Morgan, New Jersey

1887 Boundary Commission.

1886 Survey of Raritan Bay.

1934 Survey of Raritan Bay.

OK, by reading the March 21, 2010 postings about the NJ / NY boundary you learned about a survey point called “Morgan 2” but didn’t really get any specifics about what it actually was or looked like, only what it was used for by the NY/NJ Boundary Commission.  Worse yet, if you go to the physical location just south of the dock ruins in the Morgan section of The Raritan Bay Waterfront Park (same place NBC filmed part of an episode of “Mercy” – see the March 7, 2010 posting), where “Morgan 2” shows on old charts, you will find no remains of “Morgan 2”. 

So what gives?

From what I have been able to piece together from the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) web site, in 1926 a point, believed to be “Morgan 2”, was “a 1/2 inch copper bolt embedded in a mass of concrete about 3 feet in diameter”.  This bolt was “flush with the surface of a concrete-filled 8-inch tile set in a 3-foot concrete mass, the whole projecting 1 inch above ground.  There is a 1/2 by 2-inch face of iron embedded flush with the concrete within the tile just east of the center.”  I wonder if this is what was there in 1886 during the Raritan Bay survey (see November 30, 2009 posting) or 1887 when the Boundary Commission was hard at work?

The National Geodetic Survey is now part of the US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and was formerly known as the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (USC and GS).  “Morgan 2” is officially known to Geocaching hobbyists and the NGS as Permanent Identifier (PID) “KV5337”.

The NGS data has a lot of technical info about KV5337 as well as some historical info.  The contents of this record, which is called a datasheet, is available from the NGS website.  Click here to view the NGS website contents for KC5337, “Morgan 2”.  You will note that the first occurrence of historical information in this record starts in 1926 though we know, per the 1886 USC and GS Survey of Raritan Bay and the 1887 NY/NJ Boundary Commission Report, that this “Triangulation Point” had already been identified (or defined) by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey by that time. Interestingly enough, the USC and GS didn’t seem to realize in 1926 that “Morgan 2” was their own invention!

The 1926 entry gives a description of its location as a “small plot of high ground between the railroad tracks and the water.”  The 1931 entry is confusing in that it indicates it is located “on a prominent lone knoll (25 feet high) just N of the Central Railroad of New Jersey tracks and 23 meters inshore of high-water line.”  As I read it, this 1931 location description is contrary to the 1926 location description.  The 1937 entry seems to correspond to the 1931 entry, “This station is on a knoll about 20 feet in height” but also adds that the “disk has been removed.”  By 1955, the “Station was reported as having been destroyed by wave action from Raritan Bay.” 

Twenty foot waves?  That is pretty unlikely except for those reoccurring nightmares I still have.  Will they ever stop?

You’ll note the three images in this posting all show Morgan 2 though from three different charts.  On the chart from the 1886 Survey of Raritan Bay are three survey points from Morgan: “Morgan”, “Morgan 2” and “Morgan 3”.  This helps us understand why “Morgan 2” is called “Morgan 2” – it is because there is more than one!  Currently I have no other info about “Morgan 3” though it also appears to be on the shoreline of the bay.  I am wondering if the one called “Morgan” is the current survey mark which is on Cliff Avenue and plan on doing some more research on this.  My Morgan neighbor Al promised to nab a photo of the survey mark on Cliff Avenue “once the snow clears” that we’ll post here.  Hope that snow clears some time soon! 

Here are some additional notes and sources of information about this topic.  WARNING – some techno-babble and governmental bureau-speak follows:

• “Morgan 2”, a.k.a., KV5337 is located at: N402811.45306 and W0741556.90267.
• Part of the mission of the National Geodetic Survey, is to provide the public with survey control information, such as Latitude, Longitude, Height and Gravity data.  This is done for publishable stations in the form of Datasheets.
• A Datasheet is sometimes referred to as Digital Survey Data (DSDATA).  It is an ASCII text file which contains data for a survey control station maintained by NGS.
• Note that the each DSDATA record is 80 characters wide.  This is undoubtedly due to the data having previously been stored on 80 column “Hollerith” cards like those manufactured and used on IBM equipment since the 1890 census.  Note that I spent one college summer driving a fork lift on the night shift in an IBM factory in Dayton/Monmouth Junction, NJ which manufactured these cards.  Wonder if these types of cards are still being made?
• Click here to read an overview from NGS of how to read Digital Survey Data.
• Click here to read all about the Input Formats and Specifications of the National Geodetic Survey’s Data Base via their “Bluebook”
• KV5337 (“Morgan 2”) is also called a “Benchmark” or a “Horizontal Control Station”.  Click here to learn a ton of stuff about Geocaching including all about benchmarks and data sheets.
• Click here for further information about the U.S. National Grid System.
• Click here if you want to read information on specialized maps called United States National Grid (USNG) Spatial Addresses
• Click here to download a document which further explains the U. S. National Grid.

