The 1876 Bergen
atlas noted it as “Cold Brook,” which it certainly is,
especially on hot summer days.
The 1995 U.S. Geological Survey captioned it as “Deep
Brook.” To many Wyckoff residents, it is simply known as
“the ravine.” A Favorite of Walkers and Joggers Dutch
settlers arrived in northern New Jersey in larger numbers in the
eighteenth century, and the upper portion of the ravine at
Grandview Avenue was the site of a mill owned by the Blauvelt
family. There is the remnant of a stairway leading down from Ravine
Avenue into the ravine near the intersection of Ravine and
Grandview (although it is impassable and filled with posion
ivy).
In 1809, Ravine Avenue was constructed along the northerly end of
the ravine to link Grandview Avenue to Goffle Road. Now a favorite
of walkers, joggers and children who walk to school, Ravine Avenue
between Lafayette and Grandview avenues is an excellent vantage
point from which to enjoy the ravine and the woods still remaining.
In the later part of the nineteenth century, Judge Preston
Stevenson, a gentleman farmer, took over the over portion of the
ravine from descendants of the Blauvelt family. His butter molds
were imprinted with “Depe Voll” in honor of the ravine.
Account of the Paterson Rambling Club, 1907 Because of its great
beauty, this beautiful deep gorge was the site of many excursions
by naturalists-botanists and geologists-and hundreds of students
over the last century. Joseph Rydings, the leader of the Paterson
Rambling Club, reporting on one excursion around 1907, wrote, The
Ramblers have known and visited [Deep Brook GIen] for years, and
its charms have been revealed at last to many lovers of Nature
outside the Rambling Club. Man may thirst for fame, but Sylvan
Nature is a shy, retiring maiden who wants no intrusion on her
solitude, and though the poet seems to pity the flower that is born
to blush unseen, the flower itself may be supposed to rejoice in
such a condition. These thoughts occupied the mind of one of the
Ramblers last Sunday, as he wandered through the glen, bemoaning
the disappearance of the old woodland favorites, which Flora had
cherished and cultivated in this sequestered spot ever since the
Red Man dwelt within the grove. The wintergreen plant, once so
common here, is almost extinct. [Note: Wintergreen was still to be
found in the Ravine as recently as the 1950s.] [In the south] we
...passed through meadows watered by the sprightly little Goffle
Brook, until we came to the beginning of the enchanted delI which
goes by the name of Deep-Brook GIen. Here the Ramblers were met by
Mr. Van Blarcum, who welcomed them and gave them full permission to
wander over his own grounds…. In this way the Ramblers went
on until the end of the ravine was reached. Here the woodland path
gives place to the public highway [Grandview Avenue ]. Boy Scout
excursions have searched for—and found—arrowheads in
the ravine. For many long-time residents of Wyckoff, it was the
site where many summer afternoons were spent. After a heavy rain,
the sight and sound of the huge flood of water that runs through
the ravine is spectacular. The ravine is truly one of North
Jersey’s greatest sites,(some say it is) rivaled only by
Paterson’s Great Falls, and it has brought both joy and awe
to the faces of (those) who seen it. We have squandered much of
this natural wonder, which is why, now more than ever, it is
important to protect what remains for future generations to enjoy.
Original Source: (Save the Ravine Alliance, PO Box 476, Wyckoff, NJ
07481
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