Near New Bedford in Monmouth County, New Jersey — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Marconi American Wireless Company Tower
Photographed By R. C.
1. Marconi American Wireless Company Tower
Wireless Company
Tower "WW2GM"
1913 - 1924
Presented here is only a small top portion of the original tower. There were a number of these towers in this area. They constituted the first commercial transatlantic communication installation.
Erected 1976 by Wall Township, New Jersey.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Communications. A significant historical year for this entry is 1913.
Location. 40° 11.389′ N, 74° 3.629′ W. Marker is near New Bedford, New Jersey, in Monmouth County. Marker is on Marconi Road, 0.1 miles Brighton Ave, on the left when traveling south. Monument is in Wall Township on the East side of Marconi Road after turning onto it from Brighton Ave. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Belmar NJ 07719, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Breslin War Memorial (approx. 1.7 miles away);
this page online
Regarding Marconi American Wireless Company Tower. One last surviving Marconi tower, a “pygmy” tower, was salvaged in 1974 from Shark River near Brighton Avenue by the Wall Public Works with Army assistance. The tower now stands in a mini-park on Marconi Road near its original position. It is depicted in the upper right quadrant of the official Wall Township seal. Amateur or “Ham” radio operators have made transmissions from the forty foot tower to celebrate Marconi’s birthday with transatlantic transmissions.
Also see . . . WWI at The Belmar High Powered Wireless Station
Photographed By R. C.
2. Detail of Tower Construction
Additional commentary.
1. WW2GM was not Marconi’s Callsign
Jozef Hand-Boniakowski, PhD (WB2MIC) from Wells, Vermont, wrote to say that the call letters on the marker were his, not Marconi’s. Here is the story of WW2GM in Dr. Hand-Boniakowski’s words:
“I was in my 2nd year teaching and first at the Memorial School in Eatontown, during 1973–1974. I had befriended Dr. Jack W. Bronfeld, a Monmouth College education and psych professor who was also a ham radio operator. I knew that the 100th anniversary of Marconi’s birth was coming up and I wanted to commemorate it with a special event ham radio station on-the-air operated by volunteers for 2 weeks in April, 1974, that spanned his birthday. Doc Bronfeld lived close to Camp Evans on Shark River Drive. We decided that the Marconi Tower Camp Evans site was a good place for the event. I applied to the FCC for the special callsign, WW2GM, and got it approved.
“Here is what the calls letters in WW2GM mean:
W
Photographed By R. C.
3. Tower Antenna Mast
W = Wall Township
2 = New Jersey/New York call area
G = Guglielmo
M = Marconi
“People involved in the operation were: Jozef Hand-Boniakowski WB2MIC (then using the name Joseph Boniakowski), Jack W. Bronfeld WA2SMW, Jefferson Bronfeld WA2CPK, Christine Boniakowski WA2KOU and Ken Ewing WA2NOG.”
— Submitted July 26, 2011, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.
2. Wooden sign
The wooden sign with the WW2GM call letters in the photos was made by my father, Jerome Jarger. He served on Wall Township's Bi-centennial committee as a representative of the local Boy Scout troops. I remember helping him make this sign in our basement workshop on Wight Street in Wall.
— Submitted May 20, 2021, by Todd Jarger of Haddon Township, New Jersey.
4. Wall Township Seal
Photographed By R. C.
5. "WW2GM" Marconi Memorial Tower - First Transoceanic Wireless Site
Photographed By R. C.
6. View from Bottom of Tower Looking Up
August 19, 2006
7. Call Sign
Marconi Memorial Tower
First Transoceanic Wireless Site
Credits. This page was last revised on May 20, 2021. It was originally submitted on February 7, 2008, by R. C. of College Station, Texas. This page has been viewed 3,671 times since then and 177 times this year. Last updated on February 8, 2008, by R. C. of College Station, Texas. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 7, 2008, by R. C. of College Station, Texas. 4. submitted on July 26, 2011. 5, 6. submitted on February 7, 2008, by R. C. of College Station, Texas. 7. submitted on February 7, 2008, by Kevin W. of Stafford, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.
