Goffle Brook
Encyclopedia
Goffle Brook is a tributary
of the Passaic River
which flows south through a section of Passaic County
and Bergen County
in New Jersey
and drains the eastern side of the First Watchung Mountain. Heading up the brook from the confluence with the Passaic River, one encounters the borough of Hawthorne
, the village of Ridgewood
, the borough of Midland Park
, and the township of Wyckoff
.
camp sites along its banks. Two such camps are known to have existed near the brook’s mouth, while another two existed about one and a half miles upstream on the east bank. A fifth camp, still locally remembered, sat at the confluence of Deep Voll Brook
and Goffle Brook.
During the American Revolutionary War
, General Lafayette stationed his men along the banks of the brook. In 1780, Major Lee’s Virginia light horse troop occupied the east bank of the brook, while Lafayette’s light infantry corps occupied the flanks of First Watchung Mountain to the west. Lafayette’s headquarters sat on the western bank of the brook in what is presently Goffle Brook Park
south of Diamond Bridge Ave in Hawthorne
.
Prior to the twentieth century, the brook’s gradation supported saw, grain, and grist mills. It was probably instrumental in initial settlement and farming of the northern Passaic River valley.
In addition to it uses as a drinking water supply and an energy source for mills, the brook has served as a focus for human creativity. Perhaps most notably, New Jersey native William Carlos Williams
immortalized the brook in his 1949 poem Spring is Here Again, Sir. The poem opens with the line, Goffle brook of a May day blossoms in the manner of antiquity.
Today, Goffle Brook serves as the centerpiece of Goffle Brook Park
and Kings Pond Park
, providing fishing and ice skating opportunities to local residents.
Traveling north along the brook from its mouth, the first tributary encountered is Janes Brook, in Hawthorne
. Much of this small stream, which can be found in the wooded, southern section of Goffle Brook Park
, was converted to a buried sewer in the twentieth century, but a tiny portion still remains at the surface where it empties into Goffle Brook. The second tributary encountered along Goffle Brook is Deep Voll Brook
or Deep Brook (captioned name used by the USGS in 1995), which joins Goffle Brook just north of Goffle Hill Road at the far northern end of Goffle Brook Park in Hawthorne
. Deep Voll Brook
, which flows from northwest to southeast, is the most significant tributary of Goffle Brook, draining a sizeable portion of the northeastern corner of First Watchung Mountain in Hawthorne
and Wyckoff
.
Beyond Deep Voll Brook
are two smaller streams that join Goffle Brook relatively close to each other. Both of these less significant tributaries appear to be unnamed. After these two tributaries is yet another tiny tributary that drains a small swamp at the head of Kings Pond, a manmade lake in southwest Ridgewood
.
Continuing north, past the tributary at Kings Pond, Goffle Brook splits into western and eastern branches at Maple Lake, a former manmade swimming hole that was drained in the late 1980s. Of the two branches, the eastern branch is less significant, extending a short distance through Wyckoff
before ending just inside the southern limit of Waldwick
. The western branch almost completely bisects the town of Wyckoff
through the midsection, ending west of Russell Ave at Goffle Pond, the source of Goffle Brook.
, a former dam at the southern end of Goffle Brook Park once held back Mill Pond. Presently, a dam just south of Goffle Hill Road forms Arnold's Pond, often referred to as the Duck Pond. In Ridgewood
, a dam just north of Rock Road forms Gypsy Pond, and a bigger dam just a little further upstream holds back Kings Pond. The current fourth and fifth dams exist just to the west of where Goffle Road crosses the brook in Midland Park
. A dam that was destroyed during a storm lies just upstream from Sicomac Avenue bridge. This dam was held back the waters to form Morrow Pond which was a swimming hole in Midland Park. North of Canterbury Lane in Wyckoff
a dam used to exist which held back Maple Lake, presently a wetland in danger of development. Two more dams create large lakes on the north and south sides Wyckoff Ave, again in Wyckoff
.
parallels Goffle Brook for the majority of its route through Hawthorne
, Ridgewood
, Midland Park
, and Wyckoff
, running roughly along the centerline of the Goffle Brook drainage basin. The railroad crosses the brook only twice, once in Ridgewood
and again in Midland Park
.
Tributary
A tributary or affluent is a stream or river that flows into a main stem river or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean...
of the Passaic River
Passaic River
The Passaic River is a mature surface river, approximately 80 mi long, in northern New Jersey in the United States. The river in its upper course flows in a highly circuitous route, meandering through the swamp lowlands between the ridge hills of rural and suburban northern New Jersey,...
which flows south through a section of Passaic County
Passaic County, New Jersey
Passaic County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 501,226. Its county seat is Paterson...
and Bergen County
Bergen County, New Jersey
Bergen County is the most populous county of the state of New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 905,116. The county is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. Its county seat is Hackensack...
in 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...
and drains the eastern side of the First Watchung Mountain. Heading up the brook from the confluence with the Passaic River, one encounters the borough of Hawthorne
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
, the village of Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
, the borough of Midland Park
Midland Park, New Jersey
Midland Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,128....
, and the township of Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
.
History
Goffle Brook has seen human occupation for hundreds of years, as evidenced by abundant LenapeLenape
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...
camp sites along its banks. Two such camps are known to have existed near the brook’s mouth, while another two existed about one and a half miles upstream on the east bank. A fifth camp, still locally remembered, sat at the confluence of Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook, also known as Deep Brook , is a tributary of Goffle Brook and part of the Passaic River watershed. The brook drains part of the eastern flank of First Watchung Mountain, cutting through portions of Bergen and Passaic county in New Jersey...
and Goffle Brook.
