Let me clarify that it is 1 mile to the Raritan Bay which then goes into the Atlantic Ocean. I hoped the map provided in the video would have made it obvious that I misspoke.
If you ever get back to NE Oregon, I think you would like to see the old town heppner flood. Lots of families still around there living and in the cemetery that were affected by this
Great video! You'd deserve to be on TV. Always have correct info for these stories..or atleast try to be close. I couldn't imagine swimming in there and a shark appears. Now days it would be shocking, but could you imagine back then when they prolly didn't have the shark info we do now. So crazy!
Of course our government is going to say it's a bacterial or a viral outbreak with the fish, I'm willing to bet that it is toxic waste that is killing those fish from billionaires that dump their toxic waste in the ocean!
He's an idiot... he was told by the kids it was a shark!! He didn't believe them , his arrogance thinking he could be the hero and recover the body is what got him killed. He wasn't trying to save the boy, it was obvious the kid was already dead.. He shouldn't of gone into the water being told It was a shark!
As teenagers canoeing on the Patuxent river we saw a 7 foot bull shark swim under our canoe in about 3 feet of clear water, we were about 40 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake bay up river. Nobody believed us until a few years later 2 massive bull sharks were caught at the mouth of the Patuxent.
here in Kansas is the same thing with the Aligator gar. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism denies they exist here but I seen a few with my buddys im talking like 8-10 foot bastards. want to go down there with my mosin nagant and peg one of the big fuckers.
I'd shit myself if I seen a 7ft shark under my canoe. I always wanted a saltwater kayak to fish until I watched a video of a guy fishing off Oahu and a huge tiger shark just comes gliding along underneath his kayak. Looked like a dam mini sub. I did watch a tv special once, I'm pretty sure they said they've recorded bull sharks half way up the Mississippi river, crazy.
Reminds me of swimming in the Chesapeake bay as a kid. I always knew sharks COULD be in the water where we were. Honestly a fear that’s never truly left me
I grew up In Chesapeake, we never swam in the rivers because there were often shark sightings. The Chesapeake bay wasn’t all that interesting to swim in anyway compared to sandbridge, my family always went there instead especially because of how trashed the Chesapeake bay became. We wouldn’t even eat crabs caught from the bay at some point. I only swam in it once and it was not the best experience, especially compared to the NC beaches and south eastern VA beaches. The history in Virginia, even in the Chesapeake bay was what was really interesting about it. But yeah swimming in open water is really scary, it was almost like there were more shark sightings in the bay and rivers than at the actual beaches!
Same here with the Chesapeake. We used to jump off my grandfather's boat in the middle of the bay when I was little or swim in Back River (where we always heard there were juvenile sharks) all the time. But then after swimming at Calvert Cliffs once we saw a group of sandbar sharks where we had just gotten out. I was done with the bay after that. I'll go to clearer waters...even though I had a close encounter with a great hammerhead even in clear water. At least I saw it coming! I'll take the hammer i can see coming over the potential bull I can't see.
I appreciate the fact that you acknowledge that these were real people, most people treat them as only historical statistics without knowing better, awesome vid
Can we just acknowledge the outstanding job this young man did making this. Great speaker, very authentic, empathetic, just trying to present the history as he researched it. Well done!!
Great video. As somebody who's traveled the GSPW many times up there, I figured the site was probably visible from the roadway if you just knew where to look. Very well done sir.
I’d imagine in 1916 that water was actually pretty decent quality to swim in look at how nasty it is now even the fish drop dead from swimming in it...
In elementary I read a book called "I Survived the 1916 shark attacks." Thanks for bringing back an old memory, the book was great, easily comprehensible.
Use to swim in a large creek that was open to a lake with a sea way which turned out to be a breeding ground for bull sharks I’m surprised none of us kids were taken Rest In Peace boys
@@davidortiz3094 this is mainly due to bull sharks terrible sight so they do a bump and taste to inspect things so they bump and bite to see if things are food or not
@bill william I mean even when they don’t want to feed on people if you piss them off they will rip you apart and leave your half eaten corpse lying in the water or on shore
Seems since this video was posted, the newest issue of Weird N.J. magazine has come out and this story is featured on the cover. Good article about it too.
Great to see someone using the word "humbling" correctly. The Queen of England referred to her diamond jubilee as "humbling". I'm pretty sure having millions of people celebrate your anniversary while you wear tens of millions of dollars in jewels is the exact opposite of "humbling".
My great great uncle was killed by a shark when jetty jumping in Australia, it’s always interesting but extremely saddening to hear stories like this, beautifully well constructed video
Yeah I had a friend who got bitten on his calf by a 6ft bullshark in puerto Vallarta Mexico.. ripped a good portion of his lower leg right off.. he says he still has nightmares about it.. but he’s doing good now.. he had to have multiple skin graphs and surgeries to repair the damage.. but after a yr of rehab he got back to normal.. sorry to hear about your uncle bud 😌😔
I'm so sorry for your loss. I've only been to Australia once so far, but I would like to visit again because there is so much I didn't get to explore as a kid.
A few years ago I read a fantasic book about this called 'Twelve Days of Terror'. Now I have your excellent video to see where it all went down. I appreciate that you took the trouble to find Lester & Stanley's graves. Thank you for that. It's wonderful that they haven't been forgotton, especially Stanley's bravery.
