Nature

Deep within the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Piney people have built a vibrant culture and industry from working the natural landscape around them. Foraging skills learned from the local Lenapes were passed down through generations of Piney families who gathered many of the same wild floral products that became staples of the Philadelphia and New York dried flower markets. Important figures such as John Richardson have sought to lift the Pineys from rural poverty by recording and marketing their craftsmanship. As the state government sought to preserve the Pine Barrens and develop the region, Piney culture was frequently threatened and stigmatized. Author and advocate William J. Lewis charts the history of the Pineys, what being a Piney means today and their legacy among the beauty of the Pine Barrens.

From the Pine Barrens to the Shore, the natural beauty of southern New Jersey is shrouded in local legends and lore passed down through the generations by way of oral tradition.

Deep in the woods of Colliers Mills, the mysteries of a place called Jack Davis keeps travelers at bay in the Bermuda Triangle of the pines. The state’s most famous legendary creature, the Jersey Devil, is often described as making its home among the pines. It is said that there is a hermit of Oswego Lake who guards the pines as a great mystical white stag. In the swamps of South Jersey, local legend tells of Hessian Island, a historic secret outlaw hideout of Pine Robbers, established by renegade soldiers from the Revolutionary War. Local author William J. Lewis colorfully presents tales, legends, lore and reflections from South Jersey and the Pine Barrens.

The Queen of New Jersey Lakes

Only 40 miles from Manhattan, Lake Hopatcong is the largest lake in the Garden State. An early colonial pioneer in damming, the lake was formed by the flooding of Great Pond, Little Pond and the Musconetcong River. It became a luxury destination for wealthy New Yorkers looking for a cool retreat as a cadre of celebrities frequented its glamorous hotels. Though the Golden Age of the lake's history has passed, it remains a vibrant source of revitalization, community and environmental enjoyment for the region today. Join author Peter Astras as he recounts the history of New Jersey's Lake Hopatcong.

Europeans first settled in what was to become the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (DWGNRA) in the 17th century. By the late 1800s, the Delaware Water Gap had become a popular vacation spot, attracting thousands to the palatial resorts in the mountains. Rural communities thrived in the valley until the 1960s. The DWGNRA was created in 1965 to oversee activities centered around a reservoir that was to be the result of a dam to be built on the Delaware River at Tocks Island. In anticipation of the dam, the government removed residents by purchasing or condemning property. An environmental and political war raged, and the dam was ultimately defeated. Although several historical sites were lost, many survived and a few have been restored. Today the DWGNRA is one of the country's most popular parks. Within its boundaries are rugged and beautiful wilderness, historic landmarks, and the wild and scenic Delaware River.

Perched atop the Kittatinny Mountains, in the northwestern corner of New Jersey, is one of the most beautiful parks in the state. High Point State Park is visited by thousands annually, and from the highest peak in New Jersey one can see three states and enjoy a vista for miles around. This park, one of the oldest in the state, has a rich history going back more than seventy-five years.

High Point State Park and the Civilian Conservation Corps explores the history of the fascinating landmark, which was a gift of Colonel Anthony and Susie Kuser to the people of New Jersey in 1923. The famed landscape firm Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts, was retained to design the park's facilities. The job of carrying out many of the proposals in the plan fell to the Civilian Conservation Corps, a Depression-era federal agency that combined work relief efforts with conservation work. The laborers, known as the CCC boys, developed the layout of the park from 1933 to 1941. Much of their work remains and is still used by visitors today.

In the early twentieth century, an interconnected web of men and women, led by Dr. V.E. Vivian, fought for a better future in Whitesbog Village, a forgotten town in New Jersey’s Pine Barrens. And they won.

Before their heroic efforts, air, land and sea were riddled with pollution, with few protections. Hope for a better tomorrow seemed unlikely. When they were done, the 1.1 million acres of the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve became the largest protected and preserved open space on the East Coast.

With the help of numerous color images dedicated to Dr. Vivian, author William J. Lewis chronicles and celebrates the educators and historians who started New Jersey’s conservation movement and successfully crusaded for a better, cleaner world.

