Fort Hancock Marker

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Sandy Hook in Monmouth County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Fort Hancock
Coastal Defenses of Sandy Hook
— Maritime History —

Fort Hancock Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, September 20, 2009

1. Fort Hancock Marker

Inscription. Sandy Hook has been fortified to defend New York Harbor for more than two centuries – first by British Loyalists occupying the Sandy Hook Lighthouse during the American Revolution and the American troops constructed a wooden palisade fort during the War of 1812.

By the 1890s, concrete gun batteries were constructed to defend against long-range naval cannon. The batteries were continually improved and remained operational through World War II. Nike missiles, placed here in the 1950s, were the final descendants of the coastal defenses built on Sandy Hook.

Erected by National Park Service, State of New Jersey Division of Parks & Forestry.

Location. 40° 28.253′ N, 74° 0.269′ W. Marker is in Sandy Hook, New Jersey, in Monmouth County. Marker is on Cainfield Road, on the left when traveling east. Click for map. Marker is in Fort Hancock in the Sandy Hook Unit of Gateway National Recreation Area. Marker is in this post office area: Highlands NJ 07732, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Battery Potter (here, next to this marker); Battery Granger (within shouting distance of this marker); Navigating Sandy Hook Waters (about 500 feet away, in a direct line); Rodman Gun (approx. 0.4 miles away); 200 Years of Service (approx. 0.4 miles away); Protecting American Coasts (approx. 0.4 miles away); Sandy Hook Light (approx. 0.7 miles away); Keeping the Light (approx. 0.7 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Sandy Hook.

Coastal Defenses of Sandy Hook Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Bill Coughlin, September 20, 2009

2. Coastal Defenses of Sandy Hook Marker

More about this marker. A series of photographs appear on the bottom of the marker. An 1880s view of the “Fort at Sandy Hook” has a caption of “The ‘Fort at Sandy Hook’ was begun in 1859 but never completed. The east wall later became the foundation for Nine Gun Battery. The southwest bastion still stands and serves as a base for a watertank.” A picture of a “Twelve inch disappearing gun at Battery Richardson, 1910 includes a caption of “The ‘disappearing guns’ of Nine Gun Battery were loaded and aimed from behind the protection of massive concrete walls. When ready to fire, the gun carriage was raised. Firing of the gun caused it to recoil behind the wall, making it ‘disappear’ from the enemy’s view.” Another photo depicting a “Nike missile complex on Sandy Hook, June 1959” has a caption of “Nike missiles were directed against high altitude aircraft. These missiles, along with all coastal defense installations, became obsolete with the development of ICBMs and advancing technologies in the mid 1960s.” The final picture is a “1990 aerial photograph of Sandy Hook” showing the existing fortifications and indicating the location of the marker. It has a caption of “Fortifications and concrete gun batteries once encircled much of the northern tip of Sandy Hook.”

By Bill Coughlin, September 20, 2009

3. Fort Hancock Marker

Also see . . .
1. Fort Hancock. NY Harbor Parks website. (Submitted on September 22, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)
2. New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route. National Park Service website. (Submitted on September 22, 2009, by Bill Coughlin of North Arlington, New Jersey.)