Abandoned Walpack Centre, New Jersey |
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| Posted- Nope, it ain't abandoned. | Patrolled-A Park Ranger Lives There | Location-
Wallpack, NJ- In the Delaware Water Gap
Recreation Area. At the intersection of Walpack Flatbrook Road & Main Tilman Road |
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| Danger Level- Low (If Any) | Dangers- Mosquitos, nasty ones too. That's about it. | |||
| Cool Factor- 1 | Haunted- Not on the outside, didn't get in any buildings. | |||
| Some History About The Walpack Centre- Well, much of
this information was pulled from the Wierd NJ issue #16. (Thanks to them).
Back in 1962, it seems that the Army Corps of Engineers decide to start planning
a big dam near Tocks Island. The area of Walpack Centre was going to be flooded
to create a lake the size of Lake Michigan. As soon as the plans were announced, residents from both New Jersey and Pennsylvania got pissed. The residents opposed the dam project. Apperently, the Army Corps decided to play hardball (actually, bully) by doing things like threatening to abandon maintenance of local roads. This would make it impossible for emergency vehicles, school buses and suplly trucks to get to the towns. Many residents left, recieving less then market value for their homes. Some residents stayed behind, which eventually got the attention of the press. The press coverage helped to gain the attention of environmentalists. These guys realized that there were some serious problems with the dam project. First, it would cause a build up of salmonella in area reservoirs. Second, the dam itself was to be built on unstable glacial land deposits, which would increase its chances of breaking. The environmetalists were able to gain national press coverage, with articles in the New York Times and Playboy Magazine. The not-so-smart Army Corps of Engineers made a dumb move. They decided to fund their dam/lake (lol) project by renting out the homes they had taken (forcefully) from the original residents. They actually ran the add for "houses for rent" in the local paper, The Village Voice. Almost immedeately, the place was taken over by hippies, bikers and wanderers. Most didn't even pay rent, they simply took over. (Squatters) The overflow of squatters spilled into Pensylvania, taking over the abandoned houses there as well. The local residents were extremely pissed that these poeple had taken over the homes of friends and family, while collecting welfare checks from the local community. The tension between the locals and squatters was at a head. The Army Corps of Engineers was actually the first to move on this. In 1974 (yes, 12 years after they announced they were planning this project), an army of state troopers and US Marshals arrived at the area. Armed with ev everything from shotguns to tear gas, they forced the squatters out.When the last had been cleared out, the bulldozers came in. Many homes were demolished, some that were historically important. As you might have guessed, this was another dumb move. Just about everyone spoke up against that. The State of New Jersey withdrew its support for the project and the State of Delaware condemned the project because it would effect the quality of their water supply. In 1978, Congress finally killed the project. The result is abandoned towns all around the valleys of the Delaware Water Gap. My Visits- Well, being from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...I usually don't get a chance to see an entire ghost town. I'm disappointed to say that I still haven't. The only information I had on this place came from Wierd NJ #16. According to that article, the town was still abandoned with everything (windows, doors, walls) painted white. What I found was a little different. There are only 9 buildings, with 3 of them occupied by residents and 1 as a Museum/Historical Society. There were two houses, the post office, the church and what looked like the church annex...that were abandoned. They were all locked up tight and even had Security stickers on the windows. They all looked to be somewhat cared for. I walked the length of the town in less then two minutes. So, I'd have to say I was a little disappointed. Since I was there, I decide to look for the town cemetery (mentioned in the Wierd NJ article). After walking about 10 minutes, I found it. A good size lot with a mix of old and new stones. The oldest I found dated to 1855 (Death date), while the more recent came up to the present year (2003). Nothing creepy about the place, just a normal cemetery. While walking the roads, I did notice that there were a lot of "half-circle" driveways, just no houses. I must have walked past a few dozen. Unfortunately, the brush is too overgrown and I couldn't even find any signs of foundations. All in all, this wasn't a fun trip. Oh, something I should mention here. In the Wierd NJ article, there's a photo of an old bridge and it kinda looks like its supposed to be the entrance to the town, althought there's nothing that actually says that. That bridge is actually about 10 minutes (drive) away from the town. There ain't nothing in the woods on the other side. A half hour of hiking can attest to that!
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Established- Still Active |
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