Lacey To Lambertville (New Jersey)

Lacey. 84-square-mile township in Ocean County, plus 14.5 square miles of water, situated along the coast of Barnegat Bay. Lacey was incorporated in 1871 from three older towns: Bamber, Lanoka Harbor, and Forked River. The area was settled in colonial times: a sawmill was built on Cedar Creek in 1740 and a salt works in 1754. A Revolutionary War veteran, Gen. John Lacey, founded Ferrago Forge in 1809. Early industries included lumbering, fishing, shellfishing, cranberry farming, and tourism. In the nineteenth century the township was serviced by two railroads: the Tuckerton Railroad and the Jersey Central.

Today, Lacey has one of the oldest continuously operated nuclear plants in the country. Recreational fishing still draws retirees and vacationers. People also come to Lacey to explore the New Jersey Pinelands, 30,532 acres of which are preserved, including the Forked River Mountains (two geological formations that rise 184 feet above sea level).

In 2000 the population of Lacey Township was 25,346 and 98 percent white. The median household income in 2000 was $55,938. For complete census figures, see chart, 133.

Lacroix, Paul (b. 1827; d. 1869). Painter. Paul Lacroix, likely of French background, is believed to have immigrated to the United States during the late 1840s. He is known for his delicate still-life paintings of fruit, vegetables, and flowers in natural settings, which are typical of mid-nineteenth century American still-life painting. Although Lacroix also painted landscapes, still-life painting was clearly his strength, and his work using this theme is considered to be among the better examples from this time. He seems to be New Jersey’s first still-life specialist. More is known about his painting than his life. From the late 1850s to 1866, Lacroix lived in New York City and exhibited his work there. He then resided in Hoboken’s artistic community from 1867 to 1869, at a time when the town was known for providing a quieter setting for artists who also wanted access to New York City. He died in 1869 at Saint Luke’s Hospital in New York City.

Lafayette. 18-square-mile township in central Sussex County. Lafayette was set off from Newton Township in 1845. The village of Lafayette, located in the center of the township on the Paulinskill River, was named for the marquis de Lafayette at the time of his visit to America in 1825. The Paulinskill provided power for mills and a foundry at the village in the nineteenth century. The Sussex Railroad reached the village in 1869, which encouraged dairying. A former flour mill, the Lafayette Mill, is now converted to antique shops. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the township was predominantly agricultural; there was also a notable slate quarry. Recent decades have seen commercial and residential growth.

In 2000, the population of 2,300 was 97 percent white. The median household income (2000) was $82,805.

Lake Denmark Naval Ammunition Depot. Lightning struck the Naval Ammunition Depot, located in Rockaway Township, at approximately 5:15 p.m. on July 10, 1926, igniting a fire. Three subsequent explosions involved approximately 2.5 million pounds of TNT. The blasts killed nineteen people and injured thirty-eight while destroying approximately $47 million worth of navy property and causing more than $3 million in damage at neighboring Picatinny Arsenal. Damage to surrounding properties brought the total to an estimated $75 million. The depot saw limited activity during World War II and closed in 1945, but the navy used the site for rocket testing from 1946 until 1960.

Lake Hackensack. An extinct glacial lake in northeastern New Jersey, Lake Hacken-sackis now occupied by the Hackensack Mead-owl ands. It was located east of the Watchungs, west of the Palisades, and north of Staten Island. Lake Hackensack, like the other sixty-five glacial lakes in northern New Jersey, was formed during the Ice Age, when massive ice sheets dammed streams. The two largest glacial lakes in the state were Lake Passaic and Lake Hackensack. They were eventually drained as the outlets were exposed during the ice retreat about ten thousand years ago. One of the outlets for Lake Hackensack is located in a large gap in the Palisades at the boundary between Jersey City and Bayonne.

Lake Hopatcong. Covering 2,685 acres (4.2 square miles) and 35 miles of shoreline at an elevation of 924 feet, Lake Hopatcong in Morris and Sussex counties is the largest lake in New Jersey. Occupying several smaller glacially created natural lakes, the present lake was enlarged artificially in i828. The usable capacity is 7.5 billion gallons, and the maximum depth is 58 feet. Although Lake Hopatcong is used primarily for recreation, water has been diverted from it to supply northeastern New Jersey during drought emergencies. The flow from the lake is regulated as it empties into the Musconetcong River, which flows into the Delaware River.

Lakehurst. 1.0-square-mile borough situated in the heart of Manchester Township, which is 30 square miles, in Ocean County. Incorporated in 1921, the borough had by then become a winter resort. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Lakehurst’s major industry was a rope factory, which burned down in 1911. Until the 1940s, it was the site of one of the largest shop areas of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. From 1897 to 1973, the Pine Tree Inn, a luxurious winter resort hotel, was here. Now on the site is the borough’s elementary school.

