Camp Turrell History

Camp Turrell is located in a historically rich area that dealt prominently not on in the local area, but also in such pis as &lord:real, Canada and New Yoe* City. The history of the property figured importantly in the Defamers. and Hudson Canal and the Ontario and Weste-m Railroad Company. Camp Turrells history can be &aced tuck all the way to when The irst it inhabitated it hundreds of years ago_ To start the historical record of Turret?, one must go back to the indian tribes who once inhabited it. The Minnisink Tribe or Wolf Trite were the otiginal inhabitants. They were part of the Lenni Lenape Tribe, which was a pail of the Defateure Nathan and of the ftorrquin stock. The Delawana Nation stretched from The Susquehanna River to the West, to the Catskiff Mountain Range to the North, to the pnesent day town of Newbutgh to the East to the area called the Musconettong, present day Netcong to ere South in Atm!' Jersey. The Minnisink Indians occupied the area from Peenpack„ dinectly to the camps South, to the Delaware River to the camps West and out towards Olisville to The East. The Delawrane Nation came into America as did all the American Indians through the Bering Straight Passage from present day Russia to Alaska. it is for This n9asers that one can assume that many of the Indian cultures and traditions take on similar appearances. Someerne before 800 a.C., the first Delawares came to the western part of the United States. Beteleen 800 and 500 B.C.. the Lenni Lenapes began (noting eastward from the Pacific to the Meets, where com and butlate were in great numbers. Slowly, but surely the Lenapes made their way to the Namaesispi ( Mississippi).

Here, they met with the friquois Indians and began moving eastward again. this Joint group was attacked by the Alligewe at the Mississippi. After the group left the region, they decided that the Iriquois would take the Northern Region(Great LakestNY State) with the Delawares taking The Southern Region( PA, lower NY, NJ and MD). So, in 1396, the 75th ruler King Wolernenap set up his headquarters an Trenton_ Here the Lenapes gave up their arms and began agriculture and hunting pursuits. So it is here that the tribe broke into 3 groups..the Minnisinks, the Esopes and the Cashiegtowks. There is a legend to the origin of the Minnisinks and it is as follows: The Minnisinks wet e a peaceable people who basically labored in agriculture and hunting. They grew corn, beans aria sweet potatoes. They smoked pipe tobecco in what were called pipestoves, which was a &editice? brought from tie nest_ The Minnisinks lived in fan* units built in groups surroended by Palisades for protection. They used pottery extensively and made household utensils of stone. The boys of the Minnisinks would go fishing until proving their menhoed,and go hunting terming their word]. They would than many at 17 or 18. The girls stayed with their mothers to plant corn. They would Miry at 13 or 14 and were true sit ors of their husbands. The men ware dye for decov-effve purposes and were will well built wearing on a waist cloth. 'They yea good and quick marksmen with their emu's. They tcwre clever and skilled and used Things like copper, lead and tin. They had a beautiful language, one that William Penn delsclibed as lofty, like Hebrewera signifialifice. Penn also described them as hospitable. Many also considered their brattety as the highest and 'glair moral talluas as high. This is as to say that all settlers saw the Indians in this light, many considered them Slmagas1 and sumpe.tlious. One Indian historian wrote of their attachment to "datives and offspring. The Minnisink and all the Delawares were deeply religious. They worshiped light, the 4 winds,arai for personal assistance, appealed to animals. When one reads all the material about the Delaware nation, one is left with a posidtio, feeling That these Indians were indeed noble and peace lovirig. It is ironic to see what happened in all the great Indian tribes when a civilized white society came in contact with them. Today the Minnisinks are an extinct people. In the period between 1500-1600, eht Delaware Nation reached its pinnacle of pros,oerite The corn fields, workshops and home were all numerously Iccated. Perhaps The greatest Delaware Chief of all time was Tarnanend. Though he did not live in the immediate area of Turret!, he was well known throughout the Delaware Nation. He resided in Eastern Pennsylvania, which is documented by his signing of a deed in Bucks County, North of Philadelphia in April of 1683. He was a Delaware Chief with none his equal. He was in the highest degree, endowed with wisdom, virtue, prudence, charity, meekness, hospitality, in short with every good and noble qualification that a human may posers. He was supposed to have had an intercourse with the great and god spirit,for he was a stranger to everything that was bad_