@@justinyo1796 so nothing that happened before 1940 gets talked about? i mean most people who were alive in 1940 are dead, i’m saying we should appreciate the history of the area more than we do
@@kalebsowinski5210 no not that i know of, it’s brackish water, most people just go to the beach since it’s not far, for a few decades i think the pollution was bad in the creek so that stopped people for sure
Can you imagine enjoying a swim on a hot day on a careless summer day, only to be attacked by a shark. I feel deep empathy for those who have to go through that. That has to be one of worst nightmarish realities to ever exist
My mom told me one time she was in her 20s in 1975 when Jaws came out. She was a big water skier all her young life. She said after she saw Jaws she didn't go in the water for a decade
So I was told the story by a number of people who lived in matawan at the time. ( they were kids then and were quite elderly by the time they told me the story) and according to each of them (separate accounts) the person who originally saw the shark was basically “the town drunk”. That’s why nobody paid any attention to his claim of seeing a shark. Not sure if this is true, but it’s what I was told.
It’s important to note that both Lake Lefferts and Lake Matawan were dammed in the 1920, resulting in the silting of Matawan Creek ever since. When the attacks happened, the water would have been MUCH deeper and probably clearer due to a tidal flow carrying a much higher volume of water.
I find it hard to believe it was the first document case of a shark attack, because there are old paintings about shark attacks. One example is Watson and The Shark which was painted in 1778.
@@Nicole2023 Bummer. You know why it's called the Garden State, right? Because "Petrol Chemical Refinery Crazy Traffic Circle Annoying Accent State" is too long for a license plate.
Bull sharks , scariest thing I've ever been around, seen them eat their own by mistake in a feeding frenzy, absolutely amazing amount of pure mindless aggression.
They are truly blindly aggressive. Their bodies produce more of a SUPER concentrated dose of adrenaline than any animals outside of crocodiles. They go into a blind rage and eat ANYTHING that is near. You can literally feel and hear a crocodile building, building, building, then they snap like a bowstring and use it all up in one wild thrashing moment.
So then, I'm thinking if bull sharks completely devour their prey, then the shark mentioned in this video, probably wasn't a bull shark because remains were found...
Every year in matwawan/keyport area there is a die off of fish in mass amounts. Something with all the fish coming in and there being a short oxygen supply in the water. There's actually not that many in here compared to what it usually is. . The smell that comes with it is brutal.
It's a rare disease that only affects a certain kind of fish and was reported on the news. It's been going on for months. Hopefully they clear the rivers because the areas surrounding the river stink.
That's actually pretty common, I know he mentioned a disease but the disease must be around every single year because there's plenty of dead fish in these waterways every year.
Just finished Shark Week on Discovery and your video 2 years later was a great explanation to honor those souls. It is amazing that a bull shark can travel that far inland.
I grew up in the Matawan area and was told the story as a kid. Now, everytime we pass the creek when we're traveling on the Garden State Parkway, I say "RIP boys" I heard that President Wilson visited Matawan after the attacks. If nothing else, he held a meeting that spoke about the shark issue. I still must get over to the cemetery to pay my respects !
Great great video I love hearing stories of the past. I could listen to them all day. I wish I could get a glimpse of the early 1900s or time travel to live in it for a bit. I bet the landscape was beautiful.
Fish people drag you down, if you don't dissolve from the water and Jersey toxins you'll become their love slave. Their favorite move to do is called the flipper
I love the fact you bring us along and speak on the events on location it really allows the viewer to picture the event with actual imagery the rest just talk about it. Thanks
America and oz have the same types of sharks swimming up brackish waters, mainly bulls but juvenile whites also. Australia is probably worse as everything in oz is trying to kill or eat your ass as soon as you arrive lol never mind the sharks there would be a que of things trying to eat you like salt water crocs!
@@TheBlackWings what the heck is cotton candy monsoon season? It certainly can’t be Australian. For starters we don’t have “cotton candy” we call it fairy floss and we don’t really get monsoons we get cyclones. So if whatever cotton candy monsoon season is, in Australia it would be called fairy floss cyclone season 🤣
Great video. Visiting the grave sites was an extra special and moving touch. As a young kid growing up near Newport Beach, CA I had an early fascination with sharks. I read so many books on attacks and the three that were the most compelling to me personally were this one in Matawan, NJ, the US Indianapolis sinking and Robert Pamperin who was taken by a huge GW in the kelp beds in La Jolla, CA....all of these stories were incredibly frightening to me....and then in the summer of 1975 JAWS was released. My mom had a beach house on Balboa Island that summer and NO ONE was in the water.....I was even traumatized to the point of making sure to check my parents backyard pool with a wary eye before getting in....I know that sounds ridiculous and it is now of course as a grown man, but back then it seemed plausible to my 12 year old shark traumatized mind...haha....anyways, great vid. Thank you!
When I was a kid, anytime my parents took me to the beach, even fresh water, I needed assurance that there were no sharks or big fish in the water or I wouldn't go in.
@@FrancisR420 I mean I was just a really stupid/paranoid kid too. For example, I also thought there were Orca whales or some kinda sea monster underneath the bathtub because the bathtub has water, it must connect to the ocean or something... Because I'm 5 and don't know shit about how plumbing works, and that if I got too close to the drain they would break through and eat me or some shit. Irrational fear of the water/the dark/ the unknown.
