Deserted Village of Feltville in the Watchung Reservation
There are many chapters in this site's history. The area was well known to the Lenni Lenape, who used trails to crisscross the Watchung Mountains during their seasonal migration between the mountains and the shore.
The first European settler was Peter Willcocks, an Englishman who moved here with his family from Long Island around 1736. His sawmill on the Blue Brook produced lumber for the growing number of farmers moving to the then-frontier region. The sawmill operation cleared hundreds of acres of forest.
In 1844, David Felt purchased 760 acres of land to build a second mill and factory for his New York-based stationery business, which became known as Feltville. He built an entire village on the bluff above the brook to support the mill operation, and by 1850, 175 people lived in Feltville. After Felt retired in 1860, other business ventures were tried here but failed, and the village became deserted for a short time. The mill was torn down in 1930.
In 1882, the site was sold to Warren Ackerman, who sought to develop a middle-class resort he named Glenside Park. His promotional brochure touted the clear mountain air as having "not a hint of malaria." The popularity of mountain resorts waned as the Jersey Shore gained popularity, and it ceased operation in 1916.
Soon after the Union County Park System was formed in 1921, this area was incorporated into the Watchung Reservation — one of America’s first county parks. This unique historic resource is listed on both the State and National Registers of Historic Places.
See more information at: https://ucnj.org/parks-recreation/deserted-village/
