Before the settlers arrived in the "new world," New Jersey was inhabited by an indigenous people known as the Lenni-Lenape. The Lenape tribes were divided into three separate tribes, according to location. The Minsi, "the people of the stony country," settled in northern New Jersey. The Unami, "the people down the river," inhabited the lands of central Jersey. The Unilachtigo, "the people who lived near the ocean," resided in southern New Jersey. While all three tribes frequented the Pine Barrens region during the summer months, traveling through its heart to reach the Jersey coastline, the Unilachtigo tribe most utilized the wealth of the shore's fish and game.

The Pine Barrens were an ideal area for the Unilachtigo tribe to settle. The forest gave them protection from the heat of the sun in the summer months and from the harsh, frigid conditions during the winter months. Chestnuts, walnuts, acorns, blueberries, blackberries, beach plums and wild grapes, plants native to the Pine Barren's region, provided the Unilachtigo tribe with a sustainable food supply. The Unilachtigo also fed their tribesmen their day's killings, which ranged from bear to deer, raccoons to opossums, turkeys to quail, pigeons to doves and the ever-present, feisty squirrel.

Because the sandy soils of the Pine Barrens are so well drained, they provided dry camps and village sites for the southern Lenape settlers. The land was also easily tilled to create gardens.The slow, meandering rivers of the Pine Barrens, which are fed by groundwater, provided the Unilachtigo peoples with ample fresh water for bathing, cooking and drinking.

In our very own Ocean County, the Unilachtigo, or southern Lenape settlers, abided along the Toms River, Goose Creek, Potters Creek and Cedar Creek. Located within Cattus Island County Park, a Lenape trash heap, also known as a shellheap, was found and several authentic artifacts were collected such as tools, clay pipes, clothes and toys.

While the Lenni-Lenape tribes are just a shadow of New Jersey's native past, their history still lives in the vast wilderness of today's Pine Barrens. One needs to only travel a hiking path or two to connect with the indigenous spirit of New Jersey's earliest settlers.