Next, the secret world of the Lenape, and the sophisticated civilization already established, long before the Dutch and English arrived.

- Oh, absolutely, it was a highly sophisticated society.

Journey back in time and discover a world in motion and a culture misunderstood.

Also, [canon shot] surviving the seventies... the 1770s.

What was life like for average Americans as they grappled with an impending Revolutionary War?

Drive By History starts now.

[Music] Made possible by: the New Jersey Historic Trust, advancing historic preservation in New Jersey for the benefit of future generations.

Also, the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.

Every day, thousands of motorists pass by countless history markers and say to themselves, one of these days Im going to stop and read that, one of these days Im gonna find out what happened and why it mattered.

Well, this is that day.

I'm heading to a marker that details the history of a popular spot in our region, and I think you'll be surprised to find out just who was coming there and when.

I'm Ken Magos, and this is Drive By History.

Today's investigation takes me to Vernon Township, New Jersey, located in Sussex County, about 55 miles northwest of New York City.

The community's rolling hills, freshwater lakes and lush valleys draw visitors from all over the region.

However, the appeal of Vernon Township is nothing new.

People have been coming here for ages...and I do mean ages.

Just take a look at this sign... its printed on both sides.

It says, Black Creek Site.

Archeological evidence reveals that American Indians used this site for 10,000 years.

In 2003, Vernon Township residents, and the Nanticoke Lenni Lenape Indians of New Jersey led an effort to preserve this site.

And the New Jersey Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service listed the site on the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.

Now there are thousands of historic sites throughout our region, but only a handful commemorate Native American history.

I'm off to find out more.

We often hear about ways in which the English or the Dutch shaped our region, but not the Lenape.

To find out more, I'm off to the Morris Museum, located in Morristown, New Jersey.

It's a Smithsonian affiliate museum and a source of inspiration for scholars and artists alike.

It's also where Drive By History's Anthony Bernard has been hard at work, hoping to uncover an overlooked part of our past.

- Anthony, I just came from a history marker - that talks about the Black Creek site - and how it was used - by the Native Americans for over 10,000 years.

- Now, you know, I'm always looking for - local events that fit into the larger national narrative.

- I have to believe that's the case here.

- Absolutely.

We don't often talk about our regions - Lenape past, but I think that needs to change.

- Something tells me we're about to do that right now.

- We are.

- The Black Creek site was, for all intents and purposes, - an important village that endured for 10,000 years.

- Wow, that's a long time.

- Really long.

- Now that's not to say it was continuously inhabited - for that length of time... it probably wasn't.

- No.

And why is that?

- Well, 10,000 years ago, the indigenous people were - hunter gatherers, so they moved around a lot.

- But archeologists think that they kept coming back - to Black Creek year to year one generation to the next.

- And I can see hunter gatherers returning to Black Creek - because of its terrain, hills and water.

- It was probably full of game and fish.

- So its memorable, at least for the hunter gatherers.

- Otherwise they would have gone somewhere else.

- That's right.

- Now, Native Americans, like people elsewhere - in the world, eventually learned to farm.

- Agriculture became central to Native American life.

- It's hard to say exactly when that happened, - and it didn't happen in a single day or a single year.

- But for the sake of our conversation, - let's just say it happened around 1000 years ago, - And as farmers, then the Lenape would have - become more settled, right?

- They did.

- And you know where some settled...Black Creek, - which tells me that the soil must have been pretty fertile, - So they've got fresh water nearby.

- It's attracting game to the area, - and the soil is rich - so it can support the crops that they're trying to grow.

- This is the perfect place for for Lenape to live then.

- When the European settlers arrived, they must have - encountered a thriving community at Black Creek.

- Is that right?

- It is.

- In fact, they would have found many thriving communities - all over, particularly along the Delaware River.

- The Lenape later became so associated with the Delaware - they took its name.

- They became known as the Delaware Indians.

- And on a side note, Delaware is not a native word.

