Mercer County Park Northwest

Photo by Ulrike Johnson

Mercer County Park Northwest was once the site of AT&T's Overseas Transmission Facility. Area residents called it the pole farm.

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

Here's a Jersey factoid that is becoming less well-known with each generation: For a good part of the 20th century, Lawrence Township was a critical—at times crucial—part of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.

From an 812-acre plot of land that is now part of Mercer County Park Northwest, AT&T routed all outbound transatlantic telephone communications through its Overseas Transmission Facility, just off of Cold Soil Road in the northern part of the township.

Today, wildflowers grow and deer graze where once so many telephone transmission masts stood that local residents called it "The Pole Farm."

Mercer County Park Northwest now comprises more than 1,600 acres of what the county park commission bills as "Passive Recreation Space." I'm guessing that means they largely anticipate allowing the land to return to nature, as it has since AT&T dismantled all of its equipment and demolished the associated structures there in 1975.

But from the photographs above and below in this entry, I'm sure you'll agree: It's a concept that has a lot of merit.

The park is open to the public and free, and, as its website indicates, the land is perfect for hiking, biking, horseback riding, photography, and even cross-country skiing.

The county reports that an engineering and landscape architecture firm has been hired to help design the park, but that nature will remain the focus.

Directions and contact information are available from the Mercer County Parks Commission.

Photo by Ulrike Johnson

The Mercer County Park Commission plans to reserve the park for what it calls passive recreation opportunities. Don't expect to see any ball fields or 80's-style fitness equipment there anytime soon.

Off the Beaten Parkway

Photo by Jeff Johnson Jr.

Cape May Lighthouse and the historic city of Cape May are just a short drive from Exit 0 off of the Garden State Parkway.

by Jeff Johnson Jr.

The answer—for those of you from the Northeast who know the question—is "zero."

The question—for those of you who are not from the Northeast, as I'm not originally—is "New Jersey, eh? Which exit?" Zero is the exit for Cape May, the southernmost exit on the Garden State Parkway. The photo here is of Cape May Lighthouse.

The question implies, of course, that New Jersey is one big mess of highways, the sprawl to end all sprawls, and the imagery is one of strip malls, decaying concrete and rusting steel, belching smokestacks, and a landscape pocked with old landfills and toxic waste sites.

To be fair, anyone who's ever landed at Newark Liberty Airport or passed through the Garden State by car or train in transit from New York to points south knows that this is one stereotype that definitely has more than a grain of truth. (Why else would they call concrete center dividers "Jersey barriers"?)

But in looking back at five years' worth of digital photos that my wife and I have taken since becoming accidental Jerseyans (accidental because, like most Garden State residents who weren't born and raised here, we never imagined living here until we did), it's clear to me that it would also be very wrong to say there's no beauty and nothing worth seeing here.

Each entry of this blog will look at a different Jersey Spot—a place of interest in the Garden State. The point isn't to change anyone's mind about New Jersey. Rather, I hope to share a few tips for people who might be looking for a daytrip, an idea for a weekend getaway, or just a story to tell.