More than a million servicemen passed through the site. Cresskill public library 53 union avenue cresskill, nj 07626 phone. On memorial day 1924 pershing came to cresskill and dedicated the camp merritt memorial. It was a depot for troops headed for france, and a terrible place to be when a deadly flu virus arrived in october 1918. Nov 11, 2018 new jersey native howard bartholf, in his recent book camp merritt, noted over one million soldiers and nurses passed through camp merritts gates on their journeys to and from the. Camp merritt was a military base in cresskill, in bergen county, new jersey, united states, that. Photo panoramic view of camp merritt, new jersey, united states army cantonment 1919. It covered 770 acres of bergenfield, cresskill, demarest, dumont, and tenafly. Located here is the main campus of the new jersey national guard militia museum, at camp drive and sea girt ave the new jersey state police academy is also located here. Merritt clubs offers a wide variety of halfday and fullday interactive summer camps. The contract to dismantle its buildings and infrastructure was awarded in december 1919. Erected by the state of new jersey, county of bergen, bergen county historical society, officers and men of camp merritt, many patriotic citizens and the camp merritt memorial association.
The march of the forgotten by john spring was first published in the septemberoctober 2001 issue of cliff notes. A total of 1, 088, 081 solders passed through camp merritt s gates. Whats now the town of cresskill was once camp merritt, the largest embarkation base in the u. Congress honored code talkers from both wars with congressional gold medals to the navajo and other american indian tribes in. The march of the forgotten palisades interstate park in new jersey. Bergen county is the most populous county in the u. Camp merritt commemorated, 100 years later pascack press. Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel.
Pershing, commanderinchief of the american expeditionary force, headed the list of dignitaries who participated in the dedication of the camp merritt monument on memorial day 1924. Bartholf overview camp merritt, located in bergen county, new jersey, was authorized by the federal government in august 1917 as a critically needed embarkation base for processing us army soldiers bound for the battlefields of europe during world war i. The presentation will cover the period from when construction began in august 1917 to its closing, in july 1920, and to the present. Fable, president of the topeka chapter of the national military sisterhood of america and mother of frank fable, bty. Select the best result to find their address, phone number, relatives, and.
Camp merritt, new jersey national world war i museum. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Postcard, the enlisted mens club of camp merritt, nj. Dixon, june 7, 1919 they performed a similar service again in world war ii. Camp merritt, new jersey, 30 knickerbocker rd, dumont, nj 2020. American legion camp merritt, post 21, cresskill, new jersey. Camp merritt, new jersey contributor names williams, verne o. Howard bartholf gives a presentation about the history of camp merritt new jersey, a waystation during world war i, for the englewood historical society. Camp merritt by kevin wright see link below for a history published at the time of the 1924 dedication of the monument in cresskill. James merritt in new jersey nj 14 records found whitepages. The images date from 1851 to 1991 and depict scenes in all fifty states and the district of columbia. Camp merritt, located in bergen county, new jersey, was authorized by the federal government in august 1917 as a critically needed embarkation base for processing us army soldiers bound for the battlefields of europe during world war i. Some were what howard roses book camp merritt calls casual troops. Camp dix was formed after edge consulted with federal officials in washington and then assembled the land needed for the base through purchases from local.
New jersey native howard bartholf, in his recent book camp merritt, noted over one million soldiers and nurses passed through camp merritts gates on their journeys to and from the. Until now, the origins of a large military camp in bergen county, cl. See also history of sea girt from borough of sea girt. These were men who showed up in camp without papers, having been in the hospital. New jersey was also the site of bergen countys camp merritt, which processed most of the american soldiers who went overseas in world war i, fort dix, a major training base, and fort monmouth, a center for military technology development in the twentieth century. The camp merritt memorial monument is dedicated to the soldiers who passed through camp merritt, new jersey on their way to fight in europe in world war i, especially the 578 people 15 officers, 558 enlisted men, four nurses and one civilian who died at the camp due to the worldwide influenza epidemic of 1918, whose names are inscribed at the base of the monument. Postcard, camp merritt monument the camp merritt monument on knickerbocker and madison in cresskill marks the center of camp merritt, the largest embarkation camp in the us during wwi. World war i memorials across northern new jersey that break. Black americana, hamentromans, military, victory boys camp.