- It was named by the English for a colonial governor - of Virginia, Thomas West, Lord De La Warr.

- Fascinating.

- So when the Europeans arrived, they didn't encounter - just wilderness, its humming with human activity.

- There are villages dotting the landscape, - and there's a pretty sizeable population there, - at least for those times.

- So this wasn't a new world as much as it was another world.

- Exactly right.

- And that's where the next leg of this investigation begins.

To find out more, Anthony sends me to Trenton, to the New Jersey State Museum known for its collection of Lenape art and artifacts.

I'm greeted by Rutgers Professor Camilla Townsend, who focuses her scholarship on Native American history.

She picks up the story right where Anthony left off, confirming that the Lenape civilization was far more complex than most people realize.

- Oh, absolutely, it was a highly sophisticated society.

Lenape means the people and the Lenape were the people who lived in the region that today we call New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

- What you had - were groups of several dozen to several hundred people - living together here and there between - the ocean and the Delaware River.

The groups or tribes were affiliated with one another.

They spoke a common language and shared a common culture.

- They...they spoke different dialects, - but they were mutually understandable - because they were all part of the same Lenape language, - which is the... - The root language is...OK - right.

The Lenape were not, however, a nation.

Instead, they were the people who lived inbetween two other nation-like powers.

- Just to the south, for example, - at the level of the Chesapeake Bay, - Pocahontass father - was leading the Powhatans and building a great confederacy.

- To the north, meanwhile, the Iroquoians were again - united into what we might almost call a nation state.

The Lenape forged a loose alliance with one another, creating their own sphere of influence.

And when the first European colonists arrived, the world of the Lenape was a symphony of its own making.

- Had you been here at that time, you would have seen - a world in motion.

The Lenape lived by the seasons as the weather turned warmer, they would come together and form villages such as the village at Black Creek that Anthony was telling me about.

The men were hunters, the women farmers.

The children had jobs, too.

- It would be the children, very young out in the fields, - on one hand playing, but what they were really doing, - what their ultimate goal was, - was to scare away the birds and the animals - that would otherwise eat the crops.

When summer arrived, the world in motion shifted into a new gear.

- Sometimes, we think, - as some of the families would leave the growing crops - and go to the seashore, right, maybe collect clams - or go down to the Pine Barrens, collect cranberries.

- By fall, everyone was gathering at the agricultural - villages, and there would be great harvests - and great harvest festivals, parties.

- People ate a lot.

- When the true cold of winter came, - they were forced to break apart.

- That is, villages could not stay together.

- The land could not support - that many people living together.

As we amble through the museum, Camilla Townsend tells me that for centuries, as the season shifted, the Lenape moved too.

Theirs was literally a world in motion, one that involved considerable travel.

- So, if they needed to go from one waterway - to another, or to the...to the gathering place where the - cranberries were in the pit bogs, - they would establish, beat down over time - paths that they used all the time.

Those paths would become one of the Lenapes greatest legacies.

They still matter to us today, thanks to the early colonists.

- When the settlers came, they learned how to travel, - where to go from the Indians.

- So they used the same paths, the same roads.

Friends and neighbors traveled those native trails, from one generation to the next.

As a result, theyre still traveled to this very day.

For example, New Jersey's Highway One, which connects New York to Philadelphia, was first a Lenape trail.

- What they were doing was moving from one set of villages - or a sort of a cultural group in the New York Bay Area, - traveling to/trading with people who lived - along the Raritan and traveling to/trading with - people who lived along the Delaware.

Not familiar with New Jersey's Route One?

I bet you'll know this Lenape trail.

- And then there's I-95 that connects - so much of the eastern seaboard.

- Is that an old... - That's absolutely another example.

- The I-95 that runs up into New England or leads down to D.C., - these were paths from village...that led from village - to village right along the coast.

Of course, that's not to say travel is the only connection our modern world has to the Lenape.

Their language is all around us, too.

