Village of Bushkill

Village of Bushkill. Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area. The first recorded European settler in this area was a Spaniard named Manuel Gonzales, who reached here around 1750. Subsequent settlers built a tavern, a gristmill, and other facilities, so that by 1820, Bushkill could be called a village. It had stores, mills, shops, tanneries, a school, and by 1850 a church to serve nearby families.

When farming declined at the end of the 1900s, villagers turned to a new source of income in the emerging recreation industry. Resorts and boarding houses sprang up. By 1901, there were even a railroad which brought vacationers from the cities to Bushkill via the Stroudsburgs. (Today, a part of the railbed is the Railway Avenue footpath.)

By the 1960s, Bushkill included nearly 200 dwelling. However, with the purchase of homes and businesses by the federal government for the proposed Tocks Island Dam, most of the village disappeared. Remnants of Bushkill are still visible: the church and cemetery, the post office building, the foundation of the mill, the general store, and the craft gallery on the corner.

(Inscription regarding the images) , (Far left) , Map of Bushkill in 1872, the shaded areas indicate the buildings in the photographs. Bushkill around 1960: , (Above) , The west side of Route 209. The white building is still in use today as a general store. , (Middle left) , The Bushkill Mill on Creek Road last served as a restaurant and souvenir shop. Only the foundation remains. , (Left) , The north bank of Bushkill Creek. The 209 bridge is just visible at the left. , (Background) , The millworks.