Note: With the last version, there was a concern brought up that the cache was in private property. This is not the case, the signs are referencing the machinery located next to the bridge, as seen in the first picture. This area has been and is still advertised as a fishing spot as seen in the second picture. The cache has been moved farther away and higher up still within public property to lower concerns and also keep it safer from flooding. If you are concerned that the fishing location is no longer being maintained due to the year, you can find this site on the official New Jersey Government Environmental Department as a restocked trout river.
Hello! If you are reading this, you have managed to find or are planning to find this geocache. This geocache is one of several I, William Bramley, put in for my Eagle Scout project. Along with being a fun experience, this geocache is one of twelve I have put down and were made to help educate you on the history of the geocache site and its surrounding area. If you stumble on this by accident, you can visit the geocaching app to find more.
Leslies Bridge Geocache
Credit to “Rivervale as I knew it” blog for the image.
The landmark here is Leslie’s bridge, and you most likely walked past it to get here. This site has a long history with the earliest record of the area calling it Stone Point in 1704. In 1725, a giant mill was built here to process grain from the nearby farmland for about 150 years. In 1857, two brothers Nicholas and Claudius Collingon purchased the land and used it to create the largest chair mill in New Jersey, whose specialty was creating folding chairs. At the factory’s peak, it employed roughly 100 people, men and women alike.
Eventually, the original owners died of old age, and the factory was sold off because of a decline in business. Sometime later there was a brutal fire, leaving no trace of it today.
Sources:
Pascack Press:https://thepressgroup.net/back-in-time-the-collignon-chair-factory/
Rivervale As I Knew It by Robert Secor:http://rivervalenj.blogspot.com/2012/06/