Photo courtesy of Michael Hogan
Watershed Facts - 20 total stream miles |
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History
The watershed area where we live was originally occupied by the Kagkikani Sakins Indians, a branch of the Lenni Lenape Native American tribe that lived in this region of New Jersey. They called the creek Mosacksa.
In the early part of the 17th century, Swedish, Dutch and English settlers came to the region. As happened throughout the continent, the native population was pushed out. The first settlements were built along the Delaware River and its tributary inlets and creeks.
The Swedish, who built the first permanent settlement in the area along the Raccoon Creek, first settled the area. They lived in small log houses and cultivated small farms and hunted and fished. They learned to live off the natural resources of the land and how to use native plants for food and medicine from the Indians, with whom they established trade. We know that a Swede named John Talman settled with his family at the mouth of Oldmans Creek prior to the Revolutionary War. The Dutch came later and intermarried with the Swedish settlers.
The English subsequently colonized the area; New Jersey became an English territory in the 1670's. With the English came the Quakers, seeking religious freedom. In 1674, a Quaker named Roger Pedrick purchased 1000 acres of land along the southern boundary of Oldmans Creek, where now sits Pedricktown. Two of his descendants, Hamilton Ted Pedrick and John Pedrick, live there today.
Hamilton Pedrick was a founding and active member of the original Oldmans Creek Watershed Association thirty years ago, and is an active member of the revived association today. The early settlers became active farmers, the original gardeners of the Garden State. They grew squash, tomatoes, corn and other produce and using the creeks and rivers as their primary source of transportation, traded vigorously back and forth with the village of Philadelphia. They used a flat bottomed boat with a sail fastened upon a pole. They depended on the waterways as their main source of transportation until the advent of the railroad around 1874.
Wildlife in Oldmans Watershed
Part of our mission is to preserve the ecological quality of the watershed. That includes protecting habitat for the wildlife. At our headwaters we have forested areas. Near the mouth of the creek we have tidal marshes. Along the corridor it offers farm and grasslands. Each ecosystem offers a unique environment. With these diverse habitats the watershed is able to support a wide variety of flora and fauna.
There are many state and federally endangered, threatened, or rare species that depend on our watershed. Some bids use it only as a rest stop during migration. Others live their entire life here. Either way, the area is critical to their survival.
Why a Watershed Association?
One purpose of a watershed association is to observe the conditions of the water in its area and to make sure it is clean and kept clean. The Oldmans Creek Watershed Association actually existed in the 1960's and was revived again in 1993.
The watershed includes the land on the Salem County side and the Gloucester County side of Oldmans Creek, starting at the headwaters around Hardingville in Elk Township and running all the way to the Delaware River, a distance of about 25 miles. It includes the townships of Elk, Harrison, Woolwich and Logan on the Gloucester County side and Upper Pittsgrove, Pilesgrove and Oldmans on the Salem County side. It has two sizeable lakes on it , both in the South Harrison area, Algonquin Lake and Harrisonville Lake, besides large areas of swamps and woodlands that support a great variety of wildlife. The large marsh area at the mouth of Oldmans Creek on the Delaware is recognized as one of the premier waterfowl sites in the state. It is also important as part of the flyway for migratory birds and raptors.