Here is the content of the NGS Data Sheet for “Morgan 2”:

KV5337 ***********************************************************************
KV5337  DESIGNATION -  MORGAN 2
KV5337  PID         -  KV5337
KV5337  STATE/COUNTY-  NJ/MIDDLESEX
KV5337  USGS QUAD   -  SOUTH AMBOY (1981)
KV5337
KV5337                         *CURRENT SURVEY CONTROL
KV5337  ___________________________________________________________________
KV5337* NAD 83(1996)-  40 28 11.45306(N)    074 15 56.90267(W)     ADJUSTED
KV5337* NAVD 88     -         2.     (meters)       7.     (feet)  SCALED
KV5337  ___________________________________________________________________
KV5337  LAPLACE CORR-           3.38  (seconds)                    DEFLEC99
KV5337  GEOID HEIGHT-         -32.46  (meters)                     GEOID99
KV5337
KV5337  HORZ ORDER  -  THIRD
KV5337
KV5337.The horizontal coordinates were established by classical geodetic methods
KV5337.and adjusted by the National Geodetic Survey in September 1999.
KV5337
KV5337.The orthometric height was scaled from a topographic map.
KV5337
KV5337.The Laplace correction was computed from DEFLEC99 derived deflections.
KV5337
KV5337.The geoid height was determined by GEOID99.
KV5337
KV5337;                    North         East     Units   Scale      Converg.
KV5337;SPC NJ       -   181,707.065   169,858.984   MT  0.99990485 +0 09 07.2
KV5337;SPC NY L     -    33,701.001   277,457.766   MT  1.00001679 -0 10 25.9
KV5337;UTM  18      - 4,480,166.710   562,239.180   MT  0.99964768 +0 28 35.6
KV5337
KV5337:                Primary Azimuth Mark                     Grid Az
KV5337:SPC NJ       -  BEACON 5A                                022 36 25.8
KV5337:SPC NY L     -  BEACON 5A                                022 55 58.9
KV5337:UTM  18      -  BEACON 5A                                022 16 57.4
KV5337
KV5337|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
KV5337| PID    Reference Object                     Distance      Geod. Az  |
KV5337|                                                           dddmmss.s |
KV5337| KV5400 BEACON 5A                           APPROX. 3.1 KM 0224533.0 |
KV5337|        MORGAN 2 RM 3                        17.800 METERS 14104     |
KV5337|        MORGAN 2 RM 1                        10.018 METERS 23208     |
KV5337|        MORGAN 2 RM 2                         5.166 METERS 29506     |
KV5337|---------------------------------------------------------------------|
KV5337
KV5337                          SUPERSEDED SURVEY CONTROL
KV5337
KV5337  NAD 83(1996)-  40 28 11.45275(N)    074 15 56.90277(W) AD(       ) 3
KV5337  NAD 83(1986)-  40 28 11.45405(N)    074 15 56.90000(W) AD(       ) 3
KV5337  NAD 27      -  40 28 11.06900(N)    074 15 58.37800(W) AD(       ) 3
KV5337
KV5337.Superseded values are not recommended for survey control.
KV5337.NGS no longer adjusts projects to the NAD 27 or NGVD 29 datums.
KV5337.See file dsdata.txt to determine how the superseded data were derived.
KV5337
KV5337  HISTORY     - Date     Condition        Recov. By
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1926     MONUMENTED       CGS
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1926     GOOD             CGS
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1930     GOOD             CGS
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1931     SEE DESCRIPTION  CGS
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1937     SEE DESCRIPTION  CGS
