Rafting on the Delaware River   (Lumber Industry)
Linford R. Craven (Printed) Photograph, Circa 1906-1908

The raft shown in the printed photograph by Craven must be one of the last to come down the river, because rafting as a full blown commerce on the Delaware River lasted only through the 1890s. The raft is being quided by an oarsman at the fore end and at the rear. Rafting was seasonal, starting in middle of March when the ice melted and ending by the end of December when the river froze. Rafts rode the floodwaters, which were called "freshets." The higher the "fresh" the greater the speed. Lumber was logged along the Delaware River between Port Jervis and Deposit and much of it was delivered to the shipbuilding yards in Philadelphia. The industry lasted from the 1780s to the 1890s. During the peak years, several thousand rafts passed Yardleyville each year.

This information was obtained from a booklet titled "Rafting on the Delaware by Charles T. Curtis, 1921. Edited by William Heidt, Jr., Revised Edition 1956.

Craven's Yardley Site   (Photographs, Maps, History/Geography, Craven Biography)