M60 Tank at Montville War Memorial, Montville, NJ

M-60 Tank at the Montville War Memorial

War Memorials are relatively common throughout NJ of course, as anywhere in the United States, and while tanks aren't completely uncommon, their presence usually will draw my camera because they're heavy enough to make them inconvenient enough that most war memorials opt for much lighter and less cumbersome displays. Montville however didn't disappoint and offers the M-60 main battle tank as the centerpiece of its war memorial honoring our nation's veterans generally, and Montville's specifically.

Cook Halfway House, Historic Tavern/Inn in East Hanover, NJ

Cook Halfway House

Sign describing the historic location

In East Hanover, NJ, very close to the First Church of Hanover there is a tavern/inn known then as the Halfway House. Halfway? Indeed, it was apparently about halfway when the farmers from Sussex were traveling to market in Newark. The tavern was owned by a member of the Morris County militia, Col Ellis Cook.

First Church of Hanover

First Church of Hanover

Grave of a veteran of the American Revolution marked by the Daughters of the American Revolution

Another Revolutionary War veteran gravesite where the DAR identified the grave.

Grave of Morris County militia member Obadia Kitchell

One of the oldest churches in the United States, the First Church of Hanover, now in East Hanover on Mt. Pleasant Avenue has been a church in continuous existence since 1718. The current building is not frmo that era, but the church built in 1835 was built from pre-existing wood and oak trees from the surrounding area. The church building pre-existing the current one was used as a hospital in the face of a smallpox outbreak during the American Revolution for sick soldiers and the cots were hung on hooks which marked the wood and those marks can still be seen on the wood today.

3 inch, 50 caliber US Naval Antiaircraft Gun outside of VFW in Whippany, NJ (Hanover Township)

Travelling on Route 10 going east I came across this spot outside of the VFW where I noted this relatively large cannon. Unlike other military surplus of the era, this didn't appear to be just another artillery piece. It had the look of an antiaircraft gun. That's exactly what it was, this piece, the 3 inch, 50 caliber antiaircraft gun has seen extensive use by the US Navy for nearly a full century. In WWII it was the main armament on destroyer escorts (those escorts would only need to be shooting at submarines that had surfaced in the Atlantic)

Caldwell Church, Caldwell, NJ

Caldwell Church on Bloomfield, Westville and Roseland in Caldwell, NJ

Caldwell takes its name from the Reverend James Caldwell, a Presbyterian minister killed during the Revolutionary War noted for saying, "There are times when its righteous to fight as well as to pray" (he was a general in Washington's army). As such its only fitting that the First Presbyterian Church on the corner of Bloomfield, Westville and Roseland rightfully memorializes Caldwell's martydom with a plaque which sits at the intersection of the three aforementioned roads.

Toys R Us Corporate Headquarters, Wayne, NJ

Through the Eye of the Child

The corporate HQ building

Helipad included

Point View Reservoir

Dam forming the Point View Reservoir

The Toys R Us headquarters feels like many other corporate headquarters throughout the United States, a couple of things distinguish it. The corporate campus is actually the former home of American Cyanamid before Toyrs R Us moved into the complex. Toys R Us wanted to leave it own stamp on the property which is why the sculpture, Through the Eye of the Child, was commissioned. The campus also sits on a relatively large lake, the reservoir, Point View Reservoir, which is formed by the damming of the Haycock Brook (which, via Pines Lake forms a tributary of the Ramapo River)

Glenburn Estate, Riverdale, NJ

The Glenburn Estate and barn along the Hamburg Turnpike in Riverdale, NJ is a recently restored venue which hosts community events, parties, weddings and apparently even a movie filming was seen on the premises.

New Jersey's Tri-State Monument, NJ's Northernmost Point, Montague, NJ (Matamoros, PA/Port Jervis, NY)

Confluence of the Delaware and Neversink

In between I-84

A closeup of the actual memorial

The obligatory picture of standing in three states at once

Here are the pictures taken at the tri-state monument delineating the state line between NY, NJ and PA. It is NJ’s northernmost point, the ‘northwest corner’ - It is not a geographic extremity of either PA or NY. It lies, basically at the confluence of the Delaware River and the Neversink River in the shadow of I-84.

This spot holds the most interest for people who reside in NJ. Interestingly to access this point, the only real way to get there is to cross into NY, cross the Neversink River and go through the Laurel Grove Cemetery, park the car and walk to the monument.

If you try to reconcile this point with google maps, this point doesn't quite look to be the actual northernmost point, at that point, the true question is which source is more credible!?! Nevertheless, right or wrong, this monument is close enough.

As an asidem Interstate 84 does not actually touch New Jersey, it does not clip the state line one iota.

Lincoln Park Airport, Lincoln Park, NJ

Seated and having lunch at the Sunset Pub and Grill, the Sunset Pub & Grill is right next to the airport. There is a good view of the airport's runway from the restaurant and its an excellent venue to have a reasonable meal that offers views of aircraft taking off and landing.

Garret Mountain, Lambert Castle, View of Paterson, NJ

Garret Mountain is on the ‘First Watching Mountain’ – While most of the county park is in Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson), Lambert Castle where the majority of the pictures were taken is just over the line in Paterson, NJ proper. It contains Lambert Castle, Belle Vista, which was built in 1892 by the owner of a silk mill in Paterson, NJ (Catholina Lambert)

Seated Lincoln, Essex County Courthouse, Newark, NJ

Gutzon Borglum’s Seated Lincoln is a memorial to Abraham Lincoln and his occupation as a lawyer before taking office as President. It is  next to the Essex County Courthouse in Newark, NJ. It was actually dedicated by Theodore Roosevelt on Memorial Day in 1911 and was listed on the  National Register of Historic Places on 3/30/1995