Tocks Island Dam & The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

The Delaware Water Gap - As Viewed From The Kittatinny Ridge

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a 70,000 acre Federal Park. It is located along the banks of the Delaware River on both the New Jersey and Pennsylvania sides in the Poconos Region. This National Park features miles of hiking, scenic waterfalls such as Silver Thread Falls & Dingman's falls, fishing, camping and boating.


Dingman's Falls

A "Water Gap" is an opening or notch through which flowing water has carved through a mountain range. The Delaware Water Gap was once plains millions of years ago. Through the power of erosion and the gradual uplifting of the land the Delaware Delaware River carved a beautiful gap through what is now known as the Blue Mountains portion of the Appalachian Mountain Chain. The Delaware RIver Itself, is a 360 mile long pristine River, whose watershed serves a major fresh water supply for New York City.

The Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area is a beautiful park in which all people can find rest, relaxation and enjoyment while surround by beautiful mountains and a scenic river. However, this National Park was not created philanthropically by the Federal Government for the benefit of the people, as it would appear upon first glance.


The Delaware River

The genesis of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation lies in the Tocks Island Dam Project, which was to have been located as it's namesake implies along Tocks Island in the Delaware River, in the Southern Portion of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The Tocks Island Dam largely came under consideration in 1950's just around the time of a massive flood in 1955 which caused several deaths and huge amounts of damage to the Delaware River Basin. Two hurricanes struck in that year that left so much water that over 60 people were killed.


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Tock's Island Map

The deaths and destruction led to the formation of enough political power that caused Congress to pass the Flood Control Act of 1962. This act later signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson authorized the construction of a massive dam at Tocks Island. The dam would have created a lake over 30 miles long and inundated countless acres, towns, farms, camps and homes under water. This lake was to be surrounded by a park and provide hydroelectric power and drinking water for New York and Philadelphia.

This Federally sanctioned dam, if built would have been disastrous at the very least. It would have destroyed the scenic "S" shaped bend in the Delaware River and ruined an important ecological and scenic treasure. After passage of the Act, the Government quickly began doing one of the things it actually does well, exercising it's right of eminent domain and forcing compulsory purchase of over 3000 homeowners and farmers land. Often times these compulsory purchases were done by giving property owners far less then the true value of their property. Several Boy Scout summer camps were seized within the Water Gap's boundaries as well, the remnants of which can still be seen today. Homeowners were forcibly evicted many times by Federal Marshals in order to accomplish the Flood Control Act's goals.

Rising costs of construction of the Tocks Island Dam, whose means and methods of construction at the time was technologically questionable at best, combined with protestors and and organizations formed to stop the construction of the dam finally caused the project to be postponed indefinitely and ultimately scrapped. In hindsight the Tocks Island Dam proposal could be viewed as a blessing in disguise, considering the large area of scenic land conser

ved and preserved for today. The entire fiasco caused irreparable damage to the private citizens and land owners within the current park's boundaries on a scale that equals or perhaps even surpasses the damage done by the great flood of 1955. It is true that we are lucky to have this beautiful park today, but it's price was certainly paid for and suffered by the local residents.