Morgan Monuments – Street Monuments Made of Concrete

Two Instances of Concrete Monuments in Morgan, NJ. The One on the Left is the Present Day Intersection of New Jersey State Highway Route 35 and Vineyard Avenue. The One on the Right is the Present Day Intersection of New Jersey State Highway Route 35 and Midland Avenue. From the August 1922 Wessco Reality Company Map of Bayview Manor – Section 4. Surveyed by Mason + Smith, Civil Engineers, 309 Madison Av, Perth Amboy, N.J. and Traced from the Original on October 10th, 1939 for W. P. A. Project 6385-12. Map No. 1006, File No. 584, Filed Mar. 13, 1923. Image Courtesy of Joseph A. Grabas, CTP.

While reviewing the August 1922 Bayview Manor – Section 4 Wessco Reality Company map of the area in Morgan where present day Midland Avenue and Vineyard Avenue intersect with State Highway Route 35, I noticed two types of markers: “Iron Pipe” and “Concrete Mont.”

Iron pipes were used to help Surveyors know where survey points were located.  If you look at any land titles, or survey related write ups such as in old copies of the South Amboy Citizen newspaper, you will often see these referenced.  Here is an example from page 10 of the June 5, 1925 South Amboy Citizen:

BEGINNING at an iron pipe set in Cheesequake Creek, the said beginning point being South 34 degrees 5 minutes West 109.56 feet from the southeast corner of Old Spye Inn; thence running along lands conveyed to Whitehead Brothers Company North 39 degrees 20 minutes West 397.22 feet to another iron pipe set in another Creek sometimes called Back Creek;

Concrete Monument Located at the Intersection of Morgan Avenue and Willow Street in Morgan, NJ. Such Types of Concrete Monuments Probably Were Used in the Same Fashion in the Early 20th Century as the Medal Pole with the Criss-Crossed Street Signs on Top are Used Today.

Seeing “Concrete Mont,” which I’m sure must stand for “Concrete Monument,” caused me to remember a small concrete post which was (and still) is located at the intersection of Morgan Avenue and Willow Street.  This concrete post was one of those things which you sort of noticed as a kid but didn’t really think about (until many decades later when you write about the place where you grew up).  I believe there also was (or still is) one located at the northern end of Morgan Ave where it intersects with North Street.

The Remains of the Concrete Monument Located at the Present Day Intersection of New Jersey State Highway Route 35 and Vineyard Avenue in Morgan, NJ as of August 2007. The Jersey Central Traction Trolley Track Used to be Approximately Located in the North Bound Center Lane of Route 35 Seen Here. Image Courtesy of Google Maps Street View.

The above map shows the location of two concrete monuments in Morgan, one on Vineyard Avenue and the other on Midland Avenue.  The above image shows the remains of the one located on Vineyard Avenue as of August 2007.  On the 1922 map, you can see part of the right of way for the Jersey Central Traction trolley line which was the main method of transportation from South Amboy to Monmouth County in the earliest part of the 20^th Century.  If you look closely at the distances on the 1922 map and project them on a present day aerial map, it looks like the trolley tracks would have been located approximately in the center lane (shown) of the north bound lanes of Route 35!

First posted on February 1, 2013.