KV5337  HISTORY     - 1955     MARK NOT FOUND   NJDCED
KV5337
KV5337                          STATION DESCRIPTION
KV5337
KV5337''DESCRIBED BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1926 (RFS)
KV5337''NO DESCRIPTION OR POSITION OF THIS STATION WAS AVAILABLE AND A
KV5337''NEW DETERMINATION WAS MADE WHICH AGREED FAIRLY CLOSELY WITH THE
KV5337''APPROXIMATE POSITION FURNISHED.
KV5337''
KV5337''THE DESCRIPTION OF THE RECOVERED STATION, WHICH IS ASSUMED TO
KV5337''BE MORGAN 2, IS AS FOLLOWS--
KV5337''
KV5337''ON THE SMALL PLOT OF HIGH GROUND BETWEEN THE RAILROAD TRACKS
KV5337''AND THE WATER, WHICH MAKES INTO A POINT ON THE S SIDE OF RARITAN
KV5337''BAY.  IT LIES ABOUT 1 MILE S OF S AMBOY AND JUST NW OF THE TOWN
KV5337''OF MORGAN.
KV5337''
KV5337''STATION IS MARKED BY A BOLT EMBEDDED IN A MASS OF CONCRETE
KV5337''ABOUT 3 FEET IN DIAMETER AND FLUSH WITH THE SURFACE OF THE
KV5337''GROUND.
KV5337''
KV5337''NO REFERENCE MARKS WERE ESTABLISHED AS IT IS ASSUMED THE
KV5337''STATION BELONGS TO SOMEONE OTHER THAN THE U.S.C. AND G.S. AND
KV5337''ADDITIONAL MARKS ESTABLISHED BY THIS SERVICE MIGHT CAUSE
KV5337''CONFUSION.
KV5337
KV5337                          STATION RECOVERY (1930)
KV5337
KV5337''RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1930 (RWW)
KV5337''STATION RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
KV5337''
KV5337''THE STATION IS MARKED BY A 1/2 INCH COPPER BOLT EMBEDDED FLUSH
KV5337''WITH THE SURFACE OF A CONCRETE-FILLED 8-INCH TILE SET IN A 3-FOOT
KV5337''CONCRETE MASS, THE WHOLE PROJECTING 1 INCH ABOVE GROUND.  THERE
KV5337''IS A 1/2 BY 2-INCH FACE OF IRON EMBEDDED FLUSH WITH THE CONCRETE
KV5337''WITHIN THE TILE JUST E OF THE CENTER.
KV5337
KV5337                          STATION RECOVERY (1931)
KV5337
KV5337''RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1931 (RWW)
KV5337''STATION RECOVERED IN GOOD CONDITION.
KV5337''
KV5337''IT IS A U.S. ENGINEERS STATION, THE NAME OF WHICH HAS NOT BEEN
KV5337''ASCERTAINED.
KV5337''
KV5337''A COMPLETE DESCRIPTION FOLLOWS--THIS STATION IS ON THE RARITAN
KV5337''BAY WATER-FRONT JUST NW OF THE SMALL TOWN OF MORGAN AND
KV5337''APPROXIMATELY 1/2 MILE WESTERLY FROM CHEESEQUAKE CREEK.  IT IS
KV5337''LOCATED ON A PROMINENT LONE KNOLL (25 FEET HIGH) JUST N OF THE
KV5337''CENTRAL RAILROAD OF NEW JERSEY TRACKS AND 23 METERS INSHORE OF
KV5337''HIGH-WATER LINE.
KV5337
KV5337                          STATION RECOVERY (1937)
KV5337
KV5337''RECOVERY NOTE BY COAST AND GEODETIC SURVEY 1937
KV5337''LETTER OF MR. ANTON SCHAFFER, 527 HIGH STREET, PERTH AMBOY, NEW
KV5337''JERSEY, 10/12/37--
KV5337''
KV5337''I WOULD CALL ATTENTION TO YOUR TRIANGULATION STATION LOCATED ON
KV5337''THE S SIDE OF THE RARITAN BAY, NEAR A POINT CALLED CONOVER COVE,
KV5337''WHICH IN TURN IS ABOUT A 1/4 MILE N OF THE BRIDGE CROSSING
KV5337''CHEESEQUAKE CREEK.  THIS STATION IS ON A KNOLL ABOUT 20 FEET
KV5337''IN HEIGHT.  THE U.S.C. AND G.S. DISK HAS BEEN REMOVED AND THE
KV5337''FOUNDATION HAS BEEN EXPOSED BY EROSION AND IS IN DANGER OF BEING
KV5337''DISTURBED.
KV5337
KV5337                          STATION RECOVERY (1955)
KV5337
KV5337''RECOVERY NOTE BY NJ CONS AND ECON DEV 1955 (HJH)
KV5337''REPORT FROM NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF CONSERVATION AND ECONOMIC
KV5337''DEVELOPMENT, TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, DATED JANUARY 22, 1955--
KV5337''
KV5337''STATION WAS REPORTED AS HAVING BEEN DESTROYED BY WAVE ACTION
KV5337''FROM RARITAN BAY.