Lakehurst’s greatest fame began prior to the First World War with the establishment on its outskirts of an ammunition proving ground for the Russian imperial government. It soon became a chemical warfare testing center for the U.S. Army, and then became Camp Kendrick. In 1919, the navy purchased the base for a Naval Air Station. It became known as the base for lighter-than-air craft. On May 6, 1937, the Hindenburg, attempting a landing, exploded and burned, killing thirty-six people. Today, tourists see a modest stone marker where the Hindenburg fell. In what had been the oldest Roman Catholic church in Ocean County, Old Saint John’s Church, is the Lakehurst Historical Society Museum, lakes. Lakes are inland bodies of water that fill depressions in the earth’s surface. They are generally too deep to allow vegetation to cover the entire surface, and may be either fresh water (as all are in New Jersey) or saline (e.g., Great Salt Lake in Utah). Ponds are usually small, shallow lakes, but there is no specific size or depth that is used to distinguish them.

A group of sailboats racing on Lake Hopatcong, 1985.

The primary source of water for a lake is precipitation, either in the form of direct runoff by streams that drain into the depression or by groundwater that slowly seeps into the lake. Lakes are unevenly distributed on the earth’s surface. Nearly half of the world’s lakes are in Canada, and Minnesota is proud of its reputed 10,000 lakes.

Large parts of the world were covered by huge ice sheets, which advanced several times during the past 2.5 to 3.0 million years, a period known as the Ice Age. Indeed, most of the world’s lakes were formed as a result of the movement of continental ice sheets. The northern third of New Jersey was glaciated during the Ice Age, and holds all of the sixty natural lakes in the state (e.g., Budd Lake in Morris County). All of the lakes in the southern part of the state are artificial (e.g., Union Lake in Cumberland County).

Whatever the nature of their origin, all lakes are ephemeral features on the earth’s surface. In contrast to many other landforms on the earth, such as mountains and valleys, lakes are very transient. Outlet erosion, natural and anthropogenically induced sedimentation, water diversion, and nutrient inflow inexorably lead to a relatively short life-span of only hundreds to thousands of years, as compared to millions of years for mountains.

Reservoirs are artificial lakes, which range from small farm or fish ponds of about an acre to massive impoundments such as Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County. Reservoirs are built for hydropower, water supply, flood which opened in 1993. Among its artifacts are charred remnants of the Hindenburg.

Lakehurst is surrounded by a number of senior retirement communities, each having from 2,000 to 10,000 residents. In 2000 its 2,522 residents were 84 percent white and 8 percent black. Median household income in 2000 was $43,567.

Fifteen Largest Lakes in New Jersey

Name	Municipality	County	Ownership	Surface area in acres
Lake Hopatcong	Mount Arlington	Morris	Public	2,685
Round Valley Reservoir	Clinton	Hunterdon	Public	2,350
Wanaque Reservoir	Wanaque	Passaic	Public	2,310
Spruce Run Reservoir	Union	Hunterdon	Public	1,275
Dallenback Pond	East Brunswick	Middlesex	Public	1,000
Union Lake	Millville City	Cumberland	Private	920
Boonton Reservoir	Parsippany-Troy Hills	Morris	Private	780
Greenwood Lake	WestMilford	Passaic	Public	720
Mohawk Lake	Sparta	Sussex	Private	700
Culvers Lake	Frankford	Sussex	Public	692
Splitrock Reservoir	Rockaway	Morris	Private	640
Tappan Lake Reservoir	River Vale	Bergen	Public	550
Point View Reservoir	Wayne	Passaic	Private	512
Swartswood Lake	Stillwater	Sussex	Public	505
Green Pond	Rockaway	Morris	Private	500

Many lakes are subject to excessive inputs of nutrients (nitrates and phosphates) from agricultural runoff and inadequately treated wastewater from septic disposal systems. This form of biological enrichment is known as eutrophication, which results in undesirable algal growth. One example of a lake undergoing eutrophication is Spruce Run Reservoir in Hunterdon County.

Lakewood. 24.82-square-mile township in Ocean County. Successively, Three Partner’s Mill, Washington Furnace (1814-1818), and Bergen Iron Works (1833-1865), the town was renamed Bricksburg in 1865 to attract farmers. In winter 1879 New Yorker Charles Henry Kimball decided to make it a winter resort. Promoters convinced the state legislature to change the name to Lakewood in 1880. Originally part of Shrewsbury Township in Monmouth County, Lakewood Township separated from Brick Township in 1892.

The heyday of Lakewood as a winter resort of the rich and famous began in 1890 with the construction of the Laurel-in-the-Pines and Lakewood hotels. George J. Gould and John D. Rockefeller built their estates (now Georgian Court College and Ocean County Park, respectively) at the turn of the twentieth century. Between 1919 and the 1930s nearly one hundred hotels served a large Jewish clientele. In the I920s-I940s Jewish settlers migrated from New York to become poultry and egg farmers. With the drastic decline of the hotel business since the late I960s, the township revitalized itself with a large industrial park. In 2000, the population of 60,352 was 79 percent white, I2 percent black, and I5 percent Hispanic (Hispanics may be of any race). The median household income in 2000 was $35,634. For complete census figures, see chart, I33.

