Glen Rock (boulder)

Coordinates: 40°57′46″N 74°08′06″W / 40.96276°N 74.13487°W / 40.96276; -74.13487
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Glen Rock
Native names
English: Glen Rock
Lenape: Pamackapuka
A photograph of the Glen Rock
The Glen Rock in 2023
LocationGlen Rock, New Jersey, United States
Coordinates40°57′46″N 74°08′06″W / 40.96276°N 74.13487°W / 40.96276; -74.13487
Height22 feet (6.7 m)

The Glen Rock is a 570-ton boulder located in

New Jersey Highlands. The Glen Rock, which is composed of gneiss
, is located in the center of a former glacial lake.

The cultural history of the Glen Rock predates the settlement of New Jersey by European colonists. The

First World War
, a memorial plaque was installed on the rock to honor veterans who had died during the conflict. In 1964, the New Jersey State Office of Historic Sites designated the Glen Rock as a state landmark.

Geology and natural history

The Glen Rock is composed of gneiss,[1][2] though the rock has granitic aspects.[3] The Glen Rock measures forty-four feet wide, twenty-two feet high, and twelve feet long.[1] The boulder weights 570 tons and is the largest glacial erratic found atop Triassic bedrock in the state of New Jersey.[1][3]

The boulder, a large glacial erratic, is not native to the

end of the last Ice Age,[1] while a 2009 report by the Borough of Glen Rock finds that the most likely origin of the rock are the southeastern areas of the Hudson Highlands located in New York State, citing the boulder's rounded shape and the Hudson Highlands' bedrock composition.[3] The boulder is located in the center of a former glacial lake; the boulder may have floated upon an iceberg and subsequently sank into its current location.[3]

Cultural history

A photograph of the Glen Rock in 1890. The rock is half-submerged in soil and is adjacent to two leafless trees.
The Glen Rock in 1890

Indigenous, colonial, and early American use

Prior to the arrival of European settlers,

sweat house".[8][9] The large rock was also used by indigenous chieftains as a throne when presiding over meetings with members of their tribe[10] and served as the location of several inter-tribal meetings among natives.[11]

Later, as colonists arrived to the region, they used the rock as a landmark for their trails.[4] The rock, referred to as "Big Rock at Small Lots" by early colonists, began serving as a landmark used in the division of land in West Jersey as early as 1687.[12] The rock served as a key marker for all colonial-era land deeds, composing one of the points used in the eighteenth-century survey of the Ramapo Tract.[10] In 1894, a group of Ridgewood, New Jersey residents seceded from the then-township to form a new municipality, calling it the "Borough of Glen Rock" after the glacial erratic within its newly formed borders.[4] The rock was used as a reference point in Native American land deeds that were still on the books as late as 1912.[13] As of 1928, the rock was the only remaining fixed marker that had been used to delineate the colonial boundary dividing East Jersey from West Jersey.[14]

1910–1912 excavation and construction

The man-made base that supports the massive Glen Rock

About half of the Glen Rock remained submerged under soil until 1910, when soil was gradually excavated to properly

The Paterson Morning Call described the rock as having "considerable historic value" and commented approvingly on the renovations.[13]

A photograph of a ceremony during which the memorial plaque was unveiled on the Glen Rock during 1921. In the foreground are about one hundred citizens, while there are several houses in the background.
The Glen Rock during the unveiling of the memorial plaque on May 30, 1921

World War I memorial

The Glen Rock Honor Roll in 2007

In 1921, the Borough Council of Glen Rock created a committee to raise funds to place a memorial plaque on the Glen Rock to honor the town's

United States military who had died during World War I.[16] The council had initially attempted to allocate $500 towards the project that February, but turned to fundraising efforts in March after they discovered that there were no contingency funds available to spend.[16][17] The committee, with the help of the local Boy Scouts, successfully raised enough funds for the project to be completed;[18][19] the bronze plaque was subsequently installed and was unveiled at a ceremony held on May 30 of that year.[4][20][21]

The plaque fixed on the rock bears the names of five individuals from the borough who died during the First World War, as well as the names of eighty-nine others who honorably served in combat.[10] The Glen Rock is located across from the home of Peter Ebbert, the first resident of the borough to have been killed-in-action during the conflict.[11]

Landmark designation

Over time, the Glen Rock became a symbol of the Borough of Glen Rock.[22] In 1964, the New Jersey State Office of Historic Sites designated the Glen Rock as a historical landmark and placed a commemorative sign beside the war memorial.[4][23][24] In 1969, on the 75th anniversary of the Borough of Glen Rock's founding, a time capsule to be opened in 2044 was buried in the ground beside the Glen Rock.[25]

By the mid-1970s, the sign provided by the Office of Historic Sites had disappeared, having been stolen from its location next to the glacial erratic.[26][27] A replica of the original sign, which contained information on the boulder's history, was created and screwed onto a seven-foot-tall pole constructed to deter vandals in 1985.[27][28] The replacement sign was stolen in April 1986, recovered by Glen Rock police in October 1986, and subsequently welded to the pole to discourage future sign thieves.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Lucey, Carol S. (December 1971). Geology of Bergen County in Brief (PDF) (Report). Vol. New Jersey Geological Survey. New Jersey: New Jersey Bureau of Geology and Topography. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Salisbury, Rollin D.; Kümmel, Henry D; Peet, Charles E; Knapp, George N (1902). The Glacial Geology of New Jersey (PDF) (Report). Vol. 5. Trenton, New Jersey: MacCrellish & Quigley. p. 550.
  3. ^ a b c d e Gamorra, Naomi; Hall, Candy; Dill, Robert; Fenz, Robert; Mehallow, Cinty; Jon, Osborne; Leslie, Kameny; Michael, Pessolano; Jessica, Giorgiani (July 14, 2009). Glen Rock Environmental Resources Inventory (PDF) (Report). Borough of Glen Rock. pp. 36–37, 123. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 23, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Elder, Janet (May 5, 1985). "If you're thinking of living in: Glen Rock". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  5. ^
    The Record. Archived
    from the original on October 26, 2016. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  6. ^ from the original on December 16, 2021. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  7. .
  8. .
  9. Newspapers.com
    .
  10. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  11. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  12. ^ Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey: Past and Present. Ridgewood, New Jersey: Citizens semi-centennial association. December 31, 1916. p. 2. Archived from the original on May 4, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  13. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  14. Newspapers.com
    .
  15. Newspapers.com
    .
  16. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  17. Newspapers.com
    .
  18. Newspapers.com
    .
  19. Newspapers.com
    .
  20. The Paterson Morning Call
    . May 31, 1921. p. 8.
  21. Newspapers.com
    .
  22. Newspapers.com
    .
  23. Newspapers.com
    .
  24. Newspapers.com
    .
  25. Newspapers.com
    .
  26. Newspapers.com
    .
  27. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .
  28. ^
    Newspapers.com
    .