Sunday, August 19, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
The Abbey in Newton
Friday, March 23, 2012
Bloomingdale German-American Bund
Before Hitler rose to power in 1933, there were small groups of German-Americans residing in the U.S. They gathered in small bunds or clubs for the purpose of comraderie and affiliation. These groups gathered all over the U.S. in as many as 120-150 known locations. It wasn't until the rise of the National Socialist party in Germany that these clubs became more vicious than docile and clung to a firm doctrine of Nazism. Though little is known about this particular Bunds involvement in violence or public misconduct, other Bunds in the area were, at times, very threatening.
The German American bunds began to follow Nazi ideology and held resentment towards Jews and Capitalism in favor of Hitler's rule. As the Bunds grew in size and hatred, the FBI made a move in 1941 to clear them out. Federal Hill, also known as Camp Bergwald, was one of the last Bunds to be disbanded.
Federal Hill itself holds more history than just Nazi Bunds. I have heard rumors of Colonial troops from the Revolutionary war setting up camp here for a few months to await battle orders. Though I found no evidence of Revolutionary era artifacts, it may well have been a landmark to station troops.
The first of the few structures that we found are depicted above. These structures were built right into the rocks of the hill. Inside this structure, one of the walls is nothing simply natural gneiss rock with the house built around it.
To the right and below are the steps and wall of what I think was either a pool or reservoir. 
The photo above is the wall to the pool/reservoir with the steps in the background previously depicted.
This link provides details to a mountainside bunker. We weren't able to locate it and I think it may have been destroyed by one of the quarries. http://www.weirdnj.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=94&Itemid=28
There are two quarries on either side of Federal Hill and both of them appear to be taking large swaths of rock from the mountain side. It wouldn't be surprising if soon, Federal Hill itself was destroyed completely.
This stone writing was difficult to read and all three of us came to different conclusions as to what it said. Quite possibly it was the name of the leader of the Camp Bergwald, or even a Revolutionary era carving into the Mountain.
(Photography by: Ryan Perst)
Monday, February 6, 2012
Clinton Road, West Milford
Its been known for years as one of, if not the most "haunted" roads in America. Clinton Road, West Milford is found after a few quick turns off of Route 23. I had heard about this road, at first, through word of mouth and then after a bit of research.
After some digging online I unearthed more about this seemingly unknown stretch of pavement before venturing on it for the first time.
This is "Cry Baby Bridge." It was named because of a legend that rumors of a boy who was playing underneath the bridge and drowned tragically. Legend holds that if you throw a quarter off of the bridge at night and get back in your car, the boy will throw it back to you and it will hit the roof of your car with a loud ding. More recently, my friend and I slid under the bridge and began to pluck quarters and nickels out of the water below. We only managed to thieve three dollars and fifteen cents from the ghost.
"If you drive on that road, a truck chases you and tries to make you crash" stated a friend of mine.
Late one night I had a friend over to visit Clinton Road with me. We set out to the town of West Milford where the road is located. I took several pictures on this night but none of them came out the way I had expected because of the eery mist that filled the air. While we were out I was reminded of some of the tales I had read and heard about what had happened along this road and in the woods nearby. They were stories of Nazis, Klansmen, witches and even a nudist colony.
Not long ago, a woman was found along this road and was brought to the hospital near West Milford. The EMT's said there were cuts and wounds all over her body and she was extremely delirious and showed signs of hard drug use. She was continuously screeching about her supposed encounter with a group of witches she had been captured by along the road. The story of the woman has been proven a fact, though her encounter with witches is little more than a bad trip on meth.
Another true tale is of the nudist colony that used to reside deep within the woods off Clinton Road. Another blogger I followed online has pictures to prove its former existence.
I found a documentary on youtube of some amateur "ghost hunters" on Clinton road searching for supernatural phenomena with their spirit hunting equipment. The next day they interviewed a woman who had lived on the road for several years and informed them of the real story behind the drowned boy and the bridge. She stated that it was actually two boys that drowned one winter. They were playing out on the reservoir and one of them fell through the ice. The other boy clambered to save his brother and drowned as well. The woman said that this event happened nowhere near the bridge but she could understand why this tale would have been spun into a legend.
Though it is obvious that no ghostly apparitions or magical spells have ever existed here, what keeps me interested in these sort of places is trying to nail down the reasons why people begin these tales and how the feelings they experienced on this road bring them to the conclusion that the road is indeed haunted. Clinton Road has certainly had its share of ghostly tales and legend to earn its place among the most haunted roads in America.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Kittatinny State Park and Aeroflex Airport
The old Aeroflex Airport is nestled along one of the main trails located inside Kittatinny Valley State Park in Andover, NJ. Kittatinny is a state park that includes running, hiking and horse trails.
