Hunterdon County probably holds the record for the most 19th century iron truss bridges that are still in use. In Delaware Township alone there are nine iron truss bridges, not including the Covered Bridge, which is also a truss bridge. The most important of these iron truss bridges is the one crossing the Lockatong Creek on Rosemont-Raven Rock Road. That bridge is an outstanding example of the urge to lend some grandeur to a very functional structure. None of the other township bridges quite matches it.
bridges
Covered Bridge series
Jacob’s Path, an 1813 Shortcut
In his article, “Old Sentinel Oak Has Passed,” Egbert T. Bush wrote that the old oak, across the road from the Baptist Church in Stockton, close to where Route 523 meets Main Street, stood near a “never-failing stream.” This stream runs along Route 523 for some distance and today is a little hard to find. But it does show up on Google maps, and is a clue to two interesting road records of 1813.
New Jersey’s Covered Bridges
Richard J. Garlipp, Jr. New Jersey’s Covered Bridges, Images of America, Arcadia Publishing, 2014.
If you’ve ever had first hand knowledge of a story in the newspaper, chances are you’ve said to yourself, “the reporter got it wrong.” This also happens with books, including this one. Mr. Garlipp has long been a student of the history of covered bridges, and has undertaken a large and under-reported subject. But Arcadia books are not held to a very high standard and do not engage in fact-checking, so the results are sometimes a disappointing mixture of fact and fantasy. History is challenging, and mistakes are all too easy to make, as I have often learned to my dismay. I just wish this book had been better.