Remove your personal information from the web at joindeleteme.com/SOCASH and use code SOCASH for 20% off US consumer plans. DeleteMe International plans: international.joindeleteme.com/
I’m a civil engineer working on the plans to upgrade the sewer and water system at ft Hancock. There is a lot of cool abandoned stuff and some of the area is quite run down but they are putting a lot of money into it, it’s going to be really cool once it’s done. Part of the planned work includes restoring the houses on officers row, the houses will be rented out as summer homes. It’s a beautiful park, tons of birds, deer, and foxes, and a beautiful natural beach.
Last I saw, it's supposed to be permanent housing. Condos and some affordable units. Either way, it's an interesting project. I have mixed feelings about housing in the middle of a National Recreation Area.
I was stationed on the hill in 1970. It was located above Atlantic highlands. The 52nd air defense artillery. It was a radar guidance for the Hercules missiles on Sandy Hook. There were concrete bunkers everywhere. There were missile bases all over the east coast. Pedrick town, down by Philly, had tons of old bunkers and we would get word about other radar and missile bases. For the most part it was kept quiet. There are a lot of cold war relics on the coasts. Just crumbing away.
Battery Lewis is reopened as a public display that's really quite nice, and adjacent Hartshorne woods have some beautiful trails. maps.app.goo.gl/fr46zK5VDMaNSgbN8
I remember running cross-country against Henry Hudson High School back in the mid-1970's and passing missile installations tucked in the woods. I don't know if they were still considered active at the time.
We used to explore all of the old bunkers in the 80’s when we were off from school for the summer. I loved it. Mom couldn’t understand why we needed flashlights to go to the beach. Ha ha.
A few more details/places on the peninsula: An active Coast Guard station is at the northern tip. The only clothing-optional beach in the New Jersey, Gunnison Beach. Near the north end (North Beach) was a proving ground used to test artillery pieces. A marine biology focused high school (Marine Academy of Science and Technology). Tours of the various historic sites (lighthouse, batteries, Nike sites) are regularly offered. There is a small museum at/about the former lifeboat station. There is a public primitive campground (fee charged). The bay side of the south end is very popular with wind surfers.
I grew up fishing and skateboard there. It has amazing fishing and near the tip has some of the best and prettiest sandbars and beaches. It feel like a tropical island in the summer. You just need to make a mile hike in the sand to get there
@@MRosati5000What does this mean? You're with him when he fucks up basic geography? It's the northernmost tip of the Jersey Shore but that's not what he said
Hi Ryan, I really enjoy your work. Thank you. However you missed a really important detail concerning the role SH plays in local maritime security. The Military presence in SH did not disappear with the Army. The US Coast Guard has a long standing presence at the tip of SH. Group command is located there. That Coast Guard unit shares responsibility for the security of NY harbor. Also to the west of Sandy Hook is Earl Naval Weapons station. Coast Guard group SH is responsible for maintaining maritime security in that area when ships are being loaded/unloaded.
Yeah, my grandfather docked his boat at Atlantic highlands marina for like twenty years. We would always fish just outside the buoys off of Earl NWS. My grandfather and his friend almost got shot there back in the ‘70s. They were fluking and sea-bassing there in an old whaler with a junky old outboard and it broke down & they couldn’t get it restarted, so they drifted all the way in to the pier on base. Luckily my grandpa put his hands up and started yelling “we’re broke down, we’re broke down.” The guards there told them they almost shot them. I guess they had orders to shoot on sight if anyone came that close. My grandpas other fishing buddy was in the navy, and used to be stationed in those old yellow officers quarters by the coast guard station. He said there were a lot of rumors that they were haunted, and some of his friends had claimed to see ghosts in revolutionary war uniforms. Definitely a weird place.
When we would do our annual UXO beach sweeps at SH (early 80s) we would eat at the USCG mess hall for lunch and marvel at how well the puddle pirates were fed.
Thank you for this amazing video! Fort Hancock is such a unique place. Battery Potter was actually built from 1890-92 because right above the main entrance is the date of erection. It was the first of many experimental endicott era gun batteries built at the hook. It also was the only one of two batteries built in the US with land defenses. The granite facade was built with leftover granite from the 1850s fort. Battery Granger and Arrowsmith replaced the battery in 1907. The first disappearing battery was Battery Halleck built in 1892 and activated in 1896. The mortar battery predated the disappearing carriage and was built in 1890. The mortar battery was reused as the HDCP in WWII. Battery Kingman not Kingston. Boston had a missle master at Fort Heath but it was demolished in 1969. Most of the WWII temporary buildings were removed by 2012 and the last two were removed in 2018. The post hospital burned in the 1990s. Tours of some of the bunkers are offered and NPS who controls most of the site is working on restoring and adaptively reusing most of the post buildings. The Coast Guard still controls some of the tip and this includes the remains of the 1850s fort and a few endicott gun batteries.
This might be the most rich and interesting info in the chat of any channel .. love watching and then seeing then reading about what people have personally experienced.. thank you
Took the ferry from Manhattan there during the lockdowns. It was a very cool bike ride and a weird time travel to multiple different decades/ages with a cool view of the NYC skyline from the beach on a clear day. Glad to see they're going to invest in it a bit more so the actual batteries are accessible to view.
35 years ago my town in Central Jersey had weekend trips there. We stayed in what i remember to be old barracks..i met some amazing friends there! If i recall correctly they were green and brown buildings. Excellent memories. The buildings had eerie sounds .
