Tags: Abandoned, Mercer County

We were surprised to see an abandoned ski area on the side of the road. Belle Mountain can be found roughly 2 miles south of Lambertville and has been closed since 1998. The Mercer County Park System owns the property. There are several buildings at the bottom of the hill, all boarded up. There are 2 ways up the hill – the easy, wraparound path, and……straight up. Next time I’ll be taking the easy way.

I still can’t believe I walked straight up the slope.

One of those dots down there is our car.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: Amusement Park, Mercer County, Ruins

Through geocaching I heard about a place called White City, an amusement park outside Trenton which closed in our around the 1930’s. A trolley would ride in from Trenton and drop people off, and they’d descend a large set of stairs to Spring Lake. The park had several rides, including a roller coaster and carousel. A dancehall and arcade could also be found here.
We finally got the chance to go to the little known Roebling Memorial Park and see the little bit that remains of the old amusement park. I was a bit disappointed to see how little is left.

The staircase from the old trolley stop can be found next to the parking area and is in surprisingly good shape. At the top of the hill is where the trolley stop once stood; it’s now someone’s backyard. The steps above the staircase vanish into the plants.

Sadly not much else is left of White City. We did stumble upon a few other things while hiking the trail:

A hiker told us this was part of a water ride; gondolas would ride down concrete slopes like this into the water. We also found a well just off the trail. Large chunks of concrete are abundant as well.

This was how we had to get across one of the trails.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Tags: Battlefield, Fort, Historical, Ocean County, Revolutionary War

Don’t know why I didn’t put this up sooner; I took these pictures last year.

Just about anyone who passes through downtown Toms River has seen the small waterfront Huddy Park, with a few gazebos, a bridge, and…..a fort? There is a replica blockhouse, or small fort, of the original one that stood on the hill that is now Robbins Street. It’s not very large or complex – just 4 walls made of wood posts, spiked at the end. A few wooden cannons sit at the corners.
Not too many people are aware a battle took place here in 1782. Captain Joshua Huddy, high on the British and Loyalists’ hit list, was in charge of the fort. A group of about 80 British troops and Tories attacked the small village of Toms River; Huddy’s handful of men had no chance. The blockhouse and all of the town, save a house or 2, were burned to the ground. Huddy was taken to New York to be tried. He was found guilty of murdering a British officer even though they were well aware he didn’t commit the murder. He was hanged in Monmouth County’s Highlands shortly afterward.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Tags: Burlington County, Ghost Town, Pine Barrens, Ruins

We decided to go geocaching around Hampton Furnace and Carranza Road. Upon reaching the furnace site, we noticed there had been a fire recently. The ground was black and crunched when we stepped on it. We walked around the area a bit and discovered that there is more than one foundation at the site of the furnace. The fire had cleared out all the undergrowth and revealed several things we never noticed before.

One foundation is filled with water and has reeds growing out of it:

We saw 3 large cylinders. No idea what they were though:

On our way out we noticed some of the fire was still going:

Popularity: 13% [?]