I was reading the "SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP" chapter in Woodward"s HISTORY OF BURLINGTON COUNTY when I came across the following:
"Within the township and near its southerly boundary is a range of hills having an elevation of about two hundred feet above the level of the sea, which, in consequence of the level surface of the surrounding country, are dignified with the title of mounts. These hills contain large quantities of sandstone, and furnish the only supply of stone for building or other purposes to an extensive region around them. This range is a portion of a series of detached hills extending across the State which have been much used for telegraphic communication between the cities of Philadelphia and New York, first, by means of colored rockets, and more recently, up to the time of the construction of a magnetic telegraph between those cities, by movable signal arms placed on the top of high wooden towers."
I had never heard of such a communication method before but a search on the web indicates that this was quite common along the Atlantic Coast.
Has anyone ever heard about or seen references to such towers? Those lines on the Gordon's 1839 map that we've talked so much about may be partially explained by such a system. The 1839 date seems to match well with the small amount of digging I've done.
Does anyone want to advance a hypothesis as to what route may have been taken for such a communication system?
Ideas/thoughts?
Rich
"Within the township and near its southerly boundary is a range of hills having an elevation of about two hundred feet above the level of the sea, which, in consequence of the level surface of the surrounding country, are dignified with the title of mounts. These hills contain large quantities of sandstone, and furnish the only supply of stone for building or other purposes to an extensive region around them. This range is a portion of a series of detached hills extending across the State which have been much used for telegraphic communication between the cities of Philadelphia and New York, first, by means of colored rockets, and more recently, up to the time of the construction of a magnetic telegraph between those cities, by movable signal arms placed on the top of high wooden towers."
I had never heard of such a communication method before but a search on the web indicates that this was quite common along the Atlantic Coast.
Has anyone ever heard about or seen references to such towers? Those lines on the Gordon's 1839 map that we've talked so much about may be partially explained by such a system. The 1839 date seems to match well with the small amount of digging I've done.
Does anyone want to advance a hypothesis as to what route may have been taken for such a communication system?
Ideas/thoughts?
Rich
