafers families, including building foundations and a limestone kiln. Copyright A bear has been spied at least once swimming across a narrow part of the reservoir. Brian S. & Eric G. 5 12.00lbs ( Lunker 4.24lbs ) ( Late Penalty -1lb ) 2. Few visitors realize, though, that the Fox Farm Road once continued down the basin's steep western side, passing the sites of old family farms and a schoolhouse, now deep under water. Since it opened in May of 1989 the area has become a popular destination for outdoor lovers. Edison's cement mill employed 600 men, mostly immigrants, the majority of whom commuted daily by trolley from Phillipsburg, Easton and Washington. Trail surface is mostly easy, with some rocks/roots in areas. Merrill Creek Reservoir Just beyond the old road, look carefully on the right for a black-topped lane leading up to a paved parking area. The trails and boat ramp are open from sunrise to sunset daily. Quaker ownership continued for decades after. A descent into the basin through row after row of tall, dark evergreens provided a romantic setting by which to dally at the water's edge of Ingersoll reservoir at the bottom. This story was first published: Autumn, 2012, Bald Pate Mountain, Washington's Crossing, Howell Farm, Reservoir Relaxation: Split Rock,Taylortown and Boonton. Nearby Merrill Creek Reservoir, with its vast open waters and network of wooded trails, is deserving of any excursion up the mountain. But as the houses were completed and occupied, their comfortable nature eased those fears. Return to Route 57 and turn left to travel the Concrete Mile.  |  It will pass over the old Morris Canal just before the traffic light at Route 57 in the village of Broadway, so-named since at least 1856. It's one of the few places that is beautiful during all four seasons. Le sentier offre plusieurs activités et sa meilleure utilisation est de … To view another of Thomas Edison's impressive influences on the area, head into the Valley View neighborhood in Phillipsburg. The 2,300-acre property surrounding Merrill Creek Reservoir holds a large network of trails worthy of exploration, including a 290-acre environmental preserve. After about a mile it is easy to see the very large buildings which house thousands of chickens at the Ise Farms egg production facility. While canoes, kayaks, and fishing boats with small electric motors may be on the water generally from dawn to dusk, check Merrill Creek Reservoir's website for the exact hours of ramp operation. 1. A bit farther on, there is another wildlife blind along the water's edge. Charles Ingersoll had improved upon Edison's casting method by using lighter, more economical wooden forms and by eliminating the need for top forms for the floors. Get our newsletter, This Week in the NJ Skylands, with updates, special offers and good ideas! Even the tall cluster of Edison's cement silos are partly hidden as nature reclaims its territory. Merrill Creek is connected to the Delaware River, about three miles away, by an underground tunnel. Cover includes brush, ledges, timbered shoreline, riprap shoreline, coves, and fallen timber. Turn right onto Edison Road and look for ruins obscured by overgrowth, once part of Edison's gigantic cement production facility. Or watch an eagle suddenly fly toward an osprey as it tries to quickly escape with its newly-caught fish, snatching it in mid-air drop. The plant's production activities created so much dust that Edison eventually had to buy out the owners of the surrounding farms. In a short distance, notice the gravel lane on the right that leads back to a wildlife observation blind located on a former homestead, the upper Beers farm. The Visitor Center will remain closed at this time. Explore the remarkable personality of this place and get a year-round supply of great things to see and do!! 34 Merrill Creek Road Mountain Hawk Watch from September through November, where thousands of hawks pass over along a major raptor migration flyway. Visitor Center Phone: (908) 454-1213. Turn up narrow Fox Farm Road and follow it up Montana Mountain, bearing right in about a mile. Home Fishing With The Lunker Hunters! Owned by: Merrill Creek Reservoir. (C. H. Ingersoll bore no relationship to the Ingersoll-Rand Company but was of Ingersoll Dollar Watch fame, later Timex.) Beyond the Concrete Mile, turn right and follow Richline Hill Road to the stop sign, then turn right onto Reservoir Road, which follows Merrill Creek up through Low's Hollow to a cul-de-sac. Hiking options range from easy (blazed trails) to moderate. Outdoor areas will be open from Sunrise to Sunset, seven days a week, year round, except where use restrictions are stated in the rules or posted at the location. The ramp will remain open … Dogs are also able to use this trail. Private campground for RVers and Tenters with wooded sites available by the day to by the season. Water would be pumped up from the Delaware River three miles west, to be contained by a half-mile-long, 235-foot high dam constructed in narrow Low's Hollow gorge a thousand yards ahead, and kept available for release back to the river at times of low flow. This 16-billion gallon off-stream reservoir is impounded by a 290-ft high dam and 3 dikes, all earth and rockfill embankments. From the top of the mountain to the bottom of the valley it's fascinating to learn how big names, and not so big names, intertwine with each other, affecting each other's lives in marvelous ways but which all too soon are forgotten. The Merrill Creek Reservoir boat ramp and