TOUR OF DISMAL HARMONY NATURAL AREA SET FOR OCT. 11

Mendham Township Open Space Committee Hosts Visitors

MENDHAM TOWNSHIP (Oct. 6, 2003) – Mendham Township will host visitors on guided tours of the Dismal Harmony Natural Area, a 146-acre preserve in the Brookside area of the township, from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, October 11, 2003. 

Tour groups will gather in the parking lot of Mendham Township Hall on East Main Street in Brookside , and will be shuttled by school bus to a preserve entrance. Members of the Mendham Township Open Space Trust Committee and the Environmental Committee will conduct one-hour walking tours. Visitors also are welcome to take self-guided walks through the park.

Committee members will be on hand at Township Hall to talk about Mendham’s open space program and to provide trail maps and other free literature to anyone interested in the preservation program.

Dismal Harmony was once the center of industry in Mendham.  Sawmills, gristmills, a woolen mill, and a forge were powered by the running waters of two streams.  After the Civil War, the area became agricultural, and eventually evolved into the residential area of historic Brookside .  Millponds, millraces, and the remains of stone walls from the farming era are evident on the property.  

The park was the first natural area to be preserved in Mendham Township and the first open space parcel in New Jersey funded by the state’s Green Acres program.  In 1967, the original 77 acres were acquired through the generosity of residents and with the help of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation.  It connects with 198 acres of land preserved by the Morris County Park Commission and includes a portion of Patriot’s Path, as well as numerous other trails.

“Dismal Harmony was named after the two streams running through the property: Dismal Brook and Harmony Brook,” says Katie Porter, chair of the Mendham Township Open Space Committee.  “The origin of the name ‘Dismal’ has never been established; Harmony most likely was named after the village of Harmony , which was settled in the 1750s and is now covered by the Clyde Potts Reservoir.”

Further information is available from Township Hall, 973-543-4555.