March 1, 2022
Some of our park visitors may have noticed construction on a small structure next to the canal and bridge tender’s house in East Millstone. What looks at first glance like an unimportant small outdoor shed is actually a reconstruction of East Millstone’s historic bridge tender’s station - one of five similar surviving buildings that once served the needs of the tenders who operated the swing bridges at their assigned locations. This station was literally “hanging on the edge,” clinging to the side of the eroding canal bank - a victim of the passing years and continual flooding events. Thanks to the dogged support of the D&R Canal Watch, starting funds were raised and then supplemented in large measure by the D&R Canal Commission paving the way for the project to begin. Pieces of the historic station that could be salvaged and reused were carefully removed, saved and then used in the reconstruction of this small, but significant, piece of D&R history. An idea that began years ago is at long last underway! We are grateful to the staunch support of our partners at the D&R Canal Commission, D&R Canal Watch, HMR Architects, Hawley Brothers and our colleagues at the NJ State Historic Preservation Office and Office of Resource Development who all helped make this preservation effort a reality. Successful preservation projects DO take a village!