Clinton Road (New Jersey) Explained

Clinton Road
Maint:West Milford Township
Namesake:Former community along road
Length Mi:9.3
Length Ref:[1]
Location:West Milford, New Jersey, USA
Coordinates:41.0543°N -74.4522°W
Direction A:South
Terminus A: in West Milford
Direction B:North
Terminus B:Warwick Turnpike in West Milford
Completion Date:1700s
Known For:Legends of paranormal activity

Clinton Road is located in West Milford, Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. It runs in a generally north–south direction, beginning at Route 23 near Newfoundland and running roughly 10abbr=onNaNabbr=on to its northern terminus at Upper Greenwood Lake.

The road and the land around it have gained notoriety over the years as an area rife with many legends of paranormal occurrences such as sightings of ghosts, strange creatures, and gatherings of witches, Satanists, and the Ku Klux Klan. It is also rumored that professional killers dispose of bodies in the surrounding woods—with one recorded case of this occurring.[2] It has been a regular subject of discussion in Weird NJ magazine, which once devoted an entire issue to it. In the words of a local police chief, "It's a long, desolate stretch and makes the imagination go nuts."[3]

There are very few houses along the road and much of the adjoining property is undeveloped publicly owned woodlands (either City of Newark watershed or state forest) and the road itself is a narrow two-lane highway that receives little maintenance, is not part of New Jersey's county route system and was until fairly recently unpaved for some of its length, connecting two areas of minimal population and growth and thus having little traffic even at the busiest times of day.

It is also notorious for having the country's longest traffic light wait.[4] This occurs at a double intersection where Route 23 crosses the road. The two lights can cause motorists to wait for 5 minutes in total. The lengthy wait was a result of traffic planners giving increased priority to Route 23 to reduce backups during rush hour.

History

The road, like the reservoir in the area, gets its name from the original settlement of Clinton, which was located about where the road crosses the brook.[5]

On May 18, 1983, the body of Daniel Deppner was found when a cyclist riding down Clinton Road in a wooded area of West Milford, New Jersey, spotted the corpse being eaten by a turkey vulture. The body had been wrapped inside a green garbage bag before dumping it.[6] Richard Kuklinski was charged and convicted of his murder.[7] [8]

Legends and folklore

The different areas along or near Clinton Road have been much cited as the setting of urban legends, especially by the publication Weird NJ, which has devoted numerous articles to the subject.[9]

Cross Castle

In 1905, English born railroad official and banker Richard James Cross built a massive stone Tudor summer home, resembling a castle, on high land near the reservoir for his wife and three children. The house, built at an estimated cost of 1.5 million ($ in), stood on a property with "365 acres of wooded glens, fields, and farm lands, along with a 77-acre pristine water body known as Hank's Pond."[15] Later in the 20th century, it fell into ruin after a fire had destroyed part of it, and thus became a popular destination for hikers and local teenagers looking for secluded locations to camp out and have parties.[16]

According to Weird NJ, "visitors have written telling of strange occurrences in or near the castle site, such as people going into seizures and having bruises appearing on their bodies afterwards, or having strange, disturbing visions. Writings that suggest Satanic symbols have been reported as appearing on the castle's interior walls, particularly in areas that were supposedly inaccessible."

Newark's water department razed the castle as an attractive nuisance in 1988, but the foundations remain and several hiking trails still lead to the site.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Directions from Paterson Hamburg Turnpike to 506 Warwick Turnpike. Google Maps. October 22, 2014.
  2. Moran, Mark and Sceurman, Mark; Weird NJ: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best-Kept Secrets; Barnes & Noble Books, New York, New York, 2003, p. 206
  3. Justo Bautista & Maia Davis (August 13, 1998), Haunted-House Nightmare -- Rumors Bring Visitors Who Make New Jersey Family's Life Miserable, Hackensack Record reprinted in The Seattle Times.
  4. Caren Chesler (June 24, 2001), "On the Road; The Longest Light", The New York Times.
  5. Moran, Mark and Sceurman, Mark; Weird NJ: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best-Kept Secrets; Barnes & Noble Books, New York, New York, 2003, 200
  6. The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer. America Undercover. HBO. 1992.
  7. News: Dolan. Julia. December 18, 1986. Man Charged With Killing Associates, Accomplices. Associated Press. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126213334/https://apnews.com/article/acd3ad231058a7ca24e7f307c5e51670. January 26, 2021.
  8. Moran, Mark and Sceurman, Mark; Weird NJ: Your Travel Guide to New Jersey's Local Legends and Best-Kept Secrets; Barnes & Noble Books, New York, New York, 2003, p. 206
  9. Moran & Sceurman, 200-07.
  10. Moran & Sceurman, 204.
  11. Moran & Sceurman, 205.
  12. Web site: April 7, 2012 . [{{NRHP url|id=76001179}} NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: INVENTORY -- NOMINATION FORM ]. live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210428100041/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/76001179_text . Apr 28, 2021 . November 3, 2014 . UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR . 8.
  13. From an interview in the television special "Most Terrifying Places in America 2" (2009) on the Travel Channel
  14. Moran & Sceurman, 203.
  15. News: Genader . Ann . Cross Castle is gone forever, but the memories remain . 19 November 2018 . North Jersey . August 10, 2018 . en.
  16. Moran & Sceurman, 202.