- The whole east coast of the United States - is permeated with words that are Algonquian, - from the Algonquian language family.

Take Secaucus, New Jersey or Massapequa, Long Island or the Kittatinny Mountain.

- These are not English words.

- These are Algonquian language family words.

- Now, why is that?

- Because the settlers who lived here - not only followed Native American paths, - they asked the Native Americans, Where is the water?

- What is that creek called?

What is that hill?

- And they named it as they heard it described.

But of all the aspects of the Lenape world that still survive, probably nothing matches the impact of this.

- I would say that corn is probably the most important - legacy that the Lenape left to the rest of the world.

Corn has become so important to us that today across the nation, farmers plant more than 90 million acres of corn every year.

Ironically, the word corn is not native.

- The word corn, the English word just means kernel.

- It's related the word kernel.

- So what they meant was, - Which grains are you Native Americans growing?

- And they called what they saw Indian Corn.

We often hear about how the English colonists shaped the way our region looks today.

But you should know, the Lenape did as well.

As the day draws to a close, I can't help but reflect on this powerful history and marvel at the many ways we remain connected to our indigenous past.

I was inclined to think that Lenape history should be synonymous with American history, but Camilla Townsend tells me that would oversimply it all.

- Their story, their trajectory has been very different - and to try to force it to fit the mold of - the rest of American history - would be to distort it.

- And many Native American people themselves - would not want us to do that.

That's not to say it should be excluded either.

Rather, the history needs to be balanced.

- The idea is to understand that, yes, it is part - of American history, - and yet it is also something distinct that is, - they have their own language, - their own ways of being, their own stories to tell.

- And we must get good at doing both.

And on a final note, because so many Native Americans were forced from their homelands, you might think that the Lenape are only a part of the past.

That's not the case.

- The vast majority of the Lenape - now live in Oklahoma as the Delaware Tribe of Indians.

- And they are about 10,000 strong.

- They are very much with us, living breathing like you and I.

[Music] With thousands of history markers in our region, theres no time to waste.

My next investigation begins now, in East Amwell Township, New Jersey, about 45 miles northeast of Philadelphia.

This agricultural corner of Hunterdon County is proud of its farming heritage, and it's a heritage that spans centuries.

Like so many other communities in the region, East Amwell can trace its roots right back to the American Revolution.

And like so many other communities in our region, it has a history marker to prove it.

Well, here's the sign.

Let's see what it says.

Site of St Andrew's Church.

Prior to 1750, an Anglican church built of logs, later stone.

Only portions of cemetery remain.

Dr Gershom Craven, who treated General Lafayette, is buried here.

All graves face East, as was the custom of the time.

Now I often see similar history markers all throughout our region commemorating a church or a cemetery.

Now, individually, they tend to speak to very niche narratives, but taken collectively, well, I can't help but wonder, are they trying to say something more?

Let's find out.

To find out more, I'm heading back to the Morris Museum, where Drive By History's Anthony Bernard is hard at work connecting the dots, trying to determine if there's a shared experience that we can extrapolate from this single history marker and the many others just like it.

[Music] - So Anthony, I just came from a history marker that - commemorates a church and a cemetery from colonial times.

- You know, I see those kinds of history - markers around the region all the time, - and I'm looking for local events that fit into the - larger national narrative.

- Do you think we can find that kind of connection here?

- Definitely.

- To me, at least, those history markers commemorate - all of the millions of people who came to the colonies, - but are largely unknown.

- Across the generations, you mean.

- Exactly.

- In the classroom, we learn a lot about the people - who came to America due to their religious beliefs, - people like the Pilgrims and Miles Standish.

- But we don't hear nearly - as much about the colonists who came seeking prosperity, - really to leverage the vast natural resources here.

- Sure, England has been deforested, France as well.

- That was a huge problem.

- Exactly.

Lumber was prized, - iron ore as well, and the soil was very fertile.

- The economic promise was tremendous.

- And all the European powers - came to realize it around the same time.

