00:00:00 The Raritan River Basin, a river system in central New Jersey, is one of the most important

00:00:31 What is the Raritan?

00:00:40 Where does it start?

00:00:45 Who are the people who have influenced the Raritan and been touched by it?

00:00:50 What is it?

00:00:59 The Raritan is many things.

00:01:07 It is a collection of habitats.

00:01:09 It is a waterway and a crossroad immersed in history.

00:01:25 This river has been a playground for people of many generations.

00:01:43 It is a sewer and a sink at times.

00:01:55 Trash, industrial waste, landfills, farm runoff.

00:02:15 Above all, the Raritan and its basin represent a catalogue of nature's wonders.

00:02:37 The Raritan River Basin is literally the heart of New Jersey.

00:02:42 Its rich history and environmental ecosystem continue to be investigated by historians and ecologists.

00:02:55 The basin encompasses an area of over 1,000 square miles.

00:03:01 The Raritan River was named for the Raritan tribal nation, which was part of the Lenni-Lenape.

00:03:09 The Raritan River is made up of two main sections, the North and South Branches, which join west of Somerville.

00:03:18 The South Branch begins at Bud Lake and winds southeasterly through Round Valley, Clinton, and Flemington.

00:03:28 The Black and Echanic Rivers feed the South Branch.

00:03:33 The North Branch's source is near Ralston in Morris County.

00:03:38 The Lamington River is its tributary.

00:03:43 North and South Branches are losing farmland as suburban sprawl encroaches on both rivers.

00:03:53 One of the most beautiful tributaries, the Millstone River, flows northeasterly from sources south of Hightstown.

00:04:01 It joins the Raritan at a point about eight miles east of the junction of the North and South Branches.

00:04:09 Lawrence Brook begins near Monmouth Junction and joins the Raritan just below New Brunswick.

00:04:17 The South River has its sources near Freehold.

00:04:23 Boundbrook and its main tributary, Greenbrook, drain the Plainfield area.

00:04:32 As the Raritan flows past Somerville and Boundbrook to New Brunswick, old and abandoned factories line its banks.

00:04:42 Near the landing lane bridge, the Raritan becomes tidal.

00:04:49 Landfills and marshes compete as the Raritan winds its way past East Brunswick, South Brunswick, and Sayerville.

00:05:06 The Raritan's mouth opens between Perth Amboy and South Amboy, former heavy industry, railroad, and shipping centers.

00:05:18 All thy watery face reflected with a purer grace by many turnings through the trees, by bitter journey to the seas, thou Queen of River, Raritan.

00:05:41 So wrote the English poet John Davis in an ode to the Raritan, Queen of Rivers.

00:05:51 Before the coming of European explorers and settlers, Native Americans, the Lenni-Lenape Indians, lived in harmony with the land and waters of the Raritan River Basin.

00:06:06 Mother Earth was a living organism.

00:06:12 All living things were a sacred part of the living spirit.

00:06:18 Animals, plants, land, and water were to be used for survival, not exploitation.

00:06:27 Streams and rivers flowed clean and free.

00:06:32 The small population of approximately 10,000 Lenni-Lenape were an agricultural and hunting society that prospered on the gentle lands of New Jersey.

00:06:48 With the arrival of European explorers and settlers, the Raritan River Basin began to change.

00:06:56 Dutch and British colonists had an enterprising philosophy.

00:07:01 Land was to be used for monetary purposes.

00:07:05 Individuals were free to purchase and develop tracts of land.

00:07:10 Land of gentry, under the auspices of the East Jersey and West Jersey boards of proprietors, attempted to manipulate land sales and rents in the basin.

00:07:21 Since rivers and streams were natural highways, the choicest farmlands were found along the tributaries and branches of the Raritan River.

00:07:34 Most farms were 100 to 200 acres in size.

00:07:41 Wheat and rye were the important trading crops of the basin.

00:07:45 Mills built on streams developed into small villages and towns.

00:07:57 Roads were built so that farm produce and timber could be brought to shipping warehouses and docks at market towns.

00:08:05 Raritan Landing, New Brunswick, and Perth Amboy, the colonial capital of East Jersey, grew and prospered.

00:08:21 Most New Jersey products were carried by small sloots to New York City, Philadelphia, and Rhode Island.

00:08:29 By 1750, New Jersey had three incorporated cities, New Brunswick, Perth Amboy, and Trenton.

00:08:39 The College of New Jersey, which began in 1746 in Newark and then in Elizabeth, ended up in Nassau Hall in Princeton in 1770.

00:08:51 Queen's College, founded in Somerville in 1766, moved to a tavern in New Brunswick in 1771.

00:09:01 Queen's College has become Rutgers University.

00:09:05 The colonies of New Jersey attracted diverse groups.

00:09:11 Many religious groups settled in the Raritan River Basin during the colonial period.

00:09:19 The Raritan River Basin was the birthplace of many religious groups.

00:09:23 The colonies of New Jersey attracted diverse groups.

00:09:28 Many religious groups settled in the Raritan River Basin during the colonial period.

