Jen Wycalek lives in the only residence on an unpaved stretch of Old Mine Road in Walpack, about a mile from her mailbox, and drives a half-hour to do her laundry.

She won the Democratic primary for township committee June 4 with one vote - her own.

Wycalek is one of only 9 residents of Walpack, a storied and exceptionally scenic municipality that proudly endures a half-century after the federal government sought to build a dam that would have buried much of it under a lake.

She was living in Verona three decades ago when she fell in love in Walpack, first renting a cabin and then buying a converted bunkhouse for $110,000 in 1999.

“I hope it goes on forever. For me, it’s just the right place to be,” she said of Walpack.

Jen Wycalek outside her home on Old Mine Road in Walpack, June 21, 2019 (Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

Why are so few living in Walpack?

Walpack’s decline stems from the infamous, never-built Tocks Island Dam project. To reduce flooding, the federal government proposed a dam that would have created a 37-mile long lake between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and began buying up properties on both sides of the Delaware River.

The dam proposal was tabled in the late 1970s and the acquired lands were transferred to the National Park Service, which created the Delaware National Water Gap Recreation Area and continued acquiring properties in the region.

Walpack had 384 residents in 1970, according to the U.S. Census, but three decades later 41 were living there. By 2011, the population had slipped to 20.

The township’s transformation is especially poignant on Main Street, which feels more like a museum than the gathering hub it once was. There is the Walpack Center Post Office, closed since 1988.

Next door is an unoccupied residence that was constructed around 1860. It was sold to the federal government 45 years ago. Two other nearby homes also were transferred in the 1970s.

Walpack Mayor Victor J. Maglio knows all eight of his constituents, a group that includes his wife, daughter and son-in-law.

Maglio, asked about the future, said it is possible for Walpack to carry on, but conceded that the township lacks a long-range plan.

“I would just hate to see Walpack disappear on my watch,” he said.

The former post office and general store in Walpack, closed more than three decades ago but still standing (Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

In terms of population, the closest fit to Walpack is Tavistock in Camden County, but the two municipalities are as different as night and day.

Tavistock is just over a quarter-square mile and epitomizes exclusivity, with three multi-million dollars mansions backing up to a famed golf course. Residents have the highest average tax bill in the state at about $31,000 annually.

In Walpack, the average residential tax bill in 2018 was just $450.

Maglio explained there are no children in Walpack — it is part of the school district in neighboring Sandyston — and no full-time municipal employees. The township has agreements for fire and EMS coverage, and utilizes its surplus stemming from the federal land acquisitions to further reduce costs.

Walpack borders the former Pahaquarry Township, which was similarly disrupted by the proposed dam. By 1997, with only six residents left in Pahaquarry, the fading municipality dissolved and became part of Hardwick in Warren County.

However, Walpack appears to have no interest in being absorbed by Sandyston, where the average property bill last year was $5,609.

“There’s not a desire to merge, not a reason to merge, and all the reason in the world to maintain Walpack,” Maglio said.

James Heigis, owner of the Walpack Inn, inside his restaurant, June 21, 2019 (Rob Jennings / NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)

At the Walpack Inn, owner Jim Heigis was getting ready Friday morning for the weekend crowd.

Heigis was a grade schooler in Rutherford when his parents in 1949 made a bold move and bought the restaurant.

Now 81, he remains a fixture at the inn, located on 37 acres off National Park Service Road 615.

He and his wife, Lee Ann, live in a house on the same lot. Not too long ago, their 28-year-old daughter, Jenny, moved back home to help with the restaurant, making her the township’s ninth resident.

“I love it here,” said Heigis, who serves on the township committee with Wycalek and Maglio.

He took a seat in the dining area and pointed toward the Kittatinny Mountain Ridge, a view that has attracted customers for seven decades.

“Look at this. Pristine. Where do you see this in New Jersey,” he marveled.

Walpack does get some visitors. Not far from the inn is a campground, whose owner lives on the site.

Maglio grew up in Bloomfield and moved to Walpack about three decades ago.

“It’s not for everybody,” he said.

“I remember having somebody come out here to do a delivery. Young guy got out of a van, stood there, looking at our residence with his mouth open, and said, ‘How do you live out here?”

He and his wife, Riaa, are in their 60s and live in a house that belonged to the mayor’s great-uncle. Their daughter and son-in-law live close by, in a house previously owned by his mother.

Wycalek, 72, welcomed a visitor to her home on Friday afternoon, showing off an enclosed porch offering a view of the Delaware River.

Hummingbirds were sipping at a bottle attached outside, filled with water and sugar.

She marveled at being surrounded by so much nature, noting the three times over the years she discovered a snake in her house.

“The dragonflies and butterflies are extraordinary," she said.

She doesn’t own a computer, or a television, but allows herself the indulgence of a stereo system.

“One advantage is I can play it as loud as I want out here,” she said with a laugh.

This article is part of “Unknown New Jersey,” an ongoing series that highlights interesting and little-known stories about our past, present, and future -- all the unusual things that make our great state what is it. Got a story to pitch? Email it to local@njadvancemedia.com.

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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@RobJenningsNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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