History

New Jersey History!

I have a history degree.  Even though this is a hiking blog (and canoeing and backpacking and…)… alright, so I’m a little ADD.  Actually, a lot ADD.  And it sometimes comes out in blog form.  Blame it on my career being making 11 year olds care about Andrew Jackson.  And I do make them care.  Because I am that good a teacher.

Wait, what?  Yes, history.  Sometimes I write about old stuff.  Please don’t make suggestions, I get off topic easily enough, and I’ll totally take it as an opening to post the history and dozens of pictures of each New Jersey lighthouse.  Hey that’s a pretty good… NO!  Hikes!  Also canoeing!  And backpacking!  I give up…

Six Pine Barrens Ghost Towns to Explore! 

Camden County

A History of Voorhees Township – Voorhees, NJ
Ole’s Ranch/Sally Starr’s Ponderosa – Voorhees, NJ
Edward Winslow Coffin & Coffin’s Corner – Voorhees, NJ

The Peter Mott House and Underground Railroad Museum – Lawnside, NJ

Battleship New Jersey – Camden, NJ – the most decorated battleship in the US Navy, right here in Camden County.
Hadrosarus – South Jersey’s Landmark Dinosaur – Haddonfield, NJ and Philadelphia, PA
Sunshine Lakes – Voorhees, NJ – 1939 – pictures my grandmother took there in 1939.
Arthur Eldred Gravesite – Berlin Cemetery, Berlin, NJ – the BSA’s first Eagle Scout ever.
Pennsauken 9/11 Memorial – Pennsauken, NJ
Burrough-Dover House (Pennsauken Historical Society) – Pennsauken, NJ
1920s Hike – Ascension Lutheran Church 100th Anniversary – Haddon Heights, NJ
Barclay Farmstead Museum and Trails – Cherry Hill, NJ
Hugg-Harrison House and New Saint Mary’s Cemetery – RIP Hugg-Harrison House – Bellmawr, NJ

Burlington County

Bass River (New Gretna), NJ –
The Tuckerton Railroad (1/8 scale, and you can ride it!) & The Woods at New Gretna – New Gretna, NJ

Eastampton –
Historic Smithville Park – this park was the site of the Star Bicycle Company, and includes the ruins of the factory, as well as the mansion (can be toured) and the workers village

Fort Dix – 
Camp Dix – a Souvenir folder of camp life – set of pictures of WWI training

Medford – 
Dr. James Still State Historic Site and Education Office – Medford, NJ – office and ground once owned by the famous “Black Doctor of the Pines”, who overcame poverty and racism to become a highly successful doctor.

Mount Holly –
Burlington County Prison Museum – prison for the  county from 1811 to 1965, and now a museum about prison life.

Mount Laurel –
Sunnyside Farm to be Demolished – Mt. Laurel, NJ – a home from 1838 to be knocked down in July 2018, which makes us sad.

Tabernacle –
Carranza Memorial & Ceremony – Tabernacle, NJ – mid-July each year, people gather to remember this Messenger of Peace.

Gloucester County

Red Bank Battlefield – National Park, NJ – largest Revolutionary War battle to be held in South Jersey
Bowling Ball House– East Greenwich, NJ – super cool property near Rt 295
Soupy Island – Thorofare, NJ – summertime memories for kids since 1877

Salem County

The Salem Oak – Salem, NJ – looking pretty good for 500 to 600 years old!

Cumberland County

Bivalve & Shell Pile – two old oystering towns on the Delaware Bay
Wheaton Arts Center (complete with Nature Trail review) – Millville, NJ – the arts of glassblowing, pottery, flame work, and more are still alive at Wheaton Arts, and you can see them all in action.

Atlantic County

Sheep Shearing at Swan Bay Folk Art Center – Port Republic, NJ
Leed’s Point – Galloway Township, NJ – reputed birthplace of the Jersey Devil
Amatol Munitions Plant and Atlantic City Speedway (Hammonton Creek WMA) – Site of a munitions plant AND a racetrack, what more could you want?

Cape May County

Cape May Point State Park – Cape May Lighthouse, WWII Bunker, WWII Tower, and Sunset Beach with the Concrete Ship – Cape May, NJ
Cape May in Deep Freeze – where icebergs flow past the concrete ship

Ocean County

Hindenburg Crash Site/Lakehurst Naval Air Station – Lakehurst, NJ
The Painted Rock of 539 – Lacey Township, NJ

Monmouth County

Sandy Hook and Fort Hancock – Gateway National Recreation Area

Mercer County

Grounds for Sculpture – Hamilton, NJ – many miles of walking

Warren County

Friday the 13th and the real Camp Crystal Lake

Not-Quite-New Jersey History!

 Fort Delaware on Pea Patch Island – middle of the Delaware River, Delaware (ferry from Pennsville, NJ)
Hanging with William Penn at 500+ feet – City Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

All county maps by David Benbennick  – The maps use data from nationalatlas.gov, specifically countyp020.tar.gz on the Raw Data Download page. The maps also use state outline data from statesp020.tar.gz. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.