Month: November 2024

KHS Annual Meeting features talk by D&R Canal Commission Executive Director

Kingston Historical Society Annual Meeting Tuesday November 12th at7:30 PM, to feature presentation by D&R Canal Commission Executive Director

John Hutchison, Executive Director of the Delaware & Raritan Canal Commission will present an illustrated program on the Commission. He will describe its role in preserving the Canal and its corridor and the process of a new master plan. The MasterPlan was last updated in 1989. As part of that process, the Canal is being documented by drone. A new video taken by drone,“Taking Flight on the D&R Canal: Raven Rock to Prallsville Mills” will be shown.

2024 is the 50th Anniversary of both the D&R Canal State Park and The D&R Canal Commission. Both the Park and the Commission were established by the D&R Canal State Park Law of 1974. The Park is the second most used State Park in New Jersey. Many are familiar with the Park. People are less familiar with the Commission and its mission to “prepare, adopt, and implement a master plan for the physical development of the Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park, review State and local actions that impact on the park to insure that these actions conform as nearly as possible to the Commission’s master plan, and coordinate and support activities by citizens’ groups to promote and preserve the Park.” The Commission’s regulations and continuing actions are essential in preserving not just a historic canal and a park, but a unique corridor of natural, historic and recreational resources in the center of the most densely populated state in the nation.

John Hutchison was appointed the fourth Executive Director of the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission in 2017. He advises the Commission on its actions and serves as the chief administrative officer of the Commission. He is assisted by and oversees the operations of a professional staff of administrative and engineering personnel from the Commission’s office at the historic Prallsville Mills complex in Stockton, New Jersey. Prior to his appointment, he served as a Senior Policy Advisor to the Commissioner of Environmental Protection.

The meeting will be “hybrid” – attend in person or virtually:

  • In-person at the Kingston Firehouse
    8 Heathcote Brook Road, Kingston 08528
    Directions at: www.khsnj.org/talk
  • Light refreshments will be served
  • Virtually by Zoom
    by registering at www.khsnj.org/talk
    The event is free and open to the public – All are Welcome

Exploring the Kingston Lock Area

The October 19,2024 walk along the D&R Canal was a big success!

The weather was perfect for walking, and we had a good crowd gathered. They heard about the event in US1, Princeton Online, South Brunswick Patch and by word of mouth. Fall foliage was neary at its peak.

The “Walk the Lock” event began in the Locktender’s house with Robert von Zumbusch and George Luck demonstrating our models of the Lock and the A-frame bridge.

Then Charlie Dieterich described the A-frame bridge, which carried the Lincoln Highway through Kingston. He took the group across the “new” bridge that replaced the Swing bridge over the canal and upstream to the canal’s turning basin and the Carnegie Lake dam.

Doug made a short video of some still images and George reading from a 1918 newspaper article concerning the bridge at Kingston. During the First World War the canal was guarded by New Jersey national guardsmen, as it was a military asset.

The story of the suspected spy was discovered by Markus McParland while researching his BOOK.

It all seems unreal (like the music)!

George explains the Battle of Kingston Lock, WWI…

Thanks to Sharon Hansen, there were refreshments too!

The Kingston Historical Society will host an easy stroll focusing on historic structures of the Delaware and Raritan Canal in the Kingston area.
Come see the history and learn how the canal worked. Led by Robert von Zumbusch, president of the Kingston Historical Society and Charlie Dieterich, Society secretary and archivist, the mile-long journey will begin and end at the Kingston Locktender’s House, just off Route 27 at the foot of the Kingston hill, near 4492 Route 27, Princeton.
Participants will walk on the D & R Canal towpath and other paths that may be muddy, so appropriate footwear is advised. There will also be an opportunity to see the canal exhibits and a demonstration of models of the lock and original A-Frame bridge in the Locktender’s House.
The event is free and open to all. Children should be carefully supervised near the canal and its structures. Parking is available in the State Park lots, along the road, and also across Route 27 in the Flemer Preserve. Light refreshments will be served.

South Brunswick Patch

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