Mordecai’s Landing was one of the earliest landings on the Mullica River, dating from the early 18th century. It was, for some time, the center of a substantial lumbering operation. There were in fact two landings bearing the name Mordecai. Lower Mordecai Landing was situated just upriver from Crowley’s Landing at a bend in the river where Abe Nichol’s tavern stood, while Upper Mordecai Landing was located two meanders upstream. The landings bear the name of Mordecai Andrews, a Quaker of English descent and one of the first white settlers of the Little Egg Harbor area. Mordecai was born in 1664 in Oyster Bay, Long Island, the eldest of eight children. His father, Samuel Andrews, was a shipbuilder and an early settler of Long Island. His mother, Mary Wright, was a devout and talented Quaker minister. In 1683, the Andrews family moved from Oyster Bay to Mansfield Township, Burlington County. Just prior to 1700, Mordecai and his brother Edward settled the area that would eventually come to be known as Tuckerton. Edward would claim land east of Tuckerton Creek while Mordecai purchased 927 acres on the west side. Here Mordecai built his family a home, and the original structure still stands over 300 years later making it probably the oldest homestead in Ocean County. Tradition has it that Mordecai also lived for some time in a lean-to along the Mullica. If this is true, it is quite possible that the lean-to would have been located near one of the landings where Mordecai would be in close proximity to his lumbering operation.

The following is a letter from a member of the NJPineBarrens.com forums to the Pinelands Commission regarding the use of what is essentially recycled trash and mulch to grade the sides of roads by the Ocean County Road Department in the Pinelands.

To Whom It May Concern:

I have brought this problem up three times before. Starting around six years ago I sent letters and emails to everyone I can think of to stop it. I received many promises; from Freeholders, Assemblymen, and even from the parties responsible for doing this. What I am talking about is Ocean County Road Department's habit of leveling the sides of County Pineland roads using ground up mulch and other material from other rural areas of Ocean County. The main problem is that this material is loaded with garbage.

Six weeks ago they did it again, in the Pinelands Preservation District along Lacey Road by Bamber Lake. After the rains, the junk that is mixed up with this material revealed itself. I picked up the below harvest basket of items out of this fill in just 30 minutes.

Your eyes do not deceive you. In just this one random sample, besides the wire and metal on the left, there is an inner tube, plastic action figure toys, plastic bottles, caps, and pipe fittings, a hunk of rebar, bits of wire, junk from home gardens, tennis and wiffle balls, a hair brush, plastic eating utensils, decorative car trim, house insulation, and even a beaded slipper.