Today, I had the chance to explore a new trail with my most loyal hiking buddy, Barb Spector. We bought lunch at Wawa and ate picnic style in the parking lot off Blackhorse Pike at Grenloch Lake. I wasn't sure it was Grenloch Lake until the end of the hike.
For many years my general practitioner family physician, Dr. Vitola, had his office in a little office-park across the street from the lake and I always wondered what lake it was.
As you know, all the lakes in South Jersey are man-made to serve the mills that once proliferated along all the creeks and rivers. My own family history is involved with the mills. Peter T. Cheeseman put up the local teacher, Mr. William Collins Garwood, in his home, as was the custom in the early 1800's. William fell in love with Rachel, Major Cheeseman's daughter, and they married. William was not only the teacher at the Turnersville One-Room School, he was also postmaster for a time.
Rachel died young, after giving birth to a son and a daughter. Anyhow, her father's mills are the theme here, and I don't want to let the family history take me off in a different tributary. Peter T. Cheeseman had two sawmills and a grist mill on the Timber Creek. I have found a photo of one of the mills and a location for another - the Lebanon Branch but haven't found the Lebanon Branch itself. So I am always on the lookout for lakes in the area of Timber Creek.
Since it is winter, I noticed a trail beside the parking lot at the lake along the Black Horse Pike. So today, with my intrepid explorer hiking pal, we returned to follow the trail. We found a nice trail beside the lake, which did, in fact turn out to be Grenloch Lake, and we found an upper trail on the way back that skirted a residential neighborhood and a playground. I would guess the trail was about half a mile, and so, a mile round trip. There was a road from the neighborhood, going to another parking area with a nice little bridge, but we were not able to find out the name of the road.
I plan to do a little more history on Grenloch and return to the lake and the trail. Not many more chances to hike the woods before tick season! My brother's dog was just sick with Lymes Disease, a frightening hindrance to hiking in the woods. March is the hatching season, so we keep to paved trails that time of year and spray like mad.
Happy Trails!
Jo Ann
Today I wa going thru some old pictures, circa 1930. My mother had a note that it was Grenlock Park. I started to research it. They lived in PHL so it makes sense they may have gone there. I was glad I could find something.
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