On the left side if the diagram Highlands Missile Master diagram, I smiled when I saw an output to "SAGE". SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) was the network linking defense radar, interceptor, and defense missile sites nationwide. My first Air Force duty assignment in 1977 was to the 792nd Radar Squadron, Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) site in North Charleston AFS, SC. Along with the ground to air radio equipment, I maintained the SAGE equipment used to transmit tracking data to F-106 Delta Darts of Det. 1, 48th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Charleston AFB. The radar squadron was deactivated in 1980 due the the activation of the Joint Surveillance System radar at Jedburg, SC. The GATR site closed a year later.
I’ve been to the beaches there many times. My father used to take us there when I was little. You could get a pass to enter the base to go to the beaches.
The seals are back! And the animals r abundant! So is the poison Ivy! One my my fave places to be year round even on rainy days. Also please don’t litter and pick up ur trash!!
@@Queena90I used to take the ferry from highlands to manhattan. Sometime during 2002-2003, there was a very cold winter. The bay between sandy hook and highlands was completely frozen. The ferry company hired an ice breaker vessel to go ahead to allow them to keep running. I remember watching the seals jumping off the ice into the water ahead of the ferry. It kinda felt like we were on a ferry in Alaska, certainly not NJ!
I grew up in NJ and when I was in Boy Scouts we camped at Sandy Hook every spring. We camped right next to the bunkers and we spent a lot of time running through them, turning off our flashlights and seeing who could find their way out in the dark. It's a shame that the bunkers are now closed because of disrepair. Sandy Hook campouts were some of the best carports I remember
IMO one of the best times to visit historic Fort Hancock was before Hurricane Sandy in 2012. I took my best photos of the area then. Sandy took its toll on a lot of the historic houses leading e. g. to ugly looking wood strips stabilizing porch roofs of officer row houses. A couple years ago renovations and commercialization (it is NJ still...) took place to rent some of the buildings - now areas are off limits for visitors, and it just doesn't fit the more original scenes from before. One good thing though is a nice little cafe across the lighthouse to grab a coffee and a snack. I have been often to Sandy Hook for almost 12 years when I lived only about 10 miles away in NJ. Have nice memories and photos from there, but I have relocated in 2022 and won't be seeing Sandy Hook as often anymore.
I feel like people always seem to forget (or to be fair simply don't know) that Fort Hancock houses an entire tech high school, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (M.A.S.T). The fort operationally is obviously long since dead but functionally is very much alive between the school, lighthouse, Gunnison and North beaches, Coast Guard station etc.
Born and raised on the Jersey Shore and when I hear Sandy Hook I mainly think about the beach as that was the main place for us to go in the 80s and 90s. I sadly didn't even know this history about it until now!
I grew up in Jersey and went to sandy hook every summer in the 80s and 90s. Just last year I visited Fort Hancock for the first time and learned a lil bit about the history. All those years and never really knew. Good video.
I helped on a archeology dig near the Officers houses. I was just visiting Sandy Hook when I saw a group of people digging in shallow pits. I stopped the car and asked if they needed help and I was told yes they did. My wife and I were there till it was getting dark. The biggest find in our group was a brooch that was Probably worn by a officer's wife.
Weekdays at Gunnison beach are fabulous. We get a really nice group of regulars, but weekends are too darn crowded. If go on the weekend, we go early and leave early.
I had to watch this! I grew up in Oceanport, NJ. My Grandfather was stationed at the lighthouse on Sandy Hook and then the Highlands when I was a young child. He was in the US Coast Guard. My Mother told me many stories of terrible storms along the coast with the waves coming over the seawalls. My Grandfather passed young due to a stroke, so I don't remember him well. Before the area was turned into Gateway National Park, we kids would drive out to Sandy Hook and hang out at the beach. Makes me want to take a trip back home.
I love Ft. Hancock. There is just so many buildings and sites to visit. And it has so much history during the Revolutionary War. I thought it was funny to think that in order to build the lighthouse, the Crown had a lottery. And if my memory doesn't fail me, the Crown had to have another lottery to raise the funds to build the lighthouse. If you walk the path before you get to Ft. Hancock, you come across a small maker. The maker pays homage to the last remaining British sailors who went in search of deserters who figured, "why not become one of the rebels?" The deserters jumped ship, the HMS Assistance in late December 1783. It would be well over a year after hostilities ended the War of Independence. So these sailors were not the enemy any more. I guess the USA has always been the land to run to when you're running away from home. Many people from the area don't even know there is such a marker. I discovered it just going on a long walk along the path one summer day. I walked from Lot D to the Lighthouse. And there it was. Flags and all, and my bewildered look on my face as I saw the Union Jack and the USA Flag on the same marker. The story is; Lieutenant Hamilton Douglas Halyburton, with 12 crew members made their way to the Hook to begin their search on December 31 for the deserters. The search team got trapped in a snowstorm and all died of exposure. You just can't picture such a nice stretch of land being a hostile environment if you look at it from today. "According to the Park Service wayside marker near the memorial, the remains of the unfortunate party lay at the site of the memorial untouched until 1909 when workmen at Fort Hancock discovered them." - from the site, Hidden New Jersey www.hiddennj.com/2012/05/union-jack-and-deserting-seamen-sandy.html
We enjoyed visiting Sandy Hook . I did some shore fishing and I was somewhat shocked to see a NOAA agent searching my tackle bag . She explained that she had the right to do so without cause or a warrant . I really didn't care but if you have something you should not have legally , use my comment as a consideration if you visit Sandy Hook . It is well worth the visit !