Location of the Monument and Buoys from the 1887 Joint Boundary Commission Report.

The “Monument” Marking the Boundary Line Between New Jersey and New York on Raritan Bay, Circa 1919.

One result of the decisions of the 1887 Joint Boundary Commission, which defined the still in effect state boundary lines across and under Raritan Bay between the states of New Jersey and New York, was something called “The Monument”.

At the time of the commission it was common practice to place inscribed granite monuments at key points along the NJ/NY boundary to mark the boundary.  Naturally putting a solid granite monument on water was not possible and required a different approach.  They needed something which would float. At the eleventh meeting of the Joint Boundary Commission held on October 31, 1887 at 47 Montgomery Street, Jersey City, NJ, the commissioners decided “to use iron for casing the permanent monument.”

At the following (12^th) meeting on November 30, 1887, Lieut. G. C. Hanus (US Navy representing New York) indicated to the commission “… the position of the permanent beacon has been properly located on the ground… It is marked by five stakes, the center one having a red flag nailed to it.  As the position is very important, I subsequently planted a second-class wooden spar-buoy on this spot, with the aid of the light-house tender. It is not likely that the ice will carry this buoy away, as it is well moored to a heavy stone anchor.”

You can see the position of “The Monument” on the map at the spot where it says “Permanent Mont.”

At this same meeting, regarding the buoys which were also to be placed on the boundary line defined by “Morgan 2” and the Romer Stone Beacon, Lieut. Hanus indicated “Through the kindness of the Light-House Board, I was enabled to plant all the buoys without much difficulty… we had no difficulty in dropping the buoys in the desired places on the boundary line. The buoy nearest the monument was placed in the position marked on the map.  It is a second-class wooden buoy.”  The next four buoys were “iron spar-buoy of the third class…All the above buoys are painted white above the line of floatation and green under water” and the seventh buoy was a “wooden can, and can be replaced by an iron spar.”

The permanent “monument” was eventually put in the bay at the intersection of the Great Beds/Waackaack Beacon line and the “Morgan 2”/Romer Stone Beacon line where it remains today.  In the days before electronic navigation, this monument provided a visual reference point to navigators and was especially necessary since the boundary line changed direction at this point.  Great Beds Lighthouse served a similar function as the boundary also changed direction at that spot.

Putting a “Permanent Mont.”, i.e., Permanent Monument, on water required a different approach though it still was to have “State Boundary Line, New York and New Jersey” engraved on it. 

The photo on this posting shows what “The Monument” looked like circa 1919.  It was to have “State Boundary Line, New York and New Jersey” inscribed on it.  I’m hoping to get an updated photo by this summer from my childhood friend Rich who still boats about in Raritan Bay.  I don’t recall seeing the globe on the monument and doubt that the globe would still be on it well over a century after the monument was put in place.

As a kid, when we went boating in the bay I knew of “The Monument” but really didn’t have any clue as to its significance or usage.  I doubt anyone else knew much about it either at the time or, perhaps, even now.  Hopefully this posting will make this clear.

“Map of the Boundary Line between the States of New York and New Jersey in Lands under Water in Raritan Bay” from the 1887 Joint Boundary Commission Report.

If you look at the “Map of the Boundary Line between the States of New York and New Jersey in Lands under Water in Raritan Bay” from the Joint Boundary Commission Report dated October 12, 1887, you’ll see that there are four Raritan Bay boundary line segments making up the boundary.  These points and boundary lines were agreed to by the members of the commission at their ninth meeting held on September 21, 1887 at 47 Montgomery Street in Jersey City, NJ.  

