For me, however, the human drama that underlies the origins of this vast park adds a striking dimension to Old Mine Road and the land it threads together. It is difficult to comprehend that everything in sight for 37 miles was once destined to disappear under 160 feet of water.
I will explain -- from the beginning.
Who built the road?
History points to Dutch settlers as the folks who built Old Mine Road during the early 1600s -- more than 50 years before William Penn set foot on American soil. That makes it the oldest commercial roadway in the United States -- and probably in North America.The first residents used the road to haul wagonloads of copper ore from mines near the Delaware Water Gap to Kingston, New York -- about 90 miles north.
Homes and inns along the road protected settlers during the French and Indian War. George Washington used it to move troops and equipment during the American Revolution. Other revolutionary period icons including Ben Franklin, John Adams, Count Pulaski and General Horatio Gates traveled along this route.
During the 1800s, sections of Old Mine Road became links in the Underground Railroad.
When the mines closed and times changed, Delaware valley residents relied more heavily on farming and the local railroads, canal companies and other businesses for their livelihood. Nevertheless, they still depended upon Old Mine Road as a vital means of transportation.
The road still has character
Today, within the national recreation area, the road maintains its character as a two-lane country byway that never strays too far from the Delaware River. It passes historic landmarks, Revolutionary War and Civil War cemeteries and sweeps beneath forested hills that hide the ruins of old copper mines.Other attractions along the way include the Isaac Van Campen Inn, built in 1750, Peters Valley Craft Center, and the recreation of a late 19th century rural community at Millbrook Village. Travelers can also enjoy picnic areas, campgrounds, hiking trails and sprawling parks.
The recreation area stretches for 37 miles from the Delaware Water Gap in the south to near Montague, New Jersey, in the north. It occupies almost 70,000 acres of mountains and woodlands in New Jersey and Pennsylvania on both sides of the middle Delaware River. Which makes it the largest such recreation area in the eastern United States.
