The Lackawanna Cutoff

THE LACKAWANNA CUTOFF (2003)

"The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad started construction on an eleven million dollar connection between Port Morris and Columbia, NJ in 1910.  Completed within less than two years, it was an engineering marvel of its time, given that it was built without earth-moving machinery, and its use of reinforced concrete.  During the Cut-Off's construction, the railroad purchased the original Huntsville Schoolhouse and built a new structure, rather than change the alignment of the rail line.  As construction progressed, the old schoolhouse was buried under tons of rock, to the sound of cheering school children who watched from a distant hillside."

The marker signifying the historic importance of the Lackawanna Cutoff was placed in the year 2003.  This marker is located on Sussex County Route 517 in Andover Borough.

Photo courtesy of Patte Haggerty-Frato