Jenna Intersimone | Courier News and Home News Tribune

VIDEO BY BRIAN JOHNSTON

Jenna Intersimone/Staff Photo

BERKELEY HEIGHTS - If you were a Union County kid, there’s a good chance you spent a late night or two spooking your friends at the Deserted Village of Feltville inside the Watchung Reservation, peering into the 173-year-old buildings nestled in the forest and swapping haunted stories with your buddies.

The thing is, though, the village probably isn’t haunted.

And it’s definitely not deserted.

These days, the village, which has been featured in Weird NJ, is recognized as a significant historical and archaeological site, as well as an event space that pulls in 90,000 visitors per year. That’s an immense change from its 25,000 annual visitors only 10 years ago, and officials say the increase and interest are thanks to extensive restoration projects that have been completed and are also underway.

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PHOTOS: Deserted Village of Feltville brings in 90K visitors per year

The village, which consists of eight homes, a combination general store and church building, as well as a carriage house spread out along half-mile long Cataract Hollow Road, which is a park road off of Glenside Avenue, has certainly seen its fair share of history and inhabitants.

After parts of the forest were cleared to build a sawmill in 1736, David Felt (hence the name Feltville) bought 760 acres of land in the area in 1845 and built an entire town, as well as a printing factory to support the mill operation. At one time, 175 people lived in the village, but after Felt retired in 1860, other business ventures were unable to support the town and it became deserted for a short time.

Then, in 1882, the former mill town was converted into Glenside Park, a summer resort. However, as mountain resorts fell out of favor due to increasing popularity and buildup of the Jersey Shore, the resort closed in 1916.

Soon after, though, the area was incorporated into the 2,000-acre Watchung Reservation – one of America’s first county parks – after the Union County Park System was formed in 1921, which luckily allotted it more protection and support and in 1980, it was listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Since its addition to the Union County Park System, it’s remained a snapshot into the past and local hiking ground for Union County residents — as well as home to two families living in its historic homes, making it anything but deserted.

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“People walk right through and ask, ‘Where’s the Deserted Village?’” said Dan Bernier, director of the Division of Park Planning and Maintenance within the Union County Department of Parks, Recreation and Facilities. “They also think it’s going to be haunted and although we do run a haunted hayride near Halloween that sells out 900 tickets, we don’t have any ghosts here or strange happenings.”

Jenna Intersimone/Staff Photo

Bernier would know. After he began managing the restoration of the village 26 years ago, he started renting one of the homes from the county, a no-brainer for any history buff. Since then, he hasn’t experienced any strange nightly happenings – except for when he has to chase curious kids out in the middle of the night.

“Weird NJ has certainly done its part in bringing people in, but these stories come from peoples’ recollections from when they were kids so the stories get crazier and crazier as time goes by,” he said.

However, many more people come during the day to check out the preserved mill town, a rarity in New Jersey since they were mostly popular in New England during the mid-1800s.

Jenna Intersimone/Staff Photo

“Living here and seeing how interested people are in the area, I see how much potential it has and as it gets further restored, I think it will be a very popular site,” Bernier said. “It’s neat to be able to walk around and it intrigues people to see how others lived in this town.”

As of now, the church and general store building has been restored, as well as the barn, which is frequently used for weddings (17 were held there last year alone), parties, meetings and even yoga sessions. Bernier’s home and some parts of the other homes have also experienced many improvements.

Frequent archaeological investigations have also been launched at the property, unearthing items such as pottery, toys, common household tools and farming implements.

“This is one of the treasures of Union County and in a way, it’s also a well-kept secret because there are many local residents who still don’t know about it,” said Union County Freeholder Vice Chairman Bette Jane Kowalski. “I would guess that when someone drives in from Glenside Avenue, they don’t really know that this was once a milltown with a school, church and store and was even a resort area for a while.”

Jenna Intersimone/Staff Photo

Kowalski said that interest in the Deserted Village of Feltville grows as the local population grows and people have more of an appreciation for green space and for learning about what came before their time.

Anyone can visit the village from dawn to dusk seven days per week by parking in the lot located at 2 Cataract Hollow Road and walking for about five minutes down the paved road. Signs have been set up since last summer in front of the historic buildings advising visitors of their significance.

Visitors can also stop by the Visitors’ Center on Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. and pick up a self-guided tour brochure or download one at ucnj.org/parks-recreation/deserted-village/self-guided-walking-tour/.

See it in person

What: Deserted Village of Feltville

Where: 2 Cataract Hollow Road, Berkeley Heights. Park in the lot and walk for about five minutes down the paved road

When: Every day from dawn until dusk; Visitors' Center open from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday

~File