I grew up 10 minutes from Sandy Hook! Many great memories in that area, and I took my fiancé on a tour of the fort the last time I was home 😄 thanks for the nostalgia!
0:00 that's not the northern most tip of NJ. Two hours north of there in Sussex County is the northern most tip, bordering PA and NY. Sandy Hook is actually more in the center of NJ, and technically part of the Mid-Atlantic, not the Northeast.
In the late 90s, we drove through Sandy Hook on the way back from another location on a class field trip. The old brick buildings looked really cool and from another era. I had no idea there is camping there and I would love to do that sometime!
Camping, parking is VERY limited for the camping area, get there extra early on Friday if weekend camping. As the sun sets secure all food, the raccoons come out in droves, they are fearless and bold and will steal any food. Be reminded that they are wild animals, do not feed or approach them. A lot of really cool things to explore in the area. The NJ Marine Sciences Consortium offers some great youth programs.
Been to Sandy Hook many times and often wondered if it was possible to privatize those houses for summer use, say with a 10+ year contract so no cost to the public. Would have to be private investors building to some preset code for preservation. It could be a win / win to have the buildings refurbished and enjoyed. I would bet there'd be no shortage of customers at several thousand bucks a week per home.
The NPS which controlls the site is doing exactly that! If you go on their website you can fill out a form for renting or leasing one of the many already restored buildings. Most of the unrestored buildings are on officers row which was hit the hardest during hurricane sandy in 2012.
@@julianmalcolm Back in the day I worked with a guy who rented one out for the Summer. It was a great place to chill after work when they closed the park. The public couldn't get out there after it closed so you had that whole part of the peninsula, practically to yourself
@@alexvetlov2486 Yes, there is a certain isolation factor, but the reality is you are that "fly on the wall" watching the passing boats, planes, and a city of millions from across the bay. I have also been on the beaches in the off-time and watched various wildlife wandering around. (other than birds)
Thank god. I went there with my family to enjoy the beach. Now I drive my boat near sandy hook and I always enjoy seeing the lite house and everything else. Very special place in my heart
As I have realized that you reaide (choose) the Atlantic (east coast), I would lve for you to do an episode regarding Washington States WWII Coastal Defences.
I lived in the town Sea Bright that makes up the southern park of the peninsula for 13 years. I can attest that Sandy Hook is an excellent place for bird watchers, nature photographers, and military history enthusiasts to explore. The beaches are also large and clean for New Jersey. The tours of the bases are worth taking. It's also the last place in New Jersey where you can find an Oozlefinch.
Went to to high school on Fort Hancock at MAST in the mid-90s. We used to do fall out (JROTC school) on Pershing Field among Officer’s Row. Great experience.
Thanks so much for watching! I think we are going to slow down with the military topics for a while to cover some urban architecture, but if you email me this concept I’ll it on the list.
As of a couple of years ago, only two of the old officer homes had been renovated. One was a museum. The other, actually two side-by-side units in one stone building, was available for rental. My wife and I rented one for a week in the middle of the summer and it was just wonderful being out towards the end of Sandy Hook. Lots of people watching during the day and wonderful peacefulness at night, right in the middle of the New York metro area! During the day, we would go to one of the beaches or explore the abandoned structures or bicycle around the peninsula (there was a bicycle rental service right there). In the evenings, we would sit on the porch of the museum building and watch the people scrambling to make the last ferry and also watch the boat traffic in the bay. Then we would have this entire space to ourselves. It was great. Would do it again.
The hook was also the Army Proving Ground before it moved to Aberdeen MD many years ago. As the site was transitioned to a park they were cleaning up unexploded ordinance have been found over the years.
So many people in the comments say they've been to Sandy Hook. Pretty cool, im from the area and love it. Didnt know the history behind the Hook. Well done!
They aren't just abandoned... people live there that work in the park, and they rent alot out in the summers. My parents lived there for years, and my cousins. Last house far left of lighthouse. I lived there a few years as well. Theres a highschool there, a science consortium, a police station...
They had a very similar Fort in South Jersey to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia ports in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Fort Mott still has the barrels of those disappearing guns in the yard.
Growing up in the 70’s most of Sandy Hook was off limits. You couldn’t drive out to the Light House or just wander around. Just the first two beaches were open. I used to sail with guys who grew up down there & we’d anchor at Horseshoe Cove sometimes. I remember thinking those Officers homes were condos. 😂
12:51 Search radar (LOPAR, Low Power Acquisition Radar IIRC, on the far right) 13:09 Tracking radars/Command transmitter (one of 3 similar units, on the far left) [Under dome/Not visible] Search radar (HIPAR, High Power Acquisition Radar IIRC); in the case of Sandy Hook this was located atop the nearby Highlands, IIRC (today's Hartshorne Woods Park)
When I moved to Clifton in the 80s, there was a large rockface one would see as you drove up to Valley Rd. It looked up from an old quarry I remember but one day suddenly disappeared. I think folk would say "the cliff in Clifton". Anyway, have you presented any video on said rock/cliff?
I've been watching your videos for years and I live in the little town of Highlands that you mentioned here in the video so it was a real treat watching this one. It's pretty accurate what you said at the end about Sandy Hook being a place to "get away from it all". Most of my time not working is spent walking my dogs along Sandy Hook!