 

There are 1,186 lakes in New Jersey. Only 80 lakes have a surface area larger than 100 acres. In terms of surface area, the largest lakes entirely in New Jersey are Lake Hopatcong in Sussex County (2,685 acres), which was built in 1828 for recreation, and Round Valley Reservoir in Hunterdon County (2,350 acres), which was built in 1966 for water supply. In terms of volume, some of the largest reservoirs in the state that were built primarily for water supply include Round Valley in Hun-terdon County (55 billion gallons), Wanaque Reservoir in Passaic County (29.6 billion gallons), and Spruce Run in Hunterdon County (11 billion gallons).

Lakewood Blue Claws. The Lakewood Blue Claws, a minor league professional baseball team, play in the Class-A South Atlantic League as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They began in the league in 200I at newly opened First Energy Park in Lake-wood. First Energy Park includes picnic areas, luxury boxes, and party decks. The Blue Claws play a I40-game regular season schedule, which runs from April to September, and the team is operated by American Baseball Company, LLC.

Lambert, Catholina (b. Mar. 28,1834; d. Feb. 15, 1923). Silk manufacturer. Born in Gooseye (Yorkshire), England, Catholina Lambert was the first son of poor paper-mill hands who apprenticed him to cotton mills in Derbyshire when he was ten. Arriving in New York City in 1851, Lambert headed for Boston to be apprenticed to early silk entrepreneurs Tilt and Dexter, who put him in charge of their New York outlet as soon as he turned twenty-one. When he bought out the branch within three years, they financed him as a pioneer silk maker in Paterson. With his new wife, Isabella (Belle) Shattuck, he began in 1859 to acquire property with the intention of settling. The Civil War economy and postbellum demand for domestic silk boosted the fortunes of Dexter, Lambert, and Company. Lambert became rich, successfully dodging labor battles in Paterson by taking some silk operations into rural Pennsylvania as early as 1880. But his stunning rise was star-crossed: six of his eight children died between 1870 and 1885. He submerged his grief by acquiring art and designing and building a Yorkshire-style castle to showcase it. His intransigence during Paterson’s Great Silk Strike of 1913 secured his reputation as a hardliner, but the cost was high, and the onset of World War I left him with a mortgage of more than $1 million, then the largest ever in Passaic County. He auctioned his collections in 1916 to avert bankruptcy, and lived in the Castle with the family of Walter, his only remaining child.

When Lambert Castle Museum in Paterson was first built in 1893, it was known as Belle Vista.

Lambert, John (b. Feb. 24, 1746; d. Feb. 4, 1823). Politician. John Lambert was born in Lambertville, the son of Gershom and Sarah (Merriam) Lambert. In 1765 he married Susannah Barber; together they had seven children. He married a second time to Hannah Dennis, with whom he had six children. Lambert, who inherited a considerable family estate at an early age, served in the New Jersey general assembly from 1780 to 1785, and again in 1788. He was a member of the New Jersey state council from 1790 to 1804, becoming vice president of that body in 1801. A Jeffersonian Republican, he acted as governor from October 1802 to October 1803, while an election between Federalist and Republican gubernatorial candidates was contested in the New Jersey legislature. Lambert later served as a member of Congress from New Jersey between 1805 and 1809, and in the U.S. Senate from 1809 until his retirement in 1815. He died near Lambertville.

Lambertus C. Bobbink Memorial Rose Garden. This half-acre rose garden is situated within Thompson Park in Lincroft. Named for Geraldine Thompson, who bequeathed her estate to Monmouth County in 1968, this large park received the rose garden as a gift from Dorothea Bobbink White and her husband, George White, in 1977. The Whites wanted to honor Dorothea’s late father, Lambertus C. Bobbink, a well-known rosarian and nurseryman. The Lambertus C. Bobbink Memorial Rose Garden is both a trial site and demonstration garden for the All-American Rose Selections. Visitors can enjoy the original roses, as well as new varieties, and a gazebo and fountain.

Lambertville. 1.1-square-mile city in Hunterdon County. Located where an Indian trail crossed the Delaware River, Lambertville was settled by Europeans in the 1730s. Commercial access was increased first with the completion of the Delaware and Raritan Canal feeder line in 1834, and then with the arrival of the Belvidere and Delaware Railroad line in 1851. The availability of transportation led to the development of numerous industries, including lumbering, sawmills and gristmills, and paper, iron, and rubber manufacturing. The resulting growth led to incorporation as a borough in 1849, and then designation as a city in 1872.

The late twentieth-century decline in manufacturing brought significant changes to this riverside city. Tourism has replaced factories in its economy. Today the many buildings from the mid-i800s that remain are part of an important historic district. They have been restored and converted to use as restaurants, lodging, antique shops, and art galleries and studios, all of which attract numerous visitors to the town. Also of historic significance is a site used by George Washington for his headquarters twice during the Revolution, a cemetery where Capt. George Coryell (who served under him) is buried, and a museum once the home of James Marshall, who discovered gold in California in 1848.

In 2000 the population of 3,868 was 95 percent white. The median household income in 2000 was $52,647.