- So there was a rush to stake a claim.

- And they all needed people.

- Thats...is that it?

- So not just workers, but people to actually live here.

- They needed people to colonize.

- And the story of those colonists is just as important - as the story of America as the story of the Puritans.

- Now, over time, the colonists began - to see America not as this faraway place - from which they pined for home, but actually as home.

- So you've got people living their entire lives here then.

- As well as their sons and daughters - and so on...cradle to grave.

- And that's what all the history markers - to me, commemorate.

- I see, so you've got children being christened here, - couples married, loved ones mourned.

- Most accounts of colonial America focus on - just a few individuals who did extraordinary things.

- Those people are important, of course, - but we overlook all the regular people.

- And there were a lot... - regular people who lived here and loved here and lost here.

- So what we call the middle class today, is that it?

- Yes, exactly.

- I often wonder what life - would have been like for you and me - had we lived back then.

- We probably would have been farmers.

- But what would our life have been like?

- That's the story that's not usually told, - and I think it needs to be.

- And that's where the next leg of this investigation begins.

To find out more, Anthony sends me to the Murray Farmhouse in Poricy Park, located in Middletown, New Jersey.

Built in 1770 by Joseph Murray, this structure has been called an outstanding example of a single family home from colonial times.

I met by Dr Jonathan Mercantini, Kean University College of Liberal Arts Dean, who specializes in the study of our colonial past.

During my visit, the seasons were changing from winter to spring, and my first thought went to surviving the colonial winter and what I thought was an absolutely terrible time.

But as Jonathan explains, for the average person, that wasn't really the case.

- By the 1770s, you're not going to have - that much danger from starvation and exposure.

- I mean, this is... - you know, this is an example of a pretty stoutly built house - and there's certainly plenty of wood around here and so - they would have been, you know, they would have been OK.

Contrary to popular belief, around the time of the American Revolution, winter was not dreaded by most people.

In fact, in some ways, winter was greeted with open arms.

- You're just going to sleep a little bit more.

- It's fewer daylight hours, - and so consequently you're...you're a little bit - less able to do.

- And of course, this is a farm, farm work is never done.

Just like today, in colonial times, winter weather would have affected travel.

However, unlike today, in colonial times, winter made travel easier.

- Because the roads aren't paved and so when they freeze - its actually easier than traveling on mud.

- And we take, you know, we're in cars - and so slipping and sliding on our tires.

- But they could have attached a sled to a horse, you know, - the horse drawn sleigh, if you will.

- And so in some ways, - having that snow pack down was actually easier to travel.

Some indoor chores were specifically allocated to the winter months, chores such as spinning and weaving, as well as repairing tools.

However, it wasn't all work.

- They did have leisure activities, - and you would play cards.

- There's been... - marbles have been recovered, and so that was a game that - that we think that children probably were playing.

Skating and sledding were also popular pastimes.

Of course, as winter drew to an end, Joseph Murray and his family must have enjoyed the milder weather and early blossoms.

Had you lived then, you would have looked forward to a major holiday celebrated around the spring equinox.

- Under the old calendar, March 25th was New Years.

- We think of... - Wait, what?

- Yeah, we think of January 1st as New Year's Day.

- Under the old calendar, - March 25th would have been the start of the New Year.

- And if you think about it, I think that makes sense.

- With coming out of spring, everything rebirth, the green.

As spring took hold, daily chores for the average person would have shifted with a focus on planting.

- If you're on a farm like this, - there's plenty of work to be done - cleaning up from any winter storms, - making sure that the barn is strong - and most importantly, get your crops planted - for what you hope to be a good harvest.

- Seek to replenish those stores.

- Absolutely.

In the spring of 1774, seeds of another kind would be planted at your door.

Whispers of revolt would spread like wildfire after American protesters destroyed ships loaded with tea in Boston Harbor.

- You might pick it up in taverns if you're...if you're - visiting a local tavern that you would have conversation - around political events, and also probably in church.

