George W. Childs Recreation Site

Last updated
Fulmer Falls waterfall Fulmer Falls Closeup 3000px.jpg
Fulmer Falls waterfall

The George W. Childs Recreation Site is a former Pennsylvania state park that is the site of a number of cascade waterfalls along Dingmans Creek; it has been part of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area since 1983. It is located in Dingmans Ferry in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania and is named for the late newspaper publisher George William Childs, whose widow deeded the land to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1912. [1] The site contains three main waterfalls: Factory Falls, Fulmer Falls and Deer Leap Falls and is a few miles upstream from Dingmans Falls and Silverthread Falls.

Contents

The pools below the waterfalls were once a popular spot for swimming during its ownership by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks. However, that activity had been banned upon transfer of ownership to the National Park Service. [2]

The mill

The site is also host to the ruins of Joseph Brooks' 19th century woolen mill. In the 1820s Joseph Brooks, a Welshman who had immigrated to Philadelphia, built a woolen mill of stone, 3½ stories high. [3] He employed about 80 workers.

His sheep, though, were devoured by wolves or died from eating poisonous Sheep Laurel. Supplies, operatives, and materials such as expensive raw wool, had to be brought in from Philadelphia, and the finished products shipped down to this city by wagons, a trip which took 10 days. Brooks died in 1832 and the mill was abandoned; the ruins are still visible.

Closures

From October 2010 to May 2013 the National Park Service (NPS) began a $2.5 million rehabilitation project [4] for much-needed repairs to trails, bridges, parking areas, and historic structures, and implemented measures to help maintain and preserve the forest and streamside vegetation. The project was in the planning stage for several years; public meetings were held in June 2006

Rehabilitation of Childs Park, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (NRA) - environmental assessment, public scoping meetings, July 11 & 12, 2006 LOC 2006635646.jpg

and an Environmental Assessment was released for public review in May 2008. [5] After nearly 3 years of closure to the public, reopening in May 2013, the park had accessible trails and picnic sites that met Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. [6]

In March of 2018 two nor'easters, Winter Storm Riley (March 2) and Winter Storm Quinn (March 7), struck the United States eastern seaboard resulting in damage that caused the park to close indefinitely. [7] In October 2022 the NPS announced that a nearly $3 million contract had been awarded to Puyenpa services, LLC from Gaithersburg, MD 20877, a company experienced in trail construction and familiar with sensitive natural and cultural resources for a final phase of restoration and construction work. [8] During construction, other work during this phase of repairs included surveying and project layout, vegetation clearing and stump/root removal for trail work, and procurement of supplies and materials. No work would take place during the winter months and construction was planned to resume in the spring of 2023. [9] On May 30, 2023 the NPS announced the final stage of restoration was set to start with work to continue through the fall and into early winter. [10] Tentatively the park is expected to open to the public again in the spring of 2024.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Monroe County, Pennsylvania</span> County in Pennsylvania, United States

Monroe County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 168,327. Its county seat is Stroudsburg. The county is part of the Northeast Pennsylvania region of the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Park Service</span> United States federal agency

The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Water Gap</span> Geological feature along the Delaware River

Delaware Water Gap is a water gap on the border of the U.S. states of New Jersey and Pennsylvania where the Delaware River cuts through a large ridge of the Appalachian Mountains.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuyahoga Valley National Park</span> National park in Ohio, United States

Cuyahoga Valley National Park is an American national park in Ohio that preserves and reclaims the rural landscape along the Cuyahoga River between Akron and Cleveland in Northeast Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore</span> U.S. National Lakeshore on Lake Superior

Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore is a U.S. National Lakeshore in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States. It extends for 42 mi (68 km) along the shore of Lake Superior and covers 73,236 acres. The park has extensive views of the hilly shoreline between Munising and Grand Marais in Alger County, with picturesque rock formations, waterfalls, and sand dunes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pocono Mountains</span> Geographic highland and cultural region in Pennsylvania, United States

The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos, are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the north, Wyoming Valley and the Coal Region to the west, and the Lehigh Valley to the south. The name Pocono is derived from the Munsee word Pokawachne, which means "Creek Between Two Hills".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tocks Island Dam controversy</span>

A 1950s proposal to construct a dam near Tocks Island across the Delaware River was met with considerable controversy and protest. Tocks Island is located in the Delaware River a short distance north from the Delaware Water Gap. In order to control damaging flooding and provide clean water to supply New York City and Philadelphia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposed building a dam. When completed, the Tocks Island Dam would have created a 37-mile (60-km) long lake between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, with depths of up to 140 feet. This lake and the land surrounding were to be organized as the Tocks Island National Recreation Area. Although the dam was never built, 72,000 acres (291 km²) of land were acquired by condemnation and eminent domain. This incited environmental protesters and embittered local residents displaced by the project's preparations when their property was condemned. After the Tocks Island Dam project was withdrawn, the lands acquired were transferred to the oversight of the National Park Service which reorganized them to establish the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania</span> Unincorporated community in Pennsylvania, U.S.

