Kaleidopete
Well-Known Member
Wawayanda moves to Kittinney, then to Stevens and winds up in the Catskills. The whole time retaining Wawayanda in it's name somewhere.
Wawayanda.
The Lenni Lenape Indians were the first people in the area, or at least the first to leave written records. In 1648 there were 8000
Indians in all of New Jersey; so the state was sparsely populated with Indians even at their civilization’s height. But there were a few
Indian shelters to the North and East of the present Wawayanda Lake. Wawayanda Road, from the park to Lake Wanda (and maybe further),
was a Lenni Lenape trail.
In 1846 the Wawayanda mine and furnace began operation, built by a company that still exists, the Ames Shovel Co. The furnace
formed pig iron for use in factories elsewhere. The mine’s heaviest use was during the Civil War, but just afterward it changed ownership
and finally stopped functioning in 1891. The furnace itself was last used in 1867.
There was a town of Wawayanda, first called Double Pond, situated around the furnace. Foundations from this town remain today.
Wawayanda and the little town of Cherry Ridge—which was located between Upper Greenwood Lake and what is now Highland Lakes were
the only communities on the mountain.
Four historic roads traverse the property: 1) Iron Mountain Road, dating to the Colonial era, travels from Lake Wawayanda north down the
mountain into the Warwick valley below. 2) Laurel Pond Trail, originally a road surveyed from Canistear Road north to Double Pond, dating to 1811,
3) A public road traveling roughly east-west through the area was surveyed and built in 1818. Portions of this were incorporated into later roads,
while other portions of it survive as woods roads and trails. The furnace operators built 4) Wawayanda Road in 1847-48 as a modern, well-graded
road to transport pig iron to shipment routes in the Warwick valley.
1886-1891 Sumner Dudley took 22 boys camping at Lake Wawayanda in sponsored by the YMCA.
1891-1901 Campsite proves inadequate for the demand, Camp Wawayanda moves to Lake Champlain, NY.
1901-1919 Camp Wawayanda returns to Sussex County site, establishing the new YMCA camp under the direction of Charles R. Scott.
1919 Camp Wawayanda moved to Andover, N.J. (present day Kittatinny Valley State Park)
1954: Urban expansion forced Camp Wawayanda to again make another move. The next three summers Camp Wawayanda was held at an interim site, Steven’s Institute of Technology Camp, while the Board searched for a permanent site.
1956 A Christmas Eve deal transfers Julius Forstmann’s 2,200 acre estate in the heart of the Catskill Mountains to the YMCA.
1958: First summer camp, for boys only, opens at Frost Valley, Catskills, NY.
Wawayanda.
The Lenni Lenape Indians were the first people in the area, or at least the first to leave written records. In 1648 there were 8000
Indians in all of New Jersey; so the state was sparsely populated with Indians even at their civilization’s height. But there were a few
Indian shelters to the North and East of the present Wawayanda Lake. Wawayanda Road, from the park to Lake Wanda (and maybe further),
was a Lenni Lenape trail.
In 1846 the Wawayanda mine and furnace began operation, built by a company that still exists, the Ames Shovel Co. The furnace
formed pig iron for use in factories elsewhere. The mine’s heaviest use was during the Civil War, but just afterward it changed ownership
and finally stopped functioning in 1891. The furnace itself was last used in 1867.
There was a town of Wawayanda, first called Double Pond, situated around the furnace. Foundations from this town remain today.
Wawayanda and the little town of Cherry Ridge—which was located between Upper Greenwood Lake and what is now Highland Lakes were
the only communities on the mountain.
Four historic roads traverse the property: 1) Iron Mountain Road, dating to the Colonial era, travels from Lake Wawayanda north down the
mountain into the Warwick valley below. 2) Laurel Pond Trail, originally a road surveyed from Canistear Road north to Double Pond, dating to 1811,
3) A public road traveling roughly east-west through the area was surveyed and built in 1818. Portions of this were incorporated into later roads,
while other portions of it survive as woods roads and trails. The furnace operators built 4) Wawayanda Road in 1847-48 as a modern, well-graded
road to transport pig iron to shipment routes in the Warwick valley.
1886-1891 Sumner Dudley took 22 boys camping at Lake Wawayanda in sponsored by the YMCA.
1891-1901 Campsite proves inadequate for the demand, Camp Wawayanda moves to Lake Champlain, NY.
1901-1919 Camp Wawayanda returns to Sussex County site, establishing the new YMCA camp under the direction of Charles R. Scott.
1919 Camp Wawayanda moved to Andover, N.J. (present day Kittatinny Valley State Park)
1954: Urban expansion forced Camp Wawayanda to again make another move. The next three summers Camp Wawayanda was held at an interim site, Steven’s Institute of Technology Camp, while the Board searched for a permanent site.
1956 A Christmas Eve deal transfers Julius Forstmann’s 2,200 acre estate in the heart of the Catskill Mountains to the YMCA.
1958: First summer camp, for boys only, opens at Frost Valley, Catskills, NY.