Camp Merritt Memorial Circle
Encyclopedia
The Camp Merritt Memorial Circle is a traffic circle
in Cresskill
and Dumont, New Jersey
at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Knickerbocker Road (CR 505
).
Cresskill was the home of Camp Merritt
, the major embarkation point for American troops being sent abroad to fight in World War I
. A large obelisk
memorial, set in the middle of the traffic circle commemorates this fact.
General John Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force
, headed the list of dignitaries who participated in the dedication of the Camp Merritt Monument on Memorial Day, May 30, 1924. The 66 feet (20.1 m) tall (20 m) obelisk, constructed of Stony Creek granite by the Harrison Granite Company, is inscribed with the names of 15 officers, 558 enlisted men, four nurses and one civilian, who died at Camp Merritt during the war. An inscription on the south side states that the obelisk "marks the centre of the camp and faces the highway over which more than a million American soldiers passed on their way to and from the World War, 1917-1919."
Traffic circle
A traffic circle or rotary is a type of circular intersection in which traffic must travel in one direction around a central island. In some countries, traffic entering the circle has the right-of-way and drivers in the circle must yield. In many other countries, traffic entering the circle must...
in Cresskill
Cresskill, New Jersey
Cresskill is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 8,573. The town got its name from the watercress that grew in its streams, or "kills"....
and Dumont, New Jersey
Dumont, New Jersey
Dumont is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. The population was 17,479 at the 2010 Census.Dumont was formed on July 20, 1894, as the Borough of Schraalenburgh from portions of Harrington Township and Palisades Township, at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping...
at the intersection of Madison Avenue and Knickerbocker Road (CR 505
County Route 505 (New Jersey)
County Route 505 is a county highway in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The highway extends 20.64 miles from John F. Kennedy Boulevard in Union City to the New York state line in Northvale.-Route description:...
).
Cresskill was the home of Camp Merritt
Camp Merritt, New Jersey
Camp Merritt was a military base in Cresskill, in Bergen County, New Jersey, that was activated for use in World War I. It was from this camp that thousands of soldiers were deployed to Hoboken, New Jersey before being shipped off to Europe. Approximately four million troops were sent to the...
, the major embarkation point for American troops being sent abroad to fight in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. A large obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
memorial, set in the middle of the traffic circle commemorates this fact.
General John Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
, headed the list of dignitaries who participated in the dedication of the Camp Merritt Monument on Memorial Day, May 30, 1924. The 66 feet (20.1 m) tall (20 m) obelisk, constructed of Stony Creek granite by the Harrison Granite Company, is inscribed with the names of 15 officers, 558 enlisted men, four nurses and one civilian, who died at Camp Merritt during the war. An inscription on the south side states that the obelisk "marks the centre of the camp and faces the highway over which more than a million American soldiers passed on their way to and from the World War, 1917-1919."