@@calebblack1420 I have/had that, I hate sharks they terrify the hell outta me. I was scared to close my eyes in the shower, I would always imagine a shark coming from my right or left side coming and getting me.
Great video man. This story is very fascinating and still intriguing to this day. Regarding the attacks and the shark, I think the attack was done by a Bull Shark. A documentary on this from the Smithsonian looked at some documents of the bite marks of Joseph Dunn and from what’s documented it appears that it was done by a Bull Shark. It’s fair to say that the shark that attacked and killed Lester and Stanley also attacked Joseph. I’ve got a feeling most, if not all the 1916 attacks were done by Bull Sharks as when you hear and read about the attacks, they seem very aggressive and in-line with attacks that are associated with Bull Sharks. Not to say Great White’s can’t be aggressive, but from what we know of the attacks and the area of the places the attacks happened, I think Bull Sharks were more likely, especially considering Great Whites aren’t as common in New Jersey compared to Bull Sharks. Also, Great Whites aren’t typically found in warm waters as their favorite food are often in cooler waters and the summer of 1916 was quite hot and the waters would likely been fairly warm as well. Just something to consider, regardless of what the International Shark Attack File says. They could be wrong on saying a Great White did the attacks. But they could be right. It’s been said that the man who caught the Great White shark that’s apparently the killer actually put chicken bones and flesh into the shark to get fame for killing the shark that killed 4 people and injured another. Another theory for the flesh and bones is the shark could have encountered a dead man and eaten parts of him, as WWI was going on across the channel.
I’m from New Jersey. I appreciate you showing us where the attacks happened. You need to go to the Beach Haven Hotel sight and Spring Lake next! Very cool video!
I grew up in those swamps my backyard butted right up to the swap and played there from sun up to sun down..brings back memories I wasn't technically in Matawan but I lived in cliffwood Beach the swamp opened right into the bay...
I've been in the water at beach Haven and that night went to the movies and watched JAWS, and a man told us this story and I never went back into the water that year.
I grew up in Rhode Island and there is a pond that have so many snakes and as you walk on the trail next to the pond, you can see plenty of snakes baking in the sun. I was probably between 8 or 10 years old and this pond is located somewhere in Cranston, RI. We were kids, and our minds was just exploring during those years. I believe I went with friends to that pond…4 to 5 times and when I was in High School, I stop going. Many kids was drown there and the matter of fact, my friend father was there with his son, when something pulls his son down and he swim right in and took him out of the water before that something could drag his body deeper….scary in the 80’s.
That tunnel is sketchy as hell. Awesome video…… Always putting up some of the best content. Thanks Guys Nice Lamont at Large Shout Out Another one of my favorite Channels that I enjoy tuning in
Great video, well done. I always wanted to see the locations of where this happened. You covered that and more. Thanks for making and sharing the video.
as a person who lives in matawan i can confirm the water is that nasty and the smell is horrendous. My bus that took me to school legit drove over the road next to these train tracks every day
Store in Manhattan? Abercrombie and Fitch was a large sporting goods store back then, and did display taxidermy animals and had a large rifle department.
despite the history, that would be an awesome spot to visit. We have bull sharks come up the bay to the Susquehanna river every so often as well the last one was 2020.
Sharks: "Finally, by a 1 in a billion chance we have a freak child that can freely breath in fresh water, time to reconquer the inlands" People: "Bad time for evolution, buddy"
When I was younger I was afraid to swim in the deep end of the pool because a shark might appear. I don't do open water v well... Thanks for the great content!
Hey man great video! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read Peter Benchley novel jaws although it’s nowhere good as the movie. Jaws is my favorite movie. Also I have read closer to shore which was a fantastic book about these very incidents that occurred. So it was cool to see the actual creek in which some of the attacks occurred. If anyone is looking for a great book about this whole story read closer to shore. I forgot the name of the author but it’s great. R.I.P Lester, Stanley, and all victims. Sad and scary true story.
Can’t lie. Knowing a shark was in that water and killed people means they could get in there again. Don’t know if I could get in there and just be calm like he is. I keep waiting to see something in that dirty ass water. Gave me chills the entire time
Def Jersey, the dead fish everywhere is a dead giveaway. (Written before explanation). Also, thank you for the answer for the fish! Been seeing them everywhere and it was disconcerting. Cheesequake park had dead fish EVERYWHERE in the marsh pools. It was apocalyptic looking.
Why would 456 people "thumbs-down" this well put together, well presented, and very interesting video. Nice work done here, and DOES NOT deserve any criticism.
You know the scary thing is have sharks returned back to Matawan creek, if it can happen once it can happen again and who’s to say it’s happened already and nobody noticed
The really interesting thing for me is that my Great Grandfather was one of the kids at the dock swimming in the creek. He said he didn't and won't go swimming because his mother always told him that if you can't see the bottom of the creek to never go swimming.
I just saw the front page of the Philadelphia "Inquirer" newspaper from this time, and it said "Government to aid the fight to stamp out the shark horror." I can just picture Woodrow Wilson sending a detachment of troops to just shoot up the water. Why didn't Gerald Ford send in the National Guard to help kill the shark in "Jaws?" No wonder he lost to Jimmy Carter.
You're mistaken, if you are saying the NJ attacks in 1916 are the first documented in the US. The first documented shark attack in the US was on the St. Mary's River in the Chesapeake Bay in the early 18th century. It was an English sailor who was pulling his landing craft ashore and was attacked by a bull shark and died from his wounds.
