Pompton Lakes Historical Sites Rest Amid Hazardous Waste Sites

By Emily Shovlin

The land that is now known as Pompton Lakes was purchased by colonists from the Lenape tribe in the 1680s. Allegedly, the word “Pompton” comes from a Native American word meaning “wry mouth.” The colonists chose this name for the borough due to the many crooked bodies of water surrounding the area. Soon after the purchase of the land, construction of ironworks brought industry to the town. The Pompton Lakes Ironworks supplied munitions to the French, Indian, and Revolutionary Wars, as well as the War of 1812. The Ironworks switched over to steel in the 1800s, producing products such as knives and saws.

The Pompton Lakes Ironworks gave the borough the reputation of an industrial town, and the rural area began to transform into a suburb. In 1905, E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Company opened a factory, manufacturing several different forms of munitions and military technology, including explosives, blasting caps, bullets, and hand grenades. DuPont contributed a lot of revenue to the small town, employing at least 7,500 people during World War II. The company built DuPont Village nearby the factories to house their workers, and the town quickly went from a tourist town to a factory town.

Although DuPont brought in a lot of money for the town, the company also brought devastation. During the time of their operations, the company produced many hazardous waste materials through the processes of making the products, cleaning, and degreasing the machines. To dispose of these toxic chemicals, DuPont dumped them into four unlined lagoons on their property. By the time the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) did an analysis of the groundwater in 1986, the contaminants had mixed into a “toxic plume” of volatile organic and inorganic compounds. The chemicals include tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), which have also been found seeping into homes from basements.

DuPont was aware of the contamination for decades before disclosing the full extent of the issue to the public. Residents have been struggling with higher rates of cancer, and have been fighting for years to make this company clean up the contaminants from the groundwater and soil. Turtle Island Consulting, a Ramapo College environmental studies seniors’ project, has done a thorough Environmental Impact Assessment to assess the impacts the contamination has had on the town. The following outlines the cultural impacts, which include prehistoric and historic sites that are significant to the town.

Northern Jersey Native Sites

Northern New Jersey has a rich history of Native American culture, predominantly of the Munsee-speaking Lenape tribe, according to historians and anthropologists.  However, much of their history can be difficult to find.  Many accounts start in the 1600s, merely stating that colonists purchased land from tribes as a prologue to the history of the settlers.  The only mention of the tribe that lived in the Pompton Lakes region prior to settlers is found in the town’s historic guide, stating that the town began to flourish “in the 1680s, when Dutch settlers purchased farmland from the Indians.” Although the town refrains from including Native history on their historic websites and guides, a local archaeologist, Edward J.  Lenik, has written extensively on Native tribes in the New York-New Jersey region.

When colonists began settling in the New England region, Native Americans had to abdicate their ancestral land, receiving money or goods in return.  After selling their land to European settlers, the tribes moved from Connecticut to northern New Jersey and became known as the Pompton or Waping Indians.  In the mid-17^th century, the tribes settled around the Passaic, Ramapo, Mahwah, Pequannock, and Wanaque Rivers.  Although there are not many written historical accounts of tribes, historians and archaeologists have found documentation and artifacts that provide a general narrative and indicate the strong presence of Native Americans in the region.

In 1695, Indians such as Tapgan, Oragnap, and Rookham signed a deed for land near Pompton River in Pequannock.  In a 1710 map drawn by William Bond, a European in the party of settlers in the Ramapo River Valley, a number of longhouses were shown in the Mahwah-Suffern area.  In the second half of the 1700s, wigwams were described along the Ramapo River in Ringwood, New Jersey and Sloatsburg, New York.  Max Schrabisch, known as one of the first New Jersey archaeologists to study Native sites, found many rockshelters throughout the New York-New Jersey region, some of which could be found in Bloomingdale, Pompton Plains, Towaco, Montville, Torne Brook, and Torne Mountain.

There are very few Native sites that have been found in Pompton Lakes itself, but the archaeology and documentation of Native Americans in the northern New Jersey region indicate that there was Native American presence in Pompton Lakes as well. 

In 1913, Max Schrabisch and Alanson Skinner conducted an archaeological survey of the State of New Jersey.  While there were many findings in the general area of Pompton Lakes, only five were found within the borough.  Three campsites were found north of Pompton Junction “between the railroad and a tributary of Wanaque River”, and a fourth was found south of the Junction on the eastside of the Pequannock River.  Two other campsites were found on Wanaque River’s east bank.

The exact location of the five sites are difficult to identify due to the vague descriptions and the time since the discoveries.  Edward J. Lenik believes all five sites have likely been developed. Pompton Junction is located next to I-287, a railway, and industrial sites, while the sites near Wanaque River are within residential areas, including homes and recreational fields.  Therefore, the artifacts are no longer salvageable.

Figure 1: General area of Pompton Junction Native sites

Figure 2: General area of Wanaque River bank Native sites 

Designated Historical Sites

The Pompton Lakes Historic Commission was established in 1988, and its purpose is to designate and protect historic sites in Pompton Lakes.  The Commission designates the sites depending on their “cultural, social, economic, and architectural history.” Four of these have the potential to be impacted by the contamination due to their location.

The Pompton Lakes Reformed Church was designated as a historical site in 2001. Founded by the members of Pompton Plains Church in 1812, the church had completed construction in 1814.  One of the founding members was Martin J. Ryerson, who was the owner of the Pompton Ironworks.  The church went under a few renovations throughout the 1900s, including additions of an auditorium and a classroom.  Albert Payson Terhune, acclaimed author of children's books and Pompton Lakes resident, is buried in the cemetery behind the church.

