We used the Forked River Mountains as part of Curly Fern Enduro back in the 60' and 70's Thats when we started our Enduro at the Whitings Fire House.Whitings was not built up as it is today.Actually there are three mountains that make up Forked River Mountains..During World War II,the Army had a tower built on top of one of the mountains.Back in the 70's on a clear day you could see Barneget Lite.. The view from the tower must have been terrific.
Forked River Mountains Tour
- Thread starter ecampbell
- Start date
The day Ed and I were there we had a good view of Lakehurst, here is the photo. Trees were blocking the view towards the Barnegat Lighthouse
I was out in the FRM's last Friday. It's nice to be able to swing by after work. I took a few pictures:
Ben,
Great photos particularly of the Tilly Collin's site, aka Eureka Gun Club or Chisler Club site.
Lost Town Hunter
Great photos particularly of the Tilly Collin's site, aka Eureka Gun Club or Chisler Club site.
Lost Town Hunter
manumuskin
Sorry I took so long to respond to your questions regarding the place names used in my post. Not all such names are readily found on geological survey or historic maps. Nonetheless, they are legitimate names that were used by the old timers that lived in, hunted, or worked in that harsh and enigmatic region. I was privileged to have the friendship of such old timers as Howard Wainwright, cedar harvester Cliff Frazee, musicians and fox hunters George and Joe Albert, Janice
Britton Sherwood, Gladys Eayre, and Sammy Hunt (deer guide for hunters since age 16), all of whom were intimately
acquainted with the FRM. They are all gone now, but from them I learned much about this region that I came to love. (See also Henry C. Beck's newspaper articles and books.)
Tilly Collins' was an old stage stop (see Ben's photos and my message to him), a site just beyond Black's Bridge (see Ben's and ecampell 's fine photos). The bridge was also known as Dead Man's Bridge. It was alleged that the body of a black man was found beneath the bridge many years ago. When I first crossed the stream there in the 1960s, the bridge was out. There were just two wide, curved, though sturdy boards that slapped the water as I risked driving my vehicle across. Isaak Mountain is the hill just northeast of the alleged homesite of "Asa Daton" (Aserdaten), near the intersection of Jones and Aserdaten roads. From the intersection, if you head a quarter mile or so east on Aserdaten Road, then take the first left (north) to Isaak Mountain and cross that hill, you will come to another east-west running road. Turn right heading east for about a mile and you'll come to Preacher's Hill which offers a spectacular view. Part of the hill has been excavated by gravel miners when I last visited it a few years ago. The twin hills that I mentioned are actually the peaks called the Forked River Mountains (celebrated in songs). One, sometimes called Blue Hill or Blue Mountain is the taller at 184 feet; the shorter one immediately to the west is known as Pine Hill. The photo above posted by DeepXplor, one of the best I've seen of Lakehurst Hanger from that vantage point, was taken from Blue Mountain which once was topped by a lookout platform.
These are the two hills that were saved by the Forked River Mountains Coalition from being expunged by gravel mining. My good friend, field companion, and outstanding Ocean County historian, the late Elizabeth Morgan and I once drafted a map (now in possession of the Coalition) containing a good many place names of the area.
Lost Town Hunter
Sorry I took so long to respond to your questions regarding the place names used in my post. Not all such names are readily found on geological survey or historic maps. Nonetheless, they are legitimate names that were used by the old timers that lived in, hunted, or worked in that harsh and enigmatic region. I was privileged to have the friendship of such old timers as Howard Wainwright, cedar harvester Cliff Frazee, musicians and fox hunters George and Joe Albert, Janice
Britton Sherwood, Gladys Eayre, and Sammy Hunt (deer guide for hunters since age 16), all of whom were intimately
acquainted with the FRM. They are all gone now, but from them I learned much about this region that I came to love. (See also Henry C. Beck's newspaper articles and books.)
Tilly Collins' was an old stage stop (see Ben's photos and my message to him), a site just beyond Black's Bridge (see Ben's and ecampell 's fine photos). The bridge was also known as Dead Man's Bridge. It was alleged that the body of a black man was found beneath the bridge many years ago. When I first crossed the stream there in the 1960s, the bridge was out. There were just two wide, curved, though sturdy boards that slapped the water as I risked driving my vehicle across. Isaak Mountain is the hill just northeast of the alleged homesite of "Asa Daton" (Aserdaten), near the intersection of Jones and Aserdaten roads. From the intersection, if you head a quarter mile or so east on Aserdaten Road, then take the first left (north) to Isaak Mountain and cross that hill, you will come to another east-west running road. Turn right heading east for about a mile and you'll come to Preacher's Hill which offers a spectacular view. Part of the hill has been excavated by gravel miners when I last visited it a few years ago. The twin hills that I mentioned are actually the peaks called the Forked River Mountains (celebrated in songs). One, sometimes called Blue Hill or Blue Mountain is the taller at 184 feet; the shorter one immediately to the west is known as Pine Hill. The photo above posted by DeepXplor, one of the best I've seen of Lakehurst Hanger from that vantage point, was taken from Blue Mountain which once was topped by a lookout platform.
