NJ Herald- 2/14/2010, by Tina Keppler
Stillwater Rural Cultural
Landscape Threatened by the
Power Lines!
In 2002, Tom Jones, a historical
consultant, was hired by the county of Sussex to prepare an impact study
on
Main Street in Stillwater when a new bridge was proposed for the
township to
cross the Paulinskill into a district known to contain early county
history. What he discovered in his
research was remarkable. “Not only the village of Stillwater but the
surrounding rural cultural landscape is, potentially, the largest rural
historic
district in the state of New Jersey,” remarked Mr. Jones. His report was submitted to the New Jersey
Historic Preservation
Office. Upon receipt, Andrea
Tingey, traveled to Stillwater from her office in Trenton to verify his
findings. Everyone was excited and
astounded by what they found hidden away in our sleepy Sussex County
village.
From the NJ Herald, “Tingey said that as much as eight square
miles
of Stillwater is eligible for inclusion on both the New Jersey and the
National
Register of Historic Places.. She
said that Stillwater has an “incredible selection of historic buildings”
in
this “very remarkable and special” place.
“Many people here are still following the life patterns of the
past
hundred years,” said Tingey. “There are also very little alterations
(such as
screen doors or vinyl siding) to the buildings — remarkably little.
The people of Stillwater have been
excellent stewards of their property.”
At the time, the State of
New
Jersey Historic Preservation Office pursued an historic district in our
township that was met by vehement opposition, some of which came from
current
committee member, Mr. Charles Gross.
He felt that it was not in our best interest to have an historic
district
in Stillwater. It was
disappointing at the time, because, of course, if 8 square miles of
Stillwater
had been included on the New Jersey and National Register of Historic
Places,
we may not now have to face an issue of behemoth power lines coming
through and
potentially destroying our “rural cultural landscape”. At
least we would have had that
argument to make.
Hindsight 20/20. Heading
into the future, nothing has changed since this report was made in 2002.
We have remained excellent stewards of
our property. The township
committee, however, has not been a good steward. They have
threatened our historical integrity by approving
the power lines. They have sold
our rural past and beautiful cultural landscape to PSE&G for
$392,000. It
must have been a combination of greed and stupidity.
Progress could be argued, I suppose. Stillwater was
forced to succumb to the pressures of energy
supply and demand. No place on
earth is a safe haven from time marching on. Time stood
still here for 270 years; it’s time to be
wrenched free from the ties that bind us to our past.
Without even so
much as a vote or a
public session for the people to mourn what we are being asked to
sacrifice,
this committee moved us forward.
It seems sadistically cruel to do that to a township that has
withstood
the test of time, unscathed so far.
Our community is being asked to accept 17 or more, 20 story
towers being
added to our landscape. The
current towers are approximately 75 ft. tall. The new
towers could be as high as 190 ft! This is 2 ½ times the
height of the
current towers! Knowing that the
power line towers could more than double in height, metal monsters
charging
over the mountain to their destination due East, this committee gave no
credence to our past, our landscape or our opinion.
In
closing, remember that this is their
legacy. These 5 men carry the onus
of consummately obliterating what 270 years worth of generations
bestowed upon
us. This letter to the
editor is to place blame directly on them for letting us down. Mr.
Gross, Mr. Connor, Mr. Fisher, Mr.
Scott and Mr. Morrison, you have just etched your names in the annals of
Stillwater history.
Congratulations!