Oh goodness. Sandy Hook was the camping trip destination for teenagers in NJ looking for peace and serenity when I was a wayward teen in the 70s. The batteries were so fun to explore, concealing camp fires. The Park Rangers were thorough and always popping up at what we thought was the worst times. In retrospect, they probably saved us from......Anyway, my kids grew up in coastal NC, with similar Park Rangers always prevalent and putting a damper on their hijinks. Thankfully.
As a teenager in the 1980s it would be covered deep in trash from Dumpsite 101, where NYC dumped it's garbage in the ocean. Full bags of trash, medical waste, crack vials, you name it- would wash up.
Not even a mention of the most important history.... There's something about major nude beaches, that always seems to cause them to have conflicts over piping plovers and least terns. Somehow adjacent military areas, or textile fetishist beaches, rarely seem to have those same birds needing protection from larger and more invasive beach user groups.
We have been to Sandy hook a couple of times, it's a neat place. We live near a Niki base it was abandoned but some of the buildings were still there until about twenty years ago.
Good piece. A couple of nits: Sandy Hook is nowhere near the northernmost part of New Jersey; it's about 100 miles south of that. And it is NOT an island.
I went camping at Fort Hancock on a number of occasions in the mid to late 1970’s. I shocked to see how run down the officers houses have become. They were all habitable 40 years ago. Horrible neglect.
I was first attracted to Sandy Hook for its amazing birdwatching opportunities, however I have become capturing by its history. It’s a glimpse into what America once was.
I've been there Whats most amazing is you could be on the beach and watch these gigantic container ships go floating by on their way to and from Port of newark There is a small fee (5.00 per car) to get onto Gateway National SeaShore
I was living in New Jersey right after its was fucked up by hurricane sandy. We drove up and down Jersey Shore just looking at million dollar homes that were all boarded up and covered in sand.
I remember that. I also saw lots and lots of 100-250k boats, sitting along the highway, miles from the nearest marina. It was wild. I wonder how many people never found their boats/cars after that storm.
Eagleswood in NJ is where the real history is at. It would make a killer video if you were able to find enough research on it. Very interesting stuff I grew up in Perth Amboy New Jersey. Eagleswood Arthur's kill look it up it's rich in history.
![[#SHORTS CLIP] ใช้ของของตัวเองไปเลยสิคะ l ซานิเบาได้เบา l One Playground](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ea_mTywx2p4/mqdefault.jpg)
Remove your personal information from the web at joindeleteme.com/SOCASH and use code SOCASH for 20% off US consumer plans. DeleteMe International plans: international.joindeleteme.com/
I’m a civil engineer working on the plans to upgrade the sewer and water system at ft Hancock. There is a lot of cool abandoned stuff and some of the area is quite run down but they are putting a lot of money into it, it’s going to be really cool once it’s done. Part of the planned work includes restoring the houses on officers row, the houses will be rented out as summer homes. It’s a beautiful park, tons of birds, deer, and foxes, and a beautiful natural beach.
That is amazing! I really wish I could have interviewed you on the topic.
Last I saw, it's supposed to be permanent housing. Condos and some affordable units. Either way, it's an interesting project. I have mixed feelings about housing in the middle of a National Recreation Area.
Of course they’re gonna ruin the area with condos.
Luxury Houses for the Venezuelans?
@@ITSHISTORYlet me know if you want any more info, maybe for a follow up video!
I was stationed on the hill in 1970. It was located above Atlantic highlands. The 52nd air defense artillery. It was a radar guidance for the Hercules missiles on Sandy Hook. There were concrete bunkers everywhere. There were missile bases all over the east coast. Pedrick town, down by Philly, had tons of old bunkers and we would get word about other radar and missile bases. For the most part it was kept quiet. There are a lot of cold war relics on the coasts. Just crumbing away.
There is a munitions Depot located nearby.
Battery Lewis is reopened as a public display that's really quite nice, and adjacent Hartshorne woods have some beautiful trails. maps.app.goo.gl/fr46zK5VDMaNSgbN8
I go mountain biking up there a few times a year. Lots of old bunkers and structures scattered about in the woods.
I remember running cross-country against Henry Hudson High School back in the mid-1970's and passing missile installations tucked in the woods. I don't know if they were still considered active at the time.
We used to explore all of the old bunkers in the 80’s when we were off from school for the summer. I loved it. Mom couldn’t understand why we needed flashlights to go to the beach. Ha ha.
A few more details/places on the peninsula:
An active Coast Guard station is at the northern tip.
The only clothing-optional beach in the New Jersey, Gunnison Beach.
Near the north end (North Beach) was a proving ground used to test artillery pieces.
A marine biology focused high school (Marine Academy of Science and Technology).
Tours of the various historic sites (lighthouse, batteries, Nike sites) are regularly offered.
There is a small museum at/about the former lifeboat station.
There is a public primitive campground (fee charged).
The bay side of the south end is very popular with wind surfers.
I grew up fishing and skateboard there. It has amazing fishing and near the tip has some of the best and prettiest sandbars and beaches. It feel like a tropical island in the summer. You just need to make a mile hike in the sand to get there
Definitely not the northern most tip of NJ, it’s actually about as central as you can get
Yes I’m sorry for the confusion, I was referring to the Peninsula island that runs down to AC.
We're with you.@@ITSHISTORY
@@MRosati5000What does this mean? You're with him when he fucks up basic geography? It's the northernmost tip of the Jersey Shore but that's not what he said
Yhea that threw me off too 🙂
@@ITSHISTORYStop calling it a "peninsula island." It's one or the other, in this case it's a peninsula.
