Customer Reviews

Tales and Towns of Northern New Jersey

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Henry Charlton Beck tells folklore and legends about the small towns in Northern New Jersey. Although not an official account of our history, Beck toured small towns, researched local resources, and had conversations with the locals. Highly recommended for someone who has an interest in local history.

After publishing two books on forgotten towns of southern New Jersey (mainly in the Pine Barrens) and one on the central part of the state, Henry Charlton Beck finally got around to writing a book dealing with the northern part. The word "Tales" enters the title of this work (rather than just "Forgotten Towns" as with the southern NJ books), and rightly so, since much more emphasis on the stories and people of the region is made here than in the earlier books. The earlier works, especially the two on southern NJ, were more specific and sharper in focus than this book, and after reading them one had a very strong feeling for place and geography, of truly "forgotten towns." That's not so much the case here. Perhaps the least interesting chapter is the first, about an eccentric character of Johnsonburg known as The Pig Drover, which gets the book off to a shaky start. Other chapters are much improved, and the ones on Waterloo before its reconstruction, Wantage, Snufftown (Stockholm), and the Shades of Death Road west of Allamuchy (an article on this road appeared in "Weird NJ" a while ago) are especially good. Fr. Beck resided on a farm near Robbinsville and had a special love for the Mullica River region, which might explain why this northern NJ book is missing the verve and enthusiasm found the his earlier southern NJ books. It's not a bad book and certainly is interesting (Beck never lost the ability to inspire readers to get out and explore for themselves), just not as interesting as what came before.