Hunterdon County Commissioner, Susan Soloway, recently attended the ribbon cutting
ceremony in celebration of the grand opening of Musconetcong Island Park, a project that has
been decades long in the making. The former lab building for Asbury Carbons has been
refurbished and is now a refuge for people to enjoy access to the river for fishing, hiking,
kayaking, and canoeing.
The quarter-acre island in the Musconetcong River contained an abandoned former mill building donated by Asbury Carbons to Musconetcong Watershed Association (MWA) in 1999. The building was deemed unsafe, and while there was a stairway to the island, public access had been barred by a guardrail.
Commissioner Soloway shared, “It was an exciting day celebrating the opening of Musconetcong Island Park. It is not often that a new park is created, and this one took years of planning to bring to full completion. This is the only park in the Musconetcong River, and it is now safely accessible to the Asbury Historic District and Bethlehem Township by a sidewalk. It is a perfect location for people to gather and enjoy recreational activities outdoors. I congratulate everyone that was involved in making this park a reality.”
Thanks to the NJ Green Acres Program, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and the
National Park Foundation, the MWA was able to secure funds to remove the abandoned
building, allowing the public to safely access the island for recreation purposes. The island’s
platform will enable gatherings and other community activities, and offer a unique view of the
river, Historic Asbury Mill, and surrounding nature.
Pictured in Photo: Paul Muir (Bethlehem Twp. Mayor), Senator Steinhardt, Commissioner Soloway, Mary Paist-Goldman (V.P. MWA Board of Directors), Thomas G. Dallessio (Executive Director, MWA), Richard Cotton (President, MWA Board of Directors).
Commissioner Soloway is pictured in the refurbished building with Alan Hunt, Director of Policy & Grants for the MWA