New Jersey’s Lost Piney Culture

By William J. Lewis

Deep within the heart of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, the Piney people have built a vibrant culture and industry from working the natural landscape around them. Foraging skills learned from the local Lenapes were passed down through generations of Piney families who gathered many of the same wild floral products that became staples of the Philadelphia and New York dried flower markets. Important figures such as John Richardson have sought to lift the Pineys from rural poverty by recording and marketing their craftsmanship. As the state government sought to preserve the Pine Barrens and develop the region, Piney culture was frequently threatened and stigmatized. Author and advocate William J. Lewis charts the history of the Pineys, what being a Piney means today and their legacy among the beauty of the Pine Barrens.

• Language: English
• Publisher: The History Press
• Release date: Jan 25, 2021
• ISBN: 9781439672228

William J. Lewis

William J. Lewis is a lifetime resident of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, as were multiple generations of his family before him. He is the author of New Jersey's Lost Piney Culture (The History Press, 2021) and Adventure with Piney Joe: Exploring the New Jersey Pine Barrens (South Jersey Culture & History Center, 2022). He shares his Piney adventures on social media networks under "Piney Tribe." He preaches exploration without exploitation and teaching our children to be tomorrow's environmental stewards. After proudly serving as a U.S. marine, William went on to graduate from Rider University; he founded an environmental nonprofit to get kids outdoors and has served in leadership roles for both governmental and New Jersey nonprofit organizations.