The chatter would provoke a range of intense feelings, particularly in the wake of The Stamp Act imposed a few years earlier.

The Stamp Act taxed all printed materials in the colonies, from newspapers to playing cards.

It was the first tax of its kind collected directly from colonists.

The money went to pay British soldiers serving in America.

Whether they were there to protect the colonists was a point of strong disagreement.

- And that's really kind of the first times that you have - frustration with Great Britain and opposition to Parliament - on a wide scale level that would have impacted - middle order farm owners, like Joseph Murray here.

Like Joseph Murrary, you might feel as if revolt was overdue.

But you might also grapple with feelings that it was disloyal.

Or, like some of Joseph Murray's neighbors.

you might feel it was altogether wrong.

- And you've got farmers who are lining up on both sides - Some are going to remain loyal to the British government, - and you've got men like Joseph Murray and others - who decide that they're upset with British taxes.

Ultimately, you'd be forced to take sides, and the right side to take was hardly clear.

- When you're in the middle class, - its a really challenging decision.

- If youre a fairly affluent farmer, you know, - war leads to all kinds of uncertainty.

- I think it would have been - really challenging to know what to do.

If you had a good life, and many people in the middle order did have good lives, siding with the crown was a vote for stability, as well as protecting your loved ones from the unknown.

- Taking that step towards independence - and siding with the rebels, siding with the - revolutionaries is a really dramatic step.

So dramatic, that according to some estimates, about half the population did not support the war when the first shots were fired.

That seminal event pitted neighbor against neighbor, literally.

And in those early days, no matter what side you might have taken, you lived in fear.

The enemy was oftentimes next door.

- You have to be on guard all the time.

- This is, you know, the American Revolution.

- The War for Independence in New Jersey is - absolutely a civil war, and Monmouth County, - where we are, is very much the epicenter of that civil war.

Not to be confused with the war between the North and South, this Civil War not only played out on battlefields, it played out on lawns and yards, too.

Joseph Murray, the colonist who owned this farmstead, was attacked and murdered not far from his own front door.

- You've got a farm here that's fairly successful - at producing food, you probably have livestock here.

- You would have been a target.

- He absolutely would have been a target, - and we know that he was a target.

At this point in history, communities were fractured.

No matter who you were, you would have been living in a state of high anxiety all the time, always wondering if you were a target due to your view on independence.

Always wondering if someone was plotting against you as someone had plotted against Joseph Murray.

- Having to have some fear from your neighbors, - and them having to fear you - really is going to upend - your life in kind of fundamental ways - I think its really hard for us to imagine.

Today, we know regular people lived with some degree of fear every day for about eight years, until the war ended with the Peace of Paris in 1783.

At the time, however, you'd have no way of knowing when or even if the anxiety would ever end.

- We know what's happening, but they don't...they're living it.

And as the day draws to a close, I find myself with a greater appreciation for the colonists who lived here before us, and who made America into the nation it would become.

Of course, the heroes from the era deserve to be celebrated, but so do a lot of regular people like Joseph Murray.

When we talk about the history of the American Revolution.

We're typically talking about people who did extraordinary things.

What we need to talk more about, though, is the people who filled out the middle class or what historians refer to as the middle order.

Our nation is founded upon the toil and triumphs of millions of people whose names we'll never know.

Or maybe we will...not individually, but collectively, in part due to the many roadside markers that commemorate local history, history that all fits together, and when viewed together, comes together to form our shared American heritage.

See you next time.

[Music] Made possible by: the New Jersey Historic Trust, advancing historic preservation in New Jersey for the benefit of future generations.

Also, the New Jersey Historical Commission, enriching the lives of the public by preserving the historical record and advancing interest in and awareness of New Jersey's past.

I bet you drive by a history marker and say to yourself, I should tell Drive By History about that.

Well, drop us a line on our web site at DriveByHistory.tv Click the contact us link on the upper right.

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