for nearly a century a Veterans Memorial has stood at the top of New Jersey allowing visitors to view
much of the Eastern United States surrounded by the state park of the same name in kinatini
Ridge New Jersey's High Point Monument has stood for nearly a century despite several
years of construction issues and various State Legislative attacks these days it's a tourist
attraction centering on a reminder of the state's Heroes despite this the state government recently
targeted the monument and the name of budgetary sacrifices leading to its near condemnation and
demise and yet despite that the monument still stands strong today we discover New
Jersey's High Point Monument I'm your host Ryan so cash and you're watching its history [Music]
this is an amazing Monument climbing up the 291 circular steps of bedrock and granite visitors
can view the sights of Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains the Catskill Mountains of New York
and New Jersey's own Wallkill River Valley from 220 feet above the ground throughout its Hundred
Year history the high point Monument has centered around its home state whether it be through its
sponsors its physical materials and its continued Legacy the story really starts in 1923 when
Colonel Anthony R cusar donated a massive amount of land for public recreational use to the state
additionally it was proposed that a portion of land could be used as a tuberculosis sanatorium
specifically for World War One veterans utilizing the fresh air for rehabilitative
purposes the then governor of New Jersey George Sebastian silzer was Under Pressure to keep the
state moving as his Republican opponents had put the legislator in a deadlock over committee Size
Matters so the governor approved using Colonel kuser's funds to establish the state park in
the Perth Amboy evening news on January the 30th 1923 the funding of this project was described
as being a priority for the government stating quote this matter is to be given early attention
as it is regarded as some of the finest benefactions New Jersey ever has received
before the announcement of the Colonel's generous donation the area was unpopular
with tourists and out-of-state visitors but New Jersey locals were familiar with the space hence
lawyer Wayne Dumont a local celebrity ran the Parks Commission and so it was High Point State
Park was officially opened on May the 23rd 1923 with the dedication attended by the colonel the
governor and the future governor of New Jersey Walter Evans Edge by late 1927 the colonel and
his wife offered to fund the construction of a monument in the park well there had been previous
associations with Soldiers the memorial proposal was the initial point of explicitly honoring New
Jersey's veterans with a landmark Governor Harry Moore accepted the offer and construction began
the following summer when building the high point Monument there were many construction issues first
the plan was to utilize only local all New Jersey materials but this did not come to fruition for
budgetary reasons despite this the 500 000 project aimed to use New Jersey's materials when possible
the composition of the materials combined with the local weather conditions slowed down construction
considerably high winds and stiff Bedrock made construction extremely slow at some points as
workers frequently had to stop and resharpen their tools because the materials were so hard
unfortunately the colonel passed away just over a year before The Monument's completion on February
the 8th 1923 he was 67 years old be that as it may the high point Monument was completed in
the summer of 1930 with its dedication Monument held on June the 21st of that same year the 2
000 guests included the Colonel's son who had had since become a state senator and presented
the monument on behalf of his late father in his address the young Senators stressed The Monument's
commitment to the heroes of the state and that it exists as a physical reminder of the efforts and
sacrifices veterans have made the senator began his political career shortly before his father
donated the land for high point but perhaps his most impactful contribution in office was
establishing the bill to officially make the eastern goldfinch the state bird of New Jersey
in 1935. his political career was relatively short serving as state senator for only six years still
like his father he focused on the culture and natural beauty of New Jersey although the high
point Monument's early history had many ties to the state government including multiple Governors
their relationship was not always positive by the turn of the 21 first century the high point
Monument required much physical renovation in other words it was costing the state money
hence attitudes began to shift in the state surprisingly decided to attempt to charge the
veterans who gathered for their annual Memorial services in 2006 through legal action and support
from former lawmakers the veterans did not have to pay fees to use the space which was dedicated
to them and fully intended to honor their service two years later New Jersey continued struggling
financially to the point that then Governor John Corzine proposed to close the entire High Point
Park and eight other local parks to save money in maintaining the space and paying employees marking
a very significant departure in terms of how the government was to handle the space you see the
intervening former lawmakers had been instrumental in continuing State funds to renovate high points
for example former Senator Robert Littell specifically secured 2 million for exterior
and 1.5 million for interior costs completed in 2001 and 2005 respectively these efforts led to
continued budgetary support specifically for High Point even if the monument had been in the process
of extreme restoration since as early as 1995. perhaps one fault is the fact that high point is
not located near Trenton the capital city of New Jersey so it lacks the same number of visitors
as its more urban counterparts a sentiment best described by historian Ron Dupont who explained
quote parks are always the first thing to take a hit partly because they've never really had
an effective advocacy group and they are usually Running on Empty as far as Staffing funding and
Manpower although it was brought to the Public's attention in the 2000 following pushback from the
veteran Community State officials had spent years proposing the Park's closure during
the end of the 20th century public outrage and media attention came in 2008 due to the blatant
disrespect for the veteran community and the disregard for high points message from the state
The Proposal would have closed the space to the public on July the 1st 2008 whereas other plans
for current construction would have it continued it needed to be clarified what the fate of the
physical Monument would have been especially were maintenance to cease during this whole
controversy the internal Monument was not open due to construction so its fate was confusing
to the public as it would turn out this was all part of a greater plan to dissolve the state's
agriculture Department which further shows that the New Jersey state government has completely
straight away from the Colonel's original message of opening the beautiful space to the public and
honoring New Jersey's veteran Community Governor Corzine was unsuccessful in his proposal as
veterans protested and used legal action to preserve the park and Monument the budgetary
plan was overturned and combined efforts with legislative allies and High Point remained open
this measure also saved New Jersey's Department of Agriculture even outside the park itself the
Colonel's family Legacy remains preserving and honoring the agriculture of New Jersey
today the high point Monument still stands open seasonally for the interior and year-round for the
entire park the veteran Community has continued to identify with the memorial in 2019 the park
was officially renamed High Point State Park and New Jersey Veterans Memorial emphasizing
the spaces commitment to honoring the community and now thousands visit High Point yearly whether
for recreational purposes in the park or to keep the state's veterans memory alive and as
someone whose grandfather was a World War II veteran from New Jersey I can only hope that
the preservation efforts will prevail and we'll leave it there for today thank you so much for
watching hit that subscribe button and until next time this is Ryan silkash signing off