Hi Ryan, I really enjoy your work. Thank you. However you missed a really important detail concerning the role SH plays in local maritime security. The Military presence in SH did not disappear with the Army. The US Coast Guard has a long standing presence at the tip of SH. Group command is located there. That Coast Guard unit shares responsibility for the security of NY harbor. Also to the west of Sandy Hook is Earl Naval Weapons station. Coast Guard group SH is responsible for maintaining maritime security in that area when ships are being loaded/unloaded.
Thank you for the elaboration!
Yeah, my grandfather docked his boat at Atlantic highlands marina for like twenty years. We would always fish just outside the buoys off of Earl NWS. My grandfather and his friend almost got shot there back in the ‘70s. They were fluking and sea-bassing there in an old whaler with a junky old outboard and it broke down & they couldn’t get it restarted, so they drifted all the way in to the pier on base. Luckily my grandpa put his hands up and started yelling “we’re broke down, we’re broke down.” The guards there told them they almost shot them. I guess they had orders to shoot on sight if anyone came that close. My grandpas other fishing buddy was in the navy, and used to be stationed in those old yellow officers quarters by the coast guard station. He said there were a lot of rumors that they were haunted, and some of his friends had claimed to see ghosts in revolutionary war uniforms. Definitely a weird place.
When we would do our annual UXO beach sweeps at SH (early 80s) we would eat at the USCG mess hall for lunch and marvel at how well the puddle pirates were fed.
Thank you for this amazing video! Fort Hancock is such a unique place. Battery Potter was actually built from 1890-92 because right above the main entrance is the date of erection. It was the first of many experimental endicott era gun batteries built at the hook. It also was the only one of two batteries built in the US with land defenses. The granite facade was built with leftover granite from the 1850s fort. Battery Granger and Arrowsmith replaced the battery in 1907. The first disappearing battery was Battery Halleck built in 1892 and activated in 1896. The mortar battery predated the disappearing carriage and was built in 1890. The mortar battery was reused as the HDCP in WWII. Battery Kingman not Kingston. Boston had a missle master at Fort Heath but it was demolished in 1969. Most of the WWII temporary buildings were removed by 2012 and the last two were removed in 2018. The post hospital burned in the 1990s. Tours of some of the bunkers are offered and NPS who controls most of the site is working on restoring and adaptively reusing most of the post buildings. The Coast Guard still controls some of the tip and this includes the remains of the 1850s fort and a few endicott gun batteries.
This might be the most rich and interesting info in the chat of any channel .. love watching and then seeing then reading about what people have personally experienced.. thank you
Did you go to fort sill?
Took the ferry from Manhattan there during the lockdowns. It was a very cool bike ride and a weird time travel to multiple different decades/ages with a cool view of the NYC skyline from the beach on a clear day. Glad to see they're going to invest in it a bit more so the actual batteries are accessible to view.
35 years ago my town in Central Jersey had weekend trips there. We stayed in what i remember to be old barracks..i met some amazing friends there! If i recall correctly they were green and brown buildings. Excellent memories. The buildings had eerie sounds .
On the left side if the diagram Highlands Missile Master diagram, I smiled when I saw an output to "SAGE".
SAGE (Semi Automatic Ground Environment) was the network linking defense radar, interceptor, and defense missile sites nationwide. My first Air Force duty assignment in 1977 was to the 792nd Radar Squadron, Ground to Air Transmitter/Receiver (GATR) site in North Charleston AFS, SC. Along with the ground to air radio equipment, I maintained the SAGE equipment used to transmit tracking data to F-106 Delta Darts of Det. 1, 48th Fighter Interceptor Squadron at Charleston AFB.
The radar squadron was deactivated in 1980 due the the activation of the Joint Surveillance System radar at Jedburg, SC. The GATR site closed a year later.
I’ve been to the beaches there many times. My father used to take us there when I was little. You could get a pass to enter the base to go to the beaches.
Now that beach is part of the National Park system. There remains a USCG station there, the rest are public beaches, one being clothing optional.
The seals are back! And the animals r abundant! So is the poison Ivy! One my my fave places to be year round even on rainy days. Also please don’t litter and pick up ur trash!!
@@Queena90I used to take the ferry from highlands to manhattan. Sometime during 2002-2003, there was a very cold winter. The bay between sandy hook and highlands was completely frozen. The ferry company hired an ice breaker vessel to go ahead to allow them to keep running. I remember watching the seals jumping off the ice into the water ahead of the ferry. It kinda felt like we were on a ferry in Alaska, certainly not NJ!
I grew up in NJ and when I was in Boy Scouts we camped at Sandy Hook every spring. We camped right next to the bunkers and we spent a lot of time running through them, turning off our flashlights and seeing who could find their way out in the dark. It's a shame that the bunkers are now closed because of disrepair. Sandy Hook campouts were some of the best carports I remember
Same, great memories.
IMO one of the best times to visit historic Fort Hancock was before Hurricane Sandy in 2012. I took my best photos of the area then. Sandy took its toll on a lot of the historic houses leading e. g. to ugly looking wood strips stabilizing porch roofs of officer row houses. A couple years ago renovations and commercialization (it is NJ still...) took place to rent some of the buildings - now areas are off limits for visitors, and it just doesn't fit the more original scenes from before. One good thing though is a nice little cafe across the lighthouse to grab a coffee and a snack. I have been often to Sandy Hook for almost 12 years when I lived only about 10 miles away in NJ. Have nice memories and photos from there, but I have relocated in 2022 and won't be seeing Sandy Hook as often anymore.
