Millstone Valley Scenic Byway

Griggstown D&R State Park Griggstown is a well Conceived as a direct transportation shortcut between preserved canal village and , the D&R Canal was in New Jersey. It has a begun in 1830 and opened for operation in June of bridge tender’s house, 1834. The waterway stretched 44 miles from the Del- which is the Byway’s aware River at Bordentown to the Raritan at New Visitor Center, a small Brunswick. Unlike other that were spanned by basin, a one-room fixed bridges, the D&R’s swing bridges provided an schoolhouse, and the unlimited height restriction allowing boats of various remains of a mill foun- sizes such as military transports, steam-powered ships, dation. The village has a yachts and high-masted sailing vessels to ply the Greek Revival-style waters alongside mule-drawn canal boats. The D&R Reformed Church and was a successful canal, in one year carrying more tons many historic houses. Bridge Tender’s House of cargo than the more famous . During its The Griggstown lock is years in operation it was an integral part of the Atlantic located 0.7 of a mile Intracoastal Waterway, a role it no longer fills. Closed south of the Griggstown in 1932, the abandoned waterway found new purpose Causeway on Canal as a water supply for Central New Jersey and now Road. brings water to over one million residents.

Griggstown Lock In 1973 the D&R Canal

was placed on the

Blackwells Mills National and State Reg- isters of Historic Places, It would be hard to find and the next year it a 19th century vignette became a state park. as nicely preserved as It is also designated as Blackwells Mills, with its a National Recreation picturesque bridge ten- Trail and is part of the der’s house, garden and East Coast Greenway. access to Six Mile Run. As a state park, it is a www.dandrcanal.com/ premier recreational friends_bwm.html destination. Visitors can Lock 8 Garden at Blackwells Mills canoe, kayak, bike, jog, walk, snowshoe, cross- A Glimpse into the Past country ski, paint, pho- tograph, ride horses, Close your eyes; is that the wind or the soldiers’ fish, and bird watch; whispers as they trudge by? Major troop movements over 160 bird species and military campaigns which greatly influenced the have been spotted outcome of the American Revolution took place within the byway corri- along the Millstone Valley Scenic Byway. The entire dor. Check the D&R Byway Corridor is within the Crossroads of the Amer- Canal website for infor- ican Revolution National Heritage Area and the mation and trail maps. Washington Rochambeau Revolutionary Route. Little Valley towpath access www.dandrcanal.com/ 609-924-5705

Rockingham, now a state historic site, served as Gen- View from the towpath eral Washington’s final Revolutionary War head- East Millstone quarters in 1783, while the

The canal and railroad Continental Congress met turned the village of in nearby Princeton. Here East Millstone into a Washington awaited news View of the barn from the road thriving commercial and that the Treaty of Paris had manufacturing town. been signed, and the 13 The houses and the colonies were independent churches, in many of Great Britain. Check the Bridge Tender’s House architectural styles, website for times of retain the historic char- opening. acter of the village. The www.rockingham.net ; Garden at Rockingham Griggstown Bridge Tender’s House bridge tender’s house 609-683-7132 and adjacent Franklin Stroll along the Millstone Valley Scenic Byway tow- Inn are key landmarks path and other corridor pathways. You will notice a of East Millstone. ccccc remarkable number of intact historic districts, historic www.facebook.com/ sites, and villages as well as farms and natural areas, Franklin Inn eastmillstone reflecting the different time periods in the settlement

of the corridor. The Millstone River was a significant Millstone element that contributed to settlement of this area. The Lenape were the first residents of this corridor. Millstone Borough, once Early European colonization within the valley started called Somerset Court with the Dutch in the 1600s. Later it became part of House, was established East Jersey under the proprietorship of Sir George as an important cross- Carteret. road of north-south and General Washington’s headquarters at Rockingham east-west travel. A dar- ing foray by the Loyalist Rockingham + Blacksmith Shop Queen’s Rangers, led by Further Information: Six historic villages are located directly along Lieutenant Colonel John the Millstone Valley Scenic Byway route. Some Simcoe, burned the of the villages were sites of Lenape encamp- courthouse. The Mill- ments and many of the roads in the corridor stone Forge is said to be had their origins in Lenape trails. The building the oldest operating of the Delaware and Raritan (D&R) Canal, and blacksmith shop in New later railroads, facilitated development of small Jersey. Indian mortar industries and the Colonial settlements along stones stand in front of the river expanded. The need for farm prod- t h e H i l l s b o r o u g h ucts during the Civil War brought considerable Reformed Church and prosperity to the surrounding farms. the blacksmith shop. www.millstoneforge.org Kingston

Kingston was located on Hillsborough Reformed Church the main road connecting www.byways.org the colonies. As traffic Rocky Hill grew, houses, taverns Today Rocky Hill is a Acknowledgments and shops were built along the road on the charming example of a The Millstone Valley Scenic Byway was designated as a plateau overlooking the 19th-century village, State Scenic Byway on June 27, 2001 and extended where visitors can see through an addendum by 2.5 miles in May 2007. The river crossing; by 1723 Main Str Coffeehouse (Rt 27/Lincoln Highway) these buildings had many architectural styles, Byway received National designation by the Federal become Kingston Village. including Federal, Greek Highway Administration on October 16, 2009. Revival, Second Empire, Today Kingston retains its Queen Anne, Carpenter This brochure has been funded by the New Jersey charming character and Gothic, Italianate, and Department of Environmental Protection, New Jersey small-town appeal, with Rocky Hill Inn Bungalow. Travelers in Department of Transportation and the Federal High- several shops and places 1748 called it Rockhill, way Administration. Photographs are provided by because it was covered NJDOT, Jim Klein of Lardner/Klein Landscape Archi- to eat. A path leads to Lock Tender’s House the canal area, which with rocks so big it took tects and Barbara ten Broeke, Millstone Valley Preser- includes Lock #8, a lock three men to roll them! vation Coalition. tender’s house, a toll www.Rockyhill-nj.gov house/telegraph office, and a turning basin. Nearby is the 1798 four- arch stone bridge over the Millstone River and 1798 four-arch stone bridge the 1892 Kingston Mill. www.khsnj.org First Reformed Church Washington Street

(Seasonal)

Published 2014