Watchung Mountains - History

History

The original inhabitants of the Watchungs, the Lenape, referred to the mountains as the Wach Unks, or ‘high hills’. Evidence of the Lenape presence in the Watchungs can be seen in numerous camps sites that have been uncovered, mainly along the rivers coursing through mountains and in the small caves abundant in the volcanic rock. It is thought the Lenape favored the Watchungs for their profusion of natural resources, including abundant freshwater rivers and streams, a variety of forests, and plentiful fish and game. They also took advantage of the rich soils and maintained many farm areas where they raised a variety of seasonal crops.

With the arrival of Europeans, the same resources that sustained the indigenous peoples served settlers. Trade in furs to European markets, a bounty of game and fish, and native garden produce for the traders was important during the Dutch colonial period when few settlements occurred. Perhaps most importantly with the settlements established during the English colonial period, the rivers and streams of the Watchungs also supported grain, grist, and saw mills. Later, the energy of these rivers would be harnessed for industry, most notably at the Great Falls of the Passaic River, where mechanical and hydroelectric systems exploited the energy of water falling over the face of First Watchung Mountain.

Outside of providing gradation to rivers and streams, the height of the Watchungs has proven useful for other reasons.

• During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington used the protection of the Watchung mountains to erect the first and second Middlebrook encampment. This position on the high ground also allowed him to monitor the area between Perth Amboy and New Brunswick as well as to identify and disturb British movements between Manhattan and Philadelphia.
• In the twentieth century, the Hilltop in Verona, the highest point in Essex County, served as the site of a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The county hospital was built there because the high elevation provided clean, mountain air away from the cities to the east.
• At the height of the Cold War, Campgaw Mountain was selected to house a Nike missile base. Installed on the mountain between 1955 and 1971, the base’s missiles served to guard New York City air space, standing by to intercept nuclear armed Soviet bombers. The facility ultimately was abandoned with the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two other missile sites were nestled into the forests atop peaks in Mountainside and Morris Township, creating a triangle of redundant sites.