The Millstone Valley Scenic Byway, which winds through some of the state’s most significant historic districts and areas of natural beauty, has become one of two such scenic drives in New Jersey to be recognized nationally.

   The 25-mile circuit through the historic Millstone Valley was officially recognized by the state Department of Transportation’s Scenic Byway program in 2001. It passes several tourist attractions, including the Delaware & Raritan Canal State Park, the relocated Rockingham site in Franklin Township and the 1860 House near Rocky Hill.

   It now joins the Delaware River Scenic Byway as the first National Scenic Byways to be selected in New Jersey, the state Department of Transportation announced a week ago.

   The designation is the result of nine years of work by a grassroots organization, the Millstone Valley Preservation Coalition, according to the group’s president, Liz Palius.

   The coalition, a nonprofit organization composed of volunteer residents of municipalities in the Millstone Valley, has worked in that period to secure grants to preserve and raise awareness of the byway. The coalition applied for the national designation with the help of a consultant, she said.

   An event is being planned to celebrate the designation, she said, with the hopes of raising the awareness of the byway among area residents.

   ”It’s an extraordinary resource, which, perhaps, everybody simply takes for granted,” she said. “They may just be commuting to and from work, but they don’t realize they are driving through 10 or 12 historic districts.”

   The route begins at the intersection of Route 206 and River Road in Montgomery and runs north on River Road along the Millstone River, across the causeway linking Millstone and East Millstone and south on Canal Road through Franklin Township.

   The route goes into Kingston on Kingston-Rocky Hill Road, turns south for a short distance on Route 27 before heading north again on the same road by way of Church Street in Kingston.

   The route then crosses the D&R Canal and the Millstone River on Route 518 and turns north again on Montgomery Road in Rocky Hill, past the 1860 House, to return to Route 206 and River Road.

   The National Scenic Byways Program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, established to help recognize, preserve and enhance selected roads throughout the United States.

   ”Having the Delaware River and Millstone Valley scenic byways named as New Jersey’s first two National Scenic Byways is a great honor,” DOT Commissioner Stephen Dilts said in a statement. “New Jersey offers countless areas of natural beauty and cultural significance, and we urge residents to visit and explore the state’s newly-designated National Scenic Byways.”

   There are four other byways recognized by the state: the Delaware River Scenic Byway, the Palisades Interstate Parkway, the Southern Pinelands Natural Heritage Trail and the Upper Freehold Historic Farmland Byway.

   Jan ten Broeke, vice president of the coalition, was on hand in Washington, D.C., on Friday to accept the byway’s national designation. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced 42 new designations that day to the America’s Byways collection, which included 37 National Scenic Byways in 26 states.

   ”This is a major step, the national recognition,” Mr. ten Broeke said. “Now, of course, we really have to work on the preservation of what we have. The national recognition will be an impetus towards more preservation.”

   The national designation also will open the door to additional funding for the byway, he said.

   Since 1992, the National Scenic Byways Program has awarded almost $388 million in funding for designated byway projects. The Federal Highway Administration awarded more than $40 million in funding to 43 states for Scenic Byways related projects this year.

   The designation also will offer further protection to the district’s historic sites, Mr. ten Broeke said.

   ”If this had not happened, then it would be much easier for intrusion of all kinds of development,” he said.

   Plans are moving forward for a visitors center for the byway, which will be located in the stone bridge tender’s house in Griggstown, Ms. Palius said. The group also is working on walking tours for the five villages in the byway.

   The coalition also received a $100,000 federal grant last year that will finance a part-time administrator for the visitors center and the creation of multimedia to help visitors understand the history of the area, including the settling of the area by the Dutch as a farm industry, its importance during the Revolutionary War and its growth during industrial era due to the use of canals.

   With national recognition, Ms. Palius expects to see a boost in tourism to the byway.

   ”We’re not expecting huge tour buses, but we are expecting carloads of visitors to stay in area, to recreate and enjoy the history,” she said.

    ksnodgrass

@centraljersey.com 