Abandoned 1700's Paper Mill & Ghost Town NJ Pine Barrens Harrisville

This area is off limits but you can view from outside the fence and there is n area across the street closer to the dam that you can view and explore. Please make sure you park over by the dam in the parking lot otherwise you will get a ticket.
Harrisville was a small production community that was settled from around 1795 to 1914, located about 6 miles northwest of New Gretna in the New Jersey Pine Barrens by Basto Villiage and Bass River. It is best known for producing paper under the Harris family's ownership in the mid 1800's. It was abandoned and then burned down in 1914 leaving only ruins. It is a part of the history of the Pine Barrens and New Jersey. Only the decayed ruins of this town exist today.

Пікірлер: 74

  • @Ron4885
    @Ron48857 жыл бұрын

    What a find! There's a tremendous amount of labor with this type of construction, as you might guess. Reminds me of something you would see in medieval europe. Thanks for showing us this.

  • @MultiRabe
    @MultiRabe7 жыл бұрын

    This is a totally wonderful video Patrick...very well done indeed!

  • @donrutter6765
    @donrutter67656 жыл бұрын

    There is a fence around that whole place, you hopped it. When I was a kid I climbed to the top of it. Joe Potts and his wife Martha were the first ones there and it was a foundry for cast iron. They went out of business and so did the other few people afterwards who ran it as a paper mill.

  • @phoenixjnyc
    @phoenixjnyc4 жыл бұрын

    What a awesome find. Love the history. Thank you so much for the share

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you I love history too

  • @phoenixjnyc

    @phoenixjnyc

    4 жыл бұрын

    @@NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures you are very welcome. Same here

  • @larrysherk
    @larrysherk6 жыл бұрын

    I believe that what you took for "medallions" are tie rod ends. Long and tall masonry walls have to be tied together for their own stability and to keep floor joists in their slots.

  • @ahoybuttrnuts
    @ahoybuttrnuts Жыл бұрын

    I've been here last year they do have it fenced in but still easily able to access. Looks very interesting with how nature grew over it Definitely a spot for a fairytale photoshoot and near by if I'm not mistaken is other abandoned areas .

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    Жыл бұрын

    Very cool

  • @trinacrawford8150
    @trinacrawford81507 жыл бұрын

    Thanks for taking your time. I subscribed and so did my daughter.

  • @smerd1
    @smerd15 жыл бұрын

    The medallions would have been joined to the opposite walls with steel rods and another plate on the outside of that wall to stop the walls falling outwards due to subsidence 👍

  • @beabsmag
    @beabsmag6 жыл бұрын

    I went there with friends few times in the 70's. we had a picnic. there was no paved road and parking lot. We had to go through the woods and bushes, and then two big fields. There should be still lots of blackberry and raspberry bushes there. I picked buckets of them and brought my mother back there and we made some good pies from them. the houses were there, but not lived in then. There was a dirt road and a path in back that led to a waterfall and small pool where we could drink the very fresh water. As we went back, it looked like someone from the government had come there and were going to protect the settlement. As far as the witch tales go, even back in the 70's there were stories of witches holding rituals in Watchung Reservation. Probably there are some, as there are also very wealthy areas nearby, like Short Hills. Before Rt 78 went through the reservation, all the roads were small country roads and you had to be able to just find the "right" place to walk into the bushes and woods there. There were no signs saying what that place was then, but I thought the houses were from the 1700s and there was no electricity then to the houses.

  • @brandonslocum3249

    @brandonslocum3249

    5 жыл бұрын

    Mary Gregory dude ur crazy alot of the berries in the pines are uneatable theres alot of poisonous berries in the pine barrens

  • @MichaelTJD60
    @MichaelTJD607 жыл бұрын

    Harrisville is on my list of places to check out.

  • @539Productions
    @539Productions7 жыл бұрын

    The weathering in certain areas almost gives the appearance of a coral reef!

  • @barrywainwright3391
    @barrywainwright33915 жыл бұрын

    FYI, all the history and info about these ghost towns are in the books written by Henry Carlton Beck. I have all his books. There's a lot of old history in the Pinebarrens.

  • @chevys1016
    @chevys10167 жыл бұрын

    you should make a part 2

  • @niverrtkb
    @niverrtkb7 жыл бұрын

    Thx for videos. I am now in Missouri but I grew up in Nesco NJ. not far from Batso

  • @MariaJimenez-kk9ge
    @MariaJimenez-kk9ge7 жыл бұрын

    Pretty amazing...