trails will be re-opened on June 15, 2020. E-mail: cahill@merillcreek.com (Site owned by 7 utility companies. Follow it for three miles as it twists and turns downward through beautiful terrain. These lands are themselves part of of open spaces. At least three ancient roads led to or from the hamlet, one of them having been constructed around the time of the Revolutionary War. Back on Fox Farm Road, continue for a mile and a half and turn right on Richline Road. It has a variety of wildlife including deer, turkey, and bald eagles. Using molds to form concrete houses may have been radical in the early 1900s, but it was not a new idea when Edison announced his plan in 1906 to construct houses of poured concrete. Ingersoll Dam April 1986. Partly because the cement industries were nearby— F.M. The most popular are the broadwing hawks which fly over in huge groups, so high you'll need binoculars or a spotting scope to see most of them. Le sentier longe un lac et sa difficulté est évaluée comme facile. To ease the situation for its employees during the post-World War I housing shortage, the Ingersoll-Rand Company decided to build low cost workers' homes in two developments: Valley View, for semiskilled and unskilled workers; and Hill Crest, for department heads, foremen, supervisors, and highly skilled mechanics. There is a small green sign pointing up to Merrill Creek at Fox Farm Road, just south of the Warren County Fairgrounds, on the other side of County Route 519 in Harmony. After about a mile, a gated old road seen on the left once led uphill and continued along the mountain's broad flat top to the hamlet of Montana. When cement rock was discovered near New Village, NJ in 1898, he saw a way to utilize his expensive ore crushing equipment. Land Use. Ironically, because Edison licensed the use of his kilns to other manufacturers, cement overproduction affected profits to the industry in general. From the unpaved parking area, hikers, runners, and nature lovers can follow the gated lane down to the five-mile-long perimeter trail which skirts the reservoir. Public access is allowed.) Merrill Creek Reservoir Info: 5/7/2017. Brochures are available, including a detailed map of the nature preserve's color-coded trails. Open water surrounded by deciduous woods. Ingersoll-Rand began construction of its complex in 1903, where it eventually employed two thousand workers, producing pumps, rock drills, jackhammers, compressors, and mining equipment. From about 1906 the trolley tracks of the Easton & Washington Traction Company ran along Route 57, carrying passengers between Washington and Phillipsburg for 25 cents. Continue and then turn right onto Merrill Creek Road, the most easterly of the old roads which once led into the now-flooded basin. Five miles of track connected everything, and over three miles of belt conveyors moved materials along. Except for the addition of sloped roofs on most of them, the homes still stand as they were built, relatively maintenance-free. Merrill Creek originally entered the mountaintop basin from the plateau to the north, then flowed southerly for nearly two miles before escaping into Low's Hollow. Today, the Victaulic Company utilizes a few of the remaining buildings. After the Ingersoll reservoir was completed, the Lopatcong Water Company gradually bought out most of the land within the basin, planting large stands of conifers in the abandoned fields and clear-cut wood lots, some of which are still visible. The 650-acre Merrill Creek Reservoir, owned by a consortium of power companies, is a pumped-storage facility, completed in 1988. Hike around Merrill Creek Reservoir for views of the water with opportunities to spot wildlife. Here the reservoir's inlet-outlet tower handles the Delaware River water as it is taken in or released from the reservoir. But the cast iron molds proved to be too heavy to be purchased and handled economically. In one mile, turn left into the lane leading to Bread From the gravel parking area, continue north on today's rerouted Fox Farm Road. Phone: (908)454-1213. In 1918, the nonprofit Phillipsburg Development Corp., a subsidiary to Ingersoll-Rand, began to implement the housing project, modeled after the attractive concrete homes erected by Charles H. Ingersoll in Union, NJ, a year earlier. But the 1980s project was not the first to impede the creek's progress. Ready for more? The Visitors Center is open 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on weekends, year round, except for New Years Day, Easter, Thanksgiving, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Home of Lakota Wolf Preserve. If there were awards handed out for the best-hidden treasures, Merrill Creek Reservoir would certainly receive one of them. Merrill Creek Reservoir (1/5/2013) Months after Hurricane Sandy swept through the area, the majority of NJ state parks are still closed with (as far as can be determined) no date on when they will open. And around the same time, visitors may have noticed huge excavating machines in the distance reshaping a natural geological basin into the final contour of what would become the 650-acre Merrill Creek Reservoir. Follow Good Springs Road which parallels the valley of the Pohatcong Creek on the right. Turn left onto Montana Road, then continue for a mile and a half as it passes by the other end of Allens Mills Road and heads toward the small hamlet of Montana. (908) 454-1213 (ph) Montana once held a cluster of homesteads, a Presbyterian church, a Baptist church, schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, store and post office. Inside the Visitor Center there are various informative nature and historical displays, a lecture hall with many raptor and wildlife mounts, classroom, bird feeder observation window, and restrooms. Less than a half-mile to the right you'll notice a beautifully restored private (please do not enter) home known to local historians as Smith's Quaker meeting house. You'll find comprehensive portraits more attentive to geographic, cultural, and historical attributes than county and municipal borders. Inside the Learning Center, open on the second Sunday of each month, there are detailed models of the canal as well as other exhibits. A historical marker documents the stretch of road. Group garages were located within the community as were a community center and grocery store. It was Phillipsburg's largest employer through the 1960s, then declined in stages until the company sold the property in 2004. The trail offers a number of activity options and is best used from May until December. You might see an eagle plucking a meal of fresh duck off the water's surface. And the snowy owl appearance last winter was the talk of New Jersey. You might see a resident black bear or two at the small bridge over a marshy portion of Merrill Creek. The end of this loop is very flat – mostly level dirt or gravel. Nearby, to the left of the huge Ise Farms silo, lay the vast ruins of Thomas Edison's Portland Cement Company mill, now overgrown and obscured by brush, vines, and trees. Continuing past the gate on foot for a few hundred yards leads to the base of Merrill Creek Reservoir's main dam. Follow Reservoir Road and then Low's Hollow Road back down to Route 57. We appreciate our visitors understanding while we … Comments: Merrill Creek Reservoir is a 650-acre reservoir surrounded by a 290-acre Environmental Preserve and 2000 additional acres of woods and fields. In 1903 a coal dust explosion at the mill killed eight workers including the chief engineer. There are special events throughout the year as well as programs for schools. Habitat. The perimeter trail may also be accessed here, and fishing is allowed from the shoreline. Over the years some of Merrill Creek's staff have led kayak and canoe nature tours of the reservoir, the most intriguing being their moonlight paddles (the only exception to the dawn to dusk rule). Although Edison's original concrete has since been replaced—the last of it finally pulled up in 2010—the segment proved quite sturdy, and concrete went on to play a major role in the construction of the U.S. Interstate Highway System. He wanted to modify earlier, hand-shoveled techniques by casting complete houses—interior walls, floors, and roof—in reusable cast iron or steel molds loaded from the top. Whether you’re on or off the water, you’ll catch a glimpse of wildlife among the surrounding environmental preserve. No boats may be on the premises before the gate is open or after the gate is closed. Turn left on Route 57 and continue through New Village, which in 1918 held a population of 250 people, had the trolley, railroad, post office, school, two churches, and telephone. Lock Park and Warren County Historical Learning Center, which, at the site of the former Morris Canal Lock 7 West, contains a short section of cleared canal towpath and prism, a perimeter walking and nature trail, and extensive historical signage. Restored c.1754 stone ironmaster's home associated with c.1741 Oxford Furnace.is open first and second Sundays, 1-4pm, for tours through Colonial and Victorian rooms with costumed docents. Research has shown that in 1752-3 Samuel Smith was granted the right by the Kingwood Meeting to build a Quaker meeting house and residence here in which he would hold services. It is actually pretty well known in its immediate area, and even hiking books that cover the entire New Jersey tend to mention it, but finding the place may not be too easy. NJ Audubon's thirty-fifth outpost is a model for blending environmental awareness, wildlife habitat, and agriculture. And below the old dam, Merrill Creek flowed freely again, plunging down its tree-lined gorge into the hollow. The remains of the lock are still buried, but the lock tender's house foundation, as well as a full-scale model of a canal boat, give visitors a glimpse into canal life. Outdoor areas will be open from Sunrise to Sunset, seven days a week, year round, except where use restrictions are stated in the rules or posted at the location. By 1903 the plant was producing 3,000 barrels daily, although not without some glitches. Merrill Creek Reservoir is surrounded by woods and fields for a scenic setting close to the Pennsylvania border. Continue across Route 57, cross the Pohatcong Creek and in less than a mile, just before turning right onto Good Springs Road, an 1874 map shows a depot at the rail crossing. In the mid-1980s New Jersey's largest one-day count of migrating fall raptors was recorded nearby; an amazing 18,500 broadwing hawks! The trip back down into and through the Pohatcong Valley is equally rewarding for students of history and devotees of the outdoors. Explore the 650-acre reservoir between sunrise and sunset, when the gates are open to allow boating. Merrill Creek Reservoir Hands-on exhibits, dioramas and other displays may be seen in the Center. Route 57, which follows a very old road alignment from the early 1770s, was authorized as a Turnpike as early as 1806, and has been designated a Warren Heritage Scenic Byway.