WHITESBOG

Lebanon State Forest

Directions:

Located one half mile north of Rt. 530, Pemberton Twp.  Access is one mile west of the intersections of Rts. 530 and 70.  

History:

James A. Fenwick established in 1857 a commercial cranberry bog along Cranberry Run.  A few years later, in 1866 Joseph J. White developed thirty acres of cranberry bogs near Rake Pond in New Lisbon.  White married Fenwick's daughter, May, and Whitesbog developed into the largest cranberry operation in the pine barrens.  It was also the larger blueberry operation here.  Actually, this was the place where between 1911 and 1916 the first cultivated blueberries were developed.  

Burrs Mill in Southampton Township. The first cultivated cranberry bog in the Pines was planted in the 1830s by Benjamin Thomas. In 1857 James A. Fenwick purchased 108 acres in what became Whitesbog. He was recycling the water and workforce from nearby Hanover Furnace. The bogs themselves were "remodeled cedar swamps."

Between 1884 and 1909 Joseph H. White, Fenwick's son-in-law, purchased many acres, finally accumulating to 3,000 acres. At its height Whitesbog included cranberry bogs, blueberry fields, a water supply system, the village of Whitesbog, and the migrant workers' villages of Florence and Rome. (Stinton 1987:191)

Between 1857 and 1912, 40 bogs covered 600 acres. At Whitesbog Elizabeth White (daughter of J.J. White) and Dr. Frederick V. Coville (of the US Dept of Agriculture) developed the world's first cultivated blueberries in the early 1900s. Miss White had read a publication of the US Dept. Of Agriculture in which Dr. Coville described the possibilities of crossing various wild blueberries and producing superior offspring. Miss White offered the Whitesbog are to Dr. Coville for blueberry experiments. In developing the cultivated blueberry, White had the woodsmen of the area search for bushes with the largest berries. She paid the woodsmen for finding bushes with berries that would not fall through the 5/8" hole in her blueberry gauge. She even named the bushes after their finders. The keystone of the cultivated blueberry was the Rubel, named for Rube Leek of Chatsworth. (Hufford 1987: 17-18 and Stinton 1987:202)

McPhee (1968:92) wrote that "Miss White was over six feet tall, she carried a cane and wore a Whistler's Mother dress that was as neat as a pin. Her ankles were black from the dirt of the fields, and her hands were mid-night-blue from the wax of the berries.

You can visit the old buildings here -- the only place in the Lebanon area where there are a lot of the original buildings still standing.  

The area was sold to the State of New Jersey in 1967-68 and now is a part of Lebanon State Forest.    (Boyd 1991)

The Pine Barrens Program Office officially opened its doors in Whitesbog in July 2000. Its home is in the former three-floor wood frame residence of Elizabeth C. White -- whose family began the business of cultivating blueberries and cranberries at the site in 1923.

Directing the Pine Barrens Office is assistant state director Anne Heasly. She will be joined by Michael Bell, protection coordinator, Dr. Andrea Stevens, director of science and stewardship, Melissa Morris, science and stewardship assistant and Jane Wiltshire, administrative assistant. An out-reach/volunteer staff member also will be hired.

The Nature Conservancy
120-34 Whitesbog Road
Browns Mills, NJ 08015
609-735-2200

PLANT LIST

Ted Gordon and Linda Kelly

Compiled by Dr. William F. Standaert

July 27, 97 Whitesbog area, Lebanon State Forest, off Rt. 530, Pine Barrens, N.J.

Trees:
Acer rubrum (red maple)
Amelanchier canadensis (shadbush)
Betula populifolia (gray birch)
Celtis occidentalis (hackberry)
Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white cedar)
Ilex opaca (American holly)
Juniperus virginiana (red cedar)
Liquidambar styraciflua (sweetgum)
Liriodendron tulipifera (tulip tree)
Nyssa sylvatica (tupelo)
Pinus rigida (pitch pine)
Platanus occidentalis (American sycamore)
Populus deltoides (cottonwood)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Quercus marilandica (blackjack oak)
Quercus ilicifolia (bear oak)
Quercus alba (white oak)
Quercus palustris (pin oak)
Quercus stellata (post oak)
Quercus velutina (black oak)

