Holland Brook (NJ, USA) Holland's Brook, Amanmechunk | |
---|---|
Etymology | Named after Thomas Holland |
Location | |
Country | United States |
State | New Jersey |
Region | Raritan Valley |
City | Readington, Branchburg |
Physical characteristics | |
Source | Cushetunk Mountain |
• location | Readington, Raritan Valley, New Jersey, United States |
• coordinates | 40°35′19.2″N74°49′3.64″W / 40.588667°N 74.8176778°W |
• elevation | 372 ft (113 m) |
Mouth | South Branch Raritan River |
• location | Branchburg, Raritan Valley, New Jersey, United States |
• coordinates | 40°32′56.17″N74°41′39.54″W / 40.5489361°N 74.6943167°W |
• elevation | 64 ft (20 m) |
Length | 7 mi (11 km) |
Basin features | |
Tributaries | |
• left | Dreahook Creek, Stone Creek |
Holland Brook is a tributary of the South Branch Raritan River in Hunterdon and Somerset Counties, New Jersey in the United States.
Holland Brook flows through Readington and Branchburg. It is the last tributary of the South Branch Raritan River before it combines with the North Branch Raritan River.
The brook is over seven miles in length running from its headwaters near Cushetunk Mountain, [1] a plutonic intrusion of igneous rock surrounding Round Valley Reservoir, to its convergence with the South Branch Raritan River near Studdiford Drive in Branchburg. The brook is ten to twenty feet across most of its length. It changes over 300 feet in elevation from its headwaters to its convergence with the Raritan River.
Holland Brook was originally named Holland's Brook for Thomas Holland of Piscataway, who was married to Winifred Pound. Thomas Holland was a descendant of the translator Philemon Holland. [2] Holland was an early property owner along the brook, although he never resided there. The recorded Lenape name for the Brook was Amanmechunk. [3] This word in the Unami dialect meant large creek.
The Holland Brook Greenway is a proposed five-mile greenway project in Readington and Branchburg. If both townships completed the trail, it could link another future trail on the North Branch Raritan River with the Middle School in Readington and the Lachenmayr Trail. Branchburg’s proposed section of the Greenway would fit into a larger plan and would connect with a 16-mile cross-township trail. [4] The Holland Brook Greenway trail could eventually provide access to the Raritan River Greenway and the East Coast Greenway.
The township of Branchburg would need to gain four additional properties to have public access from the Readington border to the Confluence Reservoir Park land along the North Branch Raritan River. A possible trail along this path would need to make minor crossings at South Branch Road (near a number of farms), Evergreen Drive (in a residential neighborhood) and the somewhat busier Old York Road. A fourth crossing over US-202, however, would need to be constructed to ensure a safe passage for bicycles or pedestrians. At-grade crossings with crosswalks would be possible at South Branch Road and Evergreen Drive and the trail could possibly go under the bridge at Old York Road. The Readington section still has several gaps in it and no official segments of the Greenway has been built in either township. [5]
Holland Brook has ten unnamed tributaries in Branchburg and Readington listed on NJDEP's website. They all are categorized as FW2-NT (fresh water second level classification generally not suitable for trout). Two named ones are below:
The first Holland Brook School was in Readington Village in the 19th century. In 1791, an act was passed "to incorporate societies for the advancement of learning". [6] On August 4, 1804, Abraham Post, Peter Quick, Isaac Berkaw, William Dalley, William Spader, Cornelius Van Horn, Abraham Smock, Andrew Mattis, Adrian Stryker, Peter Ten Brook, William Ditmars and Derrick de Mott incorporated the Holland Brook School. One of the teachers at the school was Colonel John Mehelm. [7] [8] The site of Mehelm's house on New Bromley Road, which burned in the 1960s, has a historical marker in front of it. [9] The school eventually changed names to Readington School and closed in 1897.
The second and current Holland Brook School is a primary school for fourth and fifth grades and was built adjacent to the Readington Middle School.
Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county, with a population of 128,947, an increase of 598 (+0.5%) from the 2010 census count of 128,349. Its county seat is Flemington. The county is part of the Central Jersey region of the state.
Readington Township is a township located in the easternmost portion of Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 16,128, an increase of two people (+0.0%) from the 2010 census count of 16,126, which in turn reflected an increase of 323 (+2.0%) from the 15,803 counted in the 2000 census.
Branchburg is a township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 14,940, its highest decennial census count ever and an increase of 481 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 14,459, which in turn had reflected a decline of 107 (−0.7%) from the 14,566 counted at the 2000 census.
The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its watershed drains much of the central region of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near Staten Island on the Atlantic Ocean.
The South Branch Raritan River is a 50-mile-long (80 km) tributary of the Raritan River in New Jersey.
The North Branch Raritan River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey.
Manalapan Brook is a tributary of the South River in Monmouth and Middlesex counties, New Jersey in the United States.
The Raritan River Greenway is a proposed path in Somerset County, New Jersey that would link Branchburg Township to the East Coast Greenway with the Delaware and Raritan Canal trail in South Bound Brook. Raritan River Greenway is a priority park for Somerset County.