00:09:37 Dutch settlers and Puritans from Long Island settled in the Raritan River Valley.

00:09:44 Rhode Island Baptists established Middletown.

00:09:49 Scottish Presbyterians came to Middlesex, Somerset, and Monmouth counties in the 1680s.

00:10:01 Many Quakers settled in West Jersey.

00:10:06 German farmers came to Somerset, Morris, and Hunterdon counties during the 1730s and 1740s.

00:10:18 As the American Revolution approached, New Jersey was a divided colony.

00:10:24 Whigs and Tories were about equal in number.

00:10:32 Under the presidency of John Witherspoon, the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University, became a hotbed of patriot ideas.

00:10:42 Many Dutch inhabitants of the Raritan River Basin also supported the patriot cause.

00:10:49 Anglican Perth Amboy and many farmers of Monmouth and Hunterdon counties remained loyal to King George III.

00:10:58 William Franklin, New Jersey's last royal governor, was arrested in proprietary house in Perth Amboy in 1776.

00:11:07 New Jersey soon became the cockpit of the Revolution.

00:11:11 Major and minor battles raged across the Raritan River Basin, including Washington's retreat from New Brunswick in November of 1776, and the Battle of Princeton on January 3, 1777.

00:11:27 Skirmishes were fought in the spring of 1777 near Boundbrook, Middlesex, Millstone, and Quibbletown.

00:11:38 The Battle of Monmouth took place on June 28, 1778, and numerous other raids and clashes occurred between Loyalists and Patriot guerrilla groups in the Raritan River Basin in Monmouth County between 1779 and 1789.

00:11:58 Rivers, river crossings, and bridges played important roles in battle tactics.

00:12:09 The Wachung Mountains provided protection to the Continental Armies for many winters.

00:12:17 Lord Howe and General Cornwallis depended upon the Raritan River for supplies and communication while garrisoned in Perth Amboy and New Brunswick during the winter and spring of 1777.

00:12:34 The Confederation Congress met from June to November 1783 in Nassau Hall in Princeton, having fled mutinous Continental troops in Philadelphia.

00:12:47 The President of the Confederation Congress, Elias Boutinet, lived in Morvin.

00:12:54 In nearby Rocky Hill, Washington wrote his farewell address to the troops and delivered it on October 30.

00:13:03 Two days later, on November 1, Congress received news that the Treaty of Paris had formally ended the Revolutionary War.

00:13:14 The period from 1800 to 1877 witnessed the gradual development of commerce and industry in the Raritan River Basin.

00:13:31 Revolutionary developments occurred in technology and transportation.

00:13:38 Many famous inventors and entrepreneurs lived and worked in the communities of the basin.

00:13:45 Between 1801 and 1829, 25 turnpike toll roads were built.

00:13:53 Many served stagecoach lines and heavy wagon freight that ran through the Raritan River Basin.

00:14:00 The roads linked New York City with Philadelphia.

00:14:06 Steamboats also appeared during these years.

00:14:10 Thomas Gibbons and his captain, Cornelius Vanderbilt, successfully challenged the Robert Fulton-Robert Livingston monopoly of waters between New York and New Jersey.

00:14:23 Vanderbilt ran the steamboat from New Brunswick to New York City.

00:14:30 Sailing ships continued to participate in this trade.

00:14:36 Railroad construction began in the area in the 1830s and reached its peak in the 1870s.

00:14:46 John Stevens and his sons built the first railroad in New Jersey, the Camden and Amboy Railroad, which ran from Bordentown to South Amboy.

00:14:57 This line was straightened out to run through New Brunswick, Princeton, and Trenton in 1839.

00:15:06 When the Pennsylvania Railroad bought the line in 1871, the New Jersey legislature eliminated its monopoly and finally opened the corridor to competition from other railroads in 1873.

00:15:21 Because of the railroad, coal replaced water power, and new industries grew in the Raritan River Basin because raw material could be transported by rail.

00:15:33 The Delaware and Raritan Canal, built by the labor of Irish immigrants, officially opened in 1834.

00:15:42 The 44-mile canal ran from Bordentown to New Brunswick.

00:15:48 Its waters came from a 22-mile feeder canal that began on the Delaware River at Bulls Island, north of Stockton, and ran to Trenton, where it joined the main canal.

00:16:01 Trenton and New Brunswick grew rapidly because they became regional centers for the transferring of Pennsylvania coal and New Jersey goods between wagons, trains, and canal barges.

00:16:13 In addition, at New Brunswick, ocean vessels would exchange cargo with canal barges.

00:16:20 Use of Raritan River Valley clay led to brickmaking and ceramics industries in Sayreville, Perth Amboy, Flemington, and Trenton.

00:16:30 New Brunswick developed wallpaper making, rubber, and clay industries.

00:16:35 However, most of the Raritan River Basin retained its rural characteristics of small towns and family farms.

00:16:44 Most farmers carried on general farming. Specialized farming would occur later in the century.

00:16:52 The Industrial Revolution occurred in the Raritan River Basin between the 1870s and 1920s.

