# Old Mine Road > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Old_Mine_Road > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Old_Mine_Road.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mine_Road > Source revision: 1293840600 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Old road in Northeast America Old Mine Road Route information Length 104 mi (167 km) Component highways US 209 for much of length Major junctions South end Columbia, NJ North end Kingston, NY Location Country United States States New Jersey, New York Highway system The southern end of Old Mine Road at right. [Route 80](/source/Interstate_80) bridge can be seen at left, with the Karamac trail straight ahead. **Old Mine Road** is a road in [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey) and [New York](/source/New_York_(state)) said to be one of the oldest continuously used roads in the [United States of America](/source/United_States_of_America). At a length of 104 miles (167 km), it stretches from the [Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap_National_Recreation_Area) to the vicinity of [Kingston](/source/Kingston%2C_New_York), [New York](/source/New_York_(state)). Among the theories regarding the early history of the road, it is traditionally believed that [Dutch](/source/Netherlands) miners began construction of the road in the 17th century in order to transport [copper](/source/Copper) ore from the [Pahaquarry Copper Mine](/source/Pahaquarry_Copper_Mine) along the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River) in [Pahaquarry Township, New Jersey](/source/Pahaquarry_Township%2C_New_Jersey) to [Esopus, New York](/source/Esopus%2C_New_York) along the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River) in the [Dutch colony](/source/New_Netherland) of [New Amsterdam](/source/New_Amsterdam). Many historians now discount much of this folklore. Starting in the late 17th century, Dutch settlement began along the course of the road, in the Kingston, New York, area. The road follows roughly the course of the later [Delaware and Hudson Canal](/source/Delaware_and_Hudson_Canal) for its northern half, and the Delaware River in its southern half through the western edge of [Sussex County](/source/Sussex_County%2C_New_Jersey) and northern [Warren County](/source/Warren_County%2C_New_Jersey) in northwestern [New Jersey](/source/New_Jersey). The road exists today, and although much of its length in New York has been modernized, widened and incorporated into [US 209](/source/U.S._Route_209_in_New_York), its length in New Jersey as the "Old Mine Road" is largely undeveloped as it travels through the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The road still retains much of its historical and [rural](/source/Rural) charm. Historic sites in both states assert the area's Dutch colonial heritage through the preservation of several homes, farms and churches. ## History ### Paleo Indians and Native Americans After the [Wisconsin Glacier](/source/Wisconsin_glaciation) began retreating around 13,000 BC, the area slowly warmed. The area was first [tundra](/source/Tundra) with grasses growing. Later, as warming occurred, a [taiga](/source/Taiga)/[boreal forest](/source/Boreal_forest) came into existence. Big game moved into the area.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] [Paleo-Indians](/source/Paleo-Indians) were the first inhabitants of the area. Several sites along the Delaware River have been found north of the Gap and south of [Port Jervis](/source/Port_Jervis%2C_New_York). [Carbon dating](/source/Carbon_dating) of the oldest site is at 8900 BC just north of the Gap on the Pennsylvania side near a stream that flows into the river.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] There may be Paleo-Indian camps older than this which have yet to be found, as the surface level at that time was many feet below the present surface.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] Also, Paleo-Indians traveled in small groups and did not stay in any one place long, due to the fact that they were [hunter-gatherers](/source/Hunter-gatherers). They had to keep moving in search of game and plant foods. Therefore, Paleo-Indians could have been in the region as early as 10,500 BC. The [Lenape](/source/Lenape) Native Americans settled the area several thousand years ago.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] They too were hunter-gatherers. They moved in search of food, but their moving of camps was more seasonal. One large village was at Minisink Island. They had trails and family villages along the Delaware River. A trail went through Culvers Gap that led through [Augusta](/source/Augusta%2C_New_Jersey) and then south, east of [Newton](/source/Newton%2C_New_Jersey), then to [Parsippany](/source/Parsippany%2C_New_Jersey).