Camp merritt, new jersey bergen county historical society. The capacity of the camp was 2,000 officers and 40,000 enlisted men. The center of camp merritt was at the intersection of knickerbocker rd. Pershing, commander of the american expeditionary forces, along with other notables dedicated the monument on memorial day 1924, an event. Camp merritt memorial monument the american legion. Camp merritt, new jersey during world war one history. May 27, 2018 camp merritt, new jersey, dumont, new jersey.
Black americana, hamentromans, military, victory boys camp merritt, nj. The site of the camp, which now encompasses parts of five towns, was chosen for its proximity to roadways, railroads, and the hudson river, which enabled the. This is a nice vintage early printed black americana postcard showing a scene of the victory boys at camp merritt, new jersey. Camp merritt camp merritt, new jersey view all items in this category. By the time it had run its course, 563 men and women in camp merritt had died. May 22, 2017 camp merritt, located in bergen county, new jersey, was authorized by the federal government in august 1917 as a critically needed embarkation base for processing us army soldiers bound for the battlefields of europe during world war i. Camp merritt was a military base in cresskill, in bergen county, new jersey, united states, that was activated for use in world war i. A total of 1, 088, 081 solders passed through camp merritts gates. Traveling the merritt parkway by larry larned, hardcover. Camp merritt was situated ten miles northwest of new york city, on a ridge midway between the towns of cresskill and dumont, bergen county, new jersey. From this camp troops marched to board ferryboats at old closter dock, alpine landing that took them to the piers. The camp merritt monument is a 65 foot tall obelisk of granite planned at the.
Camp merritt, located in bergen county, new jersey, was authorized by the federal. I have lived in dumont where the camp was located for fourteen plus years. Named camp merritt after major general wesley merritt cullum 1868, u. Rare july 4, 1919 issue of the merritt dispatch magazine vol. Nurses at camp merritt, the world war i military base in northern new jersey who treated the troops on their way to fight in europe who instead had to fight the flu. Oct 09, 2018 nurses at camp merritt, the world war i military base in northern new jersey who treated the troops on their way to fight in europe who instead had to fight the flu. We found 14 records for james merritt in phillipsburg, avalon and 22 other cities in new jersey. It had a capacity for 38,000 transient troops and was one of three camps directly under the control of the new york port of embarkation. It contains 36 interior pages, or 40 pages including cover sides.
The camp covered an area of 770 acres and contained well over 1,300 buildings. Army world war i embarkation camp first established in 1917 near cresskill, bergen county, new jersey. As of the 2019 census estimate, the countys population was 932,202, an increase of 3. It occupied an area of 770 acres, 580 acres of which were occupied by the camp proper. Jersey girl new jersey garden state plaza mall stores bergen county christmas decorations holiday decor childhood memories photo wall the musical bell display at garden state plaza in paramus was a favorite in the 1960s.
Your children will enjoy a variety of activities in a fun safe environment at merritt clubs, and make memories that will last a lifetime. Camp merritt, new jersey dumont, new jersey landmark. The march of the forgotten palisades interstate park in new. The special collections and university archives scua at rutgers university in new brunswick, nj, has an extensive collection of documents, images, maps, and letters pertaining to camp merritt, those serving overseas, and the experience of war on the homefront. It is a large magazine was published weekly at camp merritt, new jersey and contains content about the goings on at the camp. The remaining portion of the post is now a nineacre beachfront property. Your children will enjoy a variety of activities in a fun safe environment at merritt. The site of the camp, which now encompasses parts of five towns, was chosen for its proximity to roadways, railroads, and the hudson river, which. Panoramic view of camp merritt, new jersey, united states army. New jersey mobilization under edges leadership, sixteen camps for military training were established in the state, with the largest camp dix in wrightstown and camp merritt in tenafly. Media in category camp merritt, new jersey the following 34 files are in this category, out of 34 total. Camp merritt was a military base in dumont and cresskill, in bergen county, new jersey, united states, that was activated for use in world war i.