The Friends of Long Pond Ironworks

10/12/2026

The woods are slowly swallowing an old New Jersey village, but the ruins are still there. Would you follow the trail to find them?

09/22/2026

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Monksville Reservoir didn't exist until 1987, when engineers dammed the Wanaque River and let the water rise over a Highlands valley near Ringwood and West Milford. What filled in was more than 500 acres of some of the quietest water in North Jersey. 🚣

Paddle out on an early autumn morning and you get mirror flat water, forested ridges turning gold and red, and maybe a great blue heron standing perfectly still in the shallows. Anglers come for the bass, walleye, and muskie, but plenty of people just come for how empty and peaceful it feels this close to the crowded parts of the state. 🍂

There is history under and around this water too. The reservoir sits beside the old Long Pond Ironworks, where forges once turned Highlands ore into iron for the young country. The little settlement of Monks that gave the lake its name is part of what the rising water covered.

What is your favorite quiet spot to disappear to in the Jersey Highlands?

09/15/2026

Photos by Jeff Bross who came on Saturday during our 1830s Victorian Weekend at Long Pond featuring our artisan participation of spinners, Victoria B and Aneta R, Bobbin Lace demonstrations by Mayra P, and floriography by Linda K of Iron Rose, Warwick NY. The reenactors were members of the Royal Sussex Society and the 35th Regiment of Foot - Historical Reenactment. Hope to see you all next year, and wishing for better Sunday weather!

09/12/2026

West Milford History booth at the West Milford Food Truck Festival today from 11am-7pm

09/11/2026

Today marks the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, and so we remember the sacrifices of that tragic day. We must never forget and continue to hope for a better tomorrow.

09/04/2026

Come check out next weekend's 1830s Victorian Weekend at Long Pond at Long Pond Ironworks for a uniquely British experience in Living History with the 35th Regiment of Foot - Historical Reenactment

Stepping up in time a little from the 18th century, we have our 1830s event coming up at Long Pond Ironworks in Hewitt NJ, September 12 & 13!

It is now 1839. The regiment has since given up its orange facings for blue and is now styled the 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot. There is a new monarch for a new age: a 20-year-old Queen Victoria, likely to soon wed her cousin, Prince Albert from Saxe-Coburg Gotha. The empire is anxious, as are the people. Society is changing and industrializing rapidly. Serious reform of government has begun, long overdue, and not with any great ease. At home, economic hardship and epidemics threaten societal stability while emerging technologies and philosophies promise bright innovations and opportunities if they can be responsibly harnessed. Abroad, the empire has just dealt with an uprising in Quebec, has a dangerous and ultimately doomed intervention in Afghanistan underway, and another intervention is brewing for China to control the o***m trade.

The young Queen reigns but does not rule, yet her name is given to the age of her lifetime. Come visit and learn more!

09/02/2026

Digital flyers for our 1830s Victorian Weekend at Long Pond next weekend September 12-13th at Long Pond Ironworks State Park 1334 Greenwood Lake Turnpike, Hewitt, NJ 10am-4pm $10/admission

08/21/2026

08/18/2026

Long Pond Ironworks in Hewitt, . It was founded in 1766 and operated continually until 1882. The site made iron for a number of purposes, including the Continental Army, the American forces in the War of 1812, and the Union Army during the Civil War. Today, the ruins of three furnaces and other unique structures remain as part of land donated to NJ in 1957 and opened as a State Park opened in the 1987.