Long Pond Ironworks State Park
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Long Pond Ironworks | |
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Location | Hewitt, New Jersey, USA |
Nearest city | Paterson, New Jersey |
Coordinates | |
Established | 1766 |
Governing body | National Park Service |
Long Pond Ironworks State Park is located in the community of Hewitt, in West Milford, New Jersey, United States. The park is known for its old stone walls, furnaces and other remnants of a once industrious ironworking community that now sits next to the swiftly flowing Wanaque River. The park is operated and maintained by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry.
[edit] Long Pond Ironworks Historic District
Long Pond Ironworks was founded in 1766 by Peter Hasenclever. Hasenclever brought 500 ironworkers and their families from Germany to build an ironworks "plantation". A dam at "Long Pond" (Greenwood Lake) provided the waterpower needed to operate a blast for the furnace and a large forge. Metalmaking stopped at the site in 1882 when the ironworks was bankrupted by newer facilities in Pittsburgh. The remnants of the ironmaking structures at the district date from the 18th and 19th centuries. There are furnaces, casting house ruins, charging areas, ice houses, waterwheels and other structures. The area is currently undergoing restoration. The "Old Country Store" has been renovated and now houses the Long Pond Ironworks Museum. The original Village of Hewitt grew up around the 19th-century iron enterprise. This settlement included a church, a store/post office, schoolhouses, and dwellings and outbuildings for workers and managers.
[edit] Monksville Reservoir
Known for its trophy size muskellunge, walleye, bass and trout, Monksville Reservoir, atop the defunct community of Monksville, New Jersey is used by anglers, sporting clubs and the US Sailing Association. Easily accessible from either the north or the south boat ramp, the area is open 24/7.