(Their) Words – (My) Pictures

A Day Along the Lower Delaware

I was out rambling around the lower Delaware waterfront on this brisk winter like fall day, just north of Petty’s Island, and came across this cool looking historic building, called Vennell Tavern – would make a great old Road House, No?

Vennell Tavern (1795) – Pennsauken, NJ (11/15/14)

Got home and did the Google – Here’s what they say about Vennell Tavern

An 18th Century Tavern House…
A Modern Day Treasure

At Vennell Tavern, our 18th century lodge stands as a timeless symbol of Pennsauken’s rich history and culture. Nestled within the beautiful wildlife sanctuaries of Fish House Cove and Tippin’s Pond, the newly restored tavern embraces an abundant landscape of old New Jersey. Come discover the serene beauty of a bygone era and the replenishing power of nature.

Out past the old  tavern, across the railroad tracks towards the river, there are old (former Texaco) tank farms:

Situated in this toxic decay was a park called Fish House Cove – here are some scenes:

Here’s what they say about Fish House Cove: (and there is some apparently credible basis for this, so I guess everything is relative)

FISH HOUSE TODAY: A HAVEN
by Kevin W. Frost

In the mid 1980s, Pennsauken Township purchased and transformed Tippin’s Pond and the Fish House Cove into a wildlife sanctuary and park. This was a prophetic move. Over a decade later, Fish House Cove was designated a Natural Heritage Priority Site. Natural Heritage Priority Sites indicate areas that contain some of the best and most viable occurrences of endangered and threatened species and natural communities. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Office of Natural Lands Management, which identifies these critically important natural areas in the interest of conserving New Jersey’s biological diversity, selects these priority sites.

Fish House Cove is one of the largest and most diverse freshwater tidal marshes remaining in New Jersey. A total of 261 different species of birds have been identified at the cove including several endangered species. In addition to birds, numerous animals including Red Fox and White Tail Deer inhabit the cove and the surrounding uplands. The Cove is the home of the last stand of wild rice in Camden County as well as rare forms of River Bulrush and Arrowhead.