Dingman's Ferry
Montague Township, Sussex County, NJ

Across the Delaware River, northeast of the bridge and on the western shore, is Milford Beach boat access, Pennsylvania. 

Directions:

Route 23 north to just before green mileage marker 41 and make a left turn onto Route 650; drive the 13.3 miles to the end of Route 650; turn left onto River Road.  Drive 0.1 of a mile and turn left into a large pull-off parking area opposite Rubin Hill Road.  The trail entrance is blocked off by a gate.

History:

mid-1730s  --  Andrew Dingman established Dingmans Ferry west of Layton. 

1758  --  Carmer's Fort was a settlers' fort located near Dingman's Ferry - Bevans Road and Old Mine Road, about one-half mile southeast of the bridge.

1830  -- the ferry continued until the construction of the first bridge. 

1898  --  Dingman's Ferry Bridge was constructed after the first three bridges fell down.  It is a toll bridge crossing the Delaware River and is one of the last remaining private bridges in the country. It is a little more than 84 miles downriver from Fort Hancock, NY.

1916  -- New Jersey's original numbered highway system first legislated. Before this time most primary roads in the state had trail numbers which bore no resemblance to the highway numbers. New Jersey Route 8 was one of the original 16 slated highways (some were never built).  Route No. 8 ran from Montclair, Bergen County, to near Unionville, New York State. The Route was the following: Montclair; Pompton Turnpike to Riverdale; Paterson-Hamburg Turnpike to Stockholm; Stockholm-Franklin Furnace road to Franklin Furnace; through Hardinstonville and Hamburg to Sussex; the road east of the D., L. & W. R. R. to the State line near Unionville. New Jersey Route 8 had a spur to Dingman's Ferry.  The route in this area went from Franklin Furnace, Sussex County, westward through Monroe, Lafayette and Branchville, stopping at the Delaware River Bridge at Dingman's Ferry on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River.

Source: History of NJ's First Highway System; http://www.jimmyandsharonwilliams.com/njroads/1920s/history.htm

Trails:

7/06/04.  Went west along an abandoned asphalt road with lots of multiflora rose and autumn olive trying to close the path.  Did some trail maintenance by cutting these invasive plants back a bit.  Soon the path goes north parallel along the Delaware River.  Came to the remains of a bridge(?) or some other structure.  Climbed down the steps and then down the embankment to near the River.  The walk here is tricky because the rocks appear nude or semi-nude steeply declining slopes down to the river. (Not a good idea for a hike.)  It was hard walking at times and my ankles were a bit sore after a short walk south down to near the bridge over the River.  Walked up the embankment into the wood and caught the entrance path.  Turned right to return to the parking lot.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANTS:

The Montague Rivershore area in Montague Township, near the Route 206 bridge, is a botanical site of very high significance. This site includes unique rock ledges and seepage areas along the Delaware River that harbor an assemblage of endangered plant species.

("Fish and Wildlife in the Upper Delaware Watershed: A Technical Report for the Upper Delaware Watershed Management Project; December 2002 "http://216.239.37.104/search?q=cache:ABY26c92Sb4J:www.upperdelaware.org/Documents/
wildlife/Final_Wildlife_Report.pdf+%22Montague+Township%22+%22Sussex+County%22+%22parks%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8)

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney
* = plant blooming on date of field trip, 7/06/04

Trees:
Acer negundo (ash-leaf maple)
Acer saccharinum (silver maple)
Acer saccharum (sugar maple)
Betula lenta (black birch)
Carya tomentosa (mockernut hickory)
Catalpa sp. (catalpa)
Fraxinus americana (white ash)
Gleditsia triacanthos (honey locust)
Juglans nigra (black walnut)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Pinus strobus (white pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus prinus (chestnut oak)
Quercus rubra (red oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)
Thuja occidentalis (arborvitae)
Tilia americana (American basswood)
Tsuga canadensis (eastern hemlock)
Ulmus americana (American elm)
Ulmus rubra (slippery elm)

Shrubs and Sub-shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Betula pumila (dwarf birch) ?
Corylus sp. (hazel)
Elaeagnus umbellata (autumn olive)
Epigaea repens (trailing arbutus)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Forsythia sp. (golden bells)
Gaultheria procumbens (checkerberry)
Hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lindera benzoin (spicebush)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow honeysuckle)
Physocarpus opulifolius (ninebark)
Rhamnus sp. (buckthorn)
Rhododendron maximum (great laurel)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rosa palustris (swamp rose) *
Rubus occidentalis (black raspberry)
Rubus odoratus (purple-flowering raspberry) *
Sambucus canadensis (common elder)
Spiraea alba var. latifolia (meadowsweet) *
Syringa vulgaris (lilac)
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Viburnum dentatum (arrowwood viburnum) 
Vinca minor (periwinkle) lots