Let me clarify that it is 1 mile to the Raritan Bay which then goes into the Atlantic Ocean. I hoped the map provided in the video would have made it obvious that I misspoke.
Another great 👍🏼 video and this hits very close to home for me as I live about 25/30 miles from Matawan !
If you ever get back to NE Oregon, I think you would like to see the old town heppner flood. Lots of families still around there living and in the cemetery that were affected by this
Man you were very close to my house.. if I knew you were out here filming, I would have come to see you and get a photo with you !
Great video! You'd deserve to be on TV. Always have correct info for these stories..or atleast try to be close. I couldn't imagine swimming in there and a shark appears. Now days it would be shocking, but could you imagine back then when they prolly didn't have the shark info we do now. So crazy!
Of course our government is going to say it's a bacterial or a viral outbreak with the fish, I'm willing to bet that it is toxic waste that is killing those fish from billionaires that dump their toxic waste in the ocean!
That 24 year old that tried to recover the boy and bled to death is a hero and I'm glad his story is being told. Great video.
He really is!!
RIP 24 year old Hero guy.
Stanley Fisher
@@Quinna5537 thank you sir
He's an idiot... he was told by the kids it was a shark!! He didn't believe them , his arrogance thinking he could be the hero and recover the body is what got him killed. He wasn't trying to save the boy, it was obvious the kid was already dead..
He shouldn't of gone into the water being told It was a shark!
As teenagers canoeing on the Patuxent river we saw a 7 foot bull shark swim under our canoe in about 3 feet of clear water, we were about 40 miles from the mouth of the Chesapeake bay up river. Nobody believed us until a few years later 2 massive bull sharks were caught at the mouth of the Patuxent.
I mean, bull sharks can take freshwater
When did that happen because when I was a kid on the elk river that’s north of the Chesapeake there was a bull shark in the waters swimming around .
here in Kansas is the same thing with the Aligator gar. The Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks and Tourism denies they exist here but I seen a few with my buddys im talking like 8-10 foot bastards. want to go down there with my mosin nagant and peg one of the big fuckers.
I'd shit myself if I seen a 7ft shark under my canoe. I always wanted a saltwater kayak to fish until I watched a video of a guy fishing off Oahu and a huge tiger shark just comes gliding along underneath his kayak. Looked like a dam mini sub. I did watch a tv special once, I'm pretty sure they said they've recorded bull sharks half way up the Mississippi river, crazy.
@@biggordo482 what
Anyone else read the "I Survived" book of this when they were little?
Yessss 😂
Yes ofc
Yeah, I had a few of them until some kids ripped them up. :/
Me
Yup
Reminds me of swimming in the Chesapeake bay as a kid. I always knew sharks COULD be in the water where we were. Honestly a fear that’s never truly left me
I grew up on the delaware bay....ya don't dare swim there either. Same feeling.
I grew up In Chesapeake, we never swam in the rivers because there were often shark sightings. The Chesapeake bay wasn’t all that interesting to swim in anyway compared to sandbridge, my family always went there instead especially because of how trashed the Chesapeake bay became. We wouldn’t even eat crabs caught from the bay at some point. I only swam in it once and it was not the best experience, especially compared to the NC beaches and south eastern VA beaches. The history in Virginia, even in the Chesapeake bay was what was really interesting about it. But yeah swimming in open water is really scary, it was almost like there were more shark sightings in the bay and rivers than at the actual beaches!
Same here with the Chesapeake. We used to jump off my grandfather's boat in the middle of the bay when I was little or swim in Back River (where we always heard there were juvenile sharks) all the time. But then after swimming at Calvert Cliffs once we saw a group of sandbar sharks where we had just gotten out. I was done with the bay after that. I'll go to clearer waters...even though I had a close encounter with a great hammerhead even in clear water. At least I saw it coming! I'll take the hammer i can see coming over the potential bull I can't see.
@@lifeislyrical3657hammerhead?? Sheesh
@@lifeislyrical3657give or take how big of a grwat hammerhead? Theyre up there with great whites in length even if theyre not as stocky and massive
I appreciate the fact that you acknowledge that these were real people, most people treat them as only historical statistics without knowing better, awesome vid
Can we just acknowledge the outstanding job this young man did making this. Great speaker, very authentic, empathetic, just trying to present the history as he researched it. Well done!!
Yes, very well done.
Great video. As somebody who's traveled the GSPW many times up there, I figured the site was probably visible from the roadway if you just knew where to look. Very well done sir.
And hung like a baboon!
Yes I agree I hope someday he’ll come over to Los Angeles and cover a story or two and meet and greet with him
totally agree with you, I love how he present the story it's very satisfying to listen to
I’d imagine in 1916 that water was actually pretty decent quality to swim in look at how nasty it is now even the fish drop dead from swimming in it...
Really sad
Not enough oxygen flow or bad pH
The cost of being “business friendly”.
D:
that was the first thing i noticed, and i was immediately disgusted with our species
In elementary I read a book called "I Survived the 1916 shark attacks." Thanks for bringing back an old memory, the book was great, easily comprehensible.
Haha same
Use to swim in a large creek that was open to a lake with a sea way which turned out to be a breeding ground for bull sharks I’m surprised none of us kids were taken Rest In Peace boys
@bill william yeah maybe was rich in mullet and other fish but accidents do happen
@bill william Bullsharks are more likely to attack humans than any other Shark. Known for the feeding frenzy & picking individuals out.