I feel like people always seem to forget (or to be fair simply don't know) that Fort Hancock houses an entire tech high school, the Marine Academy of Science and Technology (M.A.S.T). The fort operationally is obviously long since dead but functionally is very much alive between the school, lighthouse, Gunnison and North beaches, Coast Guard station etc.
Born and raised on the Jersey Shore and when I hear Sandy Hook I mainly think about the beach as that was the main place for us to go in the 80s and 90s. I sadly didn't even know this history about it until now!
I've walked some of those army ruins as a kid going to Sandy Hook Beach,NJ,now just old buildings,lived there 40 years
I grew up in Jersey and went to sandy hook every summer in the 80s and 90s. Just last year I visited Fort Hancock for the first time and learned a lil bit about the history. All those years and never really knew. Good video.
I helped on a archeology dig near the Officers houses. I was just visiting Sandy Hook when I saw a group of people digging in shallow pits. I stopped the car and asked if they needed help and I was told yes they did. My wife and I were there till it was getting dark. The biggest find in our group was a brooch that was Probably worn by a officer's wife.
Remember to "Sun you buns on Beach G!" 😂
More like baked beached whales lol
@dirtlevel if youve ever left hot dogs on the grill too long, you dont need to go see beach g
@@Desert_Ov_Thee_Real lol
Weekdays at Gunnison beach are fabulous. We get a really nice group of regulars, but weekends are too darn crowded. If go on the weekend, we go early and leave early.
Saw a 90yo naked leathery man chase his beach umbrella the entire length of the beach....the laughter of 100s...hilarious
I had to watch this! I grew up in Oceanport, NJ. My Grandfather was stationed at the lighthouse on Sandy Hook and then the Highlands when I was a young child. He was in the US Coast Guard. My Mother told me many stories of terrible storms along the coast with the waves coming over the seawalls. My Grandfather passed young due to a stroke, so I don't remember him well. Before the area was turned into Gateway National Park, we kids would drive out to Sandy Hook and hang out at the beach. Makes me want to take a trip back home.
I love Ft. Hancock. There is just so many buildings and sites to visit. And it has so much history during the Revolutionary War. I thought it was funny to think that in order to build the lighthouse, the Crown had a lottery. And if my memory doesn't fail me, the Crown had to have another lottery to raise the funds to build the lighthouse.
If you walk the path before you get to Ft. Hancock, you come across a small maker. The maker pays homage to the last remaining British sailors who went in search of deserters who figured, "why not become one of the rebels?"
The deserters jumped ship, the HMS Assistance in late December 1783. It would be well over a year after hostilities ended the War of Independence. So these sailors were not the enemy any more. I guess the USA has always been the land to run to when you're running away from home.
Many people from the area don't even know there is such a marker. I discovered it just going on a long walk along the path one summer day. I walked from Lot D to the Lighthouse.
And there it was. Flags and all, and my bewildered look on my face as I saw the Union Jack and the USA Flag on the same marker.
The story is;
Lieutenant Hamilton Douglas Halyburton, with 12 crew members made their way to the Hook to begin their search on December 31 for the deserters.
The search team got trapped in a snowstorm and all died of exposure. You just can't picture such a nice stretch of land being a hostile environment if you look at it from today.
"According to the Park Service wayside marker near the memorial, the remains of the unfortunate party lay at the site of the memorial untouched until 1909 when workmen at Fort Hancock discovered them." - from the site, Hidden New Jersey www.hiddennj.com/2012/05/union-jack-and-deserting-seamen-sandy.html
We enjoyed visiting Sandy Hook . I did some shore fishing and I was somewhat shocked to see a NOAA agent searching my tackle bag . She explained that she had the right to do so without cause or a warrant . I really didn't care but if you have something you should not have legally , use my comment as a consideration if you visit Sandy Hook . It is well worth the visit !
No way a glorified weather reporter gets to search anything of mine.
I grew up 10 minutes from Sandy Hook! Many great memories in that area, and I took my fiancé on a tour of the fort the last time I was home 😄 thanks for the nostalgia!
Thanks for sharing!
The northernmost part of NJ is actually Sussex County. Sandy hook is the northernmost ocean beach in NJ.
I grew up in the area and surfing and fishing at Sandy Hook Beaches.
It's a beautiful part of NJ.
My favourite place! Used to go here a lot. Memories.
It's also home to New Jersey's only nude beach. lol
Been to Gunnison Beach many times great Beach
Bet. Sold.
When I still lived in NJ, I spent plenty of time each Summer at Gunnison Beach.
I came here to say that the guns were the namesake of Gunnison Beach 😂
Damn. I'm right in Essex County. I never knew.🤦🏾♂️🤯😂
0:00 that's not the northern most tip of NJ. Two hours north of there in Sussex County is the northern most tip, bordering PA and NY. Sandy Hook is actually more in the center of NJ, and technically part of the Mid-Atlantic, not the Northeast.
Hello. I was going to mention that 'till I saw your post. Thanks for mentioning it.
Central Jersey does exist
Not if they call it Taylor Ham.@@JoeyCarb
@@seanmurphy2302
Well if it's Taylors brand otherwise it's pork roll
In the late 90s, we drove through Sandy Hook on the way back from another location on a class field trip. The old brick buildings looked really cool and from another era. I had no idea there is camping there and I would love to do that sometime!