  • @Papadishes
    @Papadishes7 жыл бұрын

    what kind of camera or phone are you using to record this with?

  • @bestfoodsnewjersey6635
    @bestfoodsnewjersey66354 жыл бұрын

    Great video!

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    4 жыл бұрын

    Thank you very much

  • @Grungerocproductions
    @Grungerocproductions7 жыл бұрын

    Cool spot haven't seen this one in south jersey yet

  • @TheOmegaeyes
    @TheOmegaeyes7 жыл бұрын

    I was looking for this place back in October but was not able to find it. Where exactly is it, how do you get to it?

  • @ripcord2562
    @ripcord25627 жыл бұрын

    Im a Jersey boy to from the central part of the state moved to south jersey off of RT 9 and 539 now in Fla I miss the pine Barrens the bay and ocean the smell of low tide and all the great people i met over the years IM really glad to see no one took a spray can to the ruins I never got out that way much never new it was there NJ has a lot to see if you know where to look and the time to do it .miss the pine barrens water and food cant beat it cant drink the water in Fl smells bad like sulfer drink bottle water here the Nj woods are quiet peaceful and cool to walk in

  • @brandonslocum3249

    @brandonslocum3249

    5 жыл бұрын

    I moss the pines too i used to quad every weekend

  • @AngelaShiflet
    @AngelaShiflet7 жыл бұрын

    very cool😎

  • @64maxpower
    @64maxpower7 жыл бұрын

    is this near the Wading River?

  • @hooviridis8388
    @hooviridis83884 жыл бұрын

    I've seen some structures on Rt 50 in Estell Manor near the County Forest. Are these them?

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    4 жыл бұрын

    The ones you mention in Estell manor are different

  • @MillerMeteor74
    @MillerMeteor747 жыл бұрын

    The paper mill was built in the 1830s, if memory serves, definitely not before 1800. The 18th Century forge is long gone. I believe the structure you found across the highway was the grist mill. I don't remember when it was built. When the paper mill shut down for good in the 1890s (I think) the entire town was given to the boy scouts to use as a camp. In 1914 a forest fire swept through. After that the whole town was looted. Walls and entire buildings were dismantled and the stones and bricks hauled away by regular people to use as foundations, patios, etc. The gas street lamps were all stolen, as well as the Springfield Gas Machine, which made the gas for the street lamps. The little structure you saw outside the fence was made to encase an artesian well, which still runs to this day. Nice video. Thanks.

  • @MillerMeteor74

    @MillerMeteor74

    7 жыл бұрын

    You're quite welcome.

  • @donrutter6765

    @donrutter6765

    6 жыл бұрын

    Before it was a paper mill, Joe Potts and his wife built Marthas furnace as a foundry for making casr iron objects. They made cannon balls for the revolutionary war. It went out of busininess and then became a paper mill 3 different times under 3 different owners. Upstream is where they made the paper and floated it down. The rover was polluted up until the early 1900's due to the mercury and arsenic used in the paper process back then.

  • @donrutter6765

    @donrutter6765

    6 жыл бұрын

    The structure he was at is where the owner of the paper mill lived. He hired workers to help build the sandsyone structure, and the people who helped were also allowed to live there.

  • @williamhiggins4220

    @williamhiggins4220

    6 жыл бұрын

    D Rutt, you should stop by Batsto to check the statements you are making here, Batsto Village Office and visitor center has photos and documented proof of that Historical areas past.

  • @barrywainwright3391

    @barrywainwright3391

    5 жыл бұрын

    No you are wrong. Sandstone construction is typical from the 1700s. The Harrivillle paper mill dates back to the late 1700s.

  • @markyork1
    @markyork17 жыл бұрын

    imagine all the chemicals just dumped after every pulp batch

  • @SkyRyders
    @SkyRyders5 жыл бұрын

    Patress plates used to support retaining walls. It's neither medallions nor hubcaps.

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    5 жыл бұрын

    Good to know

  • @Papadishes
    @Papadishes7 жыл бұрын

    takes nice video your audio is great. I just recently subscribed to you I like the outdoor videos nice work.

