West Jersey Society Stone

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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All,


A little background on the West Jersey Society.

The West Jersey Society (not the West Jersey Proprietors) started out as a group of 48 individuals mostly from London who in 1691/92 organized to form a joint stock company that acquired and sold land in what is now New Jersey. This occurred mostly in northern NJ along with Cape May and Cumberland County here in the south. According to a publication in the “Jerseyman” from 1895, their object was “Carrying on trade in America as for the promoting & carrying on of several other useful and necessary designs for mutual advantage.” Basically, they were land speculators trying to make money any way they could. And Relayer from this site told me they were involved with some unethical surveying and attempted to rig at least one election. They were still operating in 1895 when the “Jerseyman” publication was written, but I don’t know when the society ended.

In any event, what is important is they did survey work, and obviously that interests me, and I was quite happy when I acquired the below B&W photo. It shows the remains of a West Jersey Society stone with the “CIE” of “Society” still intact, along with the word “Beginning”. I would assume this was the Point of Beginning for the survey of a particular tract of land they acquired.


Society.jpg



So this morning we headed out following a hand drawn map that came with it. I had aerial photo’s with me which allowed me to figure the best way to access it, and sure enough it was still there. Surrounded by briers, but still physically in the exact same condition it was when the above photo was taken years ago.


Notice the tree size behind it and compare it with the above photo.


IMG_0320.JPG



IMG_0329.JPG



Guy
 

ICANOE2

Explorer
Sep 30, 2007
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Browns Mills
Thats really cool!

Did you know the size of the stone before you went searching for it?
Looking at the close up pics, I would have been looking for a large boulder and never found the stone.
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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Thats really cool!

Did you know the size of the stone before you went searching for it?
Looking at the close up pics, I would have been looking for a large boulder and never found the stone.

No. Jessica said basically the same thing when we found it. I guess a close-up doesn't give you a good perspective of the overall subject :)


Guy
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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What is Bill Gates doing in that second photograph?
I had no idea that he was interested in the pines.
:)

He asked to go along. I mentioned that his followers might think he switched over from the dark side, and he did not care. Even asked me to take a photo of him. Wasn't going to pass that up.


Guy
 

onehand

Explorer
Apr 11, 2005
374
1
potter co. pa.
guy shoud have been a detective, no crime would have gone unsolved ! or maybe he was one in past life !

he is sure good at finding this stuff !
 

Teegate

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guy shoud have been a detective, no crime would have gone unsolved ! or maybe he was one in past life !

he is sure good at finding this stuff !

I had help with this one. I can't take the credit for originally finding it.


Guy
 

Teegate

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Still waiting to see who notices it first :) Here is a clue. :words:


Guy
 

relayer

Explorer
I was just talking with Jerseyman. We think it is possible, if the damage is as old as it appears, that the stone may have been damaged in a deliberate act of vandalism by someone working for the proprietors. The WJ Society were definitely the black hats in early wj and there was no love lost between them and the proprietary party. Think of Highlander..."There can be only one"

Best

relayer
 

relayer

Explorer
I should have pointed out that if the above was true it was probably not an act of vindictive vandalism . The WJ Society had a (from time to time) bad habit of surveying and selling land that belonged to other people. It could be that this was one such survey and the proprietors defaced the stone to indicate a bogus survey or something more or less like that. It would be interesting to know if the stone still marks the boundary of a current property or if it is orphaned within a tract.

Anyway...

relayer
 

Teegate

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Sep 17, 2002
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. It would be interesting to know if the stone still marks the boundary of a current property or if it is orphaned within a tract.

Anyway...

relayer

Thank you for the info relayer.

The stone does represent a property corner, but with that said it may or must be inaccurate. About 50 feet away is a cement survey monument for the corner. The stone is perfectly on the line, just not where modern surveyors feel the corner is. Again, maybe poor surveying, or deliberate adjustment to benefit them.


Guy
 
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