Cushetunk Mountain is a ring shaped mountain in the U.S. state of New Jersey, located in Readington and Clinton Township in Hunterdon County. The Lenape Native Americans called the mountain "Cushetunk" meaning "place of hogs" after the wild hogs found there. In the 1960s, the valley at the heart of the mountain was dammed and filled with water to create Round Valley Reservoir. Today, the mountain and its accompanying lake act as a vital water supply to Central New Jersey, while at the same time providing numerous recreational opportunities to the region.
Neshanic Station is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) located within Branchburg, Somerset County, and extending into Readington Township, Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2016, most of the community was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Neshanic Station Historic District.
U.S. Route 202 (US 202) is a U.S. Highway running from New Castle, Delaware northeast to Bangor, Maine. In the U.S. state of New Jersey, the route runs 80.31 mi (129.25 km) from the New Hope–Lambertville Toll Bridge over the Delaware River at the Pennsylvania border in Delaware Township, Hunterdon County, near Lambertville northeast to the New York border in Mahwah, Bergen County. Along the route's journey, it passes through a variety of suburban and rural environments, including the communities of Flemington, Somerville, Morristown, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Wayne, and Oakland as well as five counties: Hunterdon, Somerset, Morris, Passaic, and Bergen. US 202 encounters many major roads in New Jersey, including Route 31, US 206, US 22, Interstate 80 (I-80), US 46, Route 23, and Route 17. From Somerville to the New York border, US 202 generally runs within a close distance of I-287 and interchanges with that route several times. The road ranges from a four-lane freeway between Lambertville and Ringoes in Hunterdon County to a two-lane surface road through much of the northern portion of the route. North of the Route 53 intersection in Morris Plains, US 202 is maintained by individual counties rather than the New Jersey Department of Transportation with a few exceptions.
Stone Creek is a tributary of Holland Brook in Hunterdon County, New Jersey in the United States.
Readington Village is an unincorporated community located within Readington Township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, that is centered on the converging of Readington Road, Hillcrest Road, Centerville Road and Brookview Road. It is located on Holland Brook, originally named Amanmechunk, which means large creek in the Unami dialect. The area was inhabited by the Raritan prior to the arrival of European settlers. The Native Americans who lived near Readington Village travelled to the coast during the summer for fish and clams. Such a trip is mentioned in an Indian deed transferring lands around Holland Brook to George Willocks, an East and West New Jersey Proprietor. The deed mentions two of the natives, who lived at Readington: Metamisco and Wataminian.
Dreahook is an unincorporated community in Readington Township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey at the intersection of CR-620/Dreahook Rd and CR 523. The name is a corruption of Driehoek, which is the Dutch word for triangle. It was likely named for the triangle created by the settlement in its relation to the early roads to Flemington, Whitehouse Station, Readington Village and Pleasant Run, which have since been rerouted. Dreahook Creek and Holland Brook both pass through the area of the former village. Dreahook village once had blacksmith shop, a school and a store. Settlers farmed the land here because of the rich soil along the base of Cushetunk Mountain. There are still numerous farms in the area, including the Readington River Buffalo Farm between Dreahook and Stanton.
Pleasant Run is a tributary of the South Branch Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.
Hunterdon Plateau is a plateau in western Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It borders the higher Musconetcong Mountain to the northwest, the Delaware River to the west, Amwell Valley to the south and the lower lying areas of the Newark Basin to the east.
The members of the New Jersey Legislature are chosen from 40 electoral districts. Each district elects one senator and two assemblymen.
Rockefellows Mills is an unincorporated community located within Raritan Township in Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The settlement is located along the South Branch Raritan River near Three Bridges. The river is spanned in the area by the historic Rockafellows Mill Bridge built in 1900 and part of the Raritan–Readington South Branch Historic District. Most of the area within the Raritan Township side of the river is forested however on the north side of the river in Readington Township, some farmland dots the area.
The Readington Reformed Church is a historic church located at 124 Readington Road, Readington Village, an unincorporated community located within Readington Township in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It was known in colonial times as the Dutch Reformed Church of North Branch. It is the oldest Dutch Reformed Church in the county. The current building was built in 1865. The churchyard is known as the Readington Reformed Church Cemetery. The church was added as a contributing property of the Readington Village Historic District by the National Register of Historic Places on June 24, 1991.
The Raritan–Readington South Branch Historic District is a 556-acre (225 ha) historic district along River Road from New Jersey Route 31 to U.S. Route 202 near Flemington in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. It is primarily on the western side of the South Branch Raritan River in Raritan Township. It extends onto the eastern side of the river in Readington Township. County Route 523 and County Route 612 pass through the district to the north. The district encompasses the small settlements of Holcomb Mills, Flemington Junction, and Rockefellows Mills. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1990, for its significance in architecture, politics, transportation, and exploration/settlement. The district includes 36 contributing buildings, four contributing structures, and three contributing sites. It also includes the John Reading Farmstead, previously listed on the NRHP individually.