Camping, parking is VERY limited for the camping area, get there extra early on Friday if weekend camping. As the sun sets secure all food, the raccoons come out in droves, they are fearless and bold and will steal any food. Be reminded that they are wild animals, do not feed or approach them. A lot of really cool things to explore in the area. The NJ Marine Sciences Consortium offers some great youth programs.
That row of housing along the shoreline, still such beautiful homes. I would kill to own one of those.
Been to Sandy Hook many times and often wondered if it was possible to privatize those houses for summer use, say with a 10+ year contract so no cost to the public. Would have to be private investors building to some preset code for preservation. It could be a win / win to have the buildings refurbished and enjoyed. I would bet there'd be no shortage of customers at several thousand bucks a week per home.
The NPS which controlls the site is doing exactly that! If you go on their website you can fill out a form for renting or leasing one of the many already restored buildings. Most of the unrestored buildings are on officers row which was hit the hardest during hurricane sandy in 2012.
@@julianmalcolm Back in the day I worked with a guy who rented one out for the Summer. It was a great place to chill after work when they closed the park. The public couldn't get out there after it closed so you had that whole part of the peninsula, practically to yourself
There are a few for rent, the nicest part in my mind is that there are only a few available, the solitude is awesome.
@@alexvetlov2486 Yes, there is a certain isolation factor, but the reality is you are that "fly on the wall" watching the passing boats, planes, and a city of millions from across the bay. I have also been on the beaches in the off-time and watched various wildlife wandering around. (other than birds)
Thank god. I went there with my family to enjoy the beach. Now I drive my boat near sandy hook and I always enjoy seeing the lite house and everything else. Very special place in my heart
In 2012, i went to the lighthouse there before closing time. It was lovely.
As I have realized that you reaide (choose) the Atlantic (east coast), I would lve for you to do an episode regarding Washington States WWII Coastal Defences.
Oregon has Fort Stevens
Probably would be a better option
Another great video. Thx.
Glad you enjoyed it
A great post, thank you
Listening to the upgrade path of the fort is crazy. Our capacity as human beings to kill each other is terrifying.
so happy to have grown up going to sandy hook every summer. still only live 10 min down the highway
I found your video very informative, and put a link to it in the description of some of my past Sandy Hook exploration videos. 👍
I lived in the town Sea Bright that makes up the southern park of the peninsula for 13 years. I can attest that Sandy Hook is an excellent place for bird watchers, nature photographers, and military history enthusiasts to explore. The beaches are also large and clean for New Jersey. The tours of the bases are worth taking. It's also the last place in New Jersey where you can find an Oozlefinch.
So cool to see so many videos from New Jersey I live 5 minutes from Sandy hook
At 6:54 you are showing the Battlecruiser HMS Hood, which was famously sunk by the Nazi Battlship Bismarck in 1941 losing all hands on deck.
We call it officers row. Not abandoned at all. Also great fishing right off it.
A friend of mine father worked as a ranger at sandyhook and one 4th of July weekend we got to stay in one of those houses
I remember several Nike Bases in South Jersey.
Some of the 1 Story Office buildings are still in use as a Pre School.
Went to to high school on Fort Hancock at MAST in the mid-90s. We used to do fall out (JROTC school) on Pershing Field among Officer’s Row. Great experience.
wow u actually made a video of Sandy Hook. That was fast!
"Forbidden"? Been there many times. Nothing 'forbidden' about it.
I miss all the Radomes all over America.
I remember going to the 60 FOOT dome on top of the mountain and it was amazing
I was very surprised to see Cactus growing on the Hook . Lots of Cactus ......
Thank you for covering this!!!
Something very few know about.
Will you be covering Fort Mott at any point?
Thanks so much for watching! I think we are going to slow down with the military topics for a while to cover some urban architecture, but if you email me this concept I’ll it on the list.
That's too funny, I was going to post the same thing about Fort Mott.
If you think Sandy Hook is abandoned then you haven’t seen the kinds of traffic that place gets in the summertime
As of a couple of years ago, only two of the old officer homes had been renovated. One was a museum. The other, actually two side-by-side units in one stone building, was available for rental. My wife and I rented one for a week in the middle of the summer and it was just wonderful being out towards the end of Sandy Hook. Lots of people watching during the day and wonderful peacefulness at night, right in the middle of the New York metro area!
During the day, we would go to one of the beaches or explore the abandoned structures or bicycle around the peninsula (there was a bicycle rental service right there).
In the evenings, we would sit on the porch of the museum building and watch the people scrambling to make the last ferry and also watch the boat traffic in the bay. Then we would have this entire space to ourselves.
It was great. Would do it again.
It is a great place to anchor.
The hook was also the Army Proving Ground before it moved to Aberdeen MD many years ago. As the site was transitioned to a park they were cleaning up unexploded ordinance have been found over the years.
I love driving out here for cruises. Very scenic
So many people in the comments say they've been to Sandy Hook. Pretty cool, im from the area and love it. Didnt know the history behind the Hook. Well done!
They aren't just abandoned... people live there that work in the park, and they rent alot out in the summers. My parents lived there for years, and my cousins. Last house far left of lighthouse. I lived there a few years as well. Theres a highschool there, a science consortium, a police station...
I can see where George Melies got inspiration for his gun in A Trip to the Moon
There was a giant gun in the Jules Verne novel.
They had a very similar Fort in South Jersey to protect Wilmington and Philadelphia ports in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Fort Mott still has the barrels of those disappearing guns in the yard.