The Schuyler House was designated a historical site in 2006. The piece of land the house is on was purchased from Native Americans by Captain Arent Schuyler in 1695.  The borough believes the house itself was built in 1715 by the Van Wagenen family, and has held a rich history since its construction.  Schuyler’s grandson purchased the house in 1739 before being imprisoned as a Loyalist.  Between 1781 and 1782, if not longer, the house was used as Headquarters for the Continental Army.  The French Army, traveling from Rhode Island to Virginia, had it drawn on maps from 1782.

Figure 1.3c: French Army map of route to Yorktown, Virginia 1782

For almost two centuries, it served as a house when, in the 1920s, it was purchased by Dr. Joseph Bier.  Bier founded a training camp for boxers that operated from the time he bought the land until the 1950s.  At the house, Bier trained eminent boxers such as Max Baer, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jack Sharkey, and most esteemed, Joe Louis.

Joe Louis was a renowned heavyweight boxer who began his career in the 1930s.  He quickly became well-known in the sport after knocking out his opponent in the first round of his first professional match.  In 1935, Louis found his way to Dr. Joseph Bier’s Health Camp in Pompton Lakes at the site of the Schuyler House.  Unlike Bier’s other trainees, Louis became quite close with some of the Pompton Lakes residents.  During his time at the camp, a Pompton Lakes man died while waiting for an ambulance to come; the borough did not have their own at the time and had to send for an out-of-town ambulance for any emergencies.  Louis heard of this tragic event and fought in an exhibition to raise the money for Pompton Lakes to purchase their own ambulance.

Louis stayed with Bier’s camp until he retired in 1949, holding the title of undefeated Heavyweight Champion of the World and a record of 25 consecutive wins.  He continued to help out Pompton Lakes in any way he could and donated $2,000 to the construction of a police communications tower.  Just down the street from the Schuyler House where Louis trained lies a plot of land donated to Pompton Lakes in 1895.  After his death in 1981, this land was dedicated to Louis and named “Joe Louis Memorial Park.”

Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail

 American colonies declared independence from Great Britain in 1776 and struggled to fight against an army that was significantly more equipped to fight than the American soldiers.  America sought an ally in France, whose king knew good could come of helping a new and struggling country. In 1780, French General Jean Baptiste de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau arrived in Newport, Rhode Island with 450 officers and 5,300 soldiers to assist the American army. General Rochambeau and his army marched from Rhode Island to Phillipsburg, New York, where they first met General George Washington and his soldiers.

After a few changes in plans, the two armies began to travel 300 miles from New York to Yorktown, Virginia, marching through New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia.  Some soldiers marched while others sailed.  They reached their destination in a little over a month, which historians say was an impressive accomplishment.  Their travels through six states ultimately led to the Siege of Yorktown and the surrender of the British army, and allowed the thirteen colonies to become a country.

The Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail covers the 680 miles of land and sea that the two armies covered, from the time Rochambeau stepped off his ship in Rhode Island until the Siege of Yorktown. It was designated a National Historic Trail in 2009 by an act of Congress due to its honoring of “the cross-cultural significance of the French-American alliance and America’s great success in the War for Independence.” About 2 miles of this trail travel through Pompton Lakes, entering along the Hamburg Turnpike before turning left onto Wanaque Avenue, right on Colfax, down Jefferson, and past the Pompton Lakes Elks Lodge before entering Wayne.

Figure 1.3d: Washington-Rochambeau National 
Historic Trail route  

Figure 1.3e: Washington-Rochambeau Historic 
Trail route through Pompton Lakes

Impacts

Native American sites are a crucial aspect of a town’s history.  While the northern New Jersey region is rich with Native American culture, the sites within Pompton Lakes were negatively affected before the contamination was made public due to the developed areas they would have been found.

The Schuyler House is a residential home in Pompton Lakes.  The house is outside of the current plume, but was inside of the plume boundaries as it was in 2011.  Although the current residents within the house may be at risk of vapor intrusion and may struggle with decreasing property values, there is no potential impact on the historical integrity of the home.

Joe Louis Memorial Park is a very small plot of land located down the street from the Schuyler House, and is therefore currently outside of the plume, but once lay within the outer plume.  While park-goers may worry about air quality, Joe Louis Memorial Park is not at risk as a historical site.

About a half mile of the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail within Pompton Lakes is inside of the inner plume.  The National Park Service felt this may be cause for concern and recently conducted an assessment of the trail, contaminants, and potential impacts.  However, the National Park Service ruled that pollution from DuPont would not have any negative effects on the historic trail.

            

The Pompton Lakes Reformed Church can be found at the corner of Hamburg Turnpike and Ringwood Avenue.  The Pompton Lakes DuPont Remediation vehicles drive past this corner on their predetermined route.  The trucks used for remediation hauls weigh over 33,000 lbs before the added weight of the contaminants.  The Pompton Lakes Reformed Church was built between 1812 and 1814, indicating that the structure of the building may be vulnerable.  The regular drive-bys of heavy machinery put the structural integrity of the historical church at risk.

Conclusion

           

TIC has conducted thorough research on sites of prehistoric and historic significance in Pompton Lakes. The Pompton Lakes Reformed Church may be in danger of structural damage due to the heavy-weight remediation site trucks passing by.  However, taking into consideration Pompton Lakes designated sites’ historical importance and the area of the borough they can be found in, TIC has ruled that there are no other outstanding impacts that will jeopardize the historical or physical integrity of Pompton Lakes.

Emily Shovlin, a Ramapo College senior, has a passion for sustainability, zero waste, and creative writing. She hopes to one day inspire young children to stand up for the environment through outdoor education and children’s books.