  • @mrbizzarro
    @mrbizzarro7 жыл бұрын

    What an excellent location to explore. after coal was found in Pennsylvania, the bog iron was no longer viable. later, some iron mills were converted to paper mills. unfortunately, it didn't work out due to lack of fuel "pine trees mostly" Also, due to the high iron content in the water, the paper took on a yellow/brown color which made it undesirable.

  • @auntlavinia8170

    @auntlavinia8170

    5 жыл бұрын

    Exactly right!

  • @chevys1016
    @chevys10167 жыл бұрын

    the stuff at 1:04 looks like hubcaps

  • @louisedillon2413
    @louisedillon24134 жыл бұрын

    Is Harrisville Falls still there. Used to swim there 50 years ago.

  • @brettduffy1992
    @brettduffy19926 жыл бұрын

    Off nj 50 in Atlantic County or is it a different one

  • @alexroshko3239
    @alexroshko32397 жыл бұрын

    Are you from sj?

  • @64maxpower
    @64maxpower7 жыл бұрын

    Lets do a Pine Barrons road ride Patrick

  • @southerngirl2433
    @southerngirl24337 жыл бұрын

    Love rock Structures , good job :-)

  • @lillyvalley7362
    @lillyvalley73627 жыл бұрын

    you should check out the estelleville glass factory ruins. there's tons of melted glass on the ground in all different colors.

  • @lillyvalley7362

    @lillyvalley7362

    7 жыл бұрын

    no problem, i urbex in central NJ. my interest is mostly houses. if you want you can check out my facebook page "forestspirit urbex"

  • @markeaton489
    @markeaton4896 жыл бұрын

    Found something just like this out in egg harbor township in the middle of the woods..

  • @Dirtrider300

    @Dirtrider300

    4 жыл бұрын

    Where about in EHT did you find ruins like this? I curious I was born and raised there I never found anything like this Id like to check it out

  • @ivang97997
    @ivang979977 жыл бұрын

    looks like early 1700's stone structures and this place worth to do some metal detecting, nice found and be safe!

  • @joemellon5444

    @joemellon5444

    7 жыл бұрын

    It's owned by the state and is an historical site, so don't get caught.

  • @williamhiggins4220

    @williamhiggins4220

    6 жыл бұрын

    100% No metal detecting at Harrisville or NJ state forrest property.

  • @ripcord2562
    @ripcord25627 жыл бұрын

    i think the spot where you are is know as Marthas furnace. if i remember right Its been a lot of years

  • @williamhiggins4220

    @williamhiggins4220

    6 жыл бұрын

    Marthas Furnace is approximately 3 or 4 miles north of the Harrisville Ruins back in the woods on a sand road across the road from Harrisville.

  • @chevys1016
    @chevys10167 жыл бұрын

    how many saw a fence at 8:52

  • @donrutter6765

    @donrutter6765

    6 жыл бұрын

    Yes, he opened the gate on the west side and walked in.

  • @jdyrj777
    @jdyrj7776 жыл бұрын

    Whats up with that orange water?

  • @larrysherk

    @larrysherk

    6 жыл бұрын

    iron - part of why it was a slightly insane place to attempt a paper mill.

  • @fatboy1848
    @fatboy18487 жыл бұрын

    isn't that Jersey Devil territory? you must visit after midnight. ...

  • @vivianpower5409
    @vivianpower54093 жыл бұрын

    You need to research what it means when you come across a set of ruins like that in the woods. Did you not notice there are no sounds including birds. No birds is a warning. 😬

  • @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    @NewJerseyOutdoorAdventures

    3 жыл бұрын

    Oh wow thanks. What’s the warning?

  • @WildBoiAce856
    @WildBoiAce8566 жыл бұрын

    It's a hubcap not a medallion lol 😂

  • @SkyRyders

    @SkyRyders

    5 жыл бұрын

    Its actually structural supports

  • @neilbrown3359
    @neilbrown33596 жыл бұрын

    you know they had slaves there!

  • @donrutter6765
    @donrutter67656 жыл бұрын

    There is a fence around that whole place, you hopped it. When I was a kid I climbed to the top of it. Joe Potts and his wife Martha were the first ones there and it was a foundry for cast iron. They went out of business and so did the other few people afterwards who ran it as a paper mill.

  • @donrutter6765

    @donrutter6765

    6 жыл бұрын

    When the Potts family ran it as a foundry, they made some of the cannon balls for the revolutionary war.