Christie House at Walpack Center in Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
The Christie House on Main Street in Walpack Center was built by George Batten in 1913. Batten was a dairy farmer who built it and the Hendershot House next door for his employees. The house takes its current name from the last person to live in it before it was sold to the United States government in 1972, Hazel Christie.
In 1967, the government began forcibly purchasing all land in the area under the doctrine of eminent domain to make way for a lake that was to be created by the Tocks Island Dam. When the dam project was cancelled in 1975, the government found itself in possession of 70,000 acres of land and hundreds of abandoned buildings, including the Christie House. Everything became part of Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, a park that had been authorized by Congress in 1965 so that the National Park Service could manage all the soon-to-be fun activities on the new lake.
Today the Christie House sits empty. It was renovated in 2016 by the Student Conservation Association. It is in much better condition than the Hendershot House next door, which was built around the same time.
Hendershot House and Christie House sit side by side on Main Street in Walpack Center, Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
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Last updated on February 5, 2024