Great video as usual.
I appreciate that
I recall going to the recreational area/beach as a kid during the 70's. Had no idea that there was a fort there.
A good place to go fishing.
Great job!
Growing up in the 70’s most of Sandy Hook was off limits. You couldn’t drive out to the Light House or just wander around. Just the first two beaches were open. I used to sail with guys who grew up down there & we’d anchor at Horseshoe Cove sometimes. I remember thinking those Officers homes were condos. 😂
The fortifications on both sides of Upper New York Harbor are interesting places to visit.
12:51 Search radar (LOPAR, Low Power Acquisition Radar IIRC, on the far right)
13:09 Tracking radars/Command transmitter (one of 3 similar units, on the far left)
[Under dome/Not visible] Search radar (HIPAR, High Power Acquisition Radar IIRC); in the case of Sandy Hook this was located atop the nearby Highlands, IIRC (today's Hartshorne Woods Park)
When I moved to Clifton in the 80s, there was a large rockface one would see as you drove up to Valley Rd. It looked up from an old quarry I remember but one day suddenly disappeared. I think folk would say "the cliff in Clifton". Anyway, have you presented any video on said rock/cliff?
I've been watching your videos for years and I live in the little town of Highlands that you mentioned here in the video so it was a real treat watching this one. It's pretty accurate what you said at the end about Sandy Hook being a place to "get away from it all". Most of my time not working is spent walking my dogs along Sandy Hook!
I was at a fort on Whidbey island washington that had a very similar design, including the guns and mortar system.
I used to live right near Fort Hancock, it isn't the only fortification in that area
There is also ocean swimming and fishing there Mr…..
This is one of my favorite places to train for cycling.
Oh goodness. Sandy Hook was the camping trip destination for teenagers in NJ looking for peace and serenity when I was a wayward teen in the 70s. The batteries were so fun to explore, concealing camp fires. The Park Rangers were thorough and always popping up at what we thought was the worst times. In retrospect, they probably saved us from......Anyway, my kids grew up in coastal NC, with similar Park Rangers always prevalent and putting a damper on their hijinks. Thankfully.
beachfront offices quarters can also be rented for the season
Good memories as a kid. ❤
As a teenager in the 1980s it would be covered deep in trash from Dumpsite 101, where NYC dumped it's garbage in the ocean. Full bags of trash, medical waste, crack vials, you name it- would wash up.
I remember that well
@@dirtlevel it destroyed The Jersey Shore...
Sorry, not abandoned. Gateway National Recreation Area is enjoyed by thousands.
There's a U S Coast Guard station there too.
Forbidden?
Hardly.
Not even a mention of the most important history....
There's something about major nude beaches, that always seems to cause them to have conflicts over piping plovers and least terns. Somehow adjacent military areas, or textile fetishist beaches, rarely seem to have those same birds needing protection from larger and more invasive beach user groups.
Henry Hudson, the explorer that the Hudson River gets its name from, also landed in Sandy Hook before exploring the river
We have been to Sandy hook a couple of times, it's a neat place.
We live near a Niki base it was abandoned but some of the buildings were still there until about twenty years ago.
I used to party in those mansions in the late 70,s beautiful marble throughout
don't forget the beaches, particularly beach G. :D
Thank you
Good piece. A couple of nits: Sandy Hook is nowhere near the northernmost part of New Jersey; it's about 100 miles south of that. And it is NOT an island.
I came here to learn about history and left with an algorithm suggesting techno remixes of Alex Jones rants.
You can rent and live in the abandoned homes
I went camping at Fort Hancock on a number of occasions in the mid to late 1970’s. I shocked to see how run down the officers houses have become. They were all habitable 40 years ago. Horrible neglect.
It was mostly Sandy that caused that.
“On the northern most tip of NJ”
- North Jersey Enters the Chat
I was first attracted to Sandy Hook for its amazing birdwatching opportunities, however I have become capturing by its history. It’s a glimpse into what America once was.
I've been there
Whats most amazing is you could be on the beach and watch these gigantic container ships go floating by on their way to and from Port of newark
There is a small fee (5.00 per car) to get onto Gateway National SeaShore
Hiked around Sandy Hook for years as kid and adult..love it there.
I was living in New Jersey right after its was fucked up by hurricane sandy. We drove up and down Jersey Shore just looking at million dollar homes that were all boarded up and covered in sand.
I remember that. I also saw lots and lots of 100-250k boats, sitting along the highway, miles from the nearest marina. It was wild. I wonder how many people never found their boats/cars after that storm.
Those houses are now twice the price.
Eagleswood in NJ is where the real history is at. It would make a killer video if you were able to find enough research on it. Very interesting stuff I grew up in Perth Amboy New Jersey. Eagleswood Arthur's kill look it up it's rich in history.
When I saw the title, I was concerned it was talking about the school… 😅
Ironically when people talked about the school, I thought someone went crazy at the beach lol
Different state.
Do you not understand that NJ and Connecticut are two separate places? -.-
Hey I saw Sandy Hook without reading the rest at first and thought the same thing.
@@GeeEm1313who knew.
The Coast Guard is still stationed there
🇺🇲🫡🫡🫡🫡🫡
Being from the west, i thought sandy hook was just an elementary school. So much more informed now!
There are many instances of town names being duplicated in different states. Sandy Hook, NJ is a completely different place from Sandy Hook, CT.
Isn't that where Gunnison Beach is, the clothes optional beach?