The Ford Mansion, a historical landmark and museum is located at the Washington's Headquarters in Morristown, NJ. Once Washington saw that the coast was clear, he sent troops down to Quibbletown (the New Market section of Piscataway). I grew up in the Watchung Mountains, in Summit to be exact. Within the past few years, a piece of native copper weighing over 800 pounds was recovered and donated to the. ), “General Orders, 17 October 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives, last modified December 28, 2016, http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-03603. Mayers explores findings at “Wolf Hill,” a site between Hillcrest Road and Route 78 that contains ruins of a Revolutionary War camp. The nation's first West Point, an artillery officers' school, was tucked behind the mountains in Pluckemin, where The Hills development is today. I learned much later - not in school, but as a writer for this paper - that this high outcrop of Watchung rock was the site of one of 23 beacons along the high points of the Watchungs to be lit when "the British were coming.". Evidence of the Lenape presence in the Watchungs can be seen in numerous camps sites that have been uncovered, mainly along the rivers coursing through mountains and in the small caves abundant in the volcanic rock. The nation’s first West Point, an artillery officers’ school, was tucked behind the mountains in Pluckemin, where The Hills development is today. They overlooked the Hobart Gap. Post was not sent - check your email addresses! During the Revolutionary War, two locations along the first ridge of the Watchung Mountains provided a natural fortification for the American troops. It also appears on the front of the Municipal Building and on some public trash receptacles located throughout Woodland Park. They are something for us to celebrate today. The protection of the hills, and the great swamps that lie between them, kept the British at a long arm's length for almost half of the war's duration. The ultimate field guide to New Jersey's Revolutionary War historic sites! George Washington spent approximately 3 1/2 years of the eight-year war in and around these mountains, as he moved between the Hudson and Delaware rivers. Trenton and Princeton, which turned the losing tide. It is not an authoritative final version.] ^ These dates can be determined by George Washington's General Orders for October 9 and 17, 1780: “General Orders, 9 October 1780,” Founders Online, National Archives (http://founders.archives.gov/documents/Washington/99-01-02-03520 [last update: 2016-03-28]). The British again tried to penetrate the mountains during the Battle of Short Hills, in what is today Scotch Plains and Metuchen, on June 6, 1777, after Washington moved his troops from behind the second ridge of the mountains in Morristown, to behind the first ridge at Middlebrook. In some cases, a historic resource can include strategic locations where events occurred and history was made. Start off at 349 Main Street, Metuchen. The ridges of the Watchung Mountains provided layers of protection that stretched for over 40 miles from Mahwah to Somerset County. How to bird the Garden State: a review of the Fiel... Ivan points out the fine view of the first ridge. So here it is. From the top of Madison Hill Rd. It can be hard for us living in the 21st century to visualize the importance of the Watchung Mountains during the Revolutionary War. That was in 1999. Remnants can be found in the shape of the earthen walls. Both parks have hiking trails and picnic areas. These locations put them behind the protection of the Watchung Mountains. Hikers will also pass the historic Fanwood Train Station. ^ Note that while a large portion of Garrett Mountain Reservation is located within Woodland Park, portions of it fall within the boundaries of Paterson and Clifton.