Assunpink Trail
Encyclopedia
The Assunpink Trail was a Native American
trail in what later became Middlesex
, Somerset
, and Mercer
counties in the central
and western part of New Jersey
. Like Assunpink Creek
, the trail takes its name from the Algonquian language
Ahsën'pink, meaning "stony, watery place".
One many Pre-Columbian era
trails across the territory, the Assunpink travelled between the Raritan River
in the north and the Delaware River
in the south crossing relatively flat floodplain
of the Millstone River
. Over the years the approximate route of the trail has been developed and known as the Old Dutch Trail, The Kings Highway, Lincoln Highway, and Route 27.
At the time of European colonization the area was inhabited by a Algonquian people
known as the Lenape
and later called the Delaware Indians. Dutch trappers/traders from New Netherland
used the trail in the late 17th century between its settlments on the Hudson River
and those on the Delaware River
and were later followed by early settlers to begin populating the interior. After the British takeover of the colony, and the establisment of the Province of New Jersey
, the trail became a a part major thoroughfare between Philadelphia and Perth Amboy, the capital of East Jersey
and a major port. By 1698 it was known as the Kings Highway
, and by the early 1700s had been cleared and widened near a new bridge crossing at Kingston
. During the American Revolution
the George Washington
made use of the road to circulate in the region during his campaigns at the Battle of Trenton
, the Battle of Princeton
, and the Battle of Monmouth
.
The Princeton and Kingston Branch Turnpike, a turnpike road chartered on December 3, 1807 ran from Trenton
to Kingston. During the early automotive age, route became a portion of the Lincoln Highway
, the United States' first transcontinental highway that was established in 1913 to run from New York City
to San Francisco. Today the southern portion of New Jersey Route 27 follows the path.
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
trail in what later became Middlesex
Middlesex County, New Jersey
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 750,162 people, 265,815 households, and 190,855 families residing in the county. The population density was 2,422 people per square mile . There were 273,637 housing units at an average density of 884 per square mile...
, Somerset
Somerset County, New Jersey
Somerset County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In 2010, the population was 323,444. It is part of the New York Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Somerville....
, and Mercer
Mercer County, New Jersey
As of the census of 2000, there were 350,761 people, 125,807 households, and 86,303 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,552 people per square mile . There were 133,280 housing units at an average density of 590 per square mile...
counties in the central
Central Jersey
Central Jersey is a common designation for a region of the state of New Jersey in the United States of America. Trenton is considered the boundary between designated "North Jersey" and "South Jersey"...
and western part of New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Like Assunpink Creek
Assunpink Creek
Assunpink Creek is a tributary of the Delaware River in western New Jersey in the United States.Assunpink Creek is born in rural Monmouth County, about a mile north of Clarksburg. Flowing westwards, it soon enters the Assunpink Wildlife Management Area, where it has been dammed to form Rising Sun...
, the trail takes its name from the Algonquian language
Algonquian language
Algonquian language may refer to:* Algonquian languages, language sub-family indigenous to North America* Algonquin language, the particular Algonquian language spoken by certain First-Nations people of Canada...
Ahsën'pink, meaning "stony, watery place".
One many Pre-Columbian era
Pre-Columbian era
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
trails across the territory, the Assunpink travelled between the Raritan River
Raritan River
The Raritan River is a major river of central New Jersey in the United States. Its watershed drains much of the mountainous area of the central part of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay on the Atlantic Ocean.-Description:...
in the north and the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
in the south crossing relatively flat floodplain
Floodplain
A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...
of the Millstone River
Millstone River
The Millstone River is a tributary of the Raritan River in central New Jersey in the United States.The Millstone River begins in western Monmouth County and flows northward through southern Somerset County into the Raritan River at Manville. Almost three quarters of its length is paralleled by...
. Over the years the approximate route of the trail has been developed and known as the Old Dutch Trail, The Kings Highway, Lincoln Highway, and Route 27.
At the time of European colonization the area was inhabited by a Algonquian people
Algonquian peoples
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups, with tribes originally numbering in the hundreds. Today hundreds of thousands of individuals identify with various Algonquian peoples...
known as the Lenape
Lenape
The Lenape are an Algonquian group of Native Americans of the Northeastern Woodlands. They are also called Delaware Indians. As a result of the American Revolutionary War and later Indian removals from the eastern United States, today the main groups live in Canada, where they are enrolled in the...
and later called the Delaware Indians. Dutch trappers/traders from New Netherland
New Netherland
New Netherland, or Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch, was the 17th-century colonial province of the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands on the East Coast of North America. The claimed territories were the lands from the Delmarva Peninsula to extreme southwestern Cape Cod...
used the trail in the late 17th century between its settlments on the Hudson River
Hudson River
The Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
and those on the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
and were later followed by early settlers to begin populating the interior. After the British takeover of the colony, and the establisment of the Province of New Jersey
Province of New Jersey
The Province of New Jersey was one of the Middle Colonies of Colonial America and became the U.S. state of New Jersey in 1776. The province had originally been settled by Europeans as part of New Netherland, but came under English rule after the surrender of Fort Amsterdam in 1664, becoming a...
