The Watchung Mountains had ridges that were mined for its copper ore. This cache is along a small ridge leading to the famous old copper mine and natural formation that was a mining operation in the old town of Feltville. Just off the Orange/white trail.
The first settler of this area was a man named Peter Willcocks, an Englishman who moved here from Long Island about 1736, and operated a sawmill here. You can find his grave in a small, secluded graveyard in the woods atop a high bluff. The next person to try to make a go of the area was David Felt, a businessman originally from Boston, who relocated to New York City in 1825. He purchased the Union County land from the descendants of Peter Willocks in
1844, and built a mill on Blue Brook, two dams for the mill, and a little town, which he dubbed “Feltville,” for the workers in the mill to live in. Felt sold the property after fifteen years, and after several successive business ventures failed to revive the community, the place became known as the “Deserted Village.”
In 1882, the Deserted Village was bought by Warren Ackerman, who transformed it to a summer resort called Glenside Park. This business too soon failed though, and the place was once again abandoned. The Union Country Park Commission eventually purchased the property and included it as part of the Watchung Reservation.
The Northern New Jersey Cachers, NNJC is about promoting a quality caching experience in Northern New Jersey. For information on The Northern New Jersey Cachers group you can visit: www.nnjc.org.
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