Starting with the segment at the mouth of the Arthur Kill and ending with the segment just north of Sandy Hook which projects out into the Atlantic Ocean, this posting will discuss what was used to determine the start and end points for each of the four line segments.  Some points were based on structures which were present at the time either on land or in the bay.  Some of these structures are still there, others are not.  Some of the points were derived by using landmarks visible from the bay to create a point over the bay.  At the time of the report in 1887, two of the structures were present in the bay, one structure was to be placed in the bay, one point was “Morgan 2” (see the March 25, 2010 posting), and five of the landmarks where physical structures.  

Some of the text in the following descriptions is from the Joint Boundary Report which was subsequently translated into state law.  I’ve made some changes to the verbiage to make it easier to read (at least for me).  

First Boundary Line Segment  

The first point in this line segment is a point over the bay which was derived by using two buildings as a reference. The second point in this line segment is the Great Beds Lighthouse which is featured in the November 1, 2009 posting on this Morgan-NJ.org web site.  

For the first point, one building was (and maybe still is) in Perth Amboy, NJ.  The other building was (and maybe still is) at Ward’s Point on Staten Island, NY.  The point derived from these two buildings was “equidistant between the southwesterly corner of the dwelling-house of David C. Butler at Ward’s Point on Staten Island in the state of New York and the southeasterly corner of the brick building on the lands of Cortlandt L. Parker at the intersection of the westerly line of Water street with the northerly line of Lewis Street in Perth Amboy in the state of New Jersey.”  

The line going between the derived bisection point and Great Beds Lighthouse goes in the direction of 159 degrees 44 minutes off of true north.  

Second Boundary Line Segment  

The second line segment started at Great Beds Lighthouse and ended at a point which was at the intersection of two lines.  

The first line of the intersection went from Great Beds Lighthouse to a 96 foot tall beacon, completed in 1856, located in what is now Keansburg (Monmouth County), New Jersey.  The beacon was the Waackaack Rear Range Light (notated on the map as “Wilson’s or Waackaack Beacon”) which was on land acquired from a person named Andrew Wilson.  Surveyors would easily be able to see both of these structures from the bay. Unfortunately the Waackaack Rear Range Light was torn down in the 1950’s.  The area is now a residential neighborhood.  

Incidentally, the line going between the Great Beds Lighthouse and Waackaack Rear Range Light goes in the direction of 115 degrees 39 minutes off of true north.  

The second line of the intersection starts on the west side of the bay at a point called “Morgan 2” then cuts straight across the bay to a point in the bay just north of Sandy Hook known as the “Romer Stone Beacon”. It took me a very long time to piece it together but “Morgan 2” is/was a “Triangulation Point” defined/created by the U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (predecessor to the current National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Geodetic Survey) sometime during or before 1834.  See the Morgan-NJ.org posting from March 25, 2010 which discusses “Morgan 2” in more depth. This particular survey point has a very important and key characteristic.  If you think of Raritan Bay as a big angle with the north side being New York and the south side being New Jersey – easily pictured if you view the photos from space contained in the January 24, 2010 posting – “Morgan 2” lies at the vertex of the angle.  The easiest way to partition the bay between the two states is to divide this angle in half.  From that line south is New Jersey.  From that line north is New York. That is essentially what was done by the 1877 Joint Boundary Commission.  

The second point defining this line which intersects with the Great Beds Light/Waackaack Beacon line is/was the “Granite and Iron beacon” situated on the “Dry Romer shoal”.  Construction for this beacon started in 1885 and continued into 1886 when, on July 15th, the light was turned on for the first time. Today there is a 54-foot tall “sparkplug” lighthouse (the same type of light house as Great Beds Lighthouse) which was installed in 1898.  I never knew there was a lighthouse here and look forward to seeing it in on a future trip to NJ.  You can learn more about this lighthouse by clicking here.  

At this intersection point a permanent “monument” was eventually placed.  This is identified on the map as “Permanent Mont.”  See the March 21, 2010 posting for more information about “The Monument”.  