Vines:
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Lonicera dioica (glaucous honeysuckle)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis sp. (grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow)  *
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) *
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) 
Anemone virginiana (thimbleweed)
Antennaria sp. (pussytoes)
Aquilegia canadensis (wild columbine)
Arabis glabra (tower mustard) 
Aralia nudicaulis (wild sarsaparilla)
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) *
Campanula rotundifolia (harebell) *
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) *soon
Chelidonium majus (celandine) *
Chenopodium album (pigweed) 
Chrysanthemum leucanthemum (ox-eye daisy) *
Cichorium intybus (chicory) *
Circaea lutetiana (enchanter's nightshade) *
Cirsium vulgaris (bull thistle)
Coronilla varia (crown vetch) *
Erigeron annuus (daisy fleabane)  *
Eupatorium maculatum (spotted Joe-Pye-weed) *
Eupatorium rugosum (white snakeroot)
Galium mollugo (wild madder)  *
Geranium maculatum (wild geranium)
Geranium robertianum (herb Robert) *
Geum canadense (white avens) *
Glechoma hederacea (gill over the ground) * one in bloom
Hackelia virginiana (Virginia stickseed)
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny daylily) *
Hesperis matronalis (dame's rocket) *
Heuchera americana (alumroot)
Hibiscus moscheutos (swamp rose mallow) ?
Hieracium venosum (rattlesnake weed)
Hypericum perforatum (common St. Johnswort)  *
Impatiens capensis (orange touch-me-not) *
Lychnis flos-cuculi (ragged robin) *
Lysimachia ciliata (fringed loosestrife) *
Lysimachia nummularia (moneywort) *
Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) *
Medicago lupulina (black medick) *
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) *
Melilotus officinalis (yellow sweet clover) *
Monarda fistulosa (wild bergamot) *
Oenothera fruticosa (sundrops)  *  ?
Osmorhiza claytonii (sweet cicely)
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel) *
Pastinaca sativa (wild parsnip)
Pilea pumila (clearweed)
Plantago major (common plantain)
Polygonatum pubescens (hairy true Solomon's seal)
Polygonum amphibium (water smartweed) ?
Potentilla norvegica (rough cinquefoil)
Pycnanthemum virginianum (Virginia mountain mint) *
Rorippa sp. (yellow cress) *
Rumex obtusifolius (broad dock) 
Scutellaria lateriflora (maddog skullcap) *
Sedum ternatum (wild stonecrop) 
Solidago juncea (early goldenrod)  * soon
Taraxacum officinale (common dandelion) *
Thalictrum pubescens (tall meadowrue)
Tragopogon pratensis (goatsbeard) *
Trifolium pratense (red clover) *
Trifolium repens (white clover) *
Urtica dioica var. procera (tall stinging nettle) *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein) *
Veronica officinalis (common speedwell)
Vicia cracca (cow vetch) *
Viola sp. (violet)
Zizia aurea (golden alexanders)

Sedges:
Carex laxiflora type (loose-flowered sedge type)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge) 
Scirpus atrovirens (dark-green bulrush)

Grasses:
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Dactylis glomerata (orchard grass)
Microstegium vimineum (Japanese stilt grass)
Phalaris arundinacea (reed canary grass)
Phleum pratense (Timothy grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Asplenium platyneuron (ebony spleenwort)
Cystopteris fragilis (fragile fern)
Dryopteris marginalis (marginal wood fern)
Polypodium sp. (rock cap fern)
Polystichum acrostichoides (Christmas fern) 

DINGMAN’S FERRY

Torrey Botanical Club/Society Field Trip.  June 16, 1929

Along the dirt road on the southeastern foot of the Kittany mountain for more than a mile, two to three miles south of the state highway from Branchville, past Culver Lake, through Culver Gap to Dingman’s Ferry on the Delaware River, we found a plant which I had seen only once before, the Indian Physic, Porteranthus trifoliatus, the previous location being about ten miles northeast on the eastern foot of this ridge. It was numerous and thrifty with many blossoms, along the stone walls and fences beside the road. I note that Norman Taylor in his Flora of the Vicinity of New York, says it is rare in the highlands of the Hudson, but found in Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, Morris, Passaic and Bergen counties in NJ (probably the Bergen county record is an old one and it no longer exists there). . . .

P. 113-114

Raymond H. Torrey