The 1924 Cedar Bridge Fire Tower

[Ben Ruset]

Just a heads up, Guy has written an article on the search for the 1924 location of the Cedar Bridge Fire Tower.

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/module...x&req=viewarticle&artid=31&page=1

 

[BEHR655]

Guy, that is an excellent article. Thanks for telling us exactly where it is.

 

[Teegate]

To be honest I have been thinking of an outing for the fall where I will take you all to the many locations that I have been exploring in the past few months and past 30 years. Some of you have been to a few of them, but a second visit is always sweet. So when the ticks are mostly gone, and we can set a date, I will tell all as the fortune teller says, but then again maybe not all

Guy

 

[Teegate]

All,

While on the subject of Fire Towers, I thought I would pass along some photo's that are from the NJ Fire Service collection that were kindly passed on to me.

Before there were steel towers the local residents and fire service employees would build a tower using trees which consisted usually of three trees tied together to for a "tripod" and smaller trees connected to make the steps. They were in various places in the pines including, Woodmansie, Four Mile, Dukes Bridge, Chatsworth, etc. There apparently were no records kept as to their actual location, and obviously being wood there is no way to find where their locations were. Most of the tripods in these photo are from around the turn of the century, and many of them show what apparently is the proud builder or user of the tripod.

The Four Mile photo is to me the most interesting, because if you look closely under the tripod you can see what appears to be an old wagon or fire wagon of some sort. I have zoomed in on the wagon in one of the photo's, and it possibly could be the butt of the horse you see behind it. Any idea's?

It is possible that the Four Mile tripod was located where the original Four Mile steel tower was located, and that is at the Rutgers Research area just NW of the circle on New Lisbon road. There is no certainty on that.

Four Mile and Zoomed Four Mile

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/post/4miletripod_circa1905.jpg

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/post/four.jpg


Woodmansie

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/post/woodmansietripod.jpg


Unknown tripod

http://www.njpinebarrens.com/~teegate/post/tripod.jpg



Guy

 

[KenDawg]

Guy,

Thanks for the information on the firetowers. I have been thinking about this subject for sometime. I always enjoy the view from Apple Pie Hill and I was wondering about the view from other towers. I have been trying to convince my employer to let me borrow a bucket truck to go to Bear Swamp. They are are not buying any of it. You can count me in on the fall trip to Cedar Bridge Firetower foundations.

Ken

 

[Teegate]

I am thrilled you enjoyed it and am looking forward to meeting you and the others. I will see you then.

Guy

 

[BarryC]

I've been told (and I tend to agree) that the best views are from the Apple Pie and Batsto towers. The Batsto tower is 100 feet. The Apple Pie tower is 60 feet, but obviously on the top of the hill. I've been to the top of both and I think the views are really great.
Where I got the information about how high they are I don't know. I can't remember.

Guy,

Thanks for the information on the firetowers. I have been thinking about this subject for sometime. I always enjoy the view from Apple Pie Hill and I was wondering about the view from other towers. I have been trying to convince my employer to let me borrow a bucket truck to go to Bear Swamp. They are are not buying any of it. You can count me in on the fall trip to Cedar Bridge Firetower foundations.

Ken

 

[manumuskin]

Hey Teegate
I thought I was the only veteran tresspasser out there.At least the only one to admit it.My theory is if you see a tree with a posted sign on it that means you are not allowed to climb,cut down,tap for sap,pee on or otherwise molest that tree so if you slip between the trees your ok.
Al

 

[Teegate]

If there had been a house, a fence, or even a commercially made sign there, I might have not passed the sign. But it was made from a piece of plywood with spray paint on it. Anyone could have made it as far as I was concerned. And it was within 50 feet of where I wanted to go.

I would post a photo of the place, but Ben is doing work on the server and it will be removed and the link won't work. Maybe tomorrow.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

Guy, I just got around to reading of your quest to find the tower. Cool, so very cool. Great article.....bob

 

[Teegate]

Bob, in the fall when there are no ticks I will take you there and also to the Coyle Field one. I also want to go with you and search for those buildings off the "pole road" that we looked for when we were out that way. Have you looked again?

Thanks Bob for the compliment.

Guy

 

[bobpbx]

I also want to go with you and search for those buildings off the "pole road" that we looked for when we were out that way. Have you looked again? Guy

No, but thanks for reminding me. Don't let it drop, we can go out there at beginning of November and find 'em easy.

 

[Teegate]

I am looking forward to it.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

Guy, that is an excellent article. Thanks for telling us exactly where it is.

All,


I have still been researching more of the facts surrounding the 1924 Cedar Bridge fire tower, and have come up with some more information. There has always been the lingering question if the 1924 tower was moved to the location I found across from Coyle Field. So recently while browsing the National Geodetic Survey files, I notice that the Cedar Bridge fire tower had been a reference point, but because it was no longer at the 1924 location the file was removed.

I have had many correspondence with the woman from the NGS, so I wrote her and asked if she could send me the old records from their files. And since she has always been so nice, my assumptions were correct that she would send them. Looking them over there were at least two things that I was able to learn from them, one being that the 1924 tower was removed in 1938. Also, it was mentioned in the 1951 entry that it was moved across the border to Burlington County. This proves that the tower across from Coyle Field was the next location of the tower, because the present location and the previous location on the sand road to Forked River Mountains are not in Burlington County.

Here is the info from the NGS.

JU2747 HISTORY - Date Condition Report By
JU2747 HISTORY - 1932 FIRST OBSERVED CGS
JU2747 HISTORY - 1950 MARK NOT FOUND CGS
JU2747 HISTORY - 1951 DESTROYED NJDCED
JU2747
JU2747 STATION DESCRIPTION
JU2747
JU2747'DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1950 (HFG)
JU2747'ACCORDING TO INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM THE STATE FORESTRY
JU2747'DEPARTMENT, THIS TOWER WAS TORN DOWN IN 1938. THE FOUNDATION
JU2747'STILL EXISTS IN GOOD CONDITION.
JU2747
JU2747 STATION RECOVERY (1951)
JU2747
JU2747'RECOVERY NOTE BY NJ CONS AND ECON DEV 1951 (RGB)
JU2747'THE FIRE TOWER HAS BEEN MOVED TO A NEW LOCATION AND IS NOW OVER
JU2747'THE COUNTY LINE IN BURLINGTON COUNTY.


And for anyone who is interested, I have taken Ben's good advice and considered his answer to my question when I asked him if he felt I was paranoid, and given you the location of the 1924 tower and the location of the Burlington County Cedar Bridge tower across from Coyle Field.

Here is a map to the 1924 tower foundations and the GPS coordinates are.

39.46.48.7
74.20.43.5

That is in D/M/S and you must convert it if you use a different format.

And here is the map to the Coyle Field partial foundations.

Guy