Celebrating 60: Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook

In 1816, Dr. Samuel Latham Mitchill, a physician, scientist, educator and politician, measured the elevation of a point near the the New Jersey coast with a barometer. With an elevation of 266 feet, this point is recorded as the highest natural point along the North Atlantic Coast south of Maine, and was named Mount Mitchill.

The site has long been a popular viewing site with its gorgeous views of Raritan Bay, Staten Island, Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Sandy Hook. In the 1940s there was an effort to make it a state park. For many years a refreshment stand and picnic area occupied one of the lots, but the area remained unkempt and barren. The sedimentary rock forming the Highlands is prone to slumping on steep slopes, where large blocks of capstone and sand periodically slide down the cliff face, and the lack of controls allowed for considerable erosion.

In the early 1970s, a developer's proposal to building two high-rise towers on the site prompted many calls for the preservation of the land. Monmouth County attempted to purchase the property, but the developer's plans raised the cost, so a compromise enabled the developer to build one 15-story tower and allowed the county to preserve eight acres of land.

Mount Mitchill Scenic Overlook was created in 1973 with parking and viewing areas, drainage, and oak and cedar plantings to help control erosion along the steep slopes. The site was upgraded in 1995 with redesigned parking, viewing areas, interpretive panels, and landscaping. In 1980, flagpoles and a plaque were installed to pay homage to the eight soldiers who died during the U.S. Embassy hostage crisis in Iran.

After the horrific 9/11 tragedy, the Monmouth County 9/11 Memorial Committee chose Mount Mitchill as the location for a memorial tribute to the victims and heroes of the attacks on the World Trade Center. The Committee and the Friends of the Parks raised several hundred thousand dollars for the memorial, and Freehold sculptor Franco Minervini carved an eagle for it with a nine-foot wingspan ascending into flight while clutching a fragment of a steel beam from the World Trade Center. The granite base of the sculpture lists the names, ages and towns of the 147 Monmouth County natives and residents who lost their lives in the attacks, and the walkway to the memorial chronicles the timeline of the tragic event.

Mount Mitchill remains a site of beauty and reflection. Visitors are often found visiting the memorial, partaking in the majestic views, or spending time with their children at the playground.

For information about the site, visit our website.