High Point
Encyclopedia
High Point, in the northwestern part of New Jersey
in Montague, Sussex County
in the Skylands Region
of New Jersey, is the highest elevation in the state at 1,803 feet (550 m). It is southeast of Port Jervis
, New York
. High Point is the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains
.
At the peak is the High Point Monument, a 220-foot (67 m) tower, built in 1930 to commemorate the war dead. Three states can be seen from the top: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
skirts the park and carries visitors from the New Jersey suburbs and from points in New York State. The park is administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry
.
.
The land for High Point State Park, donated by Colonel Anthony R. and Susie Dryden Kuser
of Bernardsville, New Jersey
, was dedicated as a park in 1923. The pleasant landscaping was designed by the Olmsted Brothers
of Boston, a prominent landscape architectural firm of that time. The brothers were the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted
, who designed Central Park
.
To the south the Appalachian Trail
follows a rocky ridge which offers many scenic views of the valleys and mountains surrounding the area. To the north, the trail drops off the ridge through hemlock gorges into former agricultural fields with a view of the surrounding countryside and the High Point Monument in the distance.
Plans had been made to close the park as of July 1, 2008 under Gov. Jon Corzine
's budget plan for 2009. Veterans groups, who have held an annual memorial at the site, expressed their opposition to the proposal, which was ultimately removed from the final budget.
High Point, New Jersey was the host "highpoint" of the 2009 Highpointers Convention.
to the north and the Wallkill River
Valley in the southeast. The Monument is an obelisk
monument similar to other war monuments, such as the one on Bunker Hill
in Massachusetts
.
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
in Montague, Sussex County
Sussex County, New Jersey
The County of Sussex is the northernmost county in the State of New Jersey. It is part of the New York City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2010 Federal decennial census, 149,265 persons resided in Sussex County...
in the Skylands Region
Skylands Region
The Skylands Region is a marketing area of the State of New Jersey located in the Northern and Central part of the state. It is one of six tourism regions established by the New Jersey State Department of Tourism, the others being the Gateway Region, Greater Atlantic City Region, the Southern...
of New Jersey, is the highest elevation in the state at 1,803 feet (550 m). It is southeast of Port Jervis
Port Jervis, New York
Port Jervis is a city on the Delaware River in western Orange County, New York, with a population of 8,860 at the 2000 census. The communities of Deerpark, Huguenot, Sparrowbush, and Greenville are adjacent to Port Jervis, and the towns of Montague, New Jersey and Matamoras, Pennsylvania face the...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. High Point is the highest peak of the Kittatinny Mountains
Kittatinny Mountains
The Kittatinny Mountains are a long ridge traversing across northwestern New Jersey running in a northeast-southwest axis. It is the first major ridge in the far northeastern extension of the Ridge and Valley province of the Appalachian Mountains...
.
At the peak is the High Point Monument, a 220-foot (67 m) tower, built in 1930 to commemorate the war dead. Three states can be seen from the top: New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.
High Point State Park
The mountain is in the 14,193 acre (57 km²) High Point State Park. Route 23Route 23 (New Jersey)
Route 23 is a state highway in the northern part of New Jersey in the United States. The route runs from County Route 506 and County Route 577 in Verona, Essex County northwest to the border with New York at Montague Township in Sussex County, where the road continues to Port Jervis, New York as...
skirts the park and carries visitors from the New Jersey suburbs and from points in New York State. The park is administered by the New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry
New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry
The New Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry is responsible for the management and operation of New Jersey's 42 parks, 11 forests and 3 recreation areas, as well as for the more than 50 historic sites and districts...
.
.
The land for High Point State Park, donated by Colonel Anthony R. and Susie Dryden Kuser
Anthony R. Kuser
Anthony R. Kuser was a businessman and philanthropist who built the High Point monument and donated the land that makes up New Jersey's highest point....
of Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville, New Jersey
Bernardsville is a borough and affluent suburb in Somerset County, New Jersey, United States. Bernardsville has the 10th-highest per capita income in the state. Nationwide, Bernardsville ranks 75th among the 100 highest-income places in the United States...
, was dedicated as a park in 1923. The pleasant landscaping was designed by the Olmsted Brothers
Olmsted Brothers
The Olmsted Brothers company was an influential landscape design firm in the United States, formed in 1898 by stepbrothers John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. .-History:...
of Boston, a prominent landscape architectural firm of that time. The brothers were the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted was an American journalist, social critic, public administrator, and landscape designer. He is popularly considered to be the father of American landscape architecture, although many scholars have bestowed that title upon Andrew Jackson Downing...
, who designed Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
.
To the south the Appalachian Trail
Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the AT, is a marked hiking trail in the eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is approximately long...
follows a rocky ridge which offers many scenic views of the valleys and mountains surrounding the area. To the north, the trail drops off the ridge through hemlock gorges into former agricultural fields with a view of the surrounding countryside and the High Point Monument in the distance.
Plans had been made to close the park as of July 1, 2008 under Gov. Jon Corzine
Jon Corzine
Jon Stevens Corzine is the former CEO of Goldman Sachs and of MF Global, and a one time American politician, who served as the 54th Governor of New Jersey from 2006 to 2010. A Democrat, Corzine served five years of a six-year U.S. Senate term representing New Jersey before being elected Governor...
's budget plan for 2009. Veterans groups, who have held an annual memorial at the site, expressed their opposition to the proposal, which was ultimately removed from the final budget.
High Point, New Jersey was the host "highpoint" of the 2009 Highpointers Convention.
War veterans monument
The Monument on High Point was built by Kuyser to honor war veterans. Master mason Michael Maddaluna began construction of the 220 foot (67 m) tower – which has a base which is 34 square feet (3.2 square meters) – in 1928 and completed it in 1930. The outside is made of New Hampshire granite and also Shawangunk quartz. There are four small windows through which observers have a view of the ridges of the Pocono Mountains toward the west, the Catskill MountainsCatskill Mountains
The Catskill Mountains, an area in New York State northwest of New York City and southwest of Albany, are a mature dissected plateau, an uplifted region that was subsequently eroded into sharp relief. They are an eastward continuation, and the highest representation, of the Allegheny Plateau...
to the north and the Wallkill River
Wallkill River
The Wallkill River, a tributary of the Hudson, drains Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey, flowing from there generally northeasterly to Rondout Creek in New York, near Rosendale, with the combined flows reaching the Hudson at Kingston....
Valley in the southeast. The Monument is an 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...
monument similar to other war monuments, such as the one on Bunker Hill
Bunker Hill Monument
-External links:****: cultural context**...
in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.