Liberty State Park (LSP) has undergone massive changes over the past 200 years. Originally a tranquil salt marsh and cove, it was transformed into the greatest concentration of rail facilities in the Northeast. Subsequently abandoned, it was then developed through efforts of community advocates into New Jersey’s premier urban state park. Located on the Upper New York Bay, Liberty State Park maintains a historic and ecological aesthetic. One of the few remaining viable ecosystems along the Hudson River, Liberty State Park provides options for recreational pursuits and opportunities to learn about nature. The park offers waterfront access, acres of open fields, miles of pathways, growing lists of flora and fauna, two restaurants, a marina, the Nature Center, and the Liberty Science Center. It is the only location in New Jersey with ferry service to Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty.

A lifelong Jersey City resident, Gail Zavian is a writer, illustrator, and photographer. A loyal park patron, former Friends of Liberty State Park board member, and staunch environmentalist, Zavian has and continues to photograph every aspect of the park. She selected images from her professional archive, dedicated environmentalists, and Liberty State Park’s historical collections to document the history, challenges, and commitment behind LSP’s creation. Zavian’s hope is that this volume encourages others to protect and preserve the legacy that is Liberty State Park.

Every summer, thousands flock to the Jersey Shore for its beaches and boardwalks, but lurking in the depths beyond is a historic threat to tranquility. Dozens of shark attacks and interactions have occurred throughout Jersey Shore history that reveal bravery, heartbreak and the hubris of man. A boy paid a gruesome price for teasing a trapped shark in the first recorded attack in 1842. The three bloody attacks of 1960 left one man’s limb amputated. The horrific summer of 1916 included seven attacks in a two-week span and crafted the caricature of the killer shark that remains in popular culture today. Authors Patricia and Robert Heyer dive into the history of when two apex predators, man and shark, cross paths on the shores of New Jersey.

New Jersey's Palisades Interstate Park was created in 1900 to preserve the majestic Palisades of the Hudson River from being defaced by massive stone quarries. In the generations since its creation, it has served as an oasis of beauty, recreation, and tranquility in the midst of one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. The park has an archive of over 3,000 images of the Palisades. Photographs show the area decades before the park's creation and through the 1930s and 1940s, when thousands sought recreation as an escape from hard times during the Great Depression and World War II and hundreds of men worked in the park for New Deal agencies.

Hacklebarney and Voorhees State Parks recounts the history of two beautiful natural sanctuaries at the southwestern end of New Jersey's Highlands. Managed as a single unit by the state park service, the two parks are Hacklebarney, 977 acres along the Black River corridor, and Voorhees, 640 acres of gently rolling farmland. Their stories are similar: both parks were created in the 1920s on privately donated land and were developed by the federally operated Civilian Conservation Corps. With more than two hundred unique photographs, many published here for the first time, Hacklebarney and Voorhees State Parks shows life at the CCC camps, the building of trails and roads by hand, and the repair of forests.

With 140 animals of 40 species, the Turtle Back Zoo opened in 1963 as a seasonal children's zoo. The community and county government brought the zoo to life, while the Essex County Park Commission administered its daily functions. With funds generated from the sale of land for highway development, architects and builders selected a fairy tale, Hans Christian Andersen aesthetic for their theme. Once opened, Turtle Back Zoo was an instant success, and its popularity led to it becoming a year-round attraction that appealed to all ages. The family recreation experience came to include wildlife conservation education as well. In the early 2000s, the zoo was renovated, and a first-class animal hospital was built to serve the growing animal collection. The site is now recognized as a first-rate, modern zoo and is accredited by the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.

Situated between winding rivers and prone to turbulent storms, northern New Jersey has had an extensive and tumultuous history of flooding. The most severe flood occurred in 1903 when three days of nonstop rain, averaging 12 inches per day, melted more than 23 inches of snow and ice—inundating the cities of Passaic and Wallington and splitting Paterson in two. Since 1945, more than 60 documented storms have wreaked havoc and shaken the region. In 2011, the second-worst storm in North Jersey's history, Hurricane Irene, struck with more than 11 inches of rain, displacing 6,000 residents in Paterson alone and hitting Bergen and Passaic Counties with a vengeance. Only one year later, Superstorm Sandy rolled into North Jersey, flooding Moonachie and Little Ferry with surges up to five feet. Floods of Northern New Jersey showcases the rich documentation of flooding through a unique and significant photographic collection.