Shrubs:
Aronia melanocarpa (black chokeberry)
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Calluna vulgaris (heather) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Cephalanthus occidentalis (buttonbush) 7/27/97
Chamaedaphne calyculata (leatherleaf)
Clethra alnifolia (sweet pepperbush) 7/27/97
Comptonia peregrina (sweetfern)
Decodon verticillatus (swamp loosestrife) 7/27/97
Erica tetralix (cross-leaved heath) 7/27/97
Eubotrys racemosa (fetterbush)
Gaultheria procumbens (wintergreen)
Gaylussacia frondosa (dangleberry)
Gaylussacia dumosa (dwarf huckleberry)
Gaylussacia baccata (black huckleberry)
Hudsonia ericoides (golden heather)
Hypericum stragulum (saint Andrew's cross)
Ilex glabra (inkberry)
Kalmia angustifolia (sheepskill)
Kalmia latifolia (mountain laurel)
Leiophyllum buxifolium (sand myrtle)
Lyonia ligustrina (maleberry)
Lyonia mariana (staggerbush)
Rhododendron viscosum (swamp azalea) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Rhododendron viscosum forma glaucum (swamp azalea) (this forma not in GC)
Rhus copallina (winged sumac)
Rubus flagellaris (dewberry)
Rubus hispidus (swamp dewberry)
Rubus sp. (blackberry)
Salix sp. (willow)
Sassafras albidum (sassafras)
Vaccinium corymbosum (highbush blueberry)
Vaccinium macrocarpon (cranberry) 7/10/99
Vaccinium pallidum (hillside blueberry)
Viburnum dentatum var. lucidum (arrowwood viburnum)

Vines:
Apios americana (groundnut)
Cuscuta sp. (dodder)
Parthenocissus quinquefolia (Virginia creeper)
Smilax rotundifolia (round-leaved greenbrier)
Smilax glauca (sawbrier)
Stylisma pickeringii var. pickeringii (Pickering's morning glory) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)
Vitis aestivalis (summer grape)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (yarrow) 7/10/99
Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed)
Apocynum x floribundum (dogbane) (androsaemiifolium x cannabinum) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (bearberry)
Arenaria caroliniana (pine barren sandwort) 7/27/97
Asclepias amplexicaulis (milkweed)
Asclepias tuberosa (butterfly weed) 7/10/99
Aster spectabilis (showy aster) 1 7/27/97
Aster paternus (white-topped aster) 7/27/97
Aster gracilis (slender aster)
Aster linariifolius (stiff aster)
Aster paternus (white-topped aster) 7/10/99
Bartonia virginica (screw stem) 7/27/97
Bidens frondosa (beggar ticks)
Brasenia schreberi (water shield)
Centaurea maculosa (spotted knapweed) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Dianthus armeria (Deptford pink) 7/10/99
Diodia teres (buttonweed)
Drosera filiformis (thread-leaved sundew) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Drosera intermedia (spatulate-leaved sundew) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundew) 7/10/99
Erechtites hieraciifolia (pilewort)
Eupatorium album (white boneset) 7/10/99 near
Eupatorium rotundifolium var. ovatum (round-leaved eupatorium) 7/27/97 near
Eupatorium hyssopifolium (thoroughwort) 7/10/99near; 7/27/97 near
Eupatorium pilosum (thoroughwort) 7/27/97 near
Euphorbia cyparissias (cypress spurge)
Euphorbia ipecacuanhae (Ipecac spurge)
Fragaria virginiana (wild strawberry)
Froelichia gracilis (cottonweed)
Galactia regularis (trailing milk-pea) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Habenaria blephariglottis var. blephariglottis (white fringed orchid) 7/27/97
Hemerocallis fulva (tawny day lily) 7/10/99
Hieracium gronovii (beaked hawkweed)
Hieracium venosum (rattlesnake hawkweed) 7/10/99
Hypericum canadense (Canada St. Johnswort) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Hypericum gentianoides (orange grass)
Hypericum densiflorum (St. Johnswort) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Hypochoeris radicata (cat's ear) 7/27/97
Iris prismatica (slender blue flag)
Krigia virginica (dwarf dandelion)
Lachnanthes caroliniana (red root) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Lechea mucronata (pinweed) 7/27/97
Lechea racemulosa (pinweed) 7/27/97
Lepidium virginicum (peppergrass)
Lespedeza cuneata (Chinese bush clover)
Liatris graminifolia (blazing star)
Lilium superbum (Turk's-cap lily) 7/27/97
Linaria canadensis (blue toadflax) 7/10/99
Linum striatum (flax) 7/10/99
Lobelia nuttallii (Nuttall's lobelia) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Lycopus amplectens (water horehound)
Melampyrum lineare (cow wheat) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Melilotus alba (white sweet clover) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Lyonia ligustrina (maleberry)
Lyonia mariana (staggerbush)
Nepeta cataria (catnip) 7/10/99
Nymphaea odorata (fragrant white water lily) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Nymphaea odorata forma rosea (water-lily, pink form) 7/27/97 [This forma not in GC]
Plantago lanceolata (English plantain) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Plantago aristata (bracted plantain) 7/27/97
Plantago rugelii (plantain)
Polygala lutea (orange milkwort) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Polygala brevifolia (short-leaved milkwort) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Polygonella articulata (jointweed)
Polygonum sp. (punctatum var. confertiflorum?) (dotted smartweed) 7/27/97
Polygonum amphibium var. emersum (water smartweed)
Pyxidanthera barbulata (pyxie moss)
Rhexia mariana (meadow beauty) 7/27/97
Rhexia virginica (meadow beauty) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Rumex acetosella (sheep sorrel)
Sagittaria latifolia var. latifolia (broad-leaved arrowhead) 7/27/97
Sagittaria sp. (engelmanniana?) (arrowhead) 7/27/97
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet) 7/10/99
Schwalbea americana (chaffseed)
Solidago nemoralis (goldenrod)
Solidago odora (sweet goldenrod)
Solidago sempervirens var. sempervirens (seaside goldenrod)
Spergula morisonii (spurrey)
Tephrosia virginiana (goats rue)
Triadenum virginicum (marsh St. Johnswort) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Trifolium repens (white clover) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Utricularia cornuta (horned bladderwort) 7/10/99
Utricularia juncea (bladderwort) 7/10/99
Verbascum blattaria (moth mullein) 7/10/99
Viola lanceolata (lance-leaved violet)
Viola primulifolia (primrose-leaved violet)
Xerophyllum asphodeloides (turkey beard)
Xyris difformis var. difformis (yellow-eyed grass) 7/27/97
Yucca filamentosa (Adam's needle)

