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The Houdaille Quarry is a 120 acre former rock quarry located in Springfield, New Jersey bordering the northern edge of Baltusrol Golf Course. Bisected by Route 78, it is directly east of the Watchung Reservation and touches the Summit border as well as Hidden Valley Park.

Owned by Union County, New Jersey and typically closed to the public aside from occasional ecological tours, it is called the “Grand Canyon of Union County" by some.

Ecology

The Springfield Environmental Commission, which conducts foliage walks, has described it as an

[E]cologically unique wild area in Springfield, located between Rt.78 and Mount View Rd., with trails to a deep basin and to a beautiful pond where wild turkeys, foxes, coyotes and colorful migrating birds have been spotted. It is an important part of the greenway linking Briant Park, Hidden Valley Park, and Watchung Reservation.

In 2009, the annual Union County Bio-Blitz biodiversity survey was conducted in Hidden Valley Park, Briant Park and Houdaille Quarry. It produced a diverse list of species: 60 fungi, 258 insects, nine aquatic invertebrates (both pollution intolerant and pollution sensitive species), eight species of reptiles and amphibians, six species fish (three of which were invasive species), 50 birds and nine mammals.

The area is part of the Watchung Mountain range along with its neighbor, Watchung Reservation. Today, along the summits of the Watchungs, talus slope environs as well as globally rare trap rock glade/outcrop communities and their unique species have become threatened by development. As a response, efforts to conserve the unique landscapes of the Watchungs have been undertaken.

History

Houdaille was historically known as the Summit Quarry or Commonwealth Quarry and was one of the Rahway Valley Railroad's major customers. The abandoned rail line of the railroad has been suggested by some as a potential rail-to-trail for cycling and walking.

The Hudson Institute of Mineralogy writes:

This quarry in the Orange Mountain (First Watchung) basalt began operating in the early 1900s under the ownership of Louis Keller. Originally named The Commonwealth Quarry, it was later obtained by the North Jersey Quarry Company. In the 1950s, the Houdaille Construction Materials Company purchased the quarry and ran it until 1977. In the early 1970s, the Interstate-78 road cut was excavated immediately adjacent to the pit, and across the access road between the quarry and the plant. The access road was in a cut. A bridge was constructed over this cut to accommodate I-78 while keeping the quarry functioning. However, the quarry closed only 2 or 3 years later in the aftermath of the 1973 oil embargo and the resulting increase in fuel and asphalt prices.

In the 1970s, the remains of a teenage girl named Jeannette DePalma, who lived with her family in Springfield, were discovered atop the Houdaille Quarry cliff known as The Devil's Teeth.

Geology

Greenockite-Chalcopyrite-Prehnite-210603

Basalt was once quarried from the Orange Mountain Basalt here, and crushed to make gravel for road construction. The quarry is also noted for crystals of greenockite.

Greenockite is a rather rare species, considering it has a very simple chemistry (cadmium sulfide). There are only a handful of localities in the world for fine crystallized greenockite specimens, and the Houdaille Quarry in New Jersey is possibly the best U.S. locality for the species (certainly the best in New Jersey).

Current uses

The county's largest leaf composting operation takes place at Houdaille.

Further information: Watchung Reservation

Union County Parks

• • The City of Summit writes: "Briant Park, located in the City of Summit and Springfield Township, contains 30.3 acres. It is bordered along its western side by Park Drive, along the east by Shunpike Road, and on the northern side by Briant Parkway and Morris Avenue. A brook cuts through the park, and the park is connected via a greenway to Hidden Valley Park in the southeast. There is a pond for ice-skating and fishing, some picnic areas, athletic fields, and a fitness trail."

• • The City of Summit writes: "Hidden Valley Park, located in the City of Summit and Springfield Township. The park contains 70.4 acres of basically undeveloped land that is connected via a greenway along Orchard Street to Briant Park. Hidden Valley Park is bordered along its southern edge by U.S. Route 78 and along the west by the residential neighborhoods along Baltusrol Road and Morris Avenue."

• • The City of Summit writes: "Passaic River Park is actually six small park areas along the Passaic River in western Union County (Summit, New Providence, Berkeley Heights). These areas are undeveloped with no facilities, and contain 133.4 acres in total. Area #1 in Summit and New Providence is located between Route 124 and the railroad tracks. The northern area of the park is bordered by Morris County, and the southern area is bordered by River Road in Summit."

Cranford media includes:

• The Westfield Leader. This locally published weekly newspaper covers all Cranford township committee meetings and offers other Cranford coverage.

• Union News Daily. News outlet covering Union County (New Jersey) news. It has a dedicated Cranford section. It is part of LocalSource and published by Worrall Community Newspapers of Union. The paper's Cranford coverage is also published on a monthly basis as Cranford Life.

• TAP Into Cranford. The Alternative Press has an online news site devoted to Cranford called TAP Into Cranford.

• Cranford Patch is a daily online news source dedicated to local Cranford news.

• Remaining multi-community newspapers include the Courier News, a daily newspaper based in Bridgewater Township, and The Star-Ledger and the Suburban News based in Newark.

• Cranford Monthly is published by Renna Media, located on Walnut Street in Cranford, NJ. 9,800 newspapers are printed up each month and mailed free.

• Cranford Radio is a podcast of Cranford-themed news interviews hosted by 1010wins' Bernie Wagenblast.

• TV-35. Cranford also has its own channel, TV-35, which airs township committee meetings live each week and available to cable and Verizon FiOS television subscribers. The channel was founded in 1986.

• Emergency radio. The township operates a low-power AM radio station at 680 kHz. The station provides information during emergencies in the township.

• Cranford.com. The site is the official website of the Township of Cranford, and has been in operation since 1996. It promotes downtown businesses on its downtown Cranford section.

As of 2017, local media in New Jersey has undergone dramatic shrinkage.Cranford had long been a newspaper community. The defunct Cranford Chronicle (formerly the Cranford Citizen & Chronicle) was a longtime newspaper serving the Township. Owned by the Ray Family and published in town, the Chronicle served as the center of community journalism. Stu Awbrey purchased the Chronicle and continued as the town's newspaperman. Awbrey sold the paper to Malcolm Forbes, whose publishing company published the paper for several years before the paper changed hands to other community newspaper publication companies. The Chronicle's office left Cranford for Somerville and later Clark. The Chronicle was closed in June 2015. The defunct Cranford Eagle started publishing in 1999 as another community newspaper. Owned by Worrall Community Newspapers, the Eagle focused solely on Cranford and other neighboring towns. Edited and reported by several people in its history, the Eagle quickly became a fixture in the community.