Let's continue now with the story of the railroad.  Looking at the old smokestack photo you can see the railroad depot building.  This was the last stop - Kunkletown - on the railroad. 

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As part of the plan of the millionaires to support the brick factory, a railroad would be constructed along the creek between Kunkletown and Palmerton. 

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The 11 mile long Chestnut Ridge Railroad was built in just two years at a cost of $325,000 (and nicknamed Millionaire's Road).  But after only 2 or 3 years, with the failure of the Brick Company the railroad was sold and renamed Chestnut Ridge Railway by the new owners.

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Records from 1905 & 1906 show the railroad made two round trips a day and served 200 passengers per day.
  
The railroad was sold again in 1907, this time to The New Jersey Zinc Company.   

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Although the railroad was no longer needed to carry bricks, there was a side benefit to Kunkletown residents.  

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They could use the railroad to commute to the zinc company in Palmerton. NJ Zinc was the largest employer of Kunkletowners.  

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Also, Kunkletown did not have a high school, but our students could use the railroad to go to high school in Palmerton. Students had to catch the train at 6:30 am (the trip took 30 minutes).  After school they had to wait for the employees of the NJ Zinc Company to finish work because that is when the train made the return trip.  A monthly pass (good for weekdays) cost six dollars and change a month.  But passenger service ceased in 1935.  The Kunkletown railway station then became a hub for freight bulk shipment of products to and from the area.  During 1947 and 1948, more than four million tons of freight were hauled. But all service ended in 1961.

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Years later, the railroad tracks were torn up and became part of the Rails to Trails program.

We are very fortunate that a rail bus that Kunkletowners rode during the passenger train days was "salvaged" and restored by the Phillipsburg Railroad Historians.  You can board the rail bus #51 by visiting them - 10 Pine Alley, Phillipsburg, NJ 08865.  You can call them for more information: (908) 859-1146 or visit their webpage - www.prrh.org/.

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Stephen S. Palmer was the president of a company named New Jersey Zinc.  In 1912 he had what he thought was a great idea.  

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His business dug up zinc ore in New Jersey and then used lots of coal, from Pennsylvania, to heat it - a process called "smelting".  He decided that rather than bring his zinc ore all the way north to where the coal came from, and rather than bring the coal all the way down to NJ where the zinc ore was - he would have them meet near the middle.

So he bought a lot of land in between - of course he named it after himself- Palmerton - and had the coal and zinc ore meet there.

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Using the same tradition as the coal mines, he built housing for his employees (most of that housing is still there and they are lovely little homes filled with lovely people - yeah, I have a lot of friends in Palmerton and they are super nice people).

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NJ Zinc brought prosperity to the area.  One out of five folks in Kunkletown worked for NJ Zinc - making the 11 mile trip each morning and back again at night.

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But sadly, I guess folks didn't know that all that pollution coming from the furnaces and out the smoke stacks was killing the trees, the bushes, the animals and them too.

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The results are still obvious as nature tries to make a comeback with the help of the Federal Superfund...but it is taking time - it is a slow process.

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Just a parting note about NJ Zinc.  Although the company was located in Palmerton (to the west of Kunkletown), it played an important role in the history of our town.  Like most rural farm communities, "hard" cash was rare in Kunkletown.  Folks often used a barter system of trading goods for other goods, or services for goods.  NJ Zinc provided cash-paying jobs.  And to be honest, the salaries were good for those days.  A large number of Kunkletown men worked at NJ Zinc.

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Before we leave, let's talk briefly about the Lodge.