Third Boundary Line Segment  

The third boundary line occupies most of the “Morgan 2”/Romer line discussed in the Second Boundary Line Segment section above.  This boundary line, the longest straight line boundary segment on Raritan Bay at nearly 14 statue miles in length, has the most significance to Morgan as this line uses the “Morgan 2” triangulation point as one of its two defining points.  Though “Morgan 2” marks the beginning of the line, the boundary actually starts at the Monument, located a little further to the east. This boundary line lies 77 degrees 9 minutes from true north and extends through the Romer Stone Beacon (Lighthouse) further east until it intersects yet another virtual line.  Between the Monument and the Romer Stone Beacon were to be placed, per the Joint Boundary Commission Report, “eight buoys or spindles.”  

There is more to the story regarding what lies on this line when projected further west of “Morgan 2”. See the March 21, 2010 posting about the “Rocket Launcher”.  

The line which intersects this third boundary line essentially is the dividing line between Raritan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.  Its first point, located on the south side of the bay, uses a beacon which was, and maybe still is, located on the northern tip of the Sandy Hook, NJ peninsula.  The second point, located on the northern part of the bay, was the Oriental Hotel on Coney Island.  Opened by Andrew Culver in 1876, the Oriental Hotel was the most exclusive of the three exclusive and plush big name hotels which catered to the well to do during Coney Island’s heyday.  Though long gone, having closed in 1916, today the site of the Oriental Hotel is occupied by Manhattan Beach Park.  

Fourth Boundary Line Segment  

At the intersection of the “Morgan 2”/Romer line and the Sandy Hook Beacon/Oriental Hotel line is the point where the fourth boundary line segment starts and heads at a right angle in a more southerly direction into the Atlantic Ocean.

Great Egret resting on a log in Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.

I was astounded on one trip back home to Morgan a few years ago when I wandered onto the beach in the southern most part of what is now Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.  There were two birds which looked very much like Canadian Geese.  When I lived there as a kid, I never recalled seeing this type of bird.  I remember the Ducks, Robins, what were probably Sparrows, the occasional Cardinal and Blue Jay but mostly I remember Sea Gulls flying across the bay’s shoreline.  However, when I was a kid, I never crossed the tracks and went onto the jut of landfill making up what is now Raritan Bay Waterfront Park as my parents told me to never cross the railroad tracks.

On this particular day on the shoreline, I was fortunate enough to run into a gentleman who was looking into a huge monocular which I was to find out was a special piece of optical equipment used specifically for “birdwatching” or “birding”.  Not only that, but the gentleman went on to tell me that this part of Morgan was very well known in Birding circles for its large variety of bird species.  For Sea Gulls there are, I think he said, three (or five) different species which have their habitat on Raritan Bay.  Yes, those were Canadian Geese and yes that was an Egret. Unfortunately I had no way to take notes at the time.  This encounter was before I had the notion of creating this web site and unfortunately I was not able to fully absorb all the amazing information he was providing to me.  He really knew quite a lot about the subject.  I was also dumbfounded (a common theme in this web site) that all these different species were present in the area.

Sea Gulls Resting in Raritan Bay on the Old Pipeline Pilings from the Sewage Treatment Plant.

There are also birding opportunities in Cheesequake State Park which is further inland from Raritan Bay near the headwaters of Cheesequake Creek. Cheesequake State Park has been a park since it opened on June 22, 1940.

Here are a few links which discuss Birdwatching in Morgan, South Amboy or Raritan Bay.  The most amazing statistic is presented on the New Jersey Audubon web site – there are over 210 species of birds able to be observed from the Morgan area including 12 types of gulls!

Click here to see NJ Audubon’s Guide to Birding along Raritan Bay.

Click here to see NJ Audubon’s directions on how to get to good observation sites in Morgan & South Amboy and the Bird List.

Click here to see lots of nice photographs of Winter Bird Watching in Raritan Bay Waterfront Park and a little further south in Old Bridge Waterfront Park.

Click here to see information about Cheesequake State Park.

Click here to see a PDF file with tons of information regarding birding in Middlesex County (the county Morgan, Sayreville & South Amboy are in).

Ruins of the Raritan Bay Dock in Morgan.

Portion of the 1934 U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey of Raritan Bay Showing the Dock.