, the trail became a a part major thoroughfare between Philadelphia and Perth Amboy, the capital of East Jersey
East Jersey
The Province of East Jersey and the Province of West Jersey were two distinct, separately governed parts of the Province of New Jersey that existed as separate provinces for 28 years, between 1674 and 1702. East Jersey's capital was located at Perth Amboy...
and a major port. By 1698 it was known as the Kings Highway
King's Highway (Charleston to Boston)
The King's Highway is a route over in length in the eastern United States. It joins Charleston, South Carolina, to Boston, Massachusetts. It was named after Charles II of England, who in 1650 directed his colonial governors to build it. It did not become a continuous wagon road until 1735...
, and by the early 1700s had been cleared and widened near a new bridge crossing at Kingston
Kingston, New Jersey
Kingston is a census-designated place and unincorporated area in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which has been officially designated as a Village Center by the New Jersey State Planning Commission. The CDP portion, is the area that lies in Middlesex County...
. During the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
the George Washington
George Washington
George Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
made use of the road to circulate in the region during his campaigns at the Battle of Trenton
Battle of Trenton
The Battle of Trenton took place on December 26, 1776, during the American Revolutionary War, after General George Washington's crossing of the Delaware River north of Trenton, New Jersey. The hazardous crossing in adverse weather made it possible for Washington to lead the main body of the...
, the Battle of Princeton
Battle of Princeton
The Battle of Princeton was a battle in which General George Washington's revolutionary forces defeated British forces near Princeton, New Jersey....
, and the Battle of Monmouth
Battle of Monmouth
The Battle of Monmouth was an American Revolutionary War battle fought on June 28, 1778 in Monmouth County, New Jersey. The Continental Army under General George Washington attacked the rear of the British Army column commanded by Lieutenant General Sir Henry Clinton as they left Monmouth Court...
.
The Princeton and Kingston Branch Turnpike, a turnpike road chartered on December 3, 1807 ran from Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
to Kingston. During the early automotive age, route became a portion of the Lincoln Highway
Lincoln Highway
The Lincoln Highway was the first road across the United States of America.Conceived and promoted by entrepreneur Carl G. Fisher, the Lincoln Highway spanned coast-to-coast from Times Square in New York City to Lincoln Park in San Francisco, originally through 13 states: New York, New Jersey,...
, the United States' first transcontinental highway that was established in 1913 to run from New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to San Francisco. Today the southern portion of New Jersey Route 27 follows the path.
See also
- Millstone Valley Scenic Byway
- Delaware and Raritan CanalDelaware and Raritan CanalThe Delaware and Raritan Canal is a canal in central New Jersey, United States, built in the 1830s that served to connect the Delaware River to the Raritan River. It was intended as an efficient and reliable means of transportation of freight between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York City,...
- Great TrailGreat TrailThe Great Trail was a network of footpaths created by Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking peoples prior to the arrival of European colonists in North America. It connected the Great Lakes region of Canada to New England and the mid-Atlantic...
- Lenape TrailLenape TrailThe Lenape Trail is a trail connecting Newark, New Jersey with Roseland, New Jersey. It was established in 1982. It is the fifth longest trail in the state behind the Delaware and Raritan Canal Trail, the Appalachian Trail, the completed section of the Highlands Trail in the state and the Batona...
- Minisink Archeological SiteMinisink Archeological SiteMinisink Archeological Site, also known as Minisink Historic District, is an archeological site located in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Hundreds of early stone tools along with remains of fish and fruit indicated a more diverse diet than previously expected...
- Abbott Farm Historic DistrictAbbott Farm Historic DistrictThe Abbott Farm Historic District in Trenton, New Jersey is a National Historic Landmark archeological site. It is the largest known Middle Woodland village of its type on the eastern seaboard of the United States.. Significant evidence suggests that the Delaware River floodplain was occupied by...
- Route of the Lincoln HighwayRoute of the Lincoln Highway-New York:The very short Lincoln Highway section in New York went west from Times Square on 42nd Street to the Weehawken Ferry. It was realigned down Broadway from which it turned right and passed through the Holland Tunnel after it opened in 1927.-New Jersey:...