Upper Black Eddy, Pennsylvania

The unincorporated village of Upper Black Eddy (also referred to as UBE) is located in northern Bucks County, Pennsylvania, 58 miles (95 kilometers) west south west of New York City and 45 miles (68 kilometer) north of Philadelphia. Upper Black Eddy is officially part of Bridgeton Township which also directly borders adjacent Borough of Milford, Hunterdon County, New Jersey via by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission's free Upper Black Eddy-Milford Bridge over the Delaware River.

History

Upper Black Eddy originates from the Black family who operated a hotel at this point of Delaware River and did share part of its unique name with the former village of (Lower Black Eddy) now known as Point Pleasant, Pennsylvania. The village's growth in the early 19th century was due to the opening of the Pennsylvania Canal passing through the village as a result canal-related businesses sprung up quickly, including a shipyard, mule stables, general store and several hotels; the most notable was Upper Black Eddy Inn this was later transformed into Chef Tell's Manor House, which closed in 2004 and demolished in 2010. The UBE portion of the canal was also known as Candy Bend. Origins of that name are unknown.

Upper Black Eddy has two notable geographic features: 1: Ringing Rocks Park. This is a 4 acre (16,000 m²) boulder field of weathered Diabase rocks, some of which "ring" much like a bell when struck with a hammer. This park also includes Buck County's highest waterfall situated on High Rocks Creek. 2: Nockamixon Cliffs. 400 foot shale cliffs overlooking the Delaware River is located within the Delaware Canal State Park.

The local municipality has done much to protect the rural and undisturbed lifestyle enjoyed by the residents. The town is governed by three supervisors, Wegard Holby, Barbara Guth, and Dr. Roger W. Keller. Long-time residents and local enthusiasts, each supervisor has served multiple terms.

Notable businesses

The Bridgeton House on the Delaware, a B&B inn, which opened in 1981, has been featured in many national publications, continues the tradition of fine lodging on the Delaware. Upper Black Eddy was supposedly a favored vacation spot for President Grover Cleveland due to his love for fishing.

Camp Kirby, a Cub Scout resident camp for the Bucks County Council, Boy Scouts of America, is located in Upper Black Eddy. The camp season operates from June through August. The Lions Club operates a deaf camp from June to July, and the Boy Scouts of America operates a Cub Scout camp from July to August. The camp property includes a recreation building, closed cabins, a Camp Director's house, a Handicraft Lodge, an air conditioned Dining Hall, a camp office, a trading post, camper campsites, a Health Lodge, a shooting sports range, a computer trailer, a chapel, a campfire area, program trailer and Program Director's cabin.

Upper Black Eddy is also home to Ajiri Tea, a not-for-profit company that supports education in western Kenya. All profits of the company are donated to orphan education in Kisii, Kenya. Town residents Sara and Ann Holby started the company and Ajiri Foundation after several visits to Kenya. The tea has brought attention to the normally quiet town after a variety of interviews and publishing in major newspapers on the East Coast including The Morning Call. Ajiri Tea has employed several local residents for photography, marketing, and product development.

Homestead General Store, the oldest continually operating general store on the Delaware Canal is also located in Upper Black Eddy along with Homestead Coffee Roasters, an artisan coffee roaster specializing in organic and fair trade coffee.

Telephone and internet providers in Upper Black Eddy

Upper Black Eddy area has several broadband and Telecom options depending on location within the 18972 zip code:

1. Service Electric services all of Upper Black Eddy. They offer High Speed Internet up to 10 Mbit/s (fastest in UBE), Cable HDTV (including Philadelphia and NYC local Channels), and unlimited telephone to all of US, Canada, and Mexico.
2. Verizon Communications Verizon offers telephone and DSL Internet up to 3 Mbit/s (no FiOS in UBE) in their UBE exchange. Verizon only services a portion of UBE (all of Bridgeton Township), the remaining areas of the Upper Black Eddy zip code are not in Verizon's territory. See Frontier Communications.
3. Frontier Communications services the remaining portions of UBE in Tinicum and Nockamixon Townships either via Ulherstown or Ferndale exhanges. They offer DSL internet speeds up to 3 Mbit/s.

Notable people

• Bill White, former Major League Baseball player and executive who later became a sportscaster for the New York Yankees.
• Danny Federici, organ, glockenspiel and accordion player for Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band.
• Joseph J. Spigel, MD, Radiologist, Breast Imaging and Interventions, COO NCLD

External links

• Ajiri Tea