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*] ### Origin of road Old Mine Road information sign near the [Pahaquarry Copper Mine](/source/Pahaquarry_Copper_Mine) The road was probably started as a Paleo-Indian trail thousands of years ago, around 10,000 BC. Later, the trail was used by the Lenape. The trail was used to migrate, and travel to hunting and fishing areas. In the late 17th century, a center near the [Delaware Water Gap](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap) became connected to the [Hudson River](/source/Hudson_River) from [Kingston, New York](/source/Kingston%2C_New_York) by the Old Mine Road. This road however would not be developed as a road until the early 18th century.[1] There were three wars during the middle of the 17th century: [Governor Kieft's War](/source/Governor_Kieft's_War), the [Esopus Wars](/source/Esopus_Wars) and the [Peach War](/source/Peach_War). With such hostilities between the [Dutch](/source/New_Netherlander) and Native Americans, such a road could not have been built. Dutch populations were not very high in the 17th century. They had forts along the Hudson River from [Manhattan Island](/source/Manhattan_Island) to slightly north of [Albany](/source/Albany%2C_New_York). They did not have the manpower to build a road through a wilderness. The trees at the time were extremely large and the terrain was rugged. It would have required many men using axes to cut trees and brush to clear a path for such a road. Other men would have had to hunt game in Native American territory when there were hostilities. The Native Americans would not have allowed men to cut trees in their territory. No archaeological diggings were ever found of Dutch camps along the "Old Mine" road that would have built such a road. Also, no camps were ever found at the Pahaquarry Mine area. According to many maps drawn in the 18th century, including [William Faden](/source/William_Faden)'s map of 1778, no road is shown going south of Walpack Bend along the eastern side of the Delaware River to Pahaquarry. In 1830 a road was made through the Delaware Water Gap along the New Jersey side and then the road went on the eastern side of the Delaware to Pahaquarry. There was a road on Faden's map that went from Port Jervis to Minisink Island where the road then split three ways. One road went through Culvers Gap. The second crossed the Delaware at Minisink Island and went south along the western side of the river. The third road went to Walpack Bend where it crossed the river and went south along the western side of the Delaware. These were Native American trails that the Europeans used when Europeans arrived in the area. The local ore contained only two to three percent copper, and hauling so much ore of very low quality on rugged roads using wooden carts would have been very difficult and not economically feasible. If the Dutch had made the mine at Pahaquarry, the mining operation would have been extremely difficult and backbreaking. The area is in the [Silurian](/source/Silurian) [High Falls Formation](/source/Bloomsburg_Formation), a [sandstone](/source/Sandstone) rock which is extremely hard. Given the technology of the 17th century, in which iron [hammers and chisels](/source/Hammer_and_pick) would have been used, mining the low-quality ore in extremely hard rock would have been a very difficult undertaking. In reality, the Dutch had all the copper they needed, as they bought it from [Sweden](/source/Swedish_Empire). Given all the above facts, it is unlikely that the Dutch built Old Mine Road or mined the low-grade copper ore at Pahaquarry. ### Early settlement Abandoned house on the Old Mine Road near Minisink Island The first early settlement was near Port Jervis, New York which was then New Jersey. A blacksmith bought land from the Lenape in 1698 near Port Jervis. They valued his metal making skills as no Native American was working with metal then. After that the English bought land from the Native Americans such as the [Minisink Patent](/source/Minisink_Patent), [Wawayanda Patent](/source/Wawayanda_Patent), [NY-NJ Border War](/source/New_York-New_Jersey_Line_War), Minisink settlement, Esopus, etc. ### Frontier fortifications During the [French and Indian Wars](/source/French_and_Indian_Wars) in the mid-18th century, eight fortified houses were built along the Delaware River from [Phillipsburg](/source/Phillipsburg%2C_New_Jersey) to Port Jervis. The first fort was near [Belvidere](/source/Belvidere%2C_New_Jersey) and they were about eight miles apart. The next house was [Isaac Van Campen's house](/source/Van_Campen's_Inn) near [Walpack](/source/Walpack_Center%2C_New_Jersey). The trail led through the [Kittatinny Mountain](/source/Kittatinny_Mountain) northwest of [Blairstown](/source/Blairstown%2C_New_Jersey), and followed along the eastern side of the Delaware River. At no time did the trail go through the Gap and through Pahaquarry. The last fortified house was west of Port Jervis. ### Tocks Island Main article: [Tocks Island Dam controversy](/source/Tocks_Island_Dam_controversy) Due to severe flooding of the [Delaware River](/source/Delaware_River) caused by [Hurricane Diane](/source/Hurricane_Diane) in 1955, the [US Army Corps of Engineers](/source/US_Army_Corps_of_Engineers) asked [Congress](/source/Congress_of_the_United_States) to authorize the building of a dam at [Tocks Island](/source/Tocks_Island). The necessary area around the Delaware River was acquired