These are the two hills that were saved by the Forked River Mountains Coalition from being expunged by gravel mining. My good friend, field companion, and outstanding Ocean County historian, the late Elizabeth Morgan and I once drafted a map (now in possession of the Coalition) containing a good many place names of the area.
Lost Town Hunter
Thanks LTH,look on the thread View? we have been discussing preachers hill.I have been to blacks bridge and aserdaten but the area ne of it is new to me.did a slg up chamberlin branch once but never been to preachers hill,I must go.
Al
Al
Al,
I checked out james ungehajer's post of 2007 "Black's Bridge Outing" and was puzzled by his comment: "We arrived at Preacher's Hill, no view because of the trees ...." There haven't been trees there that would block the view for many, many years. I'm inclined to think that they were on Izaak 's Mountain, not Preacher's Hill. There is or was a little cabin on the hill and even a nice outhouse.
Lost Town Hunter
I checked out james ungehajer's post of 2007 "Black's Bridge Outing" and was puzzled by his comment: "We arrived at Preacher's Hill, no view because of the trees ...." There haven't been trees there that would block the view for many, many years. I'm inclined to think that they were on Izaak 's Mountain, not Preacher's Hill. There is or was a little cabin on the hill and even a nice outhouse.
Lost Town Hunter
Guy,
I'm sorry to learn that Jim Ungehajer has passed away. I did not know him. Perhaps one of the participants may recall something about the outing that he led.
Lost Town Hunter
I'm sorry to learn that Jim Ungehajer has passed away. I did not know him. Perhaps one of the participants may recall something about the outing that he led.
Lost Town Hunter
Thanks! I'm glad that everyone liked the photos. I'm happy to be living back in the area so I can visit the FRM's with ease now.
Lost Town Hunter, in the course of your research of the FRM's, how much information did you come across regarding the land holdings of Rutherford Stuyvesant? I've been trying to research just what he was doing back there. Several years ago Guy and I took a trip to the NY Historical Society to take a look through the collection they have of his papers, but aside from some agricultural experiments that were mentioned offhand in passing, it doesn't seem like his NJ land holdings were that imporant to him. It would be nice to know if, in fact, the area around "Aserdaten" was used as a pen for deer that he would bring people down from New York to hunt.
A few years ago there was a long old grape vine near Eureka. I seem to remember somewhere reading that he may have experimented with wine making as well.
Lost Town Hunter, in the course of your research of the FRM's, how much information did you come across regarding the land holdings of Rutherford Stuyvesant? I've been trying to research just what he was doing back there. Several years ago Guy and I took a trip to the NY Historical Society to take a look through the collection they have of his papers, but aside from some agricultural experiments that were mentioned offhand in passing, it doesn't seem like his NJ land holdings were that imporant to him. It would be nice to know if, in fact, the area around "Aserdaten" was used as a pen for deer that he would bring people down from New York to hunt.
A few years ago there was a long old grape vine near Eureka. I seem to remember somewhere reading that he may have experimented with wine making as well.
I still remember that mud hole on thompsons beach road that made me park my vehicle.Jim said jump in mine we can do it! and we did.I thought for a minute we were on our way to becoming salt marsh mummies but that Jeep grabbed hold of something and came lurching out of the depths,one crazy old man,I miss him too.
Ben,
The Aserdaten tract dates back to 1796 so Beck's theory that the name was derived from someone named Asa Dayton is not correct. This was also 50 years before Rutherford Stuyvesant (or I should say Stuyvesant Rutherford because he reversed his name) was born. The tract is 1400 acres and I have been trying to follow it's path but as of yet I have not come up with a bearing or distance along the Chamberlain where it passes through that matches the info I have.
What we need to find is who named it the Aserdaten Tract or why it was named that. We need to go back to the 1700s to do this.
Guy
The Aserdaten tract dates back to 1796 so Beck's theory that the name was derived from someone named Asa Dayton is not correct. This was also 50 years before Rutherford Stuyvesant (or I should say Stuyvesant Rutherford because he reversed his name) was born. The tract is 1400 acres and I have been trying to follow it's path but as of yet I have not come up with a bearing or distance along the Chamberlain where it passes through that matches the info I have.
What we need to find is who named it the Aserdaten Tract or why it was named that. We need to go back to the 1700s to do this.
Guy
You really need to investigate the West Jersey Proprietors records since that is where the Aserdaten Tract info is at. However, I have the tract info and it does not really tell us much about the name. Maybe somewhere in the records there may be something mentioned that nobody has found yet which will tell us how Aserdaten got it's name.
Guy
Guy
Guy:
If you can send me the information you have already assembled, particularly for the eighteenth century, I will run the names through the colonial conveyances index and also the Surveyor General Office survey books index. I suspect the latter source will yield some important information.
Best regards,
Jerseyman