The door above is the entrance to a separate section of the airport building that included offices bathrooms.
The main trail is one of which I used to run as part of my cross country course in high school. This was the first time I had stepped inside aeroflex airport to take a look for myself.
Once inside the door I walked into the open expanse of what used to be the hangar for various small aircraft including a small group of fire suppression planes.
This appears to be a currently used garage/storage area for the airfield located about a mile from the where we are now.
This is an old locked shed, still in use with the park service.It is no doubt, full of equipment used for lawn and trail maintenance. The trail towards the right of the photo leads to a foundation for a house dating back to 1947. (Picture Below)
Above is a photograph of one of the doors where utility trucks, fueling trucks and other vehicles would have been stored as well as parts and tools for airplane maintenance.
If you take a quick drive to the other side of Lake Aeroflex at Kittatinny, there is a trail head that will lead you through the woods to a cave. It is not hard to miss, but you have to know what you're looking for. The story I heard about this cave is that it was used by the Nanticoke Lenni-Lenepe indians possibly dating as far back as the early 1600's when they first settled in New Jersey from Maryland. This cave is one of many in the immediate area. (See article: Andover Caves)
(Photography by TJ Dalenberg)
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Shades of Death Road, NJ
Recently I decided to take a quick drive to Shades of Death Road. in Allamuchy. I had been here years ago but thought that I would take pictures and do a little more research this time.
The Road itself, is not any more frightening than the quaint dairy farms around it. Anyone passing through the moderately busy road during the day wouldn't think twice about Shades of Death, other than the ominous name. There is even an annual half marathon held here in the fall.
The reports of murder and hauntings however, make it a little more exciting than that........
Though most are unsure as to why the road has its name there are plenty of tales that could be the reason behind the horrifying label. Shades of Death history goes back to the 20's and 30's with several reports of robbery by bandits and highwaymen. There have been at least three reports of murder along this road. The first involved the death of a traveler at the hands of a bandit who struck him over the head with a tire iron. The second conclusive report was of a woman killing and beheading her husband and burying the separate pieces on either side of the road. The third murder was of a local named Bill Cummins. Reports say the killer was never caught, though I've heard from locals that he was.
The name could also stem from rumors of highwaymen being lynched along the road by locals or stories of the ghosts of two boys who were killed by a car while playing on the road.
In the late 90's rumor spread of hundreds of creepy polaroid photos found by police not far from the side of Shades of Death Road. The blurry photos depicted a television changing stations and women sitting on a metal object. A factual conclusion was never released to the public.
These murders could be why the name Shades of Death was chosen for this road but my opinion causes me to believe that it was named for the swamplands that once covered the area around the road. The swamps bred an unusual amount of mosquitoes that caused the deaths of many residents due to malaria. The swamps were later dredged, but the name and history behind the road remained.
Farther along Shades of Death Road you can find Jenny Jump State Park. The story of Jenny Jumps name is equally fascinating. Lenape Indian tribes once covered much of Allamuchy. During this time there was a small white family living nearby the cliff face of what is now the park. Legend has it that a young white girl named Jenny was picking berries when an Indian attacked her. Jenny ran away to escape the Indian and found herself trapped between her attacker and the ledge of the cliff. Unwilling to suffer her fate at the hands of the Indian, she jumped over the cliff to her death. Some claim to see her ghost still wandering the shores of Ghost Lake, a man-made body of water created in the early 1900's by two men damning up a creek nearby.
Friday, January 13, 2012
The abandoned homes of Green
A ten minute drive from my house in Newton are the rolling farmlands of Green Township. At Newton High School, we were comprised of students from nearby Andover, Green, and Newton combined. This goes to say that this particular area we visited has been talked about more than enough times to spark anyones curiosity. Behind Pub 517 in Green, a dirt road will take you to the entrance of an overgrown trail. At the head of the rocky trail is a large concrete gate. My friend Brian, a native of Green, navigated us through the dark trail until we reached our first destination.
People say these houses were abandoned after a forest fire threatened to burn down the whole street and forest around it. The houses were evacuated as the fire raged and were never reoccupied. As we moved from house to house and room to room we found a recurring theme of busted items and thoughtless, amateur grafitti. The photos below are inside a few of the houses. Every room was covered in graffiti and full of broken and worthless tools and other household items dating back to the 50's.
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A friend of mine searched one of the houses earlier than us and found documents and bills addressed to the owners. The bills dated back to the 50's and evidence from the documents suggest the homes were foreclosed because of tax issues. These homes in Green were simply foreclosed and abandoned.
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