Rushes:
Juncus biflorus (rush) 7/27/97
Juncus canadensis (rush) 7/27/97 near
Juncus dichotomus (rush)
Juncus effusus var. solutus (soft rush)
Juncus pelocarpus var. pelocarpus (rush) 7/27/97 near
Juncus scirpoides (rush)
Juncus tenuis var. tenuis (path rush)

Sedges:
Carex atlantica (sedge)
Carex barrattii (sedge)
Carex pensylvanica (Pennsylvania sedge)
Carex striata (sedge)
Cyperus dentatus (umbrella sedge)
Cyperus grayi (umbrella sedge)
Cyperus retrorsus (umbrella sedge)
Dulichium arundinaceum (three-way sedge) 7/27/97
Eleocharis microcarpa (spikerush)
Eleocharis tenuis (spikerush)
Eleocharis tuberculosa (spikerush)
Eriophorum virginicum (tawny cotton grass) 7/10/97
Rhynchospora alba (white beakrush) 7/10/99 near; 7/27/97
Rhynchospora capitellata (beakrush) 7/10/99 7/27/97
Rhynchospora pallida (beakrush) 7/10/99
Scirpus cyperinus (woolly grass bulrush) 7/27/97 near
Scleria minor (nutrush)
Scleria triglomerata (nutrush)

Grasses:
Agrostis hyemalis var.scabra (ticklegrass)
Andropogon virginicus var. abbreviatus (bushy broom sedge grass)
Andropogon virginicus var. virginicus (broom sedge grass)
Anthoxanthum odoratum (sweet vernal grass)
Dactylis glomeratus (orchard grass)
Danthonia sericea (downy oatgrass)
Danthonia spicata (poverty oatgrass)
Digitaria sanguinalis (crab grass)
Eragrostis curvula (weeping lovegrass)
Festuca pratensis (meadow fescue)
Holcus lanatus (velvet grass)
Panicum clandestinum (deer tongue grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass) 7/27/97 near
Phleum pratense (timothy grass) 7/10/99
Phragmites australis (giant reed grass)
Schizachyrium scoparium var. scoparium (little bluestem grass)
Sorghastrum nutans (Indian grass)

Ferns and Fern Allies:
Equisetum arvense (field horsetail)
Lycopodium alopecuroides (foxtail bog clubmoss)
Lycopodium appressum (appressed bog clubmoss)
Lycopodium carolinianum (slender bog clubmoss)
Asplenium platyneuron (ebony spleenwort)
Botrychium dissectum (dissected grapefern)
Botrychium matricariifolium (daisy-leaved grapefern)
Botrychium virginianum (rattlesnake grapefern)
Onoclea sensibilis (sensitive fern)
Ophioglossum vulgatum (northern adder's tongue)
Osmunda cinnamomea (cinnamon fern)
Osmunda regalis (royal fern)
Pteridium aquilinum (bracken fern)
Woodwardia virginica (Virginia chain fern)
Woodwardia areolata (netted chain fern)

August 14, 1950.