@@davidortiz3094 this is mainly due to bull sharks terrible sight so they do a bump and taste to inspect things so they bump and bite to see if things are food or not
@bill william I mean even when they don’t want to feed on people if you piss them off they will rip you apart and leave your half eaten corpse lying in the water or on shore
I’ve dived with bull sharks before in Playa del Carmen. Huge pregnant bull sharks. Nothing to worry about
The shark in question is called a Bull Shark, they can store salt in their gills to travel up freshwater rivers and creeks.
@budliite Are you really that stupid? Matawan Creek has dozens of tributaries that dump into it which are all freshwater. Including Lake Lefferts.
Correct
They actually store it in their anal gland I believe.
@budliite chill
Brackish * but yes
Extremely humbling and real, hearing the event and walking/paddling along with you. Thank you for this mini-documentary
Oh, he's fantastic. Never disappoints. All around great channel. 👌🏼.
Seems since this video was posted, the newest issue of Weird N.J. magazine has come out and this story is featured on the cover. Good article about it too.
You can barely see it but a fish jumps out the water at 14:45 way back right of the first tunnel on the left
Great to see someone using the word "humbling" correctly. The Queen of England referred to her diamond jubilee as "humbling". I'm pretty sure having millions of people celebrate your anniversary while you wear tens of millions of dollars in jewels is the exact opposite of "humbling".
@Billy Sastard 😂😂
My great great uncle was killed by a shark when jetty jumping in Australia, it’s always interesting but extremely saddening to hear stories like this, beautifully well constructed video
Yeah I had a friend who got bitten on his calf by a 6ft bullshark in puerto Vallarta Mexico.. ripped a good portion of his lower leg right off.. he says he still has nightmares about it.. but he’s doing good now.. he had to have multiple skin graphs and surgeries to repair the damage.. but after a yr of rehab he got back to normal.. sorry to hear about your uncle bud 😌😔
I'm so sorry for your loss. I've only been to Australia once so far, but I would like to visit again because there is so much I didn't get to explore as a kid.
Adelaide?
that fish stuck in that crevice of the tunnel at the beginning having a rough day
It's a defensive strategy I'm sure it's fine
Man: Tells historic story of tragedy
Random Fish: *shoves face in tunnel crevice*, "no pictures plz"
That's how fish sleep.
Batman he got his moment of fame and never even knew it.
@@treebeard7140 🤣 True he is famous on TH-cam now!
A few years ago I read a fantasic book about this called 'Twelve Days of Terror'. Now I have your excellent video to see where it all went down. I appreciate that you took the trouble to find Lester & Stanley's graves. Thank you for that. It's wonderful that they haven't been forgotton, especially Stanley's bravery.
this is in my hometown, people in Matawan don't talk about it a ton but its a pretty cool part of the history!
I’m from Matawan too
People don't talk About it because no one is alive from 1916 lol
@@justinyo1796 Damn that shark! Damn him to hell!
@@justinyo1796 so nothing that happened before 1940 gets talked about? i mean most people who were alive in 1940 are dead, i’m saying we should appreciate the history of the area more than we do
@@kalebsowinski5210 no not that i know of, it’s brackish water, most people just go to the beach since it’s not far, for a few decades i think the pollution was bad in the creek so that stopped people for sure
Can you imagine enjoying a swim on a hot day on a careless summer day, only to be attacked by a shark. I feel deep empathy for those who have to go through that. That has to be one of worst nightmarish realities to ever exist
My mom told me one time she was in her 20s in 1975 when Jaws came out. She was a big water skier all her young life. She said after she saw Jaws she didn't go in the water for a decade
It makes me mad that somebody literally reported seeing a shark and then it takes children dying for anyone to do anything or even listen.
It was just like the bear attacks of (I’m not positive) of 1967
in 1916 wtf were they gonna do
“THERES A SHARK IN WATER” what the hell you want them to do? Water has sharks? Idiot
So I was told the story by a number of people who lived in matawan at the time. ( they were kids then and were quite elderly by the time they told me the story) and according to each of them (separate accounts) the person who originally saw the shark was basically “the town drunk”. That’s why nobody paid any attention to his claim of seeing a shark. Not sure if this is true, but it’s what I was told.
would you believe someone talking about a shark in your local creek?
It’s important to note that both Lake Lefferts and Lake Matawan were dammed in the 1920, resulting in the silting of Matawan Creek ever since. When the attacks happened, the water would have been MUCH deeper and probably clearer due to a tidal flow carrying a much higher volume of water.
That “You’re braver then you believe” stone that someone put on his grave made me tear up.
Me too
wait... did I hear those words from Winnie the Pooh cartoon?
@@strix3688 yes
Something to admire not to tear up from
Seeing the very dock pilings which young Lester walked upon was remarkable! Good call checking it out at low tide...
I had hoped someone would have done a movie that accurately depicted these incidents for the 100th anniversary in 2016. No such luck.
There actually was a movie on Netflix around that time about it. It may still be on there.
@@deirdrecooke7993 12 Days of Terror
@@darreylhenderson702 on Netflix?
I find it hard to believe it was the first document case of a shark attack, because there are old paintings about shark attacks. One example is Watson and The Shark which was painted in 1778.
Glad you cleared up the mystery of all those dead fish. My first thought was suicide; that not even the fish wanted to live in New Jersey.
