River Rats

Fort Billingsport, 1785

In a previous post I wrote about Ray Miller, a decoy carver and self-taught artist who lives in a house on the Delaware River.  It turns out that Ray's house is very close to the site of the former Fort Billingsport, a Revolutionary War era fort that was built at a strategic location on the Delaware, on the very first parcel of land purchased by the colonies following their Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. In fact, that purchase of land was made on 5 July 1776!

Map showing location of Fort Billingsport

The fort was constructed at a strategic location on the river in what is now Paulsboro, at the narrowest point on the Delaware River, to provide defense against a possible British attack from the south.









There are no surviving remains of the fort itself, but during the 19th century, the site was developed into an amusement park called Lincoln Park, with access from Philadelphia via ferry.  Remnants of the various park structures and installations are still visible at low tide today.

Poster for Lincoln Park

As I talked with Ray Miller, who lives near the site of the fort, and explained my growing interest in the history and culture of the river communities, he suggested that I talk with a man named John Ferguson, who grew up on the river, in a houseboat that was moored close to where Ray now lives.  Ray said that Ferguson knows a lot about the river, as much as anyone else would know.

Houseboats are an interesting subject in their own right.  They were used variously as seasonal or permanent dwellings, and as hunting or fishing cabins.  Some were later adapted to other uses, mostly on land.  All, as far as I know, were built by local people.  You can still see some old houseboats on low ground near the river dike at Flood Gates, in Greenwich Township.
In fact, there were a number of houseboats at Flood Gates at one time, nicknamed "floating cabins" by locals.  These cabins sat in the water just offshore during mild weather, but as the weather changed, they were hauled up on the river bank to ride out the winter.  The floating cabins are no longer in general use, but there is one on display in Greenwich, near the Cohansey River at Hancock Harbor Marina.  That particular cabin was used on Stow Creek on the Salem-Cumberland county line, not far from its present resting place.

Floating Cabin on Display at Greenwich

Anyway, after talking with Ray, I tried calling John Ferguson, but couldn't reach him.  After a little time had passed, on a day when I was in the area, I decided to knock on his door.  John and his wife were at home just then, and they invited me inside.  We talked for more than two hours that day, and as we talked, John brought out various things to show me, to illuminate our conversation.  Mementos of life on the river.  The couple also showed me a photograph of the houseboat that John Ferguson grew up in, which now hangs on their living room wall.   

Ferguson Family Houseboat

As we talked, John Ferguson more than once mentioned the "River Rats," a group of kids living in Paulsboro when he was growing up during the 1930s and 1940s.  I expressed interest, wanting to know more.  When I did, John disappeared into another room, and returned in a moment carrying a framed painting of the river rats, and another painting depicting a scene on the river at Paulsboro during that time.  The paintings were made by a man named Rob Miller (no relation to Ray), who worked as a sign painter for the Mobil refinery in that town.

River at Paulsboro by Rob Miller

(I'll discuss more of Rob Miller's work in a future post.)  Ranged around an oversize central tree -- which seemed to me like the axis mundi of world mythology -- there are houses, the Front Range Lighthouse (center rear, behind the tree), the lighthouse keeper's house, and an inset showing the river rats gang, gathered together there for all time, grinning out at viewers who peer into this evocative painting.  A snapshot of river life, painted by a local man.  I don't feel that there is nostalgic content in this painting.  But there is an element of playfulness.  I really love the directness and simplicity of Rob Miller's image.

Just before I left the Fergusons, John showed me a cannonball he'd found while roaming around the river shore one day.  Scavenging is a common pastime among people all along the river and the local creeks, and is taken very seriously.  Not necessarily done for personal gain, it's a recovery operation to supplement and illustrate local memory, and preserve local history.  I think John said he found the rounded hunk of iron embedded in the river bank, or half-submerged in river mud, in the flats at low tide.  It's hard to imagine that heavy ball airborne; harder still to think about the harm it can do.  Anyway, once he got it home, John set the cannonball up on a piece of driftwood, also salvaged from the river.  It was a simple but mindful gesture.  The result, I think, is greater than the sum of its parts.