At Whitesbog, Miss White and Miss Vail conducted us through the wonderful gardens of pine barren plants and showed us a fine sand of Breweria pickeringii. Then to Sim's place where the rare and beautiful Habenaria integra was in fine bloom. A pleasing incident was the presence of the directors of the Penn Cranberry Co., owners of Sim's Place, who assured us that the Torrey Club would always be welcome there.

Leader: V. L. Frazee 12 attendees

Whitesbog, NJ. August 5, 1951.

Torreys on the Whitesbog trip were well repaid for their trip. Mr. Frazee as usual showed the four exotic trees in Point Pleasant. Lunch was eaten in a shady spot along the road and we reached Miss White's a little after one, where Miss Vail, the leader, took charge. We spent a lot of time in Miss White's wonderful garden. This is the only place known where Lygodium is a troublesome weed. The Franklinia had not reached its peak but one large tree, one the of original at Whitesbog, was in full bloom and was magnificent. Miss Vail gave a complete and entertaining description of the hybridizing and selection of blueberries. Of one particular cross over thee thousand seedlings were grown to bearing age and then all but two were discarded. We saw the rare and interesting Breweria. Miss White and Miss Vail have turned the blueberry work over to the government and have taken up the propagation and hybridizing of holly. We saw some twenty or thirty thousand plants. We ended by going to see Rattlesnake Ace. He welcomed us and showed us his pets. One was a six foot pine snake. His rattler was left serenely in his box but sang lustily for us.

Miss June Vail Attendance 7

Whitesbog, Burlington County, NJ 8/10/52

Six consecutive days of rain left most of the region considerably under water, but the Franklinia blossoms seemed larger than ever as a result. Cardinal flower stood almost seven feet tall! The Venus fly-trap and southern pitcher plant (Sarracenia flava) are reproducing in Miss White's garden and appear very healthy. The group was impressed by the height of the sweet pepperbush and also by the rose-colored variety taken from a local swamp some years ago.

June Vail 4

Sims Place, Burlington County, NJ; 8/17/52

We saw the usual exotic trees in Point Pleasant before going to the pine barrens. At Sims Place the Habenaria integra was at its best and seems to be holding its own. The Habenaria cristata that formerly grew in the vicinity was not found on this trip. Aspidium simulatum was found growing in abundance just north of Silverton. This fern is described by Stone (Plants of Southern New Jersey) as "apparently restricted to boggy spots or cedar swamps on the edge of the pine barrens."

V. L. Frazee 5

9/12-13/60

Unfortunately at Sims Place the great majority of Habenaria integra plants have been dug up for transplanting on a Long Island estate by a wealthy businessman who apparently is trying to have a mass planting of rare pine barren species for his own selfish desires. A year or so ago the pine barren gentian was vandalized by the same person at Atsion.

Louis E. Hand

Whitesbog, July 25, 1992

The morning of this trip was spent exploring damp, peaty roadsides in the vicinity of Whitesbog, a historic cranberry-blueberry village that is now part of Lebanon State Forest. Because of the poor condition of the sandy roads, and the large size of the group, the "back country" was not visited. Still, a very large and diverse assemblage of plants was noted, including

Habenaria blephariglottis (white fringed orchid) -- just coming into bloom
Calopogon tuberosus (calopogon) at the end of its blooming season
Spiranthes gracilis (slender ladies'-tresses)
Polygala lutea (orange milkwort)
Polygala brevifolia (short-leaved milkwort)
Galactia regularis (milk pea)
Schwalbea americana (chaffseed)
Drosera filiformis (thread-leaved sundew)
Drosera intermedia (spatulate-leaved sundew)
Drosera rotundifolia (round-leaved sundew)
Scleria triglomerata (tall nut-rush)
Juncus biflorus (grass-leaved rush)
Quercus stellata (post oak)
Quercus marilandica (black-jack oak)
Quercus prinoides (dwarf chestnut oak)
numerous species of ericaceous shrubs

A post-lunch visit to Webb's Mills.

Leader Karl Anderson. Attendance 35