00:16:59 Thomas A. Edison, the Wizard of Menlo Park, created the Electric Revolution in his lab overlooking the tracks of the Pennsylvania Railroad.

00:17:10 Urban industries and populations continued to expand.

00:17:15 As of 1880, the population of New Brunswick and Trenton each exceeded 15,000.

00:17:22 Johnson & Johnson began to manufacture medical supplies in an old mill in New Brunswick in the 1890s.

00:17:31 John Manville created its own industrial town of Manville on the Raritan River.

00:17:38 Copper smelting and refining operations grew in the Perth Amboy area.

00:17:43 Copper smelting and refining operations grew in the Perth Amboy area.

00:17:50 In 1909, Standard Oil Company built a huge refinery at Bayway on the Arthur Kill north of Perth Amboy.

00:18:01 Low wages, long hours, and poor working conditions were routine in most industries during these years.

00:18:09 Local governments and state governments opposed labor union and worker strikes.

00:18:16 Raritan Basin cities were faced with severe problems of slums, sewage, impure water, disease, and garbage disposal.

00:18:26 Immigrants who came in heavy numbers between the 1880s and 1920s experienced all of these problems.

00:18:34 During the 1880s and 90s, Hungarians and Poles came to work in the clay pits around Perth Amboy and New Brunswick.

00:18:45 Poles, Russians, Hungarians, Slovaks, and Italians settled in Manville.

00:18:51 Between 1890 and 1915, Middlesex, Mercer, and Union counties doubled in population.

00:19:04 Between 1875 and 1900, farming became specialized and more scientific.

00:19:12 Dr. George Hamill Cook helped establish the College of Agriculture at Rutgers.

00:19:20 Because of the urban revolution, farmers had a ready market between Philadelphia and New York City.

00:19:30 Railroads carried their fresh produce to markets.

00:19:34 The Albany Street Bridge, built of stone in 1893, was widened by 14 feet in 1924 to carry automobile traffic.

00:19:46 In the early 1900s and early 2000s, railroads became a popular means of transportation.

00:19:52 The Albany Street Bridge, built of stone in 1893, was widened by 14 feet in 1924 to carry automobile traffic.

00:20:04 The Albany Street Bridge has undergone many changes over the years.

00:20:11 Because of the loss of German trade, new industries were created in the Raritan River Basin during World War I.

00:20:20 Factories were built to manufacture organic chemicals, drugs, and platinum.

00:20:28 For example, American cyanamide built its huge complex along the Raritan River between Somerville and Boundbrook.

00:20:37 Older industries expanded fast to meet the war needs of the Allies, and later on, the needs of the United States when it entered the war in 1917.

00:20:49 Middlesex refined more than one-half the nation's copper.

00:20:54 New Jersey had 75% of the nation's shell-loading manufacturer, most of it located in Middlesex County.

00:21:03 Because of the economic boom, industry sent labor agents south to get black labor.

00:21:09 More blacks settled in New Jersey than any other northeast state.

00:21:15 Racial prejudice and poverty forced them to live in cramped houses clustered near factories.

00:21:23 The outer bridge crossing at Perth Amboy was completed in 1928.

00:21:30 In 1926, the New Jersey legislature began a 12-year, $300 million construction plan to create a highway network throughout New Jersey.

00:21:42 Federal construction took over during the Depression under the Works Project Administration.

00:21:52 During World War II, the war materials industry boomed once again.

00:21:57 Munitions factories, oil refineries, chemicals, copper plants, automobile plants, machinery plants, and engine manufacture all expanded.

00:22:14 When World War II ended, there was a great demand for cars, housing, schools, and appliances.

00:22:24 A population explosion occurred in the suburbs while cities began to lose residents.

00:22:31 Suburbs in the Raritan River Basin had to cope with overloaded sewage systems, inadequate water supplies, new school construction, increased taxes, and traffic problems.

00:22:46 With the opening of the New Jersey Turnpike in 1953 and the Garden State Parkway in 1954, the flight to suburbia only increased.

00:23:03 During the 1960s and 1970s, New Jersey experienced urban riots.

00:23:11 As a result, federal and state funds were used to attempt to redevelop parts of the cities.

00:23:19 In addition, private developers and corporations also joined in the effort to revitalize the cities in the Raritan River Basin.

00:23:28 For example, Johnson & Johnson made a conscious decision to retain its headquarters in New Brunswick and to revitalize the downtown area.

00:23:39 Rutgers University also joined in the effort.

00:23:46 Concern for the environment led to the creation of the Federal Environmental Protection Agency and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

00:23:57 The Hazardous Waste Fund was created to remediate and clean up neglected landfills.

00:24:03 Air and water quality were regularly monitored.

00:24:08 Solid waste problems became everyone's concern as many landfills were closed down.

00:24:15 Middlesex County was left with only one landfill in East Brunswick, the Edgeboro Landfill.

00:24:22 Now is the time to discover, inventory, preserve, and improve the basin's historical sites and environmentally sensitive areas.

00:24:37 The future of the Raritan River Basin is in your hands.

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