Lenape Years to Early European Settlement in the Township of Pequannock
DID YOU KNOW THAT...
...the Lenni Lenape, a native American people, once hunted, fished, gathered, and farmed the lands that is now called Pequannock Township.
...Lenape stone tools and weapons - mostly arrowheads - are still being found in Pequannock Township.
...the word "Pequannock" is derived from a Lenape word meaning, "cleared land ready or being readied for cultivation."
...the word "Pompton" is derived from a Lenape word possibly meaning, "a place to catch soft fish."
...the oldest written reference to the word Pequannock is found on a Dutch map known as the Adriaen Van Der Donck's Map, 1656 in which Pequannock is spelled "Pachquakonck."
...Arent Schuyler (1662-1730) and other New York investors purchased the land from the Lenape in 1696 that would become Pequannock Township in a purchase known as the "Pompton Patent."
...Arent Schuyler (1662-1730) referred to the land of present-day Pequannock Township as a "wondrous beautiful valley."
...beside being purchased from the Lenape, 1000 acres were purchased from the East Jersey Proprietors "at 10 pounds per 100..."
...the first families to settle the West Bank of the Pequannock River, now Pequannock Township, were the Le Mattre, Comley and VanNess families.
...the Township of Pequannock was created in 1740.
...when the Township of Pequannock was created in 1740 it was the largest town in Morris County.
...Pequannock Township once encompassed a sprawling 176 square miles. Today it is only 6.95 square miles.
...the present-day Newark-Pompton Turnpike was once called the "King's Highway," in honor of the King of England.