Jutting out into Raritan Bay in the southern most (Morgan) portion of Raritan Bay Waterfront Park is the remains of an old dock.  What little is left of the structure are the short wooden pile stumps erupting out of the sand. It isn’t clear to me what the real name of this dock was but somehow I concluded it was perhaps called Perrine Dock.  I don’t know where I got that information so it may not be correct. 

It also isn’t clear how any vessel could have floated to the dock since it is so close to the shore and the bay is very shallow at this part.  At low tide, all of the pile remains are totally surrounded by sand with no water.  Perhaps it wasn’t always this way in this area.  The sludge from the dredging of the Raritan Bay channels in the 1950’s was deposited in what now is the Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.  Most likely some of the spillage flowed over to and filled in the area of the dock remains.  The 1934 Raritan Bay survey (see illustration and the November 30, 2009 posting), which occurred prior to the dredging, showed depths around the dock of one foot at low tide.  This survey also shows the dock as having been in the shape of the letter “L”.  The stem (i.e., longest part) traveled from the shoreline into the bay in an east northeast direction where it then turned 90 degrees to the right (south southeast).  This short part, which was parallel with the shoreline, must have been were the boats tied up to the dock. The remains of the dock seen in the 1940 aerial image on HistoricAerials.com (see posting from October 17, 2009) show just the short side of the dock. 

I’m surmising but most likely this dock would have used by local farmers to load produce onto boats for transportation to other places, including possibly New York City.  Possibly it also helped provide supplies brought in from elsewhere. There is actually much more I don’t know about this structure than there is what I do know.  I don’t know when it was built, by whom, why, what it really was used for, when it stopped being used, or when it fell into ruins.  I do know that there was a dock there and all that is left are the piling stumps. 

This dock does not show on the 1886 Raritan Bay survey (see November 30, 2009 posting) but can be seen – if you are looking for it – in the episode of the NBC TV show “Mercy” which was partially filmed in Morgan (see the March 4, 2010 posting). 

If anyone with Morgan knowledge has any information regarding this dock, please make an entry in the Comments section below.

Mr. Raymond Skarzynski, from the Parlin Section of Sayreville, Reflects on Living in Sayreville as Part of the Sayreville Historical Society’s Oral History Project.

The Sayreville Historical Society is currently working on an oral history project which focuses on how Sayreville changed between the time period before World War II and the time periods after it.  Like the rest of Sayreville, Morgan underwent substantial changes, a large housing boom for instance, in the post World War II years. The Historical Society is looking to interview and record long time Sayreville residents – especially Morgan residents – who are willing to share their observations, perspectives and experiences through those time periods. 

It was quite exciting to watch NBC’s “Mercy” on March 3, 2010 which featured selected locations from Morgan, NJ.  One of them was essentially my childhood back yard!  The episode, which was filmed this past January as discussed in the January 26, 2010 Morgan-NJ.org posting, featured the interior of Teddy’s Bar on South Pine Avenue, the exterior and immediate area around Monahan House Tavern – also on South Pine Avenue, and the shoreline of Raritan Bay Waterfront Park. 

One of the interesting movie magic moments is an exterior shot where one of the characters walks into the Monahan House Tavern (called the “Red Fox Saloon”). When it cuts to the interior shot showing the character walking in, the character actually walks into the interior of Teddy’s Bar!  How cool!

One shot appears to look down what I think is Portia Street toward Raritan Bay.  The scenes shot on the beach just south of the pavilion in South Amboy are actually technically in Sayreville, which means it is technically in Morgan!  During the sequence on the beach you can see the cat tails growing on the beach (I think they are called cat tails, maybe one of the readers knows this plant’s proper name), Great Beds Lighthouse on the Bay, the remains of what I believe was called Perrine Dock, and the 1924 built northbound Route 35 trestle bridge crossing over the New Jersey Transit railroad tracks mentioned in the October 9, 2009 posting.  My childhood back yard.

You can see some more information about the day of the filming in Morgan on page 10 of the February 20, 2010 South Amboy-Sayreville Times.

You can also see some additional detail about this episode of “Mercy” entitled “I Did Kill You, Didn’t I?” online at Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB.com).

In the mean time, you can watch this episode, courtesy of Hulu.com, below.  Note the image displayed is the Raritan Bay Waterfront Park beach in Morgan looking out toward Staten Island with the remains of what I believe was called Perrine Dock just to the left of the play arrow.