Dingmans Ferry is an unincorporated community in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2014, it had a population of just over 1,000 people. It was originally sited on the Delaware River, in an area now included in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. When the Corps of Engineers acquired the land by eminent domain in the mid-twentieth century for the creation of the proposed Tocks Island Dam project, it relocated the community further up the hill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area</span> Protected area

Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000-acre (28,000 ha) national recreation area administered by the National Park Service in northwest New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania. It is centered around a 40-mile (64 km) stretch of the Delaware River designated the Middle Delaware National Scenic River. At the area's southern end lays the Delaware Water Gap, a dramatic mountain pass where the river cuts between Blue Mountain and Kittatinny Mountain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Silverthread Falls</span> Waterfall in Pike County, Pennsylvania

Silverthread Falls is a waterfall located in Dingmans Ferry in Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States, near Dingmans Falls in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. It has a vertical drop of 24.3 m (80 ft). Both Silverthread Falls and Dingmans Falls are visible from a handicap-accessible trail. The trail begins at the parking lot for the Dingmans Falls Visitor Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingmans Falls</span> Waterfall in Pennsylvania, United States

Dingmans Falls is a waterfall located in Dingmans Ferry in Delaware Township, Pennsylvania near the Silverthread Falls. It has a vertical drop of 39.6 m (130 ft). Both Silverthread Falls and Dingmans Falls are visible from a handicap-accessible trail. The trail begins at the parking lot for the Dingmans Falls Visitor Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deer Leap Falls</span>

Deer Leap Falls is the third waterfall located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States. A popular recreation location since the late nineteenth century, it is located downstream from the Factory Falls and Fulmer Falls on the Dingmans Creek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fulmer Falls</span> American waterfall

Fulmer Falls is the second waterfall located in the George W. Childs Recreation Site in Dingmans Ferry, Pike County, Pennsylvania, United States of America. The falls are downstream from Factory Falls and upstream from Deer Leap Falls on the Dingmans Creek. At 17 meters, it is the largest of the three falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bushkill Falls</span> Series of eight privately owned waterfalls in Lehman Township, Pennsylvania

Bushkill Falls is a series of eight privately owned waterfalls, the tallest of which cascades over 100 feet (30 m), located in Lehman Township, Pennsylvania in the Pocono Mountains. Water of the Little Bush Kill and Pond Run Creek descends the mountain, toward the Delaware River, forming Bushkill Falls, Bridal Veil Falls, Bridesmaid Falls, Laurel Glen Falls, Pennell Falls, and three additional, unnamed falls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dingman's Ferry Dutch Reformed Church</span> Historic church in Pennsylvania, United States

Dingman's Ferry Dutch Reformed Church is a historic Dutch Reformed church located on U.S. Route 209 in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area at Dingman's Ferry, Delaware Township, Pike County, Pennsylvania. It was designed in 1837, and built in 1850 in the Greek Revival style. It is a two-story, clapboard clad frame building with a gable roof. It features a large gabled portico supported by four heavy Doric order columns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delaware Water Gap station (Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad)</span>

The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Water Gap Station is located in Delaware Water Gap, Monroe County, Pennsylvania. Service to Delaware Water Gap along what became known as the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad started on May 13, 1856. The station structure was designed by architect Frank J. Nies and built in 1903. It consists of two separate one-story brick buildings, a station house and freight house, joined by a common concrete platform and slate covered hipped roof. It is reflective of the Late Victorian style. The station closed to passenger service in March 1953, and was sold to the Borough in 1958. It is said to sit just outside Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, though it appears within the area's boundary on maps.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Pacific 2317</span> Preserved CP G3c class 4-6-2 locomotive

Canadian Pacific 2317 is a class "G-3c" 4-6-2 "Pacific" type steam locomotive built by the Montreal Locomotive Works for the Canadian Pacific Railway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hidden Falls (Saint Paul, Minnesota)</span> Park and hiking area in Minnesota, United States

Hidden Falls is a waterfall along the Mississippi River bluffs in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. The waterfall is within Hidden Falls Regional Park, a public park maintained by the City of Saint Paul. The main feature of the park is the small, spring-fed waterfall for which the park is named. The waterfall may be dry in periods of limited precipitation.

References

  1. "Guide to the Gap: Childs Park - Renewing A Woodland Paradise" (PDF). National Park Service. Summer 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2012-02-28.
  2. "Swim - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  3. Mathews, Alfred (1886). History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania. R.T. Peck & Company.
  4. ROTHMAN, SHARON. "Childs Park undergoes $2.5M rehab, reopens in spring". Pocono Record. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  5. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2217071 [ bare URL ]
  6. "George W. Childs Park Re-Opens to the Public - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  7. "Winter Storm Damage Update - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  8. "NPS awards contract for trail work at Childs Park; reopening expected in 2024". Pocono Record. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  9. "Work resumes at Childs Park - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-05.
  10. "Childs Park Repairs - Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2023-09-05.

41°14′06″N74°54′54″W / 41.235°N 74.915°W / 41.235; -74.915