Presidents' Day Rocks in the Reservation

On a beautifully sunny — albeit chilly — day like today, could there be any better way to celebrate Presidents' Day than by heading up to Washington Rock in the South Mountain Reservation?

You'll find the rock at the end of the roadway on Crest Drive. Park where vehicular traffic ends at the old deer paddock/the new dog park area and enjoy a leisurely walk, run or bike ride down to the site.

Back during the Revolutionary War, Beacon Signal Station 9 was located at the site of the rock. It was one of 23 beacons built by General Washington to observe British troop movements quartered on Staten Island and New York City. 

This from the Essex County Parks website:

It was from this outlook that, on June 23, 1780, Essex County and Newark Militia were first warned that the British had launched an attack westward toward "the Gap," (Hobart Gap), a natural pathway to Washington's troops encamped at Morris Town.  In a pincer movement designed to gain access to the Gap, Hessian troops fought bitterly along Vaux Hall Road, with the British advanced along Galloping Hill Road, until they were repelled, the Hessians at the base of the mountain and the British in Millburn—called Millville in those days.  Washington Rock served again as a lookout for the Army when reactivated during the War of 1812.

The view from the rock continues to be breathtaking. The 500-foot elevation  enables visitors to see for miles on a clear day, angling your vision southward out to Elizabeth, Staten Island and the lower reaches of New York in the distance.

It does, however, give me a chuckle that the near view almost directly below is of Home Depot. What a boon that place would have been to Washington and his troops!

The picture shown is a view of and from Washington Rock taken in 1927. Do you have a more recent photo from the site? Upload it here!