A blast from July 2004…it was run also in July of 2014. Have a great end to the summer and enjoy the new school year.

Wild, Wild Colonia
It seems that over the past few years, there has been a wide variety of wildlife wandering through the woods and plains of country town. It is not uncommon to see one, two or three deer at a time in the New Dover  Road area. Some of the animals that I have seen in the past few years, besides the common rabbits and raccoons and possums, have been ground hogs, red tail hawks, egrets, owls, woodpeckers and lots of those favorite Canadian geese, but while driving on Heather Drive last week my lights caught the sight of a red fox with a small skunk in its mouth. Just as interesting was the wild turkey crossing Stafford Drive into Succor Brook. But the only place you can see a small flying squirrel is in the Pennington Road area. Years ago, I was shown the nocturnal creatures hanging onto a tree in a back yard. The squirrels were no larger than a large mouse.

July 4th
Hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable holiday. There were celebrations all over town, but probably not any larger or exciting as the annual block party on Wendy Road. With the proper permits filed for and months of preparation, Wendy Road is blocked off from Joanna Place to David Court. An overabundance of food and fun, highlighted by a deejay and the rumor of a pyrotechnic display makes this the event of the summer for the local residents. Also being celebrated was the 50th anniversary of the first residents of Dukes Estates moving into their homes in 1954. It was interesting to see some of the original owners along with the younger couples with children. A large number of homes in the development if not still owned by the original buyers are owned by the children of the original owners. It is just great to see neighbors doing the thing that makes a NEIGHBORHOOD.

The Old Minisink Path
The Minisink Trail was a north/south trail that the Monsey Indians in the Sussex County area used to traverse to the Navesink River at Atlantic Highlands to acquire shells and seafood to supplement their diet. David Miller writes about the trail in his book of Colonia. He states that the trail entered Colonia, crossing the modern Parkway around Lake Avenue, roughly following it through what is now the Colonia High School.

While growing up near the Parkway, we always were on the horse path that ran along the Parkway, from the high school to the old parkway rest area and beyond.
I would think that the possibility of the trail being the remnant of the old trail is a possibility. So, I did some investigating. Following the path along the Parkway to the High School, you go past a home located on Jason Court that is entirely out of place for the block. I knocked on the door and talked to the owner. She tells me that the home used to be located on West Street on the other side of the Parkway but was moved to East Street when the Parkway was built. When Jason Court was built years later, her address changed again. The same house has had three addresses. But anyway, I asked her if there was ever a path near her home. She pointed to a section of her property that went directly through the High School property. That made my day. Earlier in the day I parked my car in the back lot of the school and proceeded to walk into the woods to an area that I was told existed a path. It was there and it was beautiful. The path led through the woods across a stone bridge which led over a brook. The bridge I would guess was added later by the owners of the Freeman estate of the Tom’s estate. This is speculation, but it makes sense since it was not uncommon for Indian trails to be turned into roads by the colonists. The best example of this in Colonia is Chain Hills Road, which was part of the east/west trail, later named the Dutch Trail in the early 1700’s and later renamed Queen Anne’s Road.

When I lined up the path to the path that was along the Parkway and which went through the Jason Court property, it was a perfect match.
There is a picture of David Miller standing next to a tall oak tree on the trail in 1965. The area in question is full of tall oaks. I wish I could ask David Miller if this is the place, but he has since passed away. So, is there anyone out there who is familiar with the path? And also, if anyone knows where the Miller family is located, please let me know. I believe that his notes and other materials he used in writing his book, would be an invaluable asset to the Colonia History Club.