During the first months after our 1957 arrival in West Windsor, one of the things we noticed about our area was a strange noise coming from the direction of Plainsboro, just a mile or two away. The noise went on during daylight hours but only on weekdays. We had never heard a noise like that before — a sort of chugging sound, something like a railroad locomotive. Since we had not visited Plainsboro before, finding the source of the noise was our first “adventure” away from Grovers Mill, our home neighborhood.
I first drove up Millstone Road in the direction of the noise and crossed the Millstone River into Plainsboro. Turning left on Maple Avenue I soon came upon Plainsboro Pond, which, I found out later, had been formed by damming up Cranbury Brook, which flowed in from the east and which soon joined the Millstone River near the railroad main line. Maple Avenue went along the top of the dam.
Plainsboro Pond was typical of many such ponds in the flatter, agricultural areas of New Jersey. They had been formed by damming up small streams so as to turn water wheels that powered machinery to grind grain into flour and saw lumber from felled trees. Later, when pumps were available, the ponds were also a source of irrigation water for local farms.
Nearby Grovers Mill Pond was another. It was formed in the 18th century by damming up Big Bear Brook where the mill is today. As in Plainsboro, the pond served the dual purposes of providing the water power for grinding grain and sawing lumber. Its wheel and grinding machinery were in operation until 1942.
The first thing I saw at Plainsboro Pond were the remains of a house that had once stood next to the mill that provided the ground grain and lumber for the Plainsboro area. It stood on the west side of the road where the stream passed under it. The mill was built before the American Revolution and was once known as Stockton’s Mill. It was torn down in 1930. Today there’s a parking lot where the mill and the house once stood.
On the east side of Maple Avenue was Plainsboro Pond, and in it was the source of the noise. It was a large, old-fashioned steam shovel sitting on a barge floating in the water. It made a lot of noise as it chugged away and scooped up mud from the bottom. I soon learned from a nearby resident that what was going on was the dredging of silt from the pond so it could be used once again for fishing and recreational boating.
Over the years, the pond had become so filled by silt washed in from its surroundings that it had become very shallow and clogged by weeds. As a result, it was a poor habitat for fish and almost useless for canoes and rowboats. So the decision was made to excavate the silt.
In this case, the excavation was really just a “rearranging” operation, since the silt actually remained in Plainsboro Pond instead of being taken away. That is why there are two “islands” in Plainsboro Pond today. The steam shovel scooped up a load of silt from the bottom on one side of the barge, pivoted around and deposited it on the other side. Little by little, as the barge was moved along the length of the pond, two islands of silt were formed, one of which nearly reached from one end of the pond to the other. Today there is a well-used path down the center of that longer “island,” and few people realize they are walking on what was once the silt that nearly filled the pond 60 years ago. The pond itself was effectively split into three parallel sections.
After the dredging — for a while, at least — the pond was used once again for recreational boating and fishing. Today, however, as in West Windsor, although the population has increased many-fold, there is little or no interest in these activities, and it is a rarity to see a boat or canoe on the water, and rarer still to see anyone fishing.
That’s too bad, since one of the highlights of the restoration of Grovers Mill Pond in 2008 was the visit the following spring by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, during which he supervised the pond’s restocking with fish. There must be some pretty big ones by now, but most of them will probably still be there a year from now.
It was many months before we stopped hearing the Plainsboro steam shovel just a mile away.