Your comment deserves wayy more likes😂😂 F NJ
@@vjrap New Jersey: The Garden State. Because petrol chemical refinery won't fit on a license plate.
funny comment I mover to New Jersey from California and it sucks so bad I'm miserable
@@Nicole2023 Bummer. You know why it's called the Garden State, right? Because "Petrol Chemical Refinery Crazy Traffic Circle Annoying Accent State" is too long for a license plate.
My girlfriend asked me to kiss her where it smells. So I took her to New Jersey
That was an excellent video. Nothing hyperbolic or sensationalized. Extremely informative. Very good commentator.
I was very impressed.
Bull sharks , scariest thing I've ever been around, seen them eat their own by mistake in a feeding frenzy, absolutely amazing amount of pure mindless aggression.
They are truly blindly aggressive. Their bodies produce more of a SUPER concentrated dose of adrenaline than any animals outside of crocodiles. They go into a blind rage and eat ANYTHING that is near. You can literally feel and hear a crocodile building, building, building, then they snap like a bowstring and use it all up in one wild thrashing moment.
So then, I'm thinking if bull sharks completely devour their prey, then the shark mentioned in this video, probably wasn't a bull shark because remains were found...
@@KrinchiDbulls will BITE anything , they dont always eat it all.
Also they have the highest levels of testosterone of any shark species in the world.
Bull sharks are the one shark that scares me the most.
Imagine sunbathing in 1916. “Look honey my ankles are tan!”
😂
Scandalous!
Why is no one talking about all the dead fish?
Every year in matwawan/keyport area there is a die off of fish in mass amounts. Something with all the fish coming in and there being a short oxygen supply in the water. There's actually not that many in here compared to what it usually is. . The smell that comes with it is brutal.
It's a rare disease that only affects a certain kind of fish and was reported on the news. It's been going on for months. Hopefully they clear the rivers because the areas surrounding the river stink.
06:30
That's actually pretty common, I know he mentioned a disease but the disease must be around every single year because there's plenty of dead fish in these waterways every year.
Pretty normal stuff in the estuaries with shad die-offs.
Really well done, enjoyed this a lot. The fact you're visiting the locations yourself made it more personal.
Just finished Shark Week on Discovery and your video 2 years later was a great explanation to honor those souls. It is amazing that a bull shark can travel that far inland.
This creek is a tidal creek with high salinities, so no surprise that ocean fish can move into area with incoming high tides.
Polio, Spanish flu, world war 1 and sharks with freaking lasers
Sharks with freakin laser beams attached to their heads
And we complain because of covid backcthen they ahd river sharks and no a.c. in the summers u gotta swim with caution
Fricking laser beams attached to their heads!!!!!
We definitely need a billion of freaking sharks with laser beams attached to their head. Only if it’s not too freaking freezing Mr. Picklesworth
I grew up in the Matawan area and was told the story as a kid.
Now, everytime we pass the creek when we're traveling on the Garden State Parkway, I say "RIP boys"
I heard that President Wilson visited Matawan after the attacks. If nothing else, he held a meeting that spoke about the shark issue.
I still must get over to the cemetery to pay my respects !
Great great video I love hearing stories of the past. I could listen to them all day. I wish I could get a glimpse of the early 1900s or time travel to live in it for a bit. I bet the landscape was beautiful.
Bull sharks have made it all the way to Alton, Illinois, on the Mississippi. Same thing at the southern tip of Ohio on the Ohio River.
They have made it into central africa.....up the mississippi is like a highway compared to places they been found in africa and australia
You're correct I live in Indiana at the most southwest tip on the Ohio and there have been bull sharks found up here
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Love your channel ❤
Hey man
The legend, the myth Lamont At Large
Aye Lamont you should visit some cemeteries in North Jersey we have some super old Graves and creepy paranormal activity in the weehawken cemetery
Lamont I love your channel. 🙏🏽
the amount of dead fish is SCARY
The only sharks left in that creek have mutated into something else...I'm sure.
lmaoooo everything around here is deformed even the people
@@heysiritellmeacoolprofilen7296 lmao
Fish people drag you down, if you don't dissolve from the water and Jersey toxins you'll become their love slave. Their favorite move to do is called the flipper
@@Makasennn Are you serious!? How the hell did you manage to escape?
Teenage mutant ninja sharks
0:01 Your first words should have been: "I need a bigger boat".
My hometown. It's always nice seeing Matawan getting some love. Granted the circumstances aren't the best.
I love the fact you bring us along and speak on the events on location it really allows the viewer to picture the event with actual imagery the rest just talk about it. Thanks
We have lots of sharks that come inland here in Australia. They go wherever the food is even the salinity of the water doesn't seem to bother them
America and oz have the same types of sharks swimming up brackish waters, mainly bulls but juvenile whites also. Australia is probably worse as everything in oz is trying to kill or eat your ass as soon as you arrive lol never mind the sharks there would be a que of things trying to eat you like salt water crocs!
@@BUSTERy dude, you guys have alligators, bears, bobcats, rattlesnakes etc
@@BUSTERy africa has issues with bull sharks running miles inland
@@NessyPerth literally everything hates you and/or is highly venomous in australia
not to mention the cotton candy monsoon season
@@TheBlackWings what the heck is cotton candy monsoon season? It certainly can’t be Australian. For starters we don’t have “cotton candy” we call it fairy floss and we don’t really get monsoons we get cyclones. So if whatever cotton candy monsoon season is, in Australia it would be called fairy floss cyclone season 🤣
Was the first victim's dog named "Pippet?" Very cool video, Chris! A lot of folks don't realize that Jaws was loosely based on real shark attacks.
