HACKLEBARNEY

Hannah's breeder put me in touch with a woman who adopted Topher, one of Hannah's brothers. After emailing for a few months, we decided to grab the opportunity to meet half way to meet each other and give Hannah and Topher a chance to have a reunion. Topher's adopted mom suggested Hacklebarney State Park near Chester, New Jersey.

What a great name, and what a gorgeous place. The leaf change was at the height of color and reminded me of Edna St. Vincent Millay's lines from God's World, "Thy woods, this autumn day, that ache and sag and all but cry with colour!"

The park is located in a glacial gorge of the Black River. The topography is rugged, and the hills rise from an elevation of 400 feet along the lower reaches of the river to a peak elevation of 804 feet.

The name Hacklebarney is believed to come from an ironmaster in the area named Barney Hackle. One story about the origins of the park's name suggests that a quick-tempered iron ore foreman named Barney Tracey was persistently heckled. Soon "Heckle" Barney as he became known, changed to Hacklebarney. Another theory is that the name is of Lenni-Lenape derivation.

Iron was discovered in 1740, and the area became noted for its forges and mining of iron ore. By 1867 at least ten mines were operating around the Black River in Upper Hacklebarney. In 1896 the last of the mines closed and led to economic depression in the area.

In 1924, Adolph Borie donated 190 acres to the state for a park in memory of his mother Susan Parke Borie and her granddaughter Susan Ryerson Patterson. The field house was constructed from materials taken from the remains of miners' homes.