through [condemnation](/source/Eminent_domain) by the U.S. Government; however, due to constant protests by area residents which were eventually taken up by elected officials such as the [Governor of New Jersey](/source/Governor_of_New_Jersey), the dam was never built. In 1965, [President](/source/President_of_the_United_States) [Johnson](/source/Lyndon_B._Johnson) signed a law creating the [Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap_National_Recreation_Area). Up into the mid-1970s, a total of 15,000 people were asked to vacate their homes and summer cottages before the dam was cancelled; these land takings were incorporated into the Recreation Area in 1978. ## Route description Old Mine Road today is a two-lane paved road from Delaware Water Gap to Port Jervis. There is a campground at [Worthington State Forest](/source/Worthington_State_Forest) about six miles north of the gap. The land is farmed with cornfields along the road in certain areas. The rest of the area is forest or fields. At Port Jervis, the road becomes part of [U.S. Route 209](/source/U.S._Route_209_in_New_York), which travels north towards Kingston. ## See also - [Delaware Water Gap](/source/Delaware_Water_Gap) - [High Point State Park](/source/High_Point_State_Park) - [Stokes State Forest](/source/Stokes_State_Forest) - [Worthington State Forest](/source/Worthington_State_Forest) - [Old Mine Road Historic District](/source/Old_Mine_Road_Historic_District) ## Notes and references ### Citations 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Taylor, Dale (1997). [*The writer's guide to everyday life in Colonial America*](http://archive.org/details/writersguidetoev0000tayl). Internet Archive. Cincinnati, Ohio: Writer's Digest Books. p. 53. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-89879-772-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-89879-772-5). ### Books - Decker, Amelia Stickney. *That Ancient Trail*. (Trenton, New Jersey: Privately printed, 1942). NO ISBN (Pre-1964). - Hine, Charles Gilbert. *The Old Mine Road*. (New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1908). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8135-0426-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8135-0426-0) - Kraft, Herbert C. *The Dutch, the Indians & the Quest for Copper: Pahaquarry & the Old Mine Road*. (West Orange, New Jersey: Seton Hall University Museum, 1996). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-935137-02-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-935137-02-6) - Snell, James P. *History of Sussex and Warren Counties, New Jersey, With Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers*. (Philadelphia: Everts & Peck, 1881). NO ISBN (Pre-1964). ### Articles - Batko, Alicia C. [Searching for the Old Mine Road](https://web.archive.org/web/20041026230901/http://crm.cr.nps.gov/archive/25-03/25-03-16.pdf) in *Cultural Resources Management* Vol. 25 No.3 (National Park Service, 2002). - Kopczynski, Sue. [A Ride Down Old Mine Road](https://archive.today/20061013162241/http://www.nps.gov/archive/dewa/InDepth/Spanning/stgOMR.html) in *Spanning the Gap* Vol. 22, No. 2 (Summer 2000). - Kopczynski, Sue. ["The Dutch Mines: Fact or Myth?](https://web.archive.org/web/20061013161707/http://www.nps.gov/archive/dewa/InDepth/Spannin3/stgCOPER.html) in *Spanning the Gap* Vol. 10, No. 2 (Summer 1998). ## External links - [High Point State Park](http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/highpoint.html) - [Stokes State Forest](http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/stokes.html) - [Worthington State Forest](http://www.state.nj.us/dep/parksandforests/parks/worthington.html) - [National Park Service: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area](https://www.nps.gov/dewa/index.htm) v t e Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area Points of interest Delaware Water Gap Delaware River Appalachian Trail Delaware Water Gap Toll Bridge Dingman's Ferry Bridge Milford–Montague Toll Bridge Minisink Minisink Archaeological Site Waterfalls New Jersey Bevans Foster–Armstrong House Kittatinny Mountain Mount Tammany Military Road Millbrook Old Mine Road Historic District Cornelius Gunn House Old Mine Road Pahaquarry Copper Mine Van Campen's Inn Wallpack Ridge Brau Kettle Wallpack Valley Flat Brook Flatbrookville Wallpack Center Worthington State Forest Mount Tammany Fire Road Sunfish Pond Pennsylvania Big Bushkill Creek Blue Mountain Mount Minsi Brodhead Creek Brodhead Farm Bushkill Callahan House Capt. Jacob Shoemaker House Conashaugh Cold Spring Farm Springhouse Delaware Water Gap station Eshback Fort Hyndshaw John Michael Farm John Turn Farm Marie Zimmermann Farm Metz Ice Plant Nyce Farm Schoonover Mountain House Zion Lutheran Church Dingmans Ferry Dingmans Falls Dingman's Ferry Dutch Reformed Church George W. Childs Recreation Site History Tocks Island Dam controversy --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Old Mine Road](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mine_Road) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Mine_Road?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.