FRENCHTOWN ISLAND CLUB – was established on Pinkerton Island in 1888 by eight Frenchtown residents and eight Lambertville residents. Despite the club's name, this 7-acre island is part of Kingwood Township. It's about 3 miles south of the borough.
The island is accessed by a cable ferry across about 800 feet of water, at least it was last time I looked. The little ferry boat is attached to a cable, fore and aft. Then by shortening or lengthening those ropes, the boat is angled so that the river's current propels the boat. It's very clever and low-tech. The camp has no electricity and there's a “cold cellar” for perishables.
Forman Vanselous (1903-1994) ferried me out there in 1981 and gave me a tour. The cabin was a cozy and rustic, with lots of little iron beds that looked like something orphans would have slept in a hundred years ago. Membership was still limited to 16 residents of Frenchtown or Lambertville.
The camp and its cabin have survived many floods, and the high-water marks were painted on the side of the cabin in descending order: August 1955, October 1903, March 19, 1936, March 12, 1936. More may have been added after my visit.
Jerry Zich, former editor of the Delaware Valley News, told me a story behind one of those 1936 marks:
The river was rising. In town the water was up over the railroad tracks. Nine young people, ages 14 to 21, were camping on the island. The raging river had washed away the ferry, stranding them.
Zich recalled, “It was just about dark when we got word that the Lehigh River dam up at Easton was breaking up, and a wall of water would be heading south. We could hear the kids yelling from the island, and one of them was saying he was going to try to swim ashore. He didn't though; he never would have made it.
“The fire chief, Joe Heisel, got his 25-foot shad boat, and he and George Opdyke and I headed out to the island. Harry Riegel and John Haney helped from the shore.
“It was dark by then, and the river was full of debris and twisting trees. We only had a lantern for light. When we got the to island, we got the five youngest into the boat and told them to stay down.
“I stayed on the island with the remaining four in the hip-deep water. I was going to send them into the trees if the water came up any higher. I had rope to tie them into the trees.
“We were all overjoyed to see the boat coming back. I was afraid for Opdyke because he was a heart patient and should not have been doing any of this.”
Forty-one years later one of the girls they rescued, Katherine Van Hart, got in touch with Zich. “She said that a brush with death in Jamaica had reminded her of the other time she was in danger and made her want to see me. She brought her husband, and I brought my wife, and we all had dinner at Le Bistro in Stockton.”
The club property is still well-maintained, and the club's property tax bills are sent to Richard Dalrymple of Frenchtown. Membership is still limited to 16 people. They don't have to reside in Frenchtown or Lambertville, but they must be local, and they must be approved by the other 15 members. There is a waiting list.
From "Rick's Frenchtown Encyclopedia"
Comments