During the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, General Lafayette stationed his men along the banks of the brook. In 1780, Major Lee’s Virginia light horse troop occupied the east bank of the brook, while Lafayette’s light infantry corps occupied the flanks of First Watchung Mountain to the west. Lafayette’s headquarters sat on the western bank of the brook in what is presently Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park is a public, county park spanning much of the length of Goffle Brook through the borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey...
south of Diamond Bridge Ave in Hawthorne
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
.
Prior to the twentieth century, the brook’s gradation supported saw, grain, and grist mills. It was probably instrumental in initial settlement and farming of the northern Passaic River valley.
In addition to it uses as a drinking water supply and an energy source for mills, the brook has served as a focus for human creativity. Perhaps most notably, New Jersey native William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams
William Carlos Williams was an American poet closely associated with modernism and Imagism. He was also a pediatrician and general practitioner of medicine, having graduated from the University of Pennsylvania...
immortalized the brook in his 1949 poem Spring is Here Again, Sir. The poem opens with the line, Goffle brook of a May day blossoms in the manner of antiquity.
Today, Goffle Brook serves as the centerpiece of Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park is a public, county park spanning much of the length of Goffle Brook through the borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey...
and Kings Pond Park
Kings Pond Park
Kings Pond Park, including the associated Gypsy Pond Park, is a public, municipal park spanning close to the entire length of Goffle Brook through the village of Ridgewood in Bergen County, New Jersey...
, providing fishing and ice skating opportunities to local residents.
Tributaries
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
. Much of this small stream, which can be found in the wooded, southern section of Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park
Goffle Brook Park is a public, county park spanning much of the length of Goffle Brook through the borough of Hawthorne in Passaic County, New Jersey...
, was converted to a buried sewer in the twentieth century, but a tiny portion still remains at the surface where it empties into Goffle Brook. The second tributary encountered along Goffle Brook is Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook, also known as Deep Brook , is a tributary of Goffle Brook and part of the Passaic River watershed. The brook drains part of the eastern flank of First Watchung Mountain, cutting through portions of Bergen and Passaic county in New Jersey...
or Deep Brook (captioned name used by the USGS in 1995), which joins Goffle Brook just north of Goffle Hill Road at the far northern end of Goffle Brook Park in Hawthorne
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
. Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook, also known as Deep Brook , is a tributary of Goffle Brook and part of the Passaic River watershed. The brook drains part of the eastern flank of First Watchung Mountain, cutting through portions of Bergen and Passaic county in New Jersey...
, which flows from northwest to southeast, is the most significant tributary of Goffle Brook, draining a sizeable portion of the northeastern corner of First Watchung Mountain in Hawthorne
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
and Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
.
Beyond Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook
Deep Voll Brook, also known as Deep Brook , is a tributary of Goffle Brook and part of the Passaic River watershed. The brook drains part of the eastern flank of First Watchung Mountain, cutting through portions of Bergen and Passaic county in New Jersey...
are two smaller streams that join Goffle Brook relatively close to each other. Both of these less significant tributaries appear to be unnamed. After these two tributaries is yet another tiny tributary that drains a small swamp at the head of Kings Pond, a manmade lake in southwest Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
.
Continuing north, past the tributary at Kings Pond, Goffle Brook splits into western and eastern branches at Maple Lake, a former manmade swimming hole that was drained in the late 1980s. Of the two branches, the eastern branch is less significant, extending a short distance through Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
before ending just inside the southern limit of Waldwick
Waldwick, New Jersey
Waldwick is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 9,625.-Geography:Waldwick is located at ....
. The western branch almost completely bisects the town of Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
through the midsection, ending west of Russell Ave at Goffle Pond, the source of Goffle Brook.
Dams
Seven dams exist along Goffle Brook, although ten existed historically. In HawthorneHawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
, a former dam at the southern end of Goffle Brook Park once held back Mill Pond. Presently, a dam just south of Goffle Hill Road forms Arnold's Pond, often referred to as the Duck Pond. In Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
, a dam just north of Rock Road forms Gypsy Pond, and a bigger dam just a little further upstream holds back Kings Pond. The current fourth and fifth dams exist just to the west of where Goffle Road crosses the brook in Midland Park
Midland Park, New Jersey
Midland Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,128....
. A dam that was destroyed during a storm lies just upstream from Sicomac Avenue bridge. This dam was held back the waters to form Morrow Pond which was a swimming hole in Midland Park. North of Canterbury Lane in Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
a dam used to exist which held back Maple Lake, presently a wetland in danger of development. Two more dams create large lakes on the north and south sides Wyckoff Ave, again in Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
.
Relationship with the NYS&W Railway
The New York, Susquehanna & Western RailwayNew York, Susquehanna and Western Railway
The New York, Susquehanna and Western Railway , also known as the Susie-Q, or simply the Susquehanna, is a Class II American freight railway operating over 500 miles of track in the northeastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. It was formed in 1881 from the merger of several...
parallels Goffle Brook for the majority of its route through Hawthorne
Hawthorne, New Jersey
Hawthorne is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 18,218.Hawthorne was originally part of the now-defunct Manchester Township, which was later subdivided to create Hawthorne, Haledon, North Haledon, Prospect Park,...
, Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
, Midland Park
Midland Park, New Jersey
Midland Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,128....
, and Wyckoff
Wyckoff, New Jersey
Wyckoff is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,696. As of the 2000 Census, Wyckoff ranked 54th in 100 highest-income places in the United States...
, running roughly along the centerline of the Goffle Brook drainage basin. The railroad crosses the brook only twice, once in Ridgewood
Ridgewood, New Jersey
Ridgewood is a village in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the village population was 24,958. Ridgewood is an affluent suburban bedroom community of New York City, located approximately northwest of Midtown Manhattan.The Village of Ridgewood was...
and again in Midland Park
Midland Park, New Jersey
Midland Park is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 7,128....
.