I thought that was familiar
I remembered the dog was similar to Charles's dog in real life but I didn't know if it was meant to be that
That mural entrance of the shark mouth gives me chills as the first Candyman movie. Painted by unknown followers of history.
Great video. Visiting the grave sites was an extra special and moving touch. As a young kid growing up near Newport Beach, CA I had an early fascination with sharks. I read so many books on attacks and the three that were the most compelling to me personally were this one in Matawan, NJ, the US Indianapolis sinking and Robert Pamperin who was taken by a huge GW in the kelp beds in La Jolla, CA....all of these stories were incredibly frightening to me....and then in the summer of 1975 JAWS was released. My mom had a beach house on Balboa Island that summer and NO ONE was in the water.....I was even traumatized to the point of making sure to check my parents backyard pool with a wary eye before getting in....I know that sounds ridiculous and it is now of course as a grown man, but back then it seemed plausible to my 12 year old shark traumatized mind...haha....anyways, great vid. Thank you!
@Hal who has Sharks Happen…a fantastic show of shark attacks from 1900-Present Day, mainly documenting sharks that are 6 feet and larger.
Just from him swimming in that tiny tunnel I was worried a huge shark would jump out and eat him
they all are
Really enjoyed this video and getting to see all the different spots where instances occurred plus the grave site. Very informative. Good video
15:51 the end tunnel 😳 better be a fish
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😳😬
😅
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When I was a kid, anytime my parents took me to the beach, even fresh water, I needed assurance that there were no sharks or big fish in the water or I wouldn't go in.
Okay well you know they were talking out their ass every single time if they assured you.
Also big fish aren't dangerous.
@@FrancisR420 I mean I was just a really stupid/paranoid kid too. For example, I also thought there were Orca whales or some kinda sea monster underneath the bathtub because the bathtub has water, it must connect to the ocean or something... Because I'm 5 and don't know shit about how plumbing works, and that if I got too close to the drain they would break through and eat me or some shit. Irrational fear of the water/the dark/ the unknown.
@@calebblack1420 I have/had that, I hate sharks they terrify the hell outta me. I was scared to close my eyes in the shower, I would always imagine a shark coming from my right or left side coming and getting me.
@@calebblack1420 same hs I thought I was the only one this happened to
@@calebblack1420 lmfao! I thought a giant eel would come out the plumbing and into my bath 😂
There are a lot of dead fish in the water, it's sad how our waterways are so polluted. Besides that, this is a very interesting story, nicely done.
This is too close to my phobias. Absolutely terrifying to me.
I've been aware of this story since Jaws first came out. It both fascinates and terrifies me to this day. Great video
Great video man. This story is very fascinating and still intriguing to this day. Regarding the attacks and the shark, I think the attack was done by a Bull Shark. A documentary on this from the Smithsonian looked at some documents of the bite marks of Joseph Dunn and from what’s documented it appears that it was done by a Bull Shark. It’s fair to say that the shark that attacked and killed Lester and Stanley also attacked Joseph. I’ve got a feeling most, if not all the 1916 attacks were done by Bull Sharks as when you hear and read about the attacks, they seem very aggressive and in-line with attacks that are associated with Bull Sharks. Not to say Great White’s can’t be aggressive, but from what we know of the attacks and the area of the places the attacks happened, I think Bull Sharks were more likely, especially considering Great Whites aren’t as common in New Jersey compared to Bull Sharks. Also, Great Whites aren’t typically found in warm waters as their favorite food are often in cooler waters and the summer of 1916 was quite hot and the waters would likely been fairly warm as well. Just something to consider, regardless of what the International Shark Attack File says. They could be wrong on saying a Great White did the attacks. But they could be right. It’s been said that the man who caught the Great White shark that’s apparently the killer actually put chicken bones and flesh into the shark to get fame for killing the shark that killed 4 people and injured another. Another theory for the flesh and bones is the shark could have encountered a dead man and eaten parts of him, as WWI was going on across the channel.
Very interesting to see the location of this tragedy. Thank you for discussing those that passed with such respect.
I’ve literally lived in this area for 17 years and did not know this
I’m from New Jersey. I appreciate you showing us where the attacks happened. You need to go to the Beach Haven Hotel sight and Spring Lake next! Very cool video!
OMGOSH 🥺💕 my heart @ all the people leaving toys for Lester Stillwell..that was so sweet! 🥰
This was amazing, thank you! I’ve always been interested in this story and it was great to see the actual locations.
Every weekend I drive the past this driving to my grandparents, it’s almost a waypoint now
Heard about this event many times. Very cool to see the actual location and graves. This was amazing. This is why we love youtube
I appreciate this guy's geographic research.
I used to live right beside the shark bridge in matawan. Literally a stones throw away! Loved looking at it everyday
I grew up in those swamps my backyard butted right up to the swap and played there from sun up to sun down..brings back memories I wasn't technically in Matawan but I lived in cliffwood Beach the swamp opened right into the bay...
I've been in the water at beach Haven and that night went to the movies and watched JAWS, and a man told us this story and I never went back into the water that year.
I grew up in Rhode Island and there is a pond that have so many snakes and as you walk on the trail next to the pond, you can see plenty of snakes baking in the sun. I was probably between 8 or 10 years old and this pond is located somewhere in Cranston, RI. We were kids, and our minds was just exploring during those years. I believe I went with friends to that pond…4 to 5 times and when I was in High School, I stop going. Many kids was drown there and the matter of fact, my friend father was there with his son, when something pulls his son down and he swim right in and took him out of the water before that something could drag his body deeper….scary in the 80’s.
That is terrifying. What do you think it was that tried to pull that boy underwater?
I always love reading about the 1916 shark attacks. My favorite book is called Close To Shore
That tunnel is sketchy as hell.
Awesome video……
Always putting up some of the best content. Thanks Guys
Nice Lamont at Large Shout Out
Another one of my favorite Channels that I enjoy tuning in
The most amazing thing about this story is that once upon a time New Jersey had water that was clean enough to swim in.
My father fed Hans Blix to a shark
Good times, good times
😂😂 Hans Brix!!??? Oh hey Hans how's it goin? Hahaha
Great video, well done. I always wanted to see the locations of where this happened. You covered that and more. Thanks for making and sharing the video.
I grew up right by beach haven and went there every day some summers to swim and somehow never knew the first attack happened there. Wild
as a person who lives in matawan i can confirm the water is that nasty and the smell is horrendous. My bus that took me to school legit drove over the road next to these train tracks every day
You strike just the right tone in relating this story.
Very well made video and the story was told with great sensitivity. Thanks.
Store in Manhattan? Abercrombie and Fitch was a large sporting goods store back then, and did display taxidermy animals and had a large rifle department.
despite the history, that would be an awesome spot to visit.
We have bull sharks come up the bay to the Susquehanna river every so often as well the last one was 2020.
Sharks: "Finally, by a 1 in a billion chance we have a freak child that can freely breath in fresh water, time to reconquer the inlands"
People: "Bad time for evolution, buddy"
When I was younger I was afraid to swim in the deep end of the pool because a shark might appear. I don't do open water v well... Thanks for the great content!
Same haha, I had nightmares about it
Hey man great video! Thoroughly enjoyed it. I have read Peter Benchley novel jaws although it’s nowhere good as the movie. Jaws is my favorite movie. Also I have read closer to shore which was a fantastic book about these very incidents that occurred. So it was cool to see the actual creek in which some of the attacks occurred. If anyone is looking for a great book about this whole story read closer to shore. I forgot the name of the author but it’s great. R.I.P Lester, Stanley, and all victims. Sad and scary true story.
Can’t lie. Knowing a shark was in that water and killed people means they could get in there again. Don’t know if I could get in there and just be calm like he is. I keep waiting to see something in that dirty ass water. Gave me chills the entire time
Def Jersey, the dead fish everywhere is a dead giveaway. (Written before explanation). Also, thank you for the answer for the fish! Been seeing them everywhere and it was disconcerting. Cheesequake park had dead fish EVERYWHERE in the marsh pools. It was apocalyptic looking.
I remember reading the book when I was a kid and now I can finally visualize it
I love it when you do places in my home state!
I grew up in Matawan.
Why would 456 people "thumbs-down" this well put together, well presented, and very interesting video. Nice work done here, and DOES NOT deserve any criticism.
Probably shark fanatics, and common sense lacking marine biologists that think sharks are harmless and don’t attack people.
Some people just wanna watch the world burn
This was great and informative! Liked and subbed
You know a sharks hungry if it goes to New Jersey to eat
There's dead fish floating all over that lake. Get out of there, dude.
recognised it instantly. turned into one of my favorite books in elementary school- I Survived (the shark attack of 1916)
I love that those graves have been kept in such good condition through all the years
I grew up in Matawan...I remember Miss Blau..... my 4th grade teacher telling us that story.....
The first attack happened on the same date as the first day of the battle of the somme
Interesting video! Thanks for sharing.
15:49 right when you said "fish brushed their leg" a fish flopped around in the far left tunnel.
Oh yes that's is right looked like It ran in to the wall to die like some of the other one's we see in this vedio
@@blairbailey3496 😂😂😂
15:51 "Im sure it was in the back of their mind" *Something in the left side tunnel* What timing? lol
lol did u see it in the water at 15:20
@@yo-kaikid1925 yep lol
You know the scary thing is have sharks returned back to Matawan creek, if it can happen once it can happen again and who’s to say it’s happened already and nobody noticed
The really interesting thing for me is that my Great Grandfather was one of the kids at the dock swimming in the creek. He said he didn't and won't go swimming because his mother always told him that if you can't see the bottom of the creek to never go swimming.
I always heard abt the shark in this little creek- I never knew the details till now. Ty
I just saw the front page of the Philadelphia "Inquirer" newspaper from this time, and it said "Government to aid the fight to stamp out the shark horror." I can just picture Woodrow Wilson sending a detachment of troops to just shoot up the water. Why didn't Gerald Ford send in the National Guard to help kill the shark in "Jaws?" No wonder he lost to Jimmy Carter.
You're mistaken, if you are saying the NJ attacks in 1916 are the first documented in the US. The first documented shark attack in the US was on the St. Mary's River in the Chesapeake Bay in the early 18th century. It was an English sailor who was pulling his landing craft ashore and was attacked by a bull shark and died from his wounds.