The Story of "LONGWOOD LAKE" & "Thomas Jefferson ~ Jefferson Township New Jersey"
This gallery contains some images I took on 4/17/09 while hiking in the area of LONGWOOD LAKE in Jefferson NJ. While photographing the area & waterfall located there I met an older gentleman named Carl who proceeded to tell me about the history of the Lake & Waterfall which happened to be owned by the late great Thomas Jefferson himself. Carl told me he lived here in the early 1900's and grew up playing in and around the lake which was originally a huge IRON ORE Mine and then flooded when they dug too deep. The waterfall was erected to control the flow of water around the area and then eventually used to create streams that flowed down to the iron ore processing facility which they used to transport the iron ore with small boats and floating platforms. I had take a shot of a funny looking rusted rock and after speaking with Carl knew it was a big piece of Iron Ore. Knowing that piece of material COULD have been actually touched by Thomas Jefferson was a wonderful feeling, I was looking at & touching a piece of history.
So within these gallery pages you will find the images I took this day with an explanation of what your looking at. I hope you enjoy this gallery, meeting & talking with Carl and learning so much about what I was photographing is why I love being a professional photographer so much. Pictures always have a story behind them and this time instead of Creating the Story with my shots I was documenting someone elses story & history which was very interesting to me. Please feel free to leave any comments under each image if you'd like. . . . . Best Regards, ~Bill~
"The Longwood Lake Waterfall"
This beautiful waterfall stands approx. 25' high at the south edge of the Longwood Lake just off Berkshire Valley Rd. in Jefferson Township New Jersey.
The area was originally a IRON ORE Mine owned & Operated by Thomas Jefferson and sometime in the late 1800's The waterfall was constructed after the mine went too deep and struck water flooding the entire are. From information gathered from the gentleman Carl that i met walking around the area this day stated that the waterfall was used to control the flow of water out of the lake so they could continue mining along with using the water to transport Iron Ore down stream to the processing plant with boats & floating platforms. There are several dried up streams in the area to prove this information factual.
According to Carl the waterfall used to have a large metal gate on top of it that was operated by a wheel system to open and close the flood gate but has since been removed to allow the water to free flow over the falls when the lake gets too high since there are residents who still live around the lakes perimeter.
"The Longwood Lake Waterfall"
This beautiful waterfall stands approx. 25' high at the south edge of the Longwood Lake just off Berkshire Valley Rd. in Jefferson Township New Jersey.
The area was originally a IRON ORE Mine owned & Operated by Thomas Jefferson and sometime in the late 1800's The waterfall was constructed after the mine went too deep and struck water flooding the entire are. From information gathered from the gentleman Carl that i met walking around the area this day stated that the waterfall was used to control the flow of water out of the lake so they could continue mining along with using the water to transport Iron Ore down stream to the processing plant with boats & floating platforms. There are several dried up streams in the area to prove this information factual.
According to Carl the waterfall used to have a large metal gate on top of it that was operated by a wheel system to open and close the flood gate but has since been removed to allow the water to free flow